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Washington Update Congressman J. Randy Forbes, Virginia's Fourth Congressional District Week of September 8 - 12, 2008 |
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ü Voted against allowing Congress to adjourn for the week without addressing real solutions for energy. Majority leadership adjourned for the weekend on Thursday without bringing an energy bill to the Floor for a vote. While some Members of Congress stayed to discuss energy issues, Majority leadership turned off the lights, cameras, and microphones in the House Chamber, preventing Members' voices from being heard. Congressman Forbes said, “When American families are burdened by high gas prices and a struggling economy, it is unfortunate that the Majority leadership of this Congress would call for early adjournment rather than bring bipartisan energy legislation to the floor for a vote. There are many options on the table that have broad support from many Americans – including the New Manhattan Project – to expand American-made energy, encourage conservation, and decrease our dependency on foreign oil. There is no good reason that Congress shouldn’t address this issue before going home.” ü Voted in favor of a motion that would bring the American Energy Act, H.R. 6559, up for a vote. The American Energy Act is an “all-of-the-above” bill that would increase the domestic supply of energy, expand conservation and efficiency, and develop alternative energy technology to reduce our nation’s reliance on foreign oil and to lower gas prices. The motion failed by a nearly party-line vote of 224-189.
ü Voted in favor of H.R. 1527, the Rural Veterans Access to Care Act, to improve access to health care for veterans who live rural areas. This bill establishes a three-year pilot program allowing certain “highly rural” veterans to receive covered health services through a non-VA health care provider if they reside more than 60 miles from the nearest primary care VA facility, 120 miles from a VA hospital, or 240 miles from a VA facility providing specialty care. Veterans who fail to meet such distance requirements, but are subject to hardship or difficulty in travel, may be eligible for the program at the determination of the department. ü Voted in favor of S. 2617, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2008. This bill increases compensation paid to veterans with service-connected disabilities and dependent and indemnity compensation for families of deceased veterans. Congress has provided annual increases in these rates for every fiscal year since 1976. The benefit increase is related to changes in the Consumer Price Index, a key measure of inflation, and linked to the annual increase for Social Security recipients. ü Supported H.R. 6608 which compensates employees of the House of Representatives for lost income in the event they are called up for active duty. This bill directs the House to provide the difference in pay between a staff member’s House salary and military pay when the staff member is on active duty for more than 30 days.
ü Voted in favor of H.R. 6630, which would terminate a year-old pilot program that allowed long-haul Mexican trucks on U.S. highways under the North American Free Trade Agreement, due to public safety concerns. This bill prohibits Mexican trucks from operating outside designated commercial zones on the United States-Mexico border until truck safety concerns are addressed by Congress and new safety regulations can be established and implemented. There is concern that the current safety standards for Mexican trucks traveling into the U.S. (for example, drug testing and background checks for drivers) are insufficient and endanger public safety. ü Voted in favor of H.R. 6532 to restore the Federal Highway Trust Fund balance. This bill transfers $8 billion from general Treasury funds to the Highway Trust Fund. The transfer will prevent a 30% reduction in 2009 federal highway programs. Without the transfer, Virginia’s highway funds would have been cut by $272 million from this year’s level, and as many as 9,500 construction-related jobs would have been impacted.
ü Cosponsored H. Con. Res. 388, to express that the Federal Voting Assistance Program should make sure that members of the Armed Forces and their dependents have information on how to register to vote and absentee voting procedures for the 2008 general elections. ü Cosponsored H. Res. 1364, to recognize those who are serving or have served in the airborne forces of the Armed Forces. ü Authored a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee to thank them for including a provision that would put into statute the teaming arrangement on the construction of the Virginia Class Submarines between Northrop Grumman Newport News and General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, CT. The Virginia Class Submarine program is one of the few defense acquisition programs that has delivered ships to the Navy earlier than expected, and at a smaller cost than promised. Congressman Forbes cosponsored an amendment to accelerate the production of two submarines per year to 2010 from 2012. That provision is currently being considered in the Senate. ü Signed a letter to the General Accountability Office, requesting that officials investigate the opportunity for alternative energy projects to be conducted on military installations to reduce our dependence on traditional energy sources. As Ranking Member of the Readiness Subcommittee, Congressman Forbes oversees energy issues for the Department of Defense, which accounts for more than 70% of all the energy used by the federal government. ü Cosponsored H. Res. 1421 to honor the sacrifice of those who lost their lives 25 years ago in the October 1982 bombing of a Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon.
ü Voted
in favor of
H. Res. 937
to
acknowledge that the emergency communications services provided by the
American Red Cross are vital resources for military service members and
their families. ü Supported House passage of H. Res. 1159, which recognizes the historical and educational significance of the USS Constellation, a 153-year-old American warship berthed in Baltimore, Maryland, as a reminder of both American participation in the slave trade and the efforts of the United States Government to suppress this inhumane practice. ü Supported House passage of H. Res. 1254 to recognize the need to promote equality and continue to work toward eliminating racial discrimination in the United States and Brazil.
üVoted to support H. Res. 1420, expressing the sense of the House of Representatives to recognize September 11th as a day of solemn commemoration. Congressman Forbes attended the Pentagon Memorial Dedication Ceremony to observe the seven year anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
üVoted in favor of H.R. 4081, the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act of 2007. This bipartisan bill strengthens penalties against criminal enterprises that purchase cigarettes from low-tax states such as North Carolina or Virginia and resell them in high-tax states like New York or Michigan. For example, the profit on a diverted load of 1,500 contraband cartons could be as high as $60,000. The bill also places restrictions on selling bulk cigarettes over the telephone or on the internet, and requires sellers to check the identification of recipients upon delivery. üVoted in favor of S. 2135, the Child Soldiers Accountability Act of 2007. This bill makes it a crime to recruit, enlist, or conscript a person under 15 years of age into an armed forces group. If the death of any person occurs as a result of violating this act, the penalty is a life sentence in prison. üSupported S. 2450, to address the waiver of attorney-client privilege and the work product doctrine. This bill amends the Federal Rules of Evidence to limit the scope of a waiver of attorney-client privilege to instances where the waiver is intentional and covers communication concerning the same subject matter. üAttended a hearing on competition in the package delivery industry in the House Judiciary Committee. The hearing focused on a recent proposed agreement between UPS and DHL. Under the agreement, DHL would contract with UPS to have UPS carry all of their North American air cargo. At issue is how this contract will affect industry-wide competitive balance and consumer prices. üParticipated in a House Judiciary Committee markup that reauthorized the Antitrust Task Force and Competition Policy. The Antitrust Task Force examines businesses to ensure no business monopolizes a market, colludes with competitors to raise prices, or restrains free trade. The Antitrust Task Force is limited to oversight and is limited to a term of six months.
ü Opposed H.R. 3667, the Missisquoi and Trout Rivers Wild and Scenic River Study Act of 2008. The bill would require the Interior Department to study approximately 70 miles of the Missisquoi and Trout rivers, located in Vermont, to determine whether certain segments of the rivers should be designated as a part of the Wild and Scenic River System. Wild and Scenic Designation extends certain environmental protections, but also prohibits any future development. Congressman Forbes opposed the bill because if such designation were granted, it could infringe on the private property rights of landowners along the river.
ü Supported H.R. 6513, the Securities Act of 2008. This legislation would enact into law several recommendations submitted to Congress in 2007 and 2008 by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The reforms are aimed at enhancing its corporation finance, enforcement, investment management, trading and markets, examinations programs and administrative functions. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the federal agency that enforces U.S. securities law. The mission of the SEC is “to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation.”
ü Supported H.R. 5683, which gives employees with the Government Accountability Office the same cost-of-living adjustments that other federal workers receive. ü Supported H.R. 6575, legislation that directs the nation’s archivist to establish new regulations so that government agencies do not impose more restrictive classifications than particular documents deserve. The goal of this bill is to improve the sharing of information between arms of the government and comes in response to the independent September 11th commission, which suggested limiting the unnecessary classification of documents to give all agencies involved in national security more access to information about potential threats. This legislation requires random audits of information marked as classified and requires documents to identify who made the classification decision. For a comprehensive look at Congressman Forbes' work on legislative issues, visit the Spotlight Issues page on his website.
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Energy
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