Home \ Issues \ Accomplishments
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Services to Fourth District residents (Since January '05): Assisted 1226 with VA issues |
Bringing New Energy Jobs to the Upstate:
Nuclear Power in South Carolina:
Promoting Clemson ICAR to a national audience:
Bringing the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) to Greenville:
Health Care Tour
Transparency in Health Care pricing - Lipinski Bill introduction
Introduced bipartisan Hospital Price Reporting and Disclosure Act (HR 3139) to give Americans the ability to make informed health care decisions for themselves and their families. The bill would require every hospital to provide consumers with the billed charges (not the insurance negotiated prices) for the most commonly used procedures and medications. Specifically, the legislation would require hospitals to report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) twice a year, the amount they charge for the twenty-five most commonly performed inpatient procedures, the twenty-five most commonly performed outpatient procedures, and the fifty most frequently administered medications. The Department of Health and Human Services would then be required to post this information on the Internet in a concise, user-friendly format.
H-Prize Act
H-Prize -- an entrepreneurial challenge and incentive to attract the best and brightest minds to solve the outstanding problems related to moving to a new form of energy.
The H-Prize is a monetary reward to innovators who conquer the technical science challenges of moving to a hydrogen economy. Science breakthroughs in storage, production, utilization, and distribution will receive $1 million. Up to four awards would be made every other year. A successful prototype use of hydrogen can expect a $4 million award, and the grand prize would be a significant cash reward.
Innovation isn’t restricted by timelines. Prizes are the most non-governmental way for government to act, paying only for results that achieve the goal.
We envision teams of public-private partnerships, universities, start-ups and garage inventors to take the H-Prize challenge: Americans can’t resist winning.
Rep. Inglis first introduced the H-Prize in 2006 after careful consultation with experts from industry, academia and venture capitalists. Reps. Lipinski and Inglis re-introduced the bill in 2007 after input from the Senate Energy Committee and the Department of Energy. The H-Prize was signed into law on December 19, 2007 as part of H.R. 6, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
The Department of Energy has selected the Hydrogen Education Foundation (a partnership between the South Carolina Research Authority and the National Hydrogen Association) to administer the H-Prize competition. They have accepted the first round proposals and will be evaluating samples after November, 2010.
Compact Fluorescent Lighting (CFL) Legislation
Using CFLs in place of incandescent bulbs could save the federal government millions of dollars per year. CFLs use approximately 75% less energy, last 8-10 times longer, and can save up to $74 each (depending on energy costs and type of bulb). The federal government has an estimated 3 million light bulbs that could be replaced.
Reps. Dan Lipinski (D-IL) and Bob Inglis (R-SC) introduced the BRIGHT Energy Savings Act of 2007 (H.R. 1705) on March 27, 2007 and gathered a total of 85 cosponsors. The BRIGHT Act would have the federal government take the lead by requiring that burned out incandescent bulbs had to be replaced with more energy-efficient lighting, such as CFL. The legislation was also included in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (H.R. 6) , which passed the House 314-100 (219 Democrats and 95 Republicans voting yes, 4 Democrats and 96 Republicans voting no) and was signed into law by President Bush on December 19, 2007).
Lawmakers back energy-friendly light bulbs at federal facilities
Foreign Affairs – A Strong Voice for Human Rights:
Through legislation, official letters, statements for the record, and questions asked to witnesses testifying before Congress, Inglis has consistently sought to protect the powerless in America and around the world. Inglis spoke out to support Chinese lawyers imprisoned for speaking out against their country’s brutality, and met with other Chinese human rights lawyers who have been denied their rights. Inglis has taken many opportunities to condemn China’s disregard for the rights of its citizens, and in particular its policy of using forced abortion to prevent violations of their One Child Policy. Inglis has pushed for governments allowing Christians to practice their religion without fear in India, Morocco, and Vietnam, among other countries, and has called for protection for democratic activists and journalists in Russia, Egypt, and Iran. Seeing the connection between human rights and national security, Bob has advocated for the right of young Gazans to move freely in pursuit of an education, as only through supporting those Gazans who pursue peace and prosperity can the United States and Israel fully defeat those who seek chaos and conflict.
Transportation:
Accelerating the drive to a hydrogen economy
Inglis worked with several other Members of Congress in 2005 to launch the House Hydrogen Caucus. Now in its fourth year, the Hydrogen Caucus works to support the transition to a hydrogen economy with the following goals:
Inglis has worked with members of the Caucus to restore funding to Hydrogen Programs in the FY09 and FY10 appropriations bills in a budget-neutral fashion (using offsets from other programs).
Joint Sub-Committee Hearings on Hydrogen Economy
Continued to oppose mandatory minimums
Continued to oppose mandatory minimums and support the current sentencing guidelines offered by the federal sentencing commission. Organized a meeting between Republican members of the Judiciary Committee and former Attorney General Ed Meese to discuss the downsides of mandatory minimums from a conservative perspective. Inglis voted in favor of S. 1789, the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, which was signed into law on August 3 rd, 2010. This law reduces the disparity between sentences for crack and powder cocaine, and was supported by law enforcement, district attorneys, and many former federal prosecutors and judges.
Trade issues
Inglis was among a group of five textile region representatives along with several textile company officials who successfully pressed the George W. Bush Administration to alter the impact of the agreement on Upstate textile companies. Inglis gave full credit to Rob Portman, a colleague from his first freshman class, who was U.S. Trade Representative at the time.
"From the very beginning some textile executives and textile trade organizations told the Administration that it had to close the door on China with binding commitments from the CAFTA countries before we could support it," Inglis said.
China was the main focus, he said. With the loopholes closed, CAFTA is a western Hemisphere strategic alliance that can allow textile companies to compete with China.
The USTR completed the agreement after the CAFTA signatories passed legislation to incorporate the changes. The changes have been enforced at the border since May 2008.
Inglis has held several Textile Roundtables, the most recent being in July 2008. The goal of these meetings was to identify action items for Congress and local textile companies before quotas of Chinese goods were lifted on December 31, 2008. Since then, Inglis has been working with the textile industry to identify opportunities to help them remain competitive in the global marketplace.
Personal Touches:
In 2010, Team Inglis assisted constituents in a wide variety of agencies and areas, which include the following:
In 2009, Team Inglis assisted constituents in a wide variety of agencies and areas, which include the following:
In 2008, Team Inglis assisted constituents in a wide variety of agencies and areas, which include the following:
In 2007, Team Inglis assisted people in 1,826 different instances with getting help from federal agencies, including:
Helping Veterans:
Local projects:
Opposed excessive spending in Katrina Education Bill
Inglis offered an amendment to reform the Family Education Reimbursement Act of 2005 (FERA). FERA would have created voucher-like accounts to help schools pay for the cost of educating Katrina evacuees. The Inglis amendment would ensure that federal reimbursement was directed toward those schools that shouldered a disproportionate share of the burden. Because the amendment was not accepted, Inglis was unable to support the bill. In the end, Inglis helped defeat FERA, but not because he has a problem with vouchers. Inglis believes that school choice is a great idea when it is done by states, because the states have primary responsibility for education. Federal disaster assistance shouldn’t replace private charity. When the federal government reimburses private entities for charitable acts, the muscles of charity atrophy. We should be encouraging Americans to flex those muscles, not lean on the federal government. Inglis is a believer in school choice. He is also a believer in private initiative, limited government, and the state’s responsibility to educate its own children. FERA was the wrong way to help students displaced by the hurricanes.