In This Week's Edition of E-News…

Murphy Meets With Air Force Generals In Bid to Save 911th

Healthcare Law Contraception Mandate Continues

House Overwhelmingly Approves the STOCK Act

Murphy Meets With Air Force Generals In Bid to Save 911th

The ongoing fight to save the 911th Airlift Wing in Moon Township continued this week when Congressman Tim Murphy sat down for a face-to-face meeting with Air Force officials Thursday afternoon in Washington D.C.

Rep. Murphy has been leading the Western Pennsylvania delegation efforts to keep the military capabilities and jobs here.

During the meeting, Air Force representatives admitted their decision was made without any clear written cost-benefit analysis showing closure of the 911th would be in the best interest of the taxpayer or as part of a bigger military strategy.

Murphy reminded the delegation and Air Force officials that the Pentagon has been investing in the 911th for years and the about-face closure “makes little sense for taxpayers.”

In the last six years, more than $50 million has been invested in the 911th on new facilities for medical training, lodging and aircraft maintenance. The Pentagon currently plans to build a $13 million Navy Operational Support Center on the 911th grounds and on December 1, the Defense Department gave final approval to construction of a new $17 million commissary, which will be located one-half mile from the gate of the 911th.

TV crews seek new info on 911th from Murphy at airport on Thursday

“Restructuring is difficult and necessary, but it must be done based on data and with congressional approval. Only after all information has been analyzed can we make the best decisions. Let’s look at the numbers. But right now, they don’t exist as far as we can tell,” said Rep. Murphy after the meeting.

Since access to runways, emergency service, maintenance and air traffic control is shared with the Pittsburgh International Airport, base overhead is significantly less than comparable facilities. And there is little sky congestion to restrict training for reservists. Closure would also deal a terrible blow to the airport economy. The 911th supports more than 2,500 jobs by pumping $114 million annually into the region.

The meeting came two days after Rep. Murphy introduced H.R.3911, which would to block the Air Force from relocating the seven C-130 aircraft at the 911th Airlift Wing. The bill is a legislative marker meant to ensure the Air Force provides more information so Congress can make decisions about the nation’s defense — not outsource those decisions solely to the Executive Branch. Murphy has been actively pursuing information from the Air Force about its intentions at the 911th since December.

“If we hadn’t pursued this in Congress, we would never have known that the Administration just didn’t have the data to support their decision to close the 911th,” Murphy said.

The decision to close the 911th will have to go through Congress if there are more than 300 civilian workers, as Rep. Murphy wrote in a letter to U.S. Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley last week. Rep. Murphy has information showing that there are 318 civilian personnel at the 911th, while the Air Force maintains there are only 283, although officials could not turn over any documents to support that claim.

Air Force officials agreed to future meetings with the delegation, and promised to provide data about the number of civilian personnel at the 911th next week.

“There’s a long way to go before this fight is over, and I’ll continue to pressure the Air Force to prove any decision is in the interest of national defense and the taxpayers,” said Rep. Murphy.

Click here to share your thoughts on saving the 911th Airlift Wing with Congressman Murphy.
 

Healthcare Law Contraception Mandate Continues

President Obama today reiterated that his Administration will require all health plans — including health plans offered by religiously-affiliated universities, charities, hospitals, and business owners guided by faith — to offer all FDA-approved contraception and sterilization services at no cost.

This announcement comes after months of protest by millions of Americans and religious leaders objecting to the contraception mandate in the new healthcare law. In an attempt to quell public concern, the President promised modifications so religious employers will not be required to provide for or refer for contraception coverage in violation of their religious beliefs.

But after reviewing the details laid out in the President’s speech this afternoon, Rep. Tim Murphy said the new policy was no different than the old one.

“The President’s revised policy is the status quo because it still compels religious employers to pay for abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization and contraception since it is still the employers who buy coverage.”

Murphy, a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee who has been actively working to stop the mandate from moving forward, continued: “While framed as a compromise, one’s faith and religious beliefs can never be compromised. The only solution is to fully repeal this unconstitutional mandate and the entire healthcare law.”

Rep. Murphy wrote to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in October 2011 urging her to overturn the mandate immediately. Murphy is also a cosponsor of Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (H.R. 1179), to ensure the federal government can’t force health plans to cover services in which the issuer has a religious objection, or force healthcare providers to provide services that they object to on religious grounds.

In November of last year, Rep. Murphy helped to lead an Energy and Commerce Committee hearing exploring how the mandate would force individuals to violate their relationship with their God in order to comply with the law. At the hearing, Rep. Murphy said he has “a hard time explaining to employers that the federal government is forcing them to choose between their faith, and providing health insurance to their employees. This mandate stands in stark contrast to the stated purpose of healthcare reform — expanding access to healthcare. Instead this mandate will strip countless Americans of their health insurance.” Read Murphy’s full statement here and watch his questioning of hearing witnesses here.

In light the Administration’s renewed push for the mandate, Rep. Murphy is working with his colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee to draft legislation specifically aimed at repealing the authority to require coverage of birth control and sterilization services under the healthcare law. Rep. Murphy will soon introduce legislation soon that will put in statute a full and complete ban on any requirements or guidelines being issued by HHS that requires anyone to provide or cover treatments and services to which they have a religious objection.

Click here to share your thoughts on the contraception mandate with Congressman Murphy.

House Overwhelmingly Approves the STOCK Act

On Thursday the House of Representatives passed, with Congressman Murphy’s support, the STOCK Act by a vote of 417-2. The bill strengthens prohibitions on public officials and senior employees in all three branches of government from using nonpublic information for private profit.

Current law prohibits any individual, including elected officials, from making trades based on material non-public information. In addition to affirming that lawmakers are prohibited from engaging in insider trading, the STOCK Act requires officials to publicly report in a searchable online database any stock trade greater than $1,000 within thirty to forty-five days.

“No member of Congress is above the law,” said Rep. Murphy upon STOCK Act passage. “This ensures that members can’t get the upper hand and profit from confidential information gathered in the course of our representational duties.”

The House-approved measure amended the Senate’s version, which passed that chamber by a vote of 96-3 last week with Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK), Richard Burr (R-NC) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) voting ‘NO.’

The House bill puts tougher rules in place to prohibit lawmakers from participating in a public stock offering, and extends prohibitions on attempting to influence private hiring decisions on the basis of political connections. The two chambers must now resolve differences between the bills before it can be sent to the President for his signature.

Click here to share your thoughts on the STOCK Act with Congressman Murphy.