Congressman Randy Forbes | Washington Update
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Week of April 26 - 30, 2010 Twitter Facebook YouTube Digg RSS
 
Voting Against an Automatic Pay Raise for Members of Congress


Congressman Forbes became an original cosponsor and voted to eliminate the automatic cost of living adjustments for Members of Congress during the upcoming year (H.R.5146).  Congressman Forbes has consistently supported legislation to stop congressional pay raises including the Stop the Automatic Pay Raise for Members of Congress in Fiscal Year 2011 Act (H.R.4255) and the Stop Congressional Pay Raise Act (H.R.156).
H.R. 5146 passed the House by a vote of 402-15.
 
Expanding Charitable Giving to University Groups

Congressman Forbes became a cosponsor of the Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act (H.R.1547), which would treat charitable contributions to not-for-profit student groups’ educational foundations as tax exempt for the purposes of upgrading their housing.  This includes critical systems like sprinklers, detectors, and alarms, as well as energy efficiency upgrades.
 
Supporting a Constitutional Spending Limit

Congressman Forbes became a cosponsor of an amendment to the Constitution (H.J.Res.79) that would limit spending to 20% of the economy, the historical average since World War II.  Two-thirds of each body of Congress would have to vote to exceed the 20% spending threshold. In addition, Congressman Forbes also supports a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution (H.J.Res.1).
National Security
Protecting U.S. digital information and systems.  Congressman Forbes joined the House Cybersecurity Caucus, which raises awareness on important cybersecurity issues and provides a forum for Members of Congress representing different committees to discuss the challenges in protecting vital U.S. interests in cyberspace.  The Department of Defense experienced roughly 44,000 cyberwarfare attacks from China in the first six months of 2009 alone.
Small Business

Supported America’s small businesses.  Congressman Forbes supported a three month extension of Small Business Administration lending programs (S.3253) while a more permanent extension is still being negotiated.
This bill passed the House by voice vote.
Government Reform

Supported reducing government waste.  Congressman Forbes supported the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act (H.R.3393), which lowers the threshold for mandatory reporting of improper payments from federal agencies.  The bill also requires federal agencies to develop plans to reduce waste and to seek to recover improper payments.
This bill passed the House by voice vote.

Opposed misleading political mailings.  Congressman Forbes supported legislation (H.R.5148) that would require all private mailings marked “census” to be clearly identified with a correct return address and notice declaring them to be from non-government organizations.
This bill passed the House by voice vote.
Foreign Affairs

Opposed poorly designed Puerto Rico political status referendum.  Congressman Forbes voted to oppose the Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2010 (H.R.2499), which would provide for a federal referendum regarding the political status of the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.  The bill would provide a two-step voting process that is heavily biased towards U.S. statehood for the island, even if the majority of Puerto Ricans did not desire statehood.  For instance, 51% of Puerto Ricans would only have to select “different political status” in the first vote, and then 34% would only have to select “statehood” in the second vote in order for that to become the winning selection of the referendum.
This bill passed the House by a vote of 223-169.

Defense
Improved defense contracting process and reduced Pentagon wasteful spending. Congressman Forbes voted to support the Implementing Management for Performance and related Reforms to Obtain Value in Every Acquisition (IMPROVE) Act of 2010 (H.R.5013). This bill would require the Pentagon to begin to comprehensively manage the defense acquisition system and acquisition workforce to save taxpayer dollars and ensure that the right materials get to war fighters sooner.
The bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 417 to 3.

Met with shipbuilding industry leaders. Congressman Forbes met with key leadership of the Shipbuilders Council of America, the largest and most broadly-based national trade association representing the U.S. shipyard industry, to discuss issues facing the United States shipyard and ship repair industrial base.

Sought answers on how to best improve training for reservists. During a House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee Hearing, Congressman Forbes questioned Lieutenant General Jack Stultz, the top military leader for the Army Reserve, about the importance of immersion training for our reserve forces in effort to provide improved training, prevent loss of life, and save scarce funding resources.
Family Values

Opposed funding for abortion in new healthcare law.  Congressman Forbes cosponsored the Protect Life Act, (H.R.5111), which amends the new healthcare law to prevent federal funding for abortion, protects the right of conscience for healthcare professionals, and ensures that private insurance companies are not forced to cover abortion.

Called for parental notification prior to having an abortion.  Congressman Forbes cosponsored the Parental Notification and Intervention Act, (H.R.2061), which requires that parents be notified at least four days in advance of any abortion to be performed on their minor daughter and provides them recourse to stop an abortion from being performed.

Supported assistance for adoptive parents.  Congressman Forbes cosponsored the Adoption Tax Relief Guarantee Act, (H.R.213), which would make the $10,000 child adoption tax credit permanent.  The credit is scheduled to expire this year.

Advocated religious freedom.  Congressman Forbes joined the International Religious Freedom Caucus, which was founded in 2006 to ensure that the promotion and protection of religious freedom for all people remains a priority of U.S. foreign policy. 

Judiciary
Combated organized retail crime.  Congressman Forbes became a cosponsor of the Organized Retail Crime Prevention and Enforcement Act of 2009 (H.R.4011), which would prohibit the sale of fraudulently obtained goods on-line by those with knowledge that such goods have been stolen.  The bill would also establish a multi-jurisdictional task force to combat organized retail crime in areas with the highest rates of incident.

Supported interstate recognition of notarized documents.  Congressman Forbes supported the Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act (H.R.3808), which would require federal and state courts to recognize legal documents that have been notarized in another state. The laws governing the licensing and commissioning of notaries public vary from state to state, and courts in some states do not recognize documents that have been notarized in other states.
Housing
Supported the continuation of rural housing programs.  Congressman Forbes voted to support the Rural Housing Preservation and Stabilization Act of 2010 (H.R.5017), which would permit the U.S. Department of Agriculture to set fees to cover the costs of the rural housing loan program.
This bill passed the House by a vote of 352-62.
About Washington Update
Washington Update serves as a resource to the constituents of the Fourth Congressional District of Virginia on the work of Congressman Forbes. It is published weekly while Congress is in session. Hyperlinks to bill information are provided if the information disseminated by the House of Representatives is available at the time of distribution.

As always, Congressman Forbes welcomes your comments. To share your thoughts on legislation, votes or issues, please visit http://randyforbes.house.gov to send an e-mail or call any of Congressman Forbes' three district offices.

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