Annual Legislative Report
2011 Legislative Report
Every year, Senator Levin prepares a report summarizing his key legislative activities. You can jump to a topic below by clicking onthe link.
Creating Jobs, Getting Our Economy Back on Track and Expanding Economic Opportunities for Working Families
FIGHTING FOR FAIR TRADE AND A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD FOR THE AMERICAN WORKER
Expanding Access to Credit for Small Businesses. Authored the Intermediary Lending Pilot program (ILP) adopted by Congress and established by the Small Business Administration (SBA), which helps nonprofit organizations boost small business job creation and growth. Under this program, SBA granted a $1 million low interest rate loan to Northern Initiatives, a private, nonprofit community development corporation in Escanaba. With this seed money, Northern Initiatives will be able to offer many more loans to small businesses to help them grow and create jobs.
Fighting to Expand Small Businesses’ Access to Federal R&D. Helped pass the reauthorization of the Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs for another six years. Included in the FY 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, SBIR and STTR are important for the Department of Defense because it is the biggest user of both programs. The bill will help America’s 30 million small businesses invest in technology research to grow their businesses, spur innovation and create jobs. Small business tech firms that received SBIR funds produced 38 percent of America’s patents – 13 times more than large businesses – and employ 40 percent of America’s scientists and engineers.
Fighting to Increase Funding for Existing SBA Programs. Strongly advocated for continued funding for the SBA Microloan Program, a vital source of financial and technical support to self-employed entrepreneurs and small businesses in Michigan and other states.
Otsego County Economic Alliance. Helped secure $47,000 from USDA Rural Development for a planning and implementation study that will look for ways to increase the number of manufacturing jobs in Otsego County.
Keeping Our Families Safe and Healthy
HEALTH CARE
Ingham County Health Department. Supported Ingham County Health Department’s grant of $904,751 to provide primary care health services for the homeless and underserved populations over the next five years.
Health Center Planning. Helped secure $80,000 each for the Cheboygan Memorial Hospital and the Traverse Health Clinic from the Health Resources and Services Administration in the Department of Health and Human Services. This funding will allow both health centers to pursue designation as a Federally Qualified Health Center, thereby allowing them to expand their services and provide better care for the area’s residents.
Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital. Supported a request by Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital in Manistique for a $19 million direct loan from the USDA Rural Development’s Community Facility Program to construct a new hospital facility. The present facility was constructed in 1949.
Mackinac Straits Hospital. Supported a $4.5 million loan for Mackinac Straits Hospital from USDA Rural Development. Located in St. Ignace, the hospital will use the loan to construct a long-term care unit with 48 nursing beds at its facility.
Transplant Designation of Vascularized Composite Allografts. Initiated a successful bipartisan letter with 18 senators to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius requesting that she direct the Health Resources and Services Administration to designate vascularized composite allografts – the transplantation of hands, arms, face and other fully formed body parts – as organs.
SAFETY
Emergency Fire Equipment. Helped secure millions of dollars in funding for fire departments throughout Michigan for training, firefighting equipment, protective gear, and prevention programs that keep our citizens safe.
Sault Ste. Marie Fire Department. Helped secure a $26,300 grant from the USDA Rural Development to replace a 2003 ambulance that has been well-used in emergency responses and shown signs of deterioration due to the harsh winter weather.
HOUSING
Tri County Regional Planning Commission (TCRPC). Helped secure a $3 million Sustainable Communities Regional Planning grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Funding will enable the TCRPC and its partners to implement integrated and comprehensive planning efforts that incorporate housing, transportation, infrastructure, economic and workforce development for a more sustainable path forward for the greater Lansing region.
Northwest Michigan Community Action Agency (NMCAA). Helped secure $125,000 grant for NMCAA from USDA Rural Development for housing preservation in Emmet, Leelanau, Wexford, Grand Traverse and Roscommon counties. The funding will allow NMCAA to help residents of those counties with repairing their homes to make them both safer to live in as well as assisting in lowering their utility bills through weatherization.
Northwest Michigan Council of Governments. Helped secure a $660,000 grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to further develop The Grand Vision to Grand Action, a Regional Plan for Sustainable Development. The Grand Vision is a citizen-led effort to plan the future of the six-county Grand Traverse region.
JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS
Slavery and Underground Railroad Freedom Corridor. Authored a Senate-passed resolution to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the International Memorial to the Underground Railroad comprised of the Gateway to Freedom Monument in Detroit and the Tower of Freedom Monument in Windsor, Ontario. The resolution coincided with a conference at the University of Detroit Mercy on the Detroit/Canada International Partnership and Slave Freedom Corridor.
Commemorating Juneteenth. Authored a bipartisan Senate-passed resolution commemorating the observance of June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers landed in Galveston, Texas, with news that the war had ended and slavery had been abolished – two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which had become official January 1, 1863.
Fighting for Workers and Consumers and Promoting Corporate Responsibility
PROTECTING WORKERS
Fighting for Fair Trade and a Level Playing Field for U.S. Manufacturing. As co-chairman of the Senate Auto Caucus and the Senate Auto Parts Task Force, pressed for the consideration of legislation to stop unfair currency manipulation by our trading partners, including China. The Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act of 2011, S. 1619, passed the Senate on October 11, 2011, by a vote of 63-35. The Senate-passed legislation has not yet been taken up by the House. Urged the Obama administration to press China to adhere to the market opening commitments it made when joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), particularly regarding automotive manufacturers’ and green technology manufacturers’ ability to participate fully in the China market, and its commitment to reduce the rampant intellectual property theft that occurs in China. Weighed in on behalf of U.S. companies pursuing anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations against foreign nations’ unfair exports to the United States. Urged the administration to take all steps necessary to open the South Korean and Japanese markets to American autos.
Working to Achieve a Level Playing Field for American Products Overseas. Helped successfully press the Obama administration to insist on improved market access for U.S.-made automobiles in the U.S. - Korea Free Trade Agreement negotiated by the Bush administration. This resulted in an agreement on critical changes to the pending trade agreement between the United States and South Korea that are a significant improvement from the current one-way street for trade between the United States and South Korea, and which will provide the U.S. automotive sector an opportunity to break into the Korean market. Senator Levin voted in favor of H.R. 3080, the United States – Korea Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, because of the Obama administration improvements to the automotive provisions.
Helping Workers Face Global Competition. Supported Senate passage of H.R. 2832, extending expansions to the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program, which passed the Senate on September 22, 2011. Successfully urged that Congress extend TAA, including an extension of the 2009 bipartisan reforms, prior to consideration of the free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama. TAA is not a substitute for fighting to keep jobs here in the United States. However, given the realities of a global economy, we must provide a safety net so workers who lose their jobs as a result of expanded trade and globalization are able to transition to new jobs through retraining and access to affordable health care coverage. As a leading manufacturing state and a significant contributor to global trade, Michigan has relied on the TAA program to retrain workers for new careers, and has certified nearly 50,000 workers since the 2009 reforms. Michigan also houses the Great Lakes Trade Adjustment Assistance Center. The Great Lakes TAA Center helps hundreds of firms in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio compete in the global economy. The TAA for Firms program assists mostly small and medium-sized companies that experience loss of jobs and sales because of foreign imports. TAA for Firms has helped to retain or create tens of thousands of jobs by saving companies and jobs imperiled by import competition. This TAA extension includes $16 million for this important program.
Fighting China’s Unfair Trade Policies. Sent letters to U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Ron Kirk and President Obama urging that the United States demand that China play by the rules and not implement another illegal trade policy that would cost our country jobs. In just one example, China has drafted new regulations that, if implemented, would give its companies an unfair trade advantage by shutting out American automakers from the Chinese market.
Promoted Legislation to End the Offshoring of American Jobs and End the Offshoring of American Tax Revenues. Proposed and promoted several pieces of legislation that included bills aimed at stopping unfair currency manipulation by our trading partners; stopping tax deductions for moving and operating abroad until income is repatriated; stopping incentivizing “runaway plants” through tax policy; stopping tax haven abuses; and stopping rules that permit abusive transfer pricing.
Upper Michigan Green Aviation Coalition. Helped secure $600,000 in Small Business Administration funds for business training, commercializing and transfer of technology services, and counseling to help businesses move forward. This is intended to help accelerate growth and competition in the global market. The coalition is focused on stimulating business development in the green aviation sector, such as recycling composite materials after aircraft have been decommissioned.
Extending Unemployment Insurance. Helped enact legislation extending unemployment insurance to all states.
FIGHTING FOR CONSUMERS AND PROMOTING CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
Fighting for Financial Reform. As Chairman of Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, co-authored with Senator Tom Coburn, R-Okla., the only bipartisan report in Congress analyzing the 2008 financial crisis, cataloguing the conflicts of interest, heedless risk-taking, and failures of federal oversight that helped push the country into the deepest recession since the Great Depression. The 750-page report expanded on evidence from four hearings Levin chaired in 2010 examining high-risk mortgage lending, federal regulatory failures, inflated credit ratings that misled investors, and toxic financial instruments designed and sold by investment banks to the detriment of consumers, investors and the U.S. economy. Using the report’s findings and recommendations, Levin filed multiple comment letters supporting the tough financial reforms set out in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
Fighting for the Volcker Rule. Supported regulatory actions to implement the Merkley-Levin provisions to restrict proprietary trading and conflicts of interest (also known as the Volcker Rule), which were included in the Dodd-Frank Act. The Levin-Coburn financial crisis report detailed how banks profited by designing products to fail, which they sold to investors. Used those findings and recommendations to urge regulators to stop the banks from betting against their customers and placing bets that put the U.S. and world economies at risk.
Protecting New Consumer Bureau. Opposed efforts to weaken the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the newly-created agency tasked with protecting consumers from unfair mortgages, debt collection practices, and payday lenders.
Limiting Credit Card Interchange Fees. Supported successful implementation of limits on the fees that banks can charge retail businesses for credit and debit card transactions. These fees are often not negotiated and have disadvantaged consumers and retailers to the benefit of the banks. These reforms will help ensure that the fees must be reasonable.
Combating Excessive Speculation. As Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, held a hearing and supported the issuance of new trading limits on speculators in commodity markets to combat excessive speculation that forces consumers and businesses to pay higher and more volatile prices for oil, food and other commodities. The hearing presented evidence of increased commodity speculation by commodity index funds, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. Opponents filed a lawsuit to stop the new limits from taking effect.
Stopping Shell Companies Involved in Misconduct. Introduced legislation, S. 1483, to require states, when they form a new U.S. corporation, to obtain the names of the corporation’s true owners. Right now, states establish nearly two million corporations each year without knowing who is behind them, inviting terrorists, money launderers, tax evaders, and others to misuse U.S. corporations. The Levin bill, which has been endorsed by the Obama administration and multiple law enforcement groups, is the product of a series of hearings on the difficulty of stopping misconduct by corporations with hidden owners.
Clarifying Insider Trading Ban. Cosponsored legislation to clarify the existing prohibition on members of Congress and their staffs using material, nonpublic information to trade stocks. A Levin amendment clarified the insider trading prohibition during committee markup of the bill, which will be sent to the full Senate in 2012.
Fighting for Fair Tax Reform
Championing 7-Point Tax Reform and Deficit Reduction Plan. Prepared a 7-point plan that stops offshore tax abuse, closes corporate and Wall Street tax loopholes, and slashes provisions that favor the wealthiest Americans over middle-class families. The Levin plan would increase tax fairness while reducing the deficit by $1 trillion or more over ten years.
Banning Tax Shelter Patents. Cosponsored a law to ban the issuance of patents on methods to minimize or evade taxes because such patents could be used to promote illegal tax schemes, increase tax planning costs, limit access to lawful tax reduction strategies, and disadvantage honest taxpayers. Over 160 tax patents were issued by the U.S. government prior to the law’s enactment. Levin introduced the first bill in Congress to ban tax patents in 2007; the final provision was included in the America Invents Act of 2011.
Cracking Down on Offshore Tax Evasion. Introduced the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act, S. 1346, to close offshore tax loopholes and strengthen offshore tax enforcement. Offshore abuses are estimated to cost the Treasury $100 billion in lost revenue each year. The reforms are the product of a series of hearings by the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which Levin chairs. Some provisions from earlier versions of the bill have been enacted into law in recent years, but more is needed.
Opposing Multinational Corporate Tax Holiday. As Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, issued a report showing how a 2004 tax break allowing U.S. multinationals to get a massive tax discount for bringing offshore funds back home did not produce jobs or new research, but was followed instead by increased stock buybacks and executive pay, and more investments offshore. The Levin report also showed how claims by some multinationals that their offshore funds were “trapped” abroad by high tax rates were untrue because those corporations had already used an existing tax loophole to place nearly $250 billion in U.S. banks, U.S. Treasury bonds, and U.S. stocks without triggering any tax liability. The Levin report opposed enactment of a new repatriation tax break that would benefit only a small percentage of U.S. corporations at the expense of the many domestic companies that do not send funds offshore.
Targeting Corporate Stock Option Tax Loophole. Released new data showing that for the past five years, stock option tax deductions claimed by U.S. corporations exceeded the expenses shown on their corporate books by $12 to $60 billion per year. Introduced legislation, S. 1375, to eliminate this stock option book-tax disparity by requiring the corporate tax deduction for stock option compensation to equal the booked expense. CEOs now receive nearly 400 times the average pay earned by workers, and stock options are a key reason. By providing overly generous stock option tax deductions to corporations, federal tax policy is encouraging corporations to provide excessive stock option pay, fueling the pay gap between executives and workers, and enabling corporations to avoid paying billions in taxes.
Stopping Federal Contractor Tax Cheats. As Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, held a hearing on federal contractors who accept federal taxpayer dollars while failing to pay their federal taxes. Supported enactment of legislation streamlining the federal tax levy program by making it easier for Treasury to collect back taxes from payments being made by the U.S. government to a tax-delinquent contractor. This legislation, included as an amendment by Senator Jon Tester, D-Mont., to H.R. 674 on federal contractor payments, is a product of a series of hearings by Levin’s subcommittee to strengthen the federal tax levy program. A more effective tax levy program helps keep the tax cheat’s hand out of the taxpayer’s wallet.
Streamlining Tax Liens. Introduced legislation, S. 1390, to modernize the federal tax lien system by moving it from paper-based filings in local government offices to electronic filings on a national tax lien registry accessible to the public at no charge through the Internet. An electronic registry would save taxpayers an estimated $150 million over ten years according to the IRS, and free up a division for other tax work. Tax liens are a principal means used by the IRS to collect funds from tax delinquents. Current law requires tax liens to be filed on paper in more than 4,000 local recording offices, each with its own formatting requirements. An electronic national tax lien registry would standardize the filing process, reduce staffing needs, allow the public to search the registry online at no cost, and enable the IRS to eliminate tax liens more quickly once they are paid.
Protecting the Great Lakes and the Environment
THE GREAT LAKES
Protecting Against Aquatic Invasive Species. Worked to include a provision in the FY 2012 omnibus funding bill that authorizes the Army Corps of Engineers to implement emergency measures to prevent aquatic nuisance species from dispersing into the Great Lakes by way of any hydrologic connection between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River Basin. This provision is critical to help to keep Asian carp and other invasive species out of the Great Lakes and to protect its $7 billion fishing industry that supports hundreds of thousands of jobs. Senator Levin also helped secure $23,584,000 for the electric dispersal barriers in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal that help stop Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes.
Restoration of the Great Lakes. Led effort to help secure $300 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, an inter-agency initiative that works to clean up toxics, combat invasive species, prevent polluted run-off from watersheds, and restore wetlands and other vital habitats.
HISTORIC AND NATURAL RESOURCE PRESERVATION
Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. Sponsored and helped secure Senate passage of legislation that would modify a land patent for the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society. This legislation would help ensure that Michigan’s rich maritime history and wildlife habitat at Whitefish Point can be better preserved and interpreted for the public.
Boardman River Dams Removal Project. Helped secure $1,533,161 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Environmental Protection Agency Great Lakes Restoration Initiative for the Boardman River Dams Removal Project. The funds were given to the Conservation Resource Alliance and the Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay to assist in the largest dam removal project in Michigan’s history and the largest wetlands restoration in the Great Lakes Basin.
The Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay. Helped secure $1,754,750 from the Environmental Protection Agency through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative for projects to remediate a park on East Grand Traverse Bay and mitigate storm water runoff in the Village of Suttons Bay. These projects will help reduce the amount of contaminates entering Lake Michigan and greatly improve the health of Grand Traverse Bay.
Huron Pines. Helped secure $420,000 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to allow Huron Pines to work with county road commissions in the Thunder Bay River watershed to improve road/stream crossings for fish passage. The program will create jobs while improving the region’s aquatic ecosystem.
Missaukee Conservation District. Helped secure $87,197 in USDA Solid Waste Management funding to support the Missaukee County recycling program. The program will provide education to community groups and begin efforts to open four satellite recycling stations in the area. As a result of this funding, Missaukee County will be better able to reduce its solid waste stream and reduce its environmental impact.
Tri County Regional Planning Commission (TCRPC). Helped secure a $3 million Sustainable Communities Regional Planning grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Funding will enable the TCRPC and its partners to implement integrated and comprehensive planning that incorporates housing, transportation, infrastructure, and economic and workforce development for a more sustainable development path forward for the Greater Lansing region.
Protecting Michigan Communities from Unfair Flood Insurance Rate Increases. Worked with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to modify their flood re-mapping efforts for certain Michigan communities to more accurately take into account local circumstances including the existence of flood protection structures such as levees and updated floodplain data.
Gladwin County FEMA Flood Mapping. Worked with the delegation to extend the date of the floodplain map for Gladwin County to ensure that the county could provide updated and more reliable mapping data.
St. Clair Shores FEMA Flood Mapping. Worked on behalf of the city and residents of St. Clair Shores to remove approximately 1,700 properties from the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). These properties comprise about half of all of the structures in St. Clair Shores that were in the SFHA. This change will relieve a significant financial burden from many struggling homeowners in St. Clair Shores.
GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND CLEAN ENERGY
Fuel Standards
Single National Standard for Regulation of Vehicle Fuel Economy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Worked with the Obama administration, the domestic auto industry, and the United Auto Workers to ensure that a fair and reasonable single national standard for regulation of vehicle fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions will be established for model years 2017-2025 that recognizes the need for certainty and predictability in regulation and eliminates potentially conflicting state regulations. Agreement was reached in July 2011 on a framework for new regulations, which are currently going through a formal rulemaking process and will be finalized in July 2012.
Advanced Vehicle Technology
Lithium Ion Battery Production. Worked with the Department of Defense to ensure that Michigan companies can compete for $27 million provided for domestic lithium ion battery production under the Defense Production Act to develop domestic industrial sources of advanced battery technologies for use in military applications. The availability of domestically manufactured lithium ion batteries is critical to both the DOD and to the ability of our automotive manufacturers to produce the next generation of ground vehicles.
Biofuels
Ammonia Fiber Expansion Process (AFEX). Helped secure $4.3 million in Department of Energy funding to support scale-up of the Ammonia Fiber Expansion Process (AFEX), a unique pretreatment process for biofuels that uses ammonia and could revolutionize the prospects for sustainable biofuels. AFEX was developed by Michigan State University, which is working with MBI International to commercialize the technology.
Energy Assistance
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Worked with other senators to obtain funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
Educating Our Children
Social Innovation Fund for Early Learning and Youth Development. Successfully appealed to House-Senate Appropriations conference committee negotiators to maintain funding for the Social Innovation Fund (SIF), designed to carry out community-based solutions in early childhood learning, youth development and economic opportunity, through proven and fiscally sound programs that require that each dollar the federal government invests be matched by the grantee and the sub-grantee.
Early Childhood Education. Helped secure a $4 million grant over a two year period, 2011-2012, for the United Way of Southeastern Michigan for early childhood learning in communities in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. The project will provide services to children up to five years of age to help them develop the social, emotional and cognitive skills they need for success in kindergarten and beyond.
Impact Aid Program Payments to Local Education Agencies (LEAs). Wrote to Department of Education to expedite the payment of $3,377,000 in FY 2009 appropriated funds held up due to property assessment review backlogs. LEAs that received funds from the payment include:
- Leland - $448,000 (plus $277,000 for 2010 advanced prior to audit due to financial distress)
- Glen Lake - $2.5 million
- Ewen Trout Creek - $44,000
- Watersmeet - $108,000
Improving Michigan Roads and Transport
Fighting to Bring Light-Rail to Michigan. Authored legislation included in the Transportation Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill that will allow private funds that are invested to provide light-rail service along Detroit’s Woodward Avenue corridor to be used as local match requirements for any connected project. A separate provision in the bill that Levin championed prevents tighter requirements for local funding. Similar language was included in legislation for fiscal years 2010 and 2011, but must be extended by Congress to continue.
High-Speed Rail. Helped promote high-speed rail funding, of which Michigan will receive $360 million to bring high-speed passenger rail service to the state. The money will help pay for track improvements, more powerful locomotives, new passenger cars and other improvements necessary to create a safe, comfortable high-speed link between the Detroit area and Chicago. Specifically, the money will improve rail lines between Kalamazoo and Dearborn, a key part of the planned high-speed network. Some of the funding will also help engineer a new rail and bus station in Ann Arbor. High-speed rail funds will also go to the Michigan-to-Chicago high-speed link and other rail projects in the state. These projects are an important part of Michigan’s economic future.
Working to Improve Aviation Safety and Efficiency. Pressed for long-term extension of FAA programs in order to provide important funding increases and program improvements to enhance the safety and efficiency of the nation’s aviation system. Supported Senate passage of S. 223, the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act. In Michigan, the FAA is building two new air traffic control towers at Kalamazoo and Traverse City. The FAA is also repaving numerous runways and taxiways, including at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Alpena County Regional Airport, Bishop International Airport, Sawyer International Airport, and other airports around the state. The FAA is also constructing new terminal buildings at Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport and at MBS International Airport in Freeland. Additionally, FAA funds are paying for the design of a new building for aircraft rescue and firefighting and snow removal equipment at Pellston Regional Airport in Emmet County. These are much needed upgrades to Michigan airports and will make flying into and around Michigan safer and easier.
The Senate-passed bill makes important improvements to the Essential Air Service (EAS) program, which provides rural communities with access to the national air transportation system. The EAS program is important to Michigan because the state has eight communities that rely on EAS subsidies to help provide them with daily commercial air service. House and Senate conferees are still working out the differences between their bills before the FAA reauthorization bill can become law.
Willow Run Air Traffic Control Tower. Helped convince the FAA to keep the Willow Run air traffic control tower open 24 hours a day after an FAA review to determine whether an adjustment to facility hours was warranted. The FAA review was conducted as part of a national study aimed at reducing the hours of air traffic control towers across the country. Willow Run Airport is a leading international air cargo and general aviation facility that handles 250,000 tons of cargo each year, leading to the contribution of $85 million to the regional economy and supporting 1,500 jobs across Michigan.
Rogers City. Helped secure $372,736 from the Federal Highway Administration for a Safe Routes to Schools Program. The program will reduce traffic, reduce air pollution, and promote the welfare of the children of Rogers City.
Mass Transportation Authority, Flint. Helped secure $3 million in Federal Transit Administration funds to replace four intercity coaches.
Mass Transportation Authority, Flint. Helped secure $5,187,500 in Federal Transit Administration funds to replace 10 diesel coaches with hybrid models.
Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA), Lansing. Helped secure $4 million in Federal Transit Administration funds for bus and bus facilities to replace, rehabilitate and purchase buses and related equipment.
Blue Water Transportation Commission. Helped secure $6.9 million in Federal Transit Administration funds for a new transfer center.
Ann Arbor Stadium Bridges. Helped secure $13.9 million in Department of Transportation funds to replace the two Stadium Boulevard bridges in Ann Arbor, which are in great disrepair.
Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail. Helped secure $1,625,000 from the Federal Transit Administration to aid in the construction of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail. Upon completion, the trail will offer a 27-mile, paved, non-motorized thoroughfare through the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. It will allow convenient access to the lakeshore for visitors from all over the country and will connect several of the surrounding communities.
Keeping America Strong
SUPPORT FOR AMERICAN MILITARY AT HOME AND AROUND THE WORLD
National Defense Authorization Act. Led efforts in the Senate to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2012, the 50th consecutive year such a bill has been passed. The NDAA authorizes critical funding and authorities to improve the lives of members of our military, support military operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere, and strengthen the acquisition and management processes of the Department of Defense (DOD).
- Pay and Benefits for Military Personnel and Their Families. Played a leading role in the enactment of provisions that improve pay and benefits for military personnel and their families by –
- Authorizing $142 billion for military personnel, including costs of pay, allowances, bonuses, death benefits, and permanent change of station moves.
- Authorizing a 1.6 percent across-the-board pay raise for all members of the uniformed services, consistent with the President’s request. [SASC – Clark]
- Improving the Energy Efficiency and Security of the Department of Defense. Played a leading role in the enactment of provisions that facilitate the reduction of dependency on fossil fuels and provide for improved energy security and independence by –
- Establishing interim goals for DOD’s use of renewable energy to make it more likely that the Department will be able to meet the current statutory objective of using at least 25 percent renewable energy by 2025.
- Clarifying the Secretary of Defense’s authority to accept voluntary financial contributions to offset the cost of mitigation measures taken in the event of adverse impacts on military operations from the development of wind turbines and high power lines in the vicinity of military bases.
- Directing the Secretary of the Army to submit an investment plan for implementation of the Army’s Net Zero pilot programs.
- Designating a senior official of Joint Chiefs of Staff for operational energy plans and programs and operational energy budget certification.
- Modifying the responsibilities of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy, Plans and Programs with respect to alternative fuel oversight.
- Requiring the Secretary of Defense to consider the total life-cycle costs of tents or structures when procuring such structures and to award contracts that provide best value.
- Consolidating the definitions used for energy security.
- Considering energy security in developing energy projects on military installations using renewable energy sources and requiring commanders of military installations inside the United States to develop plans to minimize the effects in the event of a disruption of services by a utility company.
- Requiring centralized purchasing agents for renewable energy certificates to reduce costs of facility energy projects using renewable energy sources.
- Requiring that the annual installation energy report detail the fulfillment during that fiscal year of the energy performance goals for the DOD.
- Requiring the DOD to capture and track data generated in metering DOD facilities.
- Requiring the metering of Navy piers to accurately measure energy consumption.
- Establishing a training policy for DOD installation energy managers.
Detainee Policy. Played a leading role in the enactment of provisions that –
- Reaffirm the military’s existing authority to detain individuals captured in the course of hostilities conducted pursuant to the Authorization for the Use of Military Force. No change has been made to the Senate version of this provision, which confirms that nothing in the provision may be construed to affect existing law or authorities relating to the detention of U.S. citizens, lawful resident aliens of the United States, or any other persons who are captured or arrested in the United States.
- Require military detention – subject to a presidential waiver – for foreign al Qaeda terrorists who attack the United States. This provision specifically exempts U.S. citizens and lawful resident aliens, authorizes transfer of detainees to civilian custody for trial in civilian court, and leaves it up to the President to establish procedures for determining how and when persons determined to be subject to military custody would be transferred, and to ensure that such determinations do not interfere with ongoing intelligence, surveillance or interrogation operations. Language added in conference confirms that nothing in the provision may be construed to affect the existing criminal enforcement and national security authorities of the Federal Bureau of Investigation or any other domestic law enforcement agency with regard to a covered person, regardless whether such covered person is held in military custody.
- Require the Attorney General to consult with the Secretary of Defense before prosecuting a foreign al Qaeda terrorist who is determined to be covered under the previous section, or any other person who is held in military custody outside the United States, on whether the more appropriate forum for trial is a federal court or a military commission and whether the individual should be held in civilian or military custody pending trial.
- Extend for one year the certification requirement for the transfer of GITMO detainees to foreign countries, subject to a national security waiver (which was not available under previous law).
- Extend for one year the existing prohibition on the use of DOD funds to build facilities in the United States to house GITMO detainees.
- Extend for one year the existing prohibition on transferring or releasing GITMO detainees inside the United States.
- Require DOD to issue procedures to clarify certain aspects of the review process established for GITMO detainees and ensure that the Secretary of Defense has final responsibility for any release or transfer decision.
Equipment and Support for Troops in Afghanistan and Elsewhere. Played a leading role in the enactment of provisions that –
- Provide additional tools to our military in Afghanistan by: (1) increasing the annual authority, from $45 million to $50 million, for U.S. Special Operations Forces to provide support to foreign forces, groups and individuals assisting in ongoing counterterrorism operations; (2) authorizing substantial funding for the Commanders’ Emergency Response Program (CERP) in Afghanistan to continue to enable commanders to fund urgent, small-scale humanitarian relief and reconstruction projects directly benefiting the indigenous people; (3) continuing funding for the Afghanistan Infrastructure Fund to pay for high-priority, large-scale infrastructure projects, in support of the civil-military campaign; and (4) authorizing the continued use of DOD funds to support the reintegration into Afghan society of former low-level insurgent fighters who lay down their arms.
- Enhance the capability of the security forces of allied and friendly nations by: (1) authorizing the full $11.2 billion requested by our military commanders to train and equip the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police; (2) authorizing the use of DOD funds to support the activities of the Office of Security Cooperation in Iraq and related security assistance teams to oversee foreign military sales to build the capacity of the Iraqi security forces; (3) extending for one year DOD’s authority to transfer non-excess defense equipment being withdrawn from Iraq to the security forces of Iraq and Afghanistan; (4) authorizing the Secretary of Defense to provide up to $150 million in equipment, supplies, and training to counterterrorism forces in the Horn of Africa and Yemen; (5) extending DOD’s “train and equip” authority to build the capacity of foreign security forces to conduct counterterrorism operations and to build the capacity of coalition partners in Afghanistan to conduct stabilization operations and special operations; (6) establishing a new joint DOD-State fund to build the capacity of foreign security forces and enhancing security sector reform in conflict environments; (7) extending the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Fund, to be resourced with funds transferred from the Department of State, to build the capacities of the Pakistan Frontier Corps and the Pakistan Army; and (8) authorizing Coalition Support Funds to reimburse key nations cooperating in contingency operations.
Iranian Sanctions. Played a leading role in the enactment of a powerful new regime of sanctions against the financial sector of Iran, including the Central Bank of Iran. These sanctions would, among other actions, require foreign financial institutions to choose between maintaining ties with the U.S. financial system or doing business with the Central Bank of Iran, especially for the purchase of Iranian petroleum and petroleum products.
IMPROVED MANAGEMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Counterfeit Electronic Parts. As Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, completed an extensive investigation into counterfeit electronic parts in the Department of Defense’s (DOD) supply chain. Looking at just a slice of the defense contracting universe, the investigation found approximately 1,800 cases of suspect counterfeit electronic parts, covering more than one million individual parts. Of those 1,800 or so cases, more than 100 were selected to track backwards through the supply chain. More than 70 percent of those trails ultimately led to China. The investigation found suspect counterfeit electronic parts from China in a system that contains a laser used to target the Navy SH-60B helicopter’s hellfire missiles; in display units intended for Air Force and Marine aircraft; and in an ice detection module on the Navy’s P-8A Poseidon airplane. The investigation also revealed the high cost to taxpayers from the flood of counterfeit parts, including $2.7 million for the Missile Defense Agency to replace suspect counterfeit parts in mission computers for THAAD missiles. Despite rampant counterfeiting carried out openly in their country, the Chinese government has refused to act. In fact, when the committee attempted to send staff to mainland China to get a first-hand look at the problem, they were refused entry.
In response to the committee’s investigation, Senator Levin introduced legislation to stem the tide of counterfeit electronic parts from China. That legislation, included in the FY 2012 National Defense Authorization Act that was signed into law by President Obama, requires a program of enhanced inspection of imported electronic parts and clarifies acquisition rules to ensure that the cost of replacing suspect counterfeit parts is paid by the contractor, not the taxpayer. It requires DOD and its suppliers, whenever possible, to purchase electronic parts from manufacturers, their authorized dealers or trusted suppliers, and ensures that those who become aware of counterfeit parts in the DOD supply chain notify the government. The law also contains several other critical provisions to keep counterfeit electronic parts out of our military systems and provide proper accountability when suspect parts make it through. This new law will help put a stop to the flood of counterfeits.
Oversight of U.S. Force Posture in the Pacific. Following visits to Guam and Okinawa to review plans for a large scale repositioning of U.S. Marines, led a bipartisan congressional effort, along with Senators John McCain, R-Ariz., and James Webb, D-Va., in questioning the strategic and fiscal soundness of current plans for U.S. forces in East Asia, and requiring, through the annual defense authorization legislation, further analysis of the basing plans, and soaring costs, associated with the U.S. presence in Asia.
F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). Led the effort to include two specific provisions in the FY12 NDAA that will help get current and future costs of the JSF program under control. One provision requires that the F-35 contract for the sixth lot of aircraft Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP 6 - the fiscal year 2012 production contract) and all subsequent LRIP contracts be a fixed-price contract, with the contractor assuming full responsibility for any costs above the target cost specified in the contract. Another provision requires the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics to produce a report on plans for implementing provisions of the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009 (WSARA) for the F-35 JSF program. Such a plan for implementing WSARA should provide a roadmap for reducing operating and sustainment costs during the 50 years or more that the Defense Department will be operating the JSF.
MICHIGAN-BASED DEFENSE PROCUREMENT
Small Business Defense Procurement Summit. Helped organize a Small Business Defense Procurement Summit on March 25, 2011, which brought more than 600 people from several hundred Michigan companies together with then-Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (and now Deputy Secretary of Defense) Dr. Ash Carter, and dozens of DOD prime contractors and program offices to discuss the DOD acquisition system, programs and funding opportunities.
Defense Production Act (DPA). Helped secure $170 million, $150 million above the president’s fiscal year 2012 budget request, for the Defense Production Act program. The DPA authorizes financial incentives (including loan guarantees, federal loans, purchases, purchase guarantees, and installation of equipment in contractor facilities) to expand production capacity and supply in industry sectors where there is a national security interest; and it could provide funding opportunities for many Michigan companies.
M1 Abrams Tank Modernization. Helped secure $255 million above the President’s fiscal year 2012 budget request to keep M1 Abrams tank modernization efforts active through the end of the fiscal year while the Army considers the requirements for and costs associated with future tank modernization efforts. General Dynamics Land Systems in Sterling Heights is the prime contractor for the Abrams program and more than 200 Michigan companies serve as suppliers.
Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. Supported continuation of Army and Marine Corps technology development plans leading to a competition for a new Joint Light Tactical Vehicle that could replace a large number of older, less survivable High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV) that have been in service since the 1980s. This program is important to General Dynamics Land Systems, BAE and other automotive and military vehicle suppliers in Sterling Heights and around Michigan.
Ground Combat Vehicle. Supported continued technology development of the Army’s next generation armored personnel carrier, the Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV). Two teams, one led by General Dynamics Land Systems and the other by BAE, both located in Sterling Heights, were awarded technology development contracts to make competition prototypes that meet the Army’s GCV requirements. TACOM, located at the Detroit Arsenal, has GCV development and procurement management responsibility for what could be a $30 to $40 billion program over the next 15 years or more.
MICHIGAN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
Facility for Rare Isotope Beams. Worked with the Michigan delegation, congressional appropriators and the Obama administration to secure $22 million in funding for completion of conceptual design and engineering work and initiation of pre-construction activities for the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), which will be built at Michigan State University. MSU is now the home of the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL), which is currently the most advanced rare isotope accelerator in the United States and is the largest nuclear science facility on a university campus. FRIB is the next generation rare isotope facility and is critical to maintenance of MSU’s preeminence in this field.
Advanced Vehicle Power and Technology Alliance (AVPTA). Led efforts to create the AVPTA to better coordinate the ground vehicle research and development efforts of the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, industry and academia. Senator Levin included language in the FY 2011 National Defense Authorization Act authorizing the creation of such an alliance and participated in the first annual AVPTA workshop in Detroit on July 18, 2011, with Under Secretary of the Army Joseph Westphal, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, and other senior officials.
Department of Defense Rapid Innovation Program (RIP). Helped secure $200 million to continue the Rapid Innovation Program. The RIP was established by the FY 2011 National Defense Authorization Act as a competitive, merit-based program designed to fund innovative technologies, reduce acquisition or life cycle costs, address technical risks, improve the timeliness of test and evaluation outcomes, and rapidly insert technologies needed to meet critical national security needs. Funding appropriated for the RIP could provide significant opportunities for Michigan companies, universities, and other organizations to further research and development efforts with the DOD in the following areas:
- Enhancing energy security and independence: $50 million for increased investment in technologies that will improve energy efficiency, enhance energy security, and reduce the department’s dependence on fossil fuels through advances in traditional and alternative energy storage, power systems, renewable energy production and more energy efficient ground, air and naval systems. The DOD remains critically dependent upon energy for its infrastructure and global military operations. Improved energy efficiency, especially in remote areas such as Afghanistan, can reduce the dependence of our armed forces on fragile fuel supply lines that are vulnerable to enemy attack and help save lives.
- Developing advanced materials: $50 million for increased investment in a broad range of materials technologies, both organic and inorganic, that can provide enhanced performance in extreme environments; improved strength and reduced weight for the spectrum of applications ranging from aerospace to lighter soldier loads; greater survivability of ground, air and naval systems; and tailored physical, optical and electromagnetic properties for the wide variety of challenging environments in which military systems must operate. Such materials could include advanced composites and metals, nanomaterials, and rare-earth alternatives. Whether increasing survivability or improving fuel efficiency for greater performance, advanced materials are critical to military systems across all services and all warfighting domains.
- Improving manufacturing technology and the defense industrial base: $50 million for increased investment in advanced and innovative manufacturing technologies across the spectrum of applications to significantly compress design to production time cycles, reduce cost, minimize waste and energy consumption, and improve product quality and reliability. Historically, the department has heavily invested in technologies to improve the performance of military systems, but not in the processes needed to improve the production of those military systems. Numerous high-level studies have stressed the benefits of advancing the state of manufacturing technologies for long-term savings and the need to capitalize on the latest innovations in manufacturing processes for defense systems.
- Advancing microelectronics: $50 million for increased investment in the development of resilient advanced microprocessors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, printed circuit boards, photonics devices, and other related electronics components for the next-generation of military and intelligence systems. Given that the majority of costs of most advanced weapons platforms are in electronics and supporting software, investments in this area to improve processing capacity, decrease weight and power requirements, and increase resiliency would have high return on investment.
Industrial Base Innovation Fund (IBIF). Secured $30 million to continue the Industrial Base Innovation Fund. Manufacturing technology plays a critical role in addressing development, acquisition and sustainment problems associated with advanced weapons programs. This funding helps support DOD’s ability to address specific shortfalls in the defense industrial base to meet short-term surge manufacturing requirements and could provide funding opportunities for many Michigan companies. This program was initiated in fiscal year 2008.
Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR). Strongly supported the reauthorization of the SBIR and STTR programs as part of the FY 2012 National Defense Authorization Act. Key provisions include:
- Reauthorization for six years.
- Increases SBIR allocation incrementally from 2.5 percent to 3.2 percent over six years and STTR allocation incrementally from 0.3 percent to 0.45 percent over five years.
- Establishes three-year pilot program to allow up to three percent of the SBIR allocation to go to administrative, oversight and processing costs.
- Increases Phase I awards from $100,000 to $150,000, and Phase II awards from $750,000 to $1 million.
- Allows entities that are majority owned by multiple venture capital firms, multiple hedge, or private equity firms to compete for SBIR awards.