Brace for IMPACT

On Monday the President signed into law Rep. Dave Camp's (R., MI) Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act of 2014. According to a White House press release, the measure "creates a standardized Medicare assessment tool for comparing patient data across the various types of post-acute care settings for purposes of quality, payment, and discharge planning, and makes other changes to Medicare current law relating to post-acute care."

More information on the measure, including the full text, can be found on Congress.gov. 

For All Sports FANS

Given all the current interest in professional sports, the Senate Judiciary Committee has convened a hearing on Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., CT) and John McCain's FANS (Furthering Access and Networks for Sports) Act. According to a press release, the measure would "would decrease the frequency of sports blackouts by requiring leagues to meet basic obligations to fans if they wish to continue receiving substantial benefits from the public."

An identical measure was introduced in the House by Rep. Brian Higgins (D., NY). 

Spoof-Proofing America

Last week the House passed Rep. Grace Meng's (D., NY) Anti-Spoofing Act of 2014, which builds on the 2009 Truth in Caller ID Act, protecting American citizens from spoofers calling from outside the US. Also, the proposed law would now cover text messages as well. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D., MN) and Roy Blunt (R., MO) have introduced identical legislation in the Senate, known as the Caller ID Scam Prevention Act of 2014. 

The proponents of the new legislation claim that technology has advanced since passage the 2009 law, and new legislation is needed. 

W21

Senators Barbara Boxer (D., CA) and Dianne Feinstein (D., CA), and Representatives Grace Napolitano (D., CA) and Peter DeFazio (D., OR) have introduced W21, or Water in the 21st Century Act. The measure hopes to provide nationwide communities better help to "conserve, recycle and manage limited water supplies."

According to a press release, the bill would "would expand rebates and grants for water conservation and efficiency; support local investments in water recycling and improved groundwater management and storage; invest in research into water-saving technologies and desalination; and establish an open water data system. The measure would also help local communities take steps to become better prepared for drought."

The W21 label also seems a bit innovative, as it allows those tweeting about the bill to easily slip it into the text of a tweet and also use it as a hashtag. 

A partial press release is located below the jump, which notes some significant provisions. 

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The legislation includes a number of important provisions that would help communities in California, Oregon and across the country:

Efficiency and Conservation

• Strengthens EPA’s WaterSense program, which promotes water conservation in products, buildings, and landscapes through information and rebates. The bill authorizes $50 million to administer the program and $700 million for rebates, through FY2019, and then funds them at FY2019 levels adjusted for inflation thereafter.
• Creates a new grant program within the Environmental Protection Agency for local water systems to conserve water, increase water efficiency or reuse water; modify or relocate existing water system infrastructure made or projected to be made inoperable by climate change impacts; preserve or improve water quality, and other projects.

Water Recycling, Storage, and Integrated Water Management

• Leverages federal financing – through loan guarantees and matching grants – to help support projects on a regional scale, including water recycling, ground water management, water storage and water conveyance infrastructure.
  • $250 million over five years for secured loans.
  • $150 million for integrated regional water management, reclamation, and recycling projects grants.

Innovation through Research, Data, and Technology

·       Establishes an open water data system at the Department of the Interior.

• Reauthorizes the Water Resources Research Act at $9 million a year through 2020.
• Reauthorizes the Water Desalination Act at $3 million a year through 2020.
• Directs the Secretary of the Army to review reservoir operations and assess whether there is a benefit in adjusting operations to take into account improved forecasting data.

Drought Preparedness

• Establishes Drought Resilience Guidelines for state and local agencies through EPA in coordination with USDA, Commerce and Interior.
• Directs U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in consultation with state and federal agencies, to prepare a salmon drought plan to address the impacts of drought on the salmon population.

Stop Militarizing America's Cops

In the aftermath of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown and the ongoing protests in Ferguson, MO, Rep. Hank Johnson (D., GA) has announced that he plans to file the Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act, which would "rein in a Defense Department program that provides Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, M16 assault rifles and other surplus military equipment to local law enforcement, free of charge." The Huffington Post noted that Johnson said, 

"Our main streets should be a place for business, families, and relaxation, not tanks and M16s," Johnson says in his letter. "Our local police are quickly beginning to resemble paramilitary forces. This bill will end the free transfers of certain aggressive military equipment to local law enforcement and ensure that all equipment can be accounted for."

The militarization of local police has become one of the central issues in this ordeal, after two reporters from the Washington Post and one reporter from HuffPo were arrested, and video emerged of an Al Jazeera film crew getting tear gassed. Even Sen. Rand Paul (R., KY) penned an op-ed in Time arguing that America must demilitarize its police. 

Even in a Divided Congress, Autism CARES

On Friday President Obama signed Rep. Christopher Smith's (R., NJ) Autism CARES (Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education, and Support) Act of 2014. According to a press release, the legislation "authorizes $1.3 billion over five years to continue the critical pipeline of federal research dollars that are helping to unlock the mysteries of autism, find ways to prevent and mitigate its occurrence, and ensure that families have the tools they need to know what to do after a diagnosis."

The President also signed a number of other bills into law. The full list is provided below the jump. 

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H.R. 606, which designates a facility of the United States Postal Service located in Tyrone, New York, as the Specialist Christopher Scott Post Office Building;

H.R. 1671, which designates a facility of the United States Postal Service located in Dublin, California, as the James "Jim" Kohnen Post Office;

H.R. 2291, which designates a facility of the United States Postal Service located in New York, New York, as the Vincent R. Sombrotto Post Office;

H.R. 3212, the “Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act of 2014,” which requires the Secretary of State to initiate a process to develop and enter into bilateral procedures with certain countries concerning child abductions and contains other related authorities;

H.R. 3472, which designates a facility of the United States Postal Service located in Alden, New York, as the Sergeant Brett E. Gornewicz Memorial Post Office;

H.R. 3548, the “Improving Trauma Care Act of 2014,” which expands the definition of trauma as it applies to grants and activities authorized to support trauma and emergency care under the Public Health Service Act;

H.R. 3765, which designates a facility of the United States Postal Service located in Corning, New York, as the Specialist Ryan P. Jayne Post Office Building;

H.R. 4028, which includes the desecration of cemeteries among the many forms of violations of the rights to religious freedom;

H.R. 4360, which designates a facility of the United States Forest Service for the Grandfather Ranger District located in Nebo, North Carolina, as the Jason Crisp Forest Service Building;

H.R. 4386, the “Money Remittances Improvement Act of 2014,” which authorizes the Treasury Department to rely on examinations of financial institutions conducted by State supervisory agencies in assuring compliance with Federal requirements for recordkeeping and reports on certain monetary instruments transactions;

H.R. 4631, the “Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education, and Support Act of 2014” or the “Autism CARES Act of 2014,” which reauthorizes Combating Autism Act funding for autism research, screening, intervention, and education activities, as well as a coordinating committee at the Department of Health and Human Services;

H.R. 4838, which redesignates a railroad station located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, commonly known as "30th Street Station", as the William H. Gray III 30th Street Station;

H.R. 5021, the “Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014,”which transfers a total of $10.765 billion to the Highway Trust Fund from the Treasury General Fund and the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund; extends the spending authority for surface transportation programs from September 30, 2014, to May 31, 2015; and increases Federal revenue by extending the authority to collect certain customs user fees and extending the period for certain lower required private pension plan contributions;

H.R. 5195, which authorizes additional Special Immigrant Visas for Afghan Nationals;

S. 653, the “Near East and South Central Asia Religious Freedom Act,” which authorizes the President to appoint a Special Envoy to Promote Religious Freedom of Religious Minorities in the Near East and South Central Asia;

S. 1104, the “Assessing Progress in Haiti Act of 2014,” which directs the Secretary of State to prepare a strategy and transmit that and an annual report to Congress on the status of the post-earthquake recovery and development in Haiti; and

S. 1799, the “Victims of Child Abuse Reauthorization Act of 2013,” which authorizes appropriations and establishes audit and other oversight requirements for Justice Department grant programs that assist in responding to victims of child abuse and in improving the quality of criminal prosecution of child abuse cases.

A Healthy Climate and Family Security: Who Would have Thought?

Today Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D., MD) introduced the Healthy Climate and Family Security Act of 2014. According to a press release the measure: 

caps carbon pollution and reduces CO2 emissions gradually but steadily, auctions carbon pollution permits to the first sellers of oil, coal, and natural gas into the U.S. market, and returns 100 percent of the auction proceeds electronically each quarter to every American with a valid Social Security number in the form of a Healthy Climate Dividend. On an economy-wide level, the price signal placed on carbon pollution will accelerate innovation and incentivize both greater energy efficiency as well as greater use of lower-carbon energy alternatives.

Rep. Van Hollen also has a factsheet and an infographic on the bill, and has written an op-ed for the Huffington Post. 

House Believes 'America Gives More'

Last week the House passed Rep. Tom Reed's (R., NY) America Gives More Act of 2014, which promotes charitable giving through the tax code. The measure is a combination of five previous bills, including the Fighting Hunger Incentive Act of 2014. 

The Obama Administration opposes the measure, and in a statement noted: 

[T]he Administration strongly opposes House passage of H.R. 4719, which would permanently extend three current provisions that offer enhanced tax breaks for certain donations and add another two similar provisions without offsetting the cost. If this same, unprecedented approach of making certain traditional tax extenders permanent without offsets were followed for the other traditional tax extenders, it would add $500 billion or more to deficits over the next ten years, wiping out most of the deficit reduction achieved through the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2013. Just two months ago, House Republicans themselves passed a budget resolution that required offsetting any tax extenders that were made permanent with other revenue measures.

As with other similar proposals, Republicans are imposing a double standard by adding to the deficit to continue and create tax breaks that primarily benefit higher-income individuals, while insisting on offsetting the proposed extension of emergency unemployment benefits and the discretionary funding increases for defense and non-defense priorities such as research and development in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. House Republicans also are making clear their priorities by rushing to make these tax cuts permanent without offsets even as the House Republican budget resolution calls for raising taxes on 26 million working families and students by letting important improvements to the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, and education tax credits expire.

Senate Votes to Bring Jobs Home

Today the Senate passed Sen. John Walsh's (D., MT) Bring Jobs Home Act. The bill would provide a 20% credit for businesses that insourced jobs from abroad back into the US, and would close the tax break for businesses that outsourced jobs overseas. 

The Obama Administration released a statement strongly supporting the bill, and noting: 

Senate passage of this bill is consistent with the Administration's commitment to support economic growth, job creation, and business investment in the United States, and serves to discourage outsourcing in all sectors of the economy, but particularly in the Nation's manufacturing sector. Following a decade in which the United States lost over five million manufacturing jobs, the Nation has begun to make progress. Since February 2010, the U.S. manufacturing sector has added more than 650,000 new jobs, the fastest pace of manufacturing job growth since the mid-1990s. Instead of rewarding firms for shifting production and jobs overseas, the tax code should strengthen the domestic manufacturing sector, support job growth and innovation, and encourage companies from all sectors of the economy to invest in the United States.

Royalties for American ART

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D., NY) has introduced the ART (American Royalties Too) Act of 2014, which attempts to compensate American artists when their work is sold at public auction both in the US and abroad. A similar measure has been presented in the Senate by Tammy Baldwin (D., WI). 

A partial press release on the measure is located after the jump. 

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Rep. Nadler Welcomes Hearing on Artists’ Resale Rights

Jul 14, 2014 Issues: Jobs, Labor and the Economy

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet, is pleased to announce that the Subcommittee’s next hearing will be on moral rights, termination rights, resale royalty, and copyright term.  Congressman Nadler introduced the American Royalties Too (ART) Act, which will be discussed at the hearing, earlier this year in order to ensure visual artists are compensated when their original artwork is resold.  His legislation would bring fairness to American artists who, unlike their fellow visual artists in 70 countries, do not receive any compensation when their works are resold at public auction. ...

HUMANE Act to the Rescue!

In light of the recent border crisis, Sen John Cornyn (R., TX) and Rep. Henry Cuellar, (D., TX) introduced the HUMANE (Helping Unaccompanied Minors and Alleviating National Emergency) Act. According to a press release on the measure, the bill would: 

• Improve the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2008—treating all unaccompanied migrant children crossing our border with equality under the law, and allowing for voluntary reunification with family, whether they are from Mexico, Central America, or any other country.
• Keep current protections for safe repatriation.
• Allow unaccompanied migrant children who have a claim to remain legally in the United States to make this claim in court before an immigration judge within 7 days of the completion of Health and Human Services screening under the TVPRA of 2008. It authorizes up to 40 new immigration judges for this purpose, and keeps current law in place requiring HHS to make all efforts to secure pro-bono legal counsel for the child.
• Require immigration judges to make a determination as to whether an unaccompanied migrant child is eligible to remain in the United States within 72 hours of making their claim. Children who succeed in their claim will be allowed to remain in the United States in the custody of a sponsor while they pursue their legal remedies. Children who do not successfully make such a claim will be reunited with family in their home country.
• Require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide unaccompanied migrant children with protective shelter while they are awaiting their initial hearing in court before a judge.
• Allow access to these expedited court hearings for unaccompanied migrant children who have already been released to sponsors with notices to appear in immigration court. 
• Require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct FBI fingerprint background checks on any person taking custody of an unaccompanied alien child. Prohibits the Secretary from releasing children to persons convicted of sex offenses and human trafficking.
• Require a plan and provide for additional resources necessary for operational control of our southern border. 

Also, see the two bill sponsors speaking about the measure on Fox News here.