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D.C. and District Talk

· Frivolous Lawsuits

This week the House of Representatives has passed a great bill which will limit the number of frivolous lawsuits that clog up our judicial system. H.R. 420, the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act of 2005 will do many things to make sure that court expenses to both the government and innocent individuals are not taken advantage of. This bill restores mandatory sanctions for filing frivolous lawsuits, restores the opportunity for monetary sanctions, including attorney’s fees and compensatory costs, against any party making a frivolous claim, and it prevents forum shopping.

As you all may know, our area is home to two of the worst counties in the nation with regards to frivolous lawsuits. H.R. 420 will prevent someone from another state from bringing a case to Madison County Illinois, for example, to try their case simply because they think they have a better chance of winning. This bill will make it so that cases are heard in the correct region, according to where the incident took place and where the individuals involved actually live.

I support this legislation and believe it to be long overdue. For more information regarding this bill, please visit http://judiciary.house.gov.

· Digital Cable

The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved bipartisan legislation that would accelerate the transition to digital television by setting a firm date for that transition to end.

The day that digital television will be set in place will be January 1, 2009, replacing the analog television signals that have been in place since the birth of TV. Setting this date will free up the nation’s airwaves for public safety and new wireless technology.

We have been working on this legislation for a long time and I am happy to see this coming to the floor of the House of Representatives in the near future. For more information on this bill, please visit http://energycommerce.house.gov.

Constituent Corner

· Privacy

The internet can be a great tool for fighting unwanted calls and faxes that you may be receiving.

One can track down the offending phone number by typing it in at a search engine, such as google.com, to see if their information, such as name, address, etc., is listed. Google.com also offers a privacy feature, if you no longer want your information listed. If you click on the tiny telephone icon next to your PhoneBook listing, it will bring you to the PhoneBook instructions. There is a link towards the end where one can be removed from that listing.

If you would like to try this, please visit www.google.com.

· Nursing Grant

I am pleased to announce a grant that has been awarded to Lake Land College from the United States Department of Labor Employment & Training Administration. I am hoping that this $863,000 grant will mean more nurses to help fill the shortage in our healthcare system.

I have been concerned with the shortage of nurses, not only in our state, but across the nation. I am glad to see that Lake Land and its partners are working to help our state and nation with this problem.

For more information on this grant, please visit www.doleta.gov.

· Fire Grant Awarded

I am happy to announce that funding from the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been awarded to the St. Elmo Fire Protection District. This money comes from the 2005 Assistance to Firefighter Grant Program administered by the DHS Office for Domestic Preparedness in Cooperation with the United States Fire Administration.

St. Elmo will receive $92,000 for operations and safety. This grant may be used for training, equipment, wellness and fitness, and modifications to fire stations and facilities.

For more information on this grant, please visit www.firegrantsupport.com.

· New “Traveling Help Desk” Dates

On Thursday, November 3, 2005, Holly Healy of my Harrisburg district office will be available to help the residents of Elizabethtown. She will be at the Elizabethtown City Hall from 9:00 a.m. until 10:30 p.m.

For more information, please visit my web page at www.house.gov/shimkus/helpdesk.shtml. I hope you stop in to see us!

Legislative Week in Review

· The following bills were passed by the House of Representatives this week:

o H.R. 1461 – Federal Housing Finance Reform Act of 2005 (Rep. Richard Baker – House Financial Services)

o H.R. 420 – Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act of 2005 (Rep. Lamar Smith – House Judiciary)

· To keep up to date on legislation as it moves through the legislative process please visit http://thomas.loc.gov and type in the bill number.

Anticipated Action on the House Floor Next Week

· Congress will be in session from Tuesday through Friday of next week. Some of the legislation which will be considered includes:

o H.R. 4128 – Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2005 (Rep. James Sensenbrenner – House Judiciary)

· Keep an eye on the Office of the Clerk’s web site for upcoming legislation: http://clerk.house.gov/legisAct/index.html. This site provides up-to-date information on House legislative schedules.

Did You Know?

· Community Service

Learn and Serve America, a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service that provides direct and indirect support to K-12 schools, community groups and higher education institutions to facilitate service-learning projects, has announced three funding opportunities for 2006.

Learn and Serve America Community-Based Grant Program

Learn and Serve America School-Based Grant Program

Learn and Serve America Higher Education Grant Program

I believe that it is never too early and never too late for a person to get involved in their community. I hope everyone will work together to make our communities a better place.

· Hire Vets

Last week’s newsletter discussed the new website that the federal government recently introduced called Hire Vets First. For some reason, the link did not work properly. Here is the link in proper working form, www.hirevetsfirst.gov.

Thank you for the interest in my newsletter! Remember to tell your friends about it as well--they can sign up on my web page at http://www.house.gov/shimkus.

Sincerely,

Congressman John Shimkus

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