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Washington Update Congressman J. Randy Forbes, Virginia's Fourth Congressional District Week of April 21 - 25, 2008 |
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ü Voted for H.R. 5613, Protecting the Medicaid Safety Net Act of 2008. This bill would prevent the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services from enacting regulations that would adversely impact funding for Medicaid services and Graduate Medical Education programs. The bill also would delay the enactment of these regulations through April 2009, which would save Virginia’s medical schools and hospitals millions of dollars. ü Supported H.Res. 981, recognizing March 6, 2008, as the first-ever World Glaucoma Day. World Glaucoma Day was established to increase awareness of glaucoma, which is the second leading cause of preventable blindness in the United States and in the world.
ü Hosted the Aircraft Carrier Industrial Base Coalition (ACIBC) at their annual breakfast on Capitol Hill on Thursday, April 24. The ACIBC represents companies and small-business contractors from around the country that perform work on the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carriers. The 4th Congressional District of Virginia includes more than 100 suppliers that have contributed to the construction of aircraft carriers, which are built exclusively at Northrop Grumman Newport News Shipyard. At the breakfast, Rep. Forbes noted the increasing challenges for the coalition members because the federal budget continues to be squeezed by rising energy prices, interest payments and entitlement spending. ü Met with the Army Chief of Staff, General George Casey, to discuss the readiness of Army personnel and their equipment. During the meeting, Rep. Forbes indicated his concern to the Chief of Staff about the toll of repeated deployments on Army soldiers and their families. He also said he would continue to push for Congress to pass the FY2008 supplemental, which would provide funding for the Army to begin increasing its size by 36,000 soldiers. By adding more soldiers, the Army can give soldiers more time between deployments. The supplemental funding is being held up by congressional leadership. ü Introduced H.Res. 1129 with House Armed Service Air/Land Subcommittee Ranking Member Jim Saxton, which urges Congress to pass the remaining supplemental funding for this year. The funding would increase the Army’s size and provide funds for the reset and restoration of the equipment for the five combat brigades returning from Iraq this summer. Rep. Forbes introduced the resolution in response to concerns that Congress’ lack of timely funding for the military is undermining the long-term readiness of the military. The resolution states in part, “Congress should immediately act to pass a clean fiscal year 2008 global war on terror supplemental in the interest of national security and to ensure the integrity of the entire military force.” Rep. Forbes is the highest ranking minority member on the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee. ü Served as Ranking Member at a House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee briefing from the Navy regarding ship maintenance for two Navy vessels found to be unfit for combat operations. Rep. Forbes requested the briefing after an internal Navy inspection found the USS Chosin and USS Stout, which are based in Norfolk, VA., would require numerous repairs before conducting combat operations. Rep. Forbes asked the Navy officials to explain whether this problem was an isolated incident or a systemic problem, and whether these problems resulted from a lack of funding. Prior to the Navy inspection, Rep. Forbes had asked the House Armed Services Committee to consider providing additional funding for the Navy’s ship maintenance account. ü Met with 36 senior civilians from the Army to discuss the role the House Armed Services Committee has in oversight and to listen to the officials regarding their concerns for the Army. Mr. Bill Moore, Deputy to the Commander of the Army’s Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM), representing Fort Lee, Virginia, in the 4th Congressional District, also participated in the meeting.
ü Voted for H.R. 2830, the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2008, which would increase the size of the Coast Guard by 1,500 and would reform the acquisition process for the troubled Deepwater program. This program is the Coast Guard’s long-term program to replace its ships and aircraft at a cost of $24-billion. The Coast Guard is one of the uniformed services of the United States and is primarily responsible for maritime security. Since 2003, it has been part of the Homeland Security Department.
ü Attended a Central Intelligence Agency briefing for Members of Congress on links between a Syrian nuclear facility and North Korea. Media reports said the briefing to lawmakers would include videotape demonstrating that North Korea had assisted Syria in its nuclear programs. Israel destroyed the Syrian facility in September 2007. ü Supported H. Con Res. 322, to honor the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel and to reaffirm the bonds of close friendship and cooperation between the United States and Israel.
ü Supported H.Res. 1117, declaring the support of the House of Representatives for the goals and ideals of Earth Day and for developing the scientific and technological capabilities to achieve those goals.
ü Voted for H.R. 5819, Reauthorizing the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. This bill would reauthorize the SBIR/STTR programs, which operate under the U.S. Small Business Administration, through 2010. Under these programs, federal agencies with a research and development budget of more than $100 million must set aside 2.5% of their research and development budget for grants to small businesses. These grants have provided approximately $20 billion to small businesses for research, development and technology innovation since 1982.
ü Joined the Congressional Caucus on Religious Minorities in the Middle East, a bipartisan Congressional Member Organization dedicated to raising awareness of the challenges facing religious minorities in Middle Eastern nations. The caucus monitors the conditions that religious minorities face while in the Middle East, U.S. government’s response to the needs of these communities, and changing religious demographics of the region. The caucus also considers how U.S. foreign policy can strengthen the moderating effects of diversity by protecting minorities in the region that are facing discrimination and violence. The Middle East is a place of great religious diversity, but over the last several decades, many religious populations, particularly Christian, have left the region due to violence and increasing tensions between different religious demographics.
ü Supported House passage of H.R. 3033, the Contractors and Federal Spending Accountability Act, which would require the General Services Administration to create a database that includes any final convictions against government contractors and grant recipients that resulted in a penalty of more than $5,000. The database would be public and also would contain a listing of all federal grants or contract recipients along with the amount of federal funds each has received. In addition, the database created by H.R. 3033 would include information regarding current civil, criminal and administrative proceedings against federal contractors or grant recipients, giving the federal government the necessary tools to assess responsibility and risk in the contract award process. ü Supported House passage of H.R. 5712, the Close the Contractor Fraud Loophole Act, which would require federal contractors to notify the Office of Inspector General when they believe they have violated criminal law or received overpayment for awarded contracts. The bill would apply to all federal contracts over $5 million that are more than 120 days in duration. H.R. 5712 would also apply to contracts both inside and outside the U.S., changing a provision published last year in Federal Acquisition Regulations, which exempted overseas contracts from fraud reporting requirements. ü Supported House passage of H.R. 3928, the Government Funding Transparency Act of 2008, which would require contractors receiving more than $25 million annually from federal contracts, totaling more than 80 percent of their income, to disclose the names and salaries of the contractor’s executive officer, financial officer, the three other most highly compensated officers, and the directors. H.R. 3928 will provide the American taxpayer and Congress the necessary oversight and transparency to assess the federal contracting award process.
ü Questioned Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Robert Mueller during a House Judiciary Oversight Hearing on the FBI. Mr. Forbes asked Director Mueller how significant a problem Chinese espionage was today, to what extent it poses a threat to the United States and what can be done to stop it. Director Mueller said, “With regard to the espionage or efforts by the PRC (Peoples Republic of China) to gather our secrets most of what I could say could not be said in open session. What is public is a series of successful prosecutions recently in which individuals had worked with particular companies or in a recent case in a university. And there have been a number of cases in which the evidence has shown that they were stealing secrets with the expectation of that information going back to the PRC. So there is a public track record indicating where it has been proven that the PRC has individuals in the United States who are looking to steal some of the nation’s most sensitive secrets.” Rep. Forbes is the chairman of the Congressional China Caucus, and has been a vocal advocate of investigating China’s global reach and the consequences of its growing international, economic and political influence on U.S. interests.
For a comprehensive look at Congressman Forbes' work on legislative issues, visit the Spotlight Issues page on his website.
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