The 108th Congress Adjourns
The 108th Session of Congress adjourned for the year after completing several items left over on the legislative calendar, including appropriations for fiscal year 2005 and a bill to reform intelligence agencies (see below). Members of the 109th Session of Congress will meet for the first time on January 4, 2005.
Congress Passes Final Intelligence Bill
On December 7, 2004, the House voted 336-75 to pass compromise legislation aimed at reorganizing the intelligence community (S. 2845). Representative Todd Platts voted in favor of this legislation.
Earlier in the year, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, better known as the “9/11 Commission,” issued a comprehensive report examining the events surrounding the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and identifying the lessons learned from that tragic day. The Commission found in part that there needed to be a greater unity of effort within the intelligence community, which currently consists of 15 separate agencies suffering from a divided management structure and inability to move resources around. Subsequently, both the House and Senate passed their own versions of legislation aimed at implementing this recommendation of the 9-Commission. (For more information on the original House legislation, see the October 2004 E-Newsletter.)
The final version of S. 2845 creates a new Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to oversee all intelligence agencies and develop the overall intelligence budget. Prior to final passage of S. 2845, concerns were raised that the DNI was being granted too much authority over the tactical satellite intelligence used by commanders on the battlefield in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. A compromise was subsequently struck in which the bill was amended to expressly protect the military chain-of-command over battlefield intelligence.
The Senate passed S. 2845 on December 8, 2004. President George W. Bush is expected to sign the measure into law.
Web Page Highlights (www.house.gov/platts)
Funding Secured for Local Priorities
Representative Todd Platts secured funding for several projects in the 19th Congressional District as part of the omnibus appropriations bill financing government operations in fiscal year 2005. (http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/pa19_platts/omnibus2005.html)
The Month in Review
The following is a list of some key votes taken by the United States House of Representatives during the month of November 2004:
House-Senate Conference Agreement on Special Education Reauthorization (H.R. 1350)
The House voted 397-3 to pass legislation reauthorizing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, which requires all schools to provide a free public education to children with learning disabilities. The bill aims to reduce paperwork burdens on local schools as well as to increase the federal government’s share of the costs of the special education mandate. If Congress appropriates the amounts authorized by the agreement, in seven years the federal government would be providing 40% of the average additional cost of educating disabled children, the percentage originally authorized in 1975. Representative Platts voted in favor of H.R. 1350, and President George W. Bush signed it into law on December 3, 2004.
Medicare Cost Sharing (S. 2618)
The House passed without objection legislation to extend a Medicare assistance program, called “QI-1,” which helps low-income seniors who do not qualify for state medical assistance to pay some of the costs of their Medicare Part B premiums. President George W. Bush signed the measure into law on December 8, 2004.
Veterans Benefits (H.R. 3936, S. 2486)
The House passed without objection two bills to enhance veterans’ benefits, including payments to increase nursing levels at veterans hospitals, the elimination of co-payments for hospice care, increased payments for disability benefits, and an increase in the maximum amount of home loan guarantees. President George W. Bush signed S. 2486 and H.R. 3936 into law on November 29, 2004 and November 30, 2004, respectively.
Battle of the Bulge 60th Anniversary (H.J. Res. 110)
The House passed 392-0 a resolution to honor veterans of and those killed in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II. Representative Platts voted in favor of this legislation, and President George W. Bush signed it into law on December 3, 2004.
Benjamin Franklin Commemorative Coin (H.R. 3204)
The House passed without objection legislation to mint coins in commemoration of the 300th anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Franklin. The Senate has also passed this measure without objection.
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