Washington Update

Washington Update
Congressman Gary Miller

July 8, 2011 -- This week in Congress:

H.R. 515, the Belarus Democracy Reauthorization Act – On Wed., July 6, the House passed H.R. 515, the Belarus Democracy Reauthorization Act, by unanimous consent. The bill amends the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004, which authorizes financial assistance to the people of Belarus to aid them in their pursuit of a free democracy with human rights. The legislation would affirm that the President should continue to support radio, television, and Internet broadcasting to the people of Belarus in languages spoken in Belarus. The legislation would also expand a reporting requirement to include certain information on censorship or surveillance of the Internet. H.R. 515 also condemns the conduct in the recent presidential election in Belarus and the crackdown on opposition candidates and activists. The legislation would expand the conditions under which sanctions may be filed, requiring the Belarus government to release individuals who were jailed based on political beliefs or human rights violations in connection with the repression that attended the December 2010 election.

H. Res 268 – On Thurs., July 7, the House approved H. Res 268, to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to a negotiated settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, by a vote of 407-6, with 13 members voting presents. The resolution reaffirms the House of Representative’s strong support for a negotiated solution to the Middle East conflict that results in two states, a democratic, Jewish state of Israel and a viable democratic Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace and with mutual recognition. The resolution also expresses its strong opposition to any attempt to establish or seek recognition of a Palestinian state outside of an agreement negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians. H Res 268 also supports the Obama Administration’s opposition to a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state and its use of the veto at the United Nations Security Council on Feb. 28, 2011 – the most recent example of a longstanding U.S. policy of vetoing unbalanced Security Council resolutions regarding the peace process.

FY 2012 Department of Defense Appropriations – On Fri., July 8, the House approved H.R. 2249, the 2012 Department of Defense Appropriations Act, by a vote of 336-87. The base budget of the bill would provide $530.5 billion in discretionary budget authority for defense activities, $9 billion less than President Obama’s FY 2012 budget request. The overseas contingency operations recommendation for emergency spending for Defense activities related to the Global War on Terror is $118.7 billion, $39 billion less than current spending levels due to the drawdown of U.S. forces overseas. Non-emergency budget authority for the Department of Defense contained in H.R. 2219 would contribute to an overall level of discretionary budget authority of $1.019 trillion for FY 2012, a reduction of $30.3 billion below FY 2011.

For the week beginning July 11:

FY 2012 Energy & Water Appropriations — Next week, the House is scheduled to consider H.R. 2354, the Energy and Water Appropriations Act of 2012. H.R. 2354 would provide a total of $30.6 billion in non-emergency, discretionary budget authority for the agencies and programs funded through the Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill. This funding level represents a $1 billion reduction, or 3.3%, from the FY 2011 spending level and $5.9 billion, or 16%, below the President’s FY 2012 request. H.R. 2354 would also meet Republicans’ pledge to roll back government spending to pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels – with exceptions for seniors, veterans, and the troops – by reducing budget authority by $249 million below the FY 2008 level of $30.8 billion.

Flood Insurance — Also this week, the House is scheduled to consider H.R. 1309, which would authorize the National Flood Insurance Program of the Federal Emergency Management Authority (FEMA) to enter into and renew flood insurance policies through fiscal year 2016. That authority is currently scheduled to expire at the end of fiscal year 2011.

FY 2012 Financial Services Appropriations — In addition, the House is scheduled to begin consideration next week of the fiscal year 2012 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill. The legislation would provide annual funding for the Treasury Department, the Executive Office of the President, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia, the Small Business Administration, the General Services Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and several other independent agencies. According to the Appropriations Committee, the bill includes a total of $19.9 billion in funding for the agencies, which is nearly $2 billion (9%) below last year’s level, nearly $6 billion below the President’s fiscal year 2012 request, and more than $700 million below the pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels enacted in 2008.

FAA Reauthorization — The House is also expected to consider legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Most recently, the House approved H.R. 2279, a short-term extension of FAA authorization, by unanimous consent, extending programs until July 22, 2011. On Feb. 27, 2011, the Senate approved S. 232, a full FAA authorization bill by a vote of 87-8. The House approved an alternative version, H.R.658, the FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011, by a vote of 223-196 on April 1, 2011. A conference committee is expected to resolve differences between the two legislative proposals soon. H.R. 658 would reauthorize FAA operations and programs for four years, including the remainder of FY 2011 through FY 2014. The bill also makes a number of policy changes, including a repeal of a National Mediation Board (NMB) rule allowing airline employees to unionize without a majority vote of an airline’s employees. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill would decrease direct spending by $4 million and increase revenue by $34 million over the FY 2011 through FY 2016 period.

Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act — Finally, the House is expected to consider H.R. 2018, the Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011. Congressman Miller is an original co-sponsor of this legislation, which would restrict the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to issue a revised or new water quality standard for a pollutant whenever a state has adopted – and EPA has already approved – a standard, unless the state concurs. In addition, the legislation would place limits on EPA’s ability to veto dredge and fill permits issued by the Army Corps of Engineers and allows more states flexibility to administer these permitting programs. This legislation would spur job growth by reining in the burdensome agenda of the EPA, which continues to create more barriers to economic growth and job creation.

Also of Note:

Rep. Gary Miller’s July Column: Congressman Miller has published his column for the month of July, titled “DREAM-ing of Amnesty.” It can be found at http://garymiller.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=249870

Jobs and the Economy

  • On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that unemployment rose for the third-straight month, to 9.2% in the month of June.
  • Only 18,000 jobs were added to the economy in June – the fewest number of jobs created in nine months and far short of the 150,000 jobs that need to be added to the economy to keep pace with U.S. population growth.
  • In the month of June, more than 14 million Americans were looking of work – the highest number of unemployed workers of any month in 2011.
  • It now takes an average of 39.9 weeks for job-seekers to find a job, the longest average time that workers have been unemployed since the statistic was first recorded in 1948.
  • This troubling jobs report should serve as a wakeup call to the President and Congressional Democrats.
  • The House has passed nine separate bills that will grow our economy and create millions of new jobs by allowing Americans to access more of our nation’s abundant energy resources, reign in out-of-control government spending, and eliminate costly and unnecessary federal regulations.
  • Unfortunately, not one of these bills has been considered by the Democrat-controlled Senate.
  • Instead of pursing a pro-growth agenda that will give the private sector the confidence it needs to expand and create new jobs, Democrats seem intent on pushing more of the same failed spend-and-tax policies.
  • Despite the fact that our nation’s debt now stands at an unsustainable $14.3 trillion, some Democrats are calling for even more stimulus spending – despite the fact that the 2009 trillion-dollar stimulus package pushed through by the Obama Administration failed to hold unemployment below 8 percent as promised.
  • As if that wasn’t bad enough, the President and Congressional Democrats are also calling for massive job-killing tax hikes on small business owners and families.
  • Numerous independent reports confirm what we already know: our nation cannot spend, tax, and regulate our way to prosperity.
  • Since 2007, there has been a 23 percent drop in new business creation: the lowest levels seen in our country since 1994.
  • Small businesses are facing a crushing level of uncertainty that is preventing them from hiring and growing. Increasing taxes on the primary driver of job creation in this country will make it much more difficult for our country to recover.

House-Passed Jobs Bills Waiting for Action by the Democratic-led Senate:

  • H.R. 872, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act
  • H.R. 910, the Energy Tax Prevention Act
  • H.J.Res. 37, a Resolution of disapproval regarding the FCC’s regulation of the Internet and broadband industry practices
  • H.R. 1249, the America Invents Act
  • H.R. 1230, Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act
  • H.R. 1229, Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act
  • H.R. 1231, Reversing President Obama’s Offshore Moratorium Act
  • H.R. 2021, the Jobs and Energy Permitting Act
  • H.Con.Res. 34, a Resolution establishing the budget for the U.S. government for fiscal year 2012 and setting forth appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2013 through 2021.