Washington Update

Congressman J. Randy Forbes, Virginia's Fourth Congressional District


Week of March 12 - 16, 2007


 

Healthcare

ü  Cosponsored H.R. 1553, the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act. This legislation would strengthen the investment by the federal government in childhood cancer research, diagnosis, treatment and awareness. It would provide increased support for childhood cancer through biomedical research programs and the establishment a fellowship program for young researchers. H.R. 1553 would also establish a childhood cancer database to help researchers identify genetic causes of pediatric cancer and develop prevention strategies. In addition, it would authorize the development, construction, and operation of a comprehensive online information system to provide patients and their families with information on childhood cancer and cancer support services.

ü  Cosponsored H.R. 1283, the Arthritis Prevention, Control, and Cure Act of 2007. This legislation would provide additional support to federal, state, and private efforts to prevent and manage arthritis. The bill includes programs to educate healthcare professionals and the public on successful strategies for individuals to control their arthritis pain, increased attention to children’s arthritis research, and the establishment of education and career development award programs for health care professionals to promote the study of arthritis.

 ü  Cosponsored H.Res. 208, a resolution honoring the 25th anniversary of Operation Smile. Dr. William Magee, Jr. and his wife, Kathleen, discovered an overwhelming need to help children overcome by facial deformities during a medical mission trip to the Philippines in 1982. They founded Operation Smile, a private, not-for-profit volunteer organization, whose mission is to provide reconstructive surgery and related health care to individuals throughout the world. Operation Smile has helped more than 100,000 children and young adults overcome their physical irregularities. More than 450 Operation Smile Student Associations operate around the world, building awareness, raising funds, and educating students about the values of commitment, leadership and volunteerism.

 

Consumer Protection

ü  Cosponsored H.R. 1525, the Internet Spyware (I-SPY) Prevention Act of 2007, which would make it a criminal offense for an individual to intentionally access a protected computer without authorization for criminal activities; to obtain or transmit personal information with the intent to defraud or injure a person; or to impair the security protection of a computer. A Consumer Reports survey found that consumers paid as much $7.8 billion in 2004-2005 to repair or replace computers that were infected with viruses and spyware.

 

Judiciary

ü  Cosponsored the Second Chance Act, legislation which would help states and localities to better address the growing population of prisoners returning to communities, by expanding the use of mentors, offering transitional housing programs and improving educational and drug treatment programs. The bill focuses on enhancements in the following essential areas: jobs, housing, mental health, substance abuse and families.

 

Immigration

ü  Cosponsored a Bill to Authorize Troops for Border Protection. H.R. 939 would authorize the Department of Defense to assign members of the armed forces to assist in the performance of border protection functions as a strategy to secure America's borders from the dangers of illegal immigration or the potential of terrorist entry through our borders. This assignment would be at the discretion of the Department of Defense.

 

Education

ü  Cosponsored the Flexibility for Champion Schools Act. This bill would allow more flexibility to states under No Child Left Behind. Under the proposed legislation, the Department of Education would grant waivers to states that establish their own standards, set pass-rate goals and hold schools accountable for progress. Virginia's Standards of Learning (SOL), the state’s yearly progress standards, have proven successful in academic standards and student testing. Meeting both federal and state standards often becomes repetitive and expensive for states that already employ state standards that are often higher than the federal requirements.

 

Government Reform

ü  Cosponsored H.Res. 231, which would require that all House Committee votes be posted on official Committee websites. Posting these votes on official Committee websites will encourage transparency and make it easier for constituents to see how their Representative voted during this important step in the legislative process.

  

ü  Voted in favor of H.R. 1362, the Accountability in Contracting Act, which would require federal agencies to limit the use of abuse-prone government contracts during situations such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. This legislation would instruct federal agencies to minimize the use of contracts that do not contain cost estimates, and to promote the use of cost-effective, fixed-price contracts. It also requires agencies to report to Congress on contracts that go over their original budget.

  

  Defense

ü  Participated in a House Armed Services Committee hearing to discuss the defense budget request from Joint Forces Command (JFCOM), which is based in Norfolk and Suffolk. JFCOM commander General Lance Smith testified on the Fiscal Year 2008 budget request for the command. Congressman Forbes' questions focused on the impact of budget cuts to JFCOM from last year. JFCOM oversees over 1.1 million service members and is charged with ensuring the various military services work together.
 

Budget

ü  Cosponsored H.R. 1122, the Emergency Spending Control Act of 2007. This legislation would require justification from the President for all funding requests designated as an ‘emergency.’ It would create a separate reserve fund in the budget in anticipation of these emergency funding needs. The emergency cost of the hurricane season of 2005, including Hurricane Katrina, was over $110 billion. This bill would work towards ensuring emergency spending is more thoroughly reviewed and provided for in the budget.

 

China

ü  Met with Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong of the People’s Republic of China as part of their ongoing efforts to maintain an open dialogue between U.S. and Chinese officials. Congressman Forbes expressed deep concern about China’s recently-announced 18% increase in military spending and their stated intent to build an aircraft carrier by 2010. Shared areas of concern were also discussed, including health care reform, HIV/AIDS and retirement planning.  The Ambassador also provided Congressman Forbes with an update on the planning for the 2008 Olympics, which are being hosted by China.

 

 

 
 

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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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