May 13, 2011

East Boston

Before heading down to D.C. for votes this week, I attended the East Boston Main Streets Networking Breakfast and served as the event's guest speaker. With nearly 100 people in attendance, this gathering is a great opportunity to talk with East Boston residents and small business owners about issues of concern to them. As always we had a spirited question and answer period with topics ranging from the economy to health care. The Main Streets program, in East Boston and throughout the city, provides essential technical assistance and funding for small business improvements in retail areas. Many small business owners would not be able to undertake these projects on their own and assistance from the Main Streets program helps make them possible.

Haiti

On Tuesday the House considered H.R. 1016: Assessing Progress in Haiti Act. This legislation directs the Administration to report to Congress on efforts to help Haiti rebuild after the devastating earthquake. H.R. 1016 seeks additional information about reconstruction and development efforts, as well as humanitarian aid and health care assistance. Progress has been made to help the Haitian community rebuild but more needs to be done. This report will help to identify how much work is still needed so that we may best direct our resources. H.R. 1016 passed unanimously under suspension of the rules.

Drilling

The House also considered another bill related to drilling, H.R. 1229: Restarting Offshore Leasing Now Act. You may recall that last week the House passed H.R. 1230 which allows for more domestic oil drilling. This legislation would expedite the approval process for companies wishing to drill on the Outer Continental Shelf. It provides the Interior Department with just 60 days to respond to a drilling permit request. If the Interior Department does not respond within 60 days then the request is automatically considered approved. This bill basically seeks to rush through the approval of drilling applications without giving officials enough time for proper review. I voted NO. H.R. 1229 passed and the entire vote is recorded below:

On Thursday the House considered H.R. 1231: Reversing President Obama's Offshore Moratorium Act. This is the third bill that puts the focus squarely on drilling to address rising gas prices. H.R. 1231 requires the Secretary of the Interior to make available half of the unleased areas off the Atlantic and Pacific coast, and in Alaska, for drilling. This will open up drilling all along the East Coast down to North Carolina, off the California Coast, in the Arctic Ocean and Bristol Bay in Alaska. It also completely disregards the states and their input when it comes to drilling off their beaches. The leases will become available regardless of any objections a state may have. I voted NO. H.R. 1231 passed and the entire vote is recorded below:

Intelligence Authorization

The House this week considered H.R. 754: Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011. This legislation authorizes the funding levels for our nation's intelligence agencies, including the CIA and the National Security Agency. H.R. 754 authorizes an increase in funding for CIA counterterrorism positions and establishes the Insider Threat Detection Program. This program will be designed to identify unauthorized access to the intelligence community's many networks, including computer servers and databases. It is being implemented in response to the Wikileaks incident. I voted YES. H.R. 754 passed and the entire vote is recorded below:

What's Up Next Week

A District Work Week has been scheduled. Next votes will occur on Monday May 23rd.