Promise Keepers?

Rep. Trent Franks (R., AZ) has introduced the Keeping the Promise Act of 2013, which instills that the agreements made in Arizona Proposition 202, the Indian Gaming Preservation and Self-Reliance Act of 2002, will be kept. Essentially, this means that "no new casinos will be built in the Phoenix metropolitan area and only one in the Tucson area for at least 23 years." Mr. Franks' bill has already received support from many of the Arizona Indian tribes, and has bipartisan support in Congress. 

No Subsidies Without Verification - Another Attempted Obamacare Amendment

The House is set to consider H.R. 2775, the No Subsidies Without Verification Act, sponsored by Rep. Diane Black (R., TN). According to the Congressional Research Service, the bill "Declares that no premium tax credits or reductions in cost-sharing for the purchase of qualified health benefit plans under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) shall be allowed before the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) certifies to Congress that there is a program in place, consistent with PPACA requirements, that verifies the household income and coverage requirements of individuals applying for such credits and cost-sharing reduction."

In essence, this is another Republican attempt to undermine the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and the measure in its current form would be dead on arrival in the Senate. 

Focusing on FORESTS

Rep. Sean Duffy (R., WI) has introduced the FORESTS (Fulfilling Our Responsibility for Efficient and Sustainable Timber Supply) Act of 2013. According to the long title, the bill would "reauthorize and expand authorities used by the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management for hazardous fuels reduction, forest health, forest restoration, and watershed restoration, and for other purposes."

Saving the SAP!

Rep. John Conyer's (D., MI) has introduced the Saving America's Pollinators Act of 2013. Although at this point it isn't officially being termed the SAP Act, the name certainly lends itself to such an acronym. Additionally, the use of "American" in the title, as if Rep. Conyer's could legislate for Canada's or Mexico's pollinators, certainly seems well-positioned the a more focused title. According to Rep. Conyer's press release (see below), the bill "requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to suspend the use of certain insecticide, known as neonicotinoids, to prevent future mass die-offs of honey bees."

-----------------------------------------------

Jul 16 2013

Conyers and Blumenauer Introduce Legislation Protecting Pollinators and America’s Food System

(WASHINGTON) – Today, Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) and Representative Earl Bluemenauer (D-OR) introduced the “Saving America’s Pollinators Act of 2013,” which requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to suspend the use of certain insecticide, known as neonicotinoids, to prevent future mass die-offs of honey bees. Following the introduction of the legislation, Reps. Conyers and Blumenauer issued the following statement:

Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich): “One of every three bites of food we eat is from a crop pollinated by honey bees. These crops include apples, avocados, cranberries, cherries, broccoli, peaches, carrots, grapes, soybeans, sugar beets and onions. Unfortunately, unless swift action is taken, these crops, and numerous others, will soon disappear due to the dramatic decline of honey bee populations throughout the country. ...

'FOR VETS' and 'Helping Heroes Fly' Become Law

Rep. Benishek's (R., MI) FOR VETS (Formerly Owned Resources for Veterans to Express Thanks for Service) Act of 2013 and Rep. Gabbard's (D., HI) Helping Heroes Fly Act have both been signed into law by President Obama.  

According to a press release by the White House the FOR VETS Act of 2013 "expands the ability of States to donate Federal surplus property to organizations that serve veterans,", while the Helping Heroes Fly Act "develop[s] and implement[s] a process for expedited air passenger screening for severely injured or disabled members of the Armed Forces and veterans."

Additionally, the President signed the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act, which we reported on last week. 

Whoa..."Bipartian" Student Loan Bill Passes!

Described as an "unusual feat" in this Congress, the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act of 2013 has passed both the House and Senate and now seeks Mr. Obama's signature. The law will essentially set up a new rate structure for loans. According to the NYT: 

Under the new rate structure, which still drew opposition from nearly one-third of Senate Democrats when it passed last week, loans to undergraduates and graduate students, along with parents in the PLUS program, would be subject to a fixed rate plus the yield on the 10-year Treasury note.

Rates for loans taken out after July 1 of this year would be 3.9 percent for undergraduates, 5.4 percent for graduate students and 6.4 percent for those receiving PLUS loans. The rates are fixed over the life of the loan but would change for new borrowers each year.

In a compromise that pleased many Democrats who had initially been wary of using a rate that was subject to inflation and fluctuated with the markets, Congress set a cap on all loans: 8.25 percent for undergraduates, 9.5 for graduate students and 10.5 for PLUS recipients.

Titles Trashing the IRS

After revelations that the IRS was targeting tea party groups, a number of bills have been introduced that seek to curtail the Agency's functions. Here are a few:

• H.R.2009 - Keep the IRS Off Your Health Care Act of 2013 - Introduced by Rep. Tom Price (R., GA), and "[p]rohibits the Secretary of the Treasury, or any delegate of the Secretary, from implementing or enforcing any provisions of or amendments made by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.

• H.R.2565 - STOP (Stop Targeting Our Politics) IRS Act or STOP IRS Act - Introduced by Rep. James Renacci (R., OH) and "[a]mends the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 to expand existing grounds for termination of the employment of an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employee to include performing, delaying, or failing to perform (or threatening to perform, delay, or fail to perform) any official action (including any audit) with respect to a taxpayer for purpose of extracting personal gain or benefit or for a political purpose."

• H.R.2769 - Stop Playing on Citizen's Cash Act - Introduced by Rep. Peter Roskam (R., IL) and would "impose a moratorium on conferences held by the Internal Revenue Service."

Legislative REINS for the Executive

Rep. Todd Young's (R., IN) REINS (Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny) Act of 2013 is currently being debated by the House. According to a press release, the bill "would require any major regulation—a rule or regulation with an economic impact of $100 million or more as scored by the Office of Management and Budget—from the executive branch to come before Congress for an up-or-down vote before it could be enacted."

Rep. Young has become somewhat of an acronym aficionado recently, as he has also recently introduced the SAW (Save American Workers) Act, which would change the definition of full-time employment under Obamacare, and also the BRIC (Base Redevelopment and Indemnification Correct) Act, which would "help redevelop former military installations such as the River Ridge Commerce Center in Clark County."

"Consumer Relief" but Potential Administrative Burden

Rep. Cassidy (R., LA) has introduced the Energy Consumers Relief Act of 2013, which would require EPA and DOE members to file additional reports on rules regarding various energy projects. The White House has objected to the bill, which will be debated soon in the House, noting: 

The Administration strongly opposes H.R. 1582. The bill would require the Department of Energy to undertake duplicative, costly, and time consuming reviews of energy-related EPA rules, thereby delaying or permanently preventing EPA from fulfilling its legal obligations to protect public health and the environment. 

Existing law already requires agencies to submit cost-benefit analysis to the Congress of any rule costing over $100 million annually. H.R. 1582 would require agencies to waste limited analytical resources on a duplicative analysis. Further, by indefinitely delaying the implementation of existing public health and environmental laws, the bill would harm communities affected by pollution. This delay would also create uncertainty for regulated businesses, inhibiting their decision-making and planning efforts. Finally, H.R. 1582 would likely result in unnecessary litigation, since it would prevent EPA from meeting its statutory obligations to finalize rules within specified timeframes. 

Put a TIGER in Your Bank!

The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2014 is set to be debated soon in the House. The Administration has already voiced their opposition to the measure, noting that the bill: 

severely undermines critical investments in economic and community development programs that drive local innovation, while also significantly reducing resources for public improvements, air traffic control infrastructure, affordable housing, as well as public services for low- to moderate-income families.

One example of investment cutting from the bill is the elimination of TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) Grants. The Administration strongly opposes this move, noting that the grants are critical for local transportation projects. 

After all, those TIGER Grants are gr-r-r-r-r-eat!

GI Bill Benefits for VETs

Rep. Larsen (D., WA) and Rep. Young (R., AK) have introduced the VET (Veterans Education Transparency) Act, which would make it easier for colleges to access veterans' educational benefits and therefore provide them with more sound educational advice. 

According to the press release by Mr. Larsen and Mr. Young, the measure would concentrate on four major things: 

• Give colleges the ability to see each student-veteran’s amount of GI Bill or other educational benefits through eBenefits;
• Facilitate college planning, so veterans’ counselors or academic counselors could help veterans register for classes to complete their degree in the time covered by their allocated educational benefit;
• Allow veterans to opt out of sharing their educational benefit information with their college;
• Enact strict privacy protections for veterans so that their educational benefit information could only be used for education counseling purposes by the educational institution where the veteran is enrolled.