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Washington Update Congressman J. Randy Forbes, Virginia's Fourth Congressional District Week of March 10 - 14, 2008 |
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üVoted against H.Con.Res. 312, the Congressional Budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009-2013, which would create a $2,915 annual increase in federal taxes on the average taxpayer in the Fourth District. H.Con.Res. 312 would result in a tax increase that is more than double the tax rebate provided in the so-called “economic stimulus” package that was recently passed. This budget proposal presented by House leadership would impose the largest tax increase on American taxpayers in history —$683 billion over the next five years. In addition, the Majority’s budget would not address entitlement spending and would raise the national debt by $646 billion in FY2009.
üSigned a discharge petition to bring H.R. 4088, the SAVE Act of 2007, to the House floor for a vote. This bill has a three-point plan to secure the border, improve workplace enforcement and accelerate the deportation of illegal aliens. Specifically, H.R. 4088 would call for 1) an additional 8,000 Border Patrol Agents, including 1,400 new agents to specifically investigate alien smuggling, 2) additional virtual fencing and surveillance equipment such as unmanned aerial vehicles along the border, 3) more detention centers to house illegal immigrants to end the practice of “catch and release,” 4) additional district court judges to improve the flow of immigration cases, and 5) the permanent use of the E-Verify Program for four years to enforce workplace immigration laws.
üHosted a briefing for Members of Congress and staff on recent breakthroughs in stem cell research. Dr. Richard Burt of Northwestern University School of Medicine briefed the audience on the dramatic success he has seen when treating patients with therapies derived from their own adult stem cells. Patients who had previously suffered from Scleroderma, Multiple Sclerosis, and Lupus gave impassioned testimonials about their health conditions, treatment, and subsequent remission. Dr. Burt expressed concern that the medical research community has focused more on embryonic stem cells than on adult stem cells even though the vast body of evidence shows that more promise lies with adult stem cell therapies. Rep. Forbes is the lead cosponsor of H.R. 2807, the Patients First Act, which would prioritize funding for adult stem cell research. For more information on Dr. Burt’s research read his study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
ü Hosted a live teletown hall on the Navy’s Outlying Landing Field study on March 10th. Rep. Forbes called approximately 5,000 households in Sussex and Southampton counties to answer questions and hear comments about the Navy’s study of five sites for an Outlying Landing Field. Rep. Forbes said the process continues to be of utmost concern both to the residents of his district and to the Navy. As Ranking Member on the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee, he intends to closely follow the Navy’s actions as it continues the process of studying sites and seeking public input. The Outlying Landing Field would allow Navy pilots to practice aircraft carrier landings at night before attempting such a landing on an actual aircraft carrier. The teletown hall technology allows hundreds of constituents to participate in a conference call with Rep. Forbes. ü Spoke with Assistant Secretary of the Navy, B.J. Penn, about the Navy’s impending release of the draft study regarding the possible options for homeporting ships in Mayport, Florida. The Navy is studying the options after the Navy retired its aircraft carrier, the USS Kennedy, last year. Several Members of Congress are concerned about moving any aircraft carrier from Norfolk, Virginia, to another East Coast location because the cost of upgrading a facility to support a nuclear carrier could be wasteful. The cost issue creates even greater concern given the current challenges in budgeting for the Navy’s 30-year shipbuilding plan, which calls for 313 ships by 2020. The final study is expected to be released in September. ü Served as Ranking Member during a House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee hearing on the Department of Defense’s Energy posture. In his opening statement, Rep. Forbes said, “One of the goals of the hearing today is to discuss the two serious energy risk areas that are identified in your report—energy risks to our operational forces and the risks of extended loss of power at fixed installation. I’d like to know what needs to be done to bring your recommendations to fruition so that we can take steps necessary to further strengthen DOD’s energy posture and therefore strengthen our national defense.” üAsked questions to Admiral Tim Keating during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on the 2009 Pacific Command budget request. Admiral Keating oversees all U.S. military forces in the Pacific region and East Asia. Rep. Forbes asked the Admiral if Navy ships in the region had the capability to defend against a Russian-made subsonic missile that has been deployed on eight of the last 12 Chinese diesel submarines. The missiles are notable for being difficult to track on radar. Last year, Rep. Forbes added $10 million to the defense budget to develop a test decoy so the Navy can evaluate its capabilities against the missile, which is known as “the Sizzler.” Admiral Keating agreed to provide Rep. Forbes with a description of what funding and policy Congress could implement to assist the Navy in accelerating the testing against the missile, which Admiral Keating characterized as a capability he wished the Navy had now. ü Voted against the override of H.R. 2082, the Intelligence Authorization Act of 2008. The bill would waste taxpayers’ dollars by creating a duplicative “Inspector General (IG) of the Intelligence Community,” because each intelligence agency, including the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, already has an IG. The bill would also require two positions that have not previously required Senate confirmation to require such a confirmation. This provision contradicts an observation of the 9/11 Commission that the effectiveness of our intelligence activities suffered as a result of delays in the confirmation process and would politicize what should be a neutral intelligence position. All U.S. intelligence programs have been deemed to comply with Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions by the Attorney General. üMet with Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, Lt. Gen. Robert Magnus, to discuss recruiting and retention, readiness and the Marine Corp FY 2009 budget request. Rep. Forbes is the Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee, which overseas about 30 percent of the military’s budget authorization. ü Served as Ranking Member during a House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee hearing on Inherently Governmental Functions. The hearing covered security and logistics contracts in Iraq, the contracting of security at military bases, repairing equipment and the outsourcing of acquisition-support services. Rep. Forbes stated, “Are we making the best personnel decisions for the long-term health of our military—rather than for short term benefit? We should think carefully before putting contractors in a position where they must choose between best value for the taxpayer and maximizing shareholder value. The reason we have a government is to make those decisions for the collective good. It is in the strategic interests of this country not to delegate that responsibility.”
ü Participated in a Secret Session of the House of Representatives on March 13th to discuss and debate classified aspects of the FISA bill. Secret Sessions of the House are limited to those topics that cannot be debated in public because of the classified nature of the issue being discussed. There have been three Secret Sessions since 1975, including one in 1979, 1980, and 1983. ü Voted against H.R. 3773, the FISA Amendments of 2008, which would not provide retroactive immunity to phone companies that complied with government requests to assist with electronic surveillance, but would provide such immunity for their future cooperation with the government. Rep. Forbes supports the Senate-passed version of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Amendments, S. 2248, which provides retroactive immunity to companies that provided cooperation following September 11, 2001. The Senate version would provide FISA court oversight for any procedures for warrantless surveillance of foreign targets, including those that involve communications with any U.S. persons. Director of National Intelligence, Mike McConnell, has testified that the outdated surveillance act had decreased the number of phone intercepts by two-thirds since the House failed to extend the last updates to FISA 29 days ago.
üSupported H.R. 5578, a temporary extension of the Farm Bill, which would extend agricultural programs until Congress finishes negotiations on a new Farm Bill. The new bill would include fiscally responsible policies that benefit farmers across the country. The House and Senate both passed updated Farm Bills last year, and the two chambers are now in conference negotiations on the final bill. Rep. Forbes has cosponsored a bill (H.R. 4193) that would extend the Farm Bill through July 31, 2009, and provide farmers some certainty when they begin their planning for the next farm year. ü Spoke at a reception hosted by the Virginia Peanut Growers Association. Rep. Forbes discussed the many challenges facing farmers in the Fourth District, their families and their businesses such as immigration, rising gas prices, the drought and the upcoming reauthorization of the Farm Bill. To read more about what Rep. Forbes is doing to support Virginia’s Farmers, click here.
ü Voted against H.Res. 895, which established an independent Office of Congressional Ethics within the House of Representatives. The panel has the authority to open investigations that could ultimately be referred to the current Ethics committee, known as the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. Congressman Forbes opposed the bill because the independent panel would bring more partisanship to the ethics process without doing anything to impose punishment on law-breakers. A vote to even consider creating the panel became contentious, and House leadership decided to extend the time for the vote when they realized that a majority of members had concerns about whether the measure should be considered at all. Ultimately, the vote passed after several members switched their initial vote.
ü Spoke to members of the Values Action Team about H.Res. 888, the Religious Heritage Resolution. Rep. Forbes spoke to advocacy groups in attendance about the importance of honoring our nation’s vibrant religious heritage, and encouraged them to ask Members of Congress to sign on as cosponsors. H.Res. 888 is a resolution that honors America’s religious and spiritual heritage and designates the first week of May as American Religious History Week. The Values Action Team was established in 1998 to provide a discussion and dialogue forum for Members of Congress and organizations concerned about family and social issues in the United States.
For a comprehensive look at Congressman Forbes' work on legislative issues, visit the Spotlight Issues page on his website.
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