e-News 2/13/15

• President Obama sends AUMF to Congress
• Towards a fairer, more predictable tax code
• Broken Promises to Ukraine?
• Iran Nuclear Deal
• Combating veteran suicides
• Salute to an American Hero: Honoring Congressman Sam Johnson (TX)
• Salute: Valentines for Vets participants

President Obama sends AUMF to Congress

This week, President Obama sent a joint resolution draft to Congress titled “Authorization for Use of Military Force against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL),” (AUMF).  You should know what is in this request.

Brief highlights of the President’s “comprehensive and sustained strategy” outlined in the AUMF:

• “U.S. military forces are conducting a systematic campaign of airstrikes against ISIL..;”
• “…would not authorize long-term, large-scale ground combat operations like those our Nation conducted in Iraq and Afghanistan;”
• “local forces, rather than U.S. military forces, should be deployed to conduct such operations;”
• Would expire in three years.

The President’s request needs serious consideration and debate, as only Congress has the right to declare war!

However, as Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, I believe his proposal masks a whole series of ill-advised military and foreign policy decisions over the past six years.  Having been ambivalent about our superpower role in the world, the President now throws these matters into the lap of Congress to pick up the pieces, at the very time that things are going badly in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Ukraine, Libya, Yemen and around the world!

One important note, the President retains the 2001 Authorization (“existing authorities”) to take action against terrorist organizations, even though he now offers to share the decision making process as our “Commander in Chief”!  Decisive action is necessary and long overdue to protect our national security interests.

Towards a fairer, more predictable tax code

The American people deserve reform to make our tax code fairer and more predictable for everyone.  A simpler tax code should be an engine for job creation and economic growth!

The House of Representatives this week passed bills this week designed to provide a level of certainty for those too often forgotten about in tax policy: working families and small businesses.

Of course, larger businesses need that certainty too! Everyone deserves a simpler tax code that helps them plan for the future and build a healthy economy.

The bills the House passed this week move us toward a tax code more friendly to families and small businesses:

H.R. 636, America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2015, creates stability for small businesses leading to their growth and expansion by making permanent increased small business expensing in the Section 179 of the tax code.

H.R. 640, Private Foundation Excise Tax Simplification Act of 2015, simplifies the current 1 percent and 2 percent excise tax on private foundation income with a single 1 percent rate.

H.R. 637, Permanent IRA Charitable Contribution Act of 2015, makes permanent the rule allowing certain tax-free distributions from IRAs for charitable purposes.

H.R. 641, Conservation Easement Incentive Act of 2015, permanently extends the higher deduction limits and potential 15-year carry forward of conservation easement gifts.

H.R. 644, Fighting Hunger Incentive Act of 2015, incentivizes businesses to contribute excess inventory to local food banks and pantries by permanently extending a food-inventory donation provision in the tax code. 

H.R. 629, Permanent S Corporation Built-in Gains Recognition Period Act of 2015, makes permanent the reduced recognition period for built-in gains of S corporations.

H.R. 630, Permanent S Corporation Charitable Contributions Act of 2015, makes permanent certain rules regarding basis adjustments to stock of S corporations making charitable contributions of property. 

All of these bills will remove uncertainty by making several provisions in the tax code permanent. It's time that we start to build a tax code that works for everybody—especially families and small businesses.

Broken Promises to Ukraine?

Josh Rogin reports for Bloomberg, “U.S. Hasn’t Kept Ukraine Aid Promises;” read it here.

Iran Nuclear Deal

Last week, the Washington Post editorial board explored the dangerous consequences of the Administration’s negotiations with Iran on its nuclear program. 

With only weeks left until a pivotal negotiating deadline, I, too, am concerned by the continued concessions from this Administration to Iran.  As Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, and their liaison to the House Intelligence Committee, my objective is simple: Iran – a state sponsor of terror whose stated goal is the elimination of our closest ally in the Middle East, Israel- can neverbecome a nuclear weapons-capable state.

The Administration’s negotiations with Iran must be backed by the threat of additional sanctions and existing sanctions must be fully enforced.

Combating veteran suicides

This week, the President signed into law, the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act.  This legislation was passed unanimously through the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.

Clay Hunt, a Marine veteran and Purple Heart recipient, devoted his life to helping others not only through his military service, but by volunteering in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake and working with veterans dealing with the scars of war, both physical and emotional.  Unfortunately, Clay himself struggled with PTSD and depression and tragically took his own life at the age of 28.  Sadly, these heartbreaking stories have become all too common.

Helping veterans overcome the scars of war, both physical and emotional, will continue to be of the highest priority for this Congress.  Provisions of this legislation include:

• Increasing access to mental health care by creating a peer support and community outreach pilot program to assist transitioning service members as well as a one-stop interactive website of available resources.
• Better meeting the demand for mental health care by starting a pilot program to repay the loan debt of students in psychiatry so it is easier to recruit them to work at the Veterans Administration (VA).
• Boosting the accountability of mental health care by requiring annual reviews of DoD and VA suicide-prevention practices and programs

The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans for America (IAVA) and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) have endorsed these vital reforms.  Read morehere.

Salute to an American Hero: This past week marked the 42^ndanniversary of the return of my friend and colleague Congressman Sam Johnson (TX) from seven years of captivity in a North Vietnamese POW camp.  Congressman Johnson served 29 years in the U.S. Air Force and was a member of the 433^rd Fighter Squadron, “Satan’s Angels.” 

A veteran of both the Korean and Vietnam Wars and recipient of multiple service medals, including the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, and Purple Heart, Congressman Johnson survived 42 months of solitary confinement, along with 10 other POWs, in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” Hao Lo Prison.  Thank you to Congressman Johnson, his wife Shirley, and all of our service members and their families, for selflessly putting their lives on the line to protect our freedoms.

Read more about this amazing story here.

Salute: I would thank and salute the over sixty elementary schools from across New Jersey’s 11^th Congressional District for their participation in my Valentines for Veterans program.   These wonderful personal notes will be delivered to Lyons VA Hospital and East Orange VA Medical Centers to thank our veterans for their service to our country.  Below, Hilltop Country Day students display their amazing valentines!