Washington Update
Congressman Gary Miller

July 15, 2011 -- This week in Congress:

Flood Insurance – On Tuesday, July 12, the House approved H.R. 1309 by a vote of 406-22. The bill would reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to enter into and renew flood insurance policies through Fiscal Year (FY) 2016. That authority is currently scheduled to expire at the end of the current fiscal year. H.R.1309 would institute reforms that would improve NFIP’s financial stability, reduce the burden on taxpayers, and facilitate the creation of a private market that eliminates taxpayer risk over the long term.

Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act– On Wednesday, July 13, the House approved H.R. 2018 by a vote of 239-184. The bill would amend the Clean Water Act (CWA) and restrict the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to issue revised or new water quality standards for a pollutant whenever a state has adopted and the EPA already has approved a water quality standard for that pollutant, unless the state concurs with the EPA Administrator’s determination that the revised or new standard is necessary to meet the requirements of the CWA. The bill would also prevent unilateral actions by the EPA that second-guess the decisions of state regulatory agencies. In addition, H.R. 2018 would place limits on the EPA’s ability to veto dredge and fill permits issued by the Army Corps of Engineers and give states more flexibility to administer these permitting programs. Lastly, the legislation would spur job growth by reining in portions of the EPA’s burdensome regulatory agenda, which continues to create more barriers to economic growth and job creation.

FY 2012 Energy and Water Appropriations– On Friday, July 15, the House passed H.R. 2354 by a vote of 219-196. The Energy and Water Appropriations Act of 2012 would provide a total of $30.6 billion in non-emergency, discretionary budget authority for various agencies and programs under the Department of Energy, including the National Nuclear Security Administration, as well as the Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Water Reclamation, and various regional water and power authorities. Budget authority in the bill represents a reduction of $1 billion, or 3.3 percent, below current spending levels and $5.9 billion, or 16 percent, below the President’s request. H.R. 2354 also meets 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.

Next Week (July 18-22):

Cut, Cap, and Balance — Next week, the House is scheduled to consider the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2011. This legislation would mandate immediate spending cuts of over $100 billion in FY 2012, and would institute spending caps over the next 10 years, reaching 19.9 percent of GDP in 2021 and all subsequent fiscal years. The bill would provide for the President’s request for a debt ceiling increase if a qualifying Balanced Budget Amendment passes Congress and is sent to the states for ratification.

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 February 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.

Consumer Financial Protection Reforms — Also next week, the House is expected to consider H.R.1315, the Consumer Financial Safety and Soundness Improvement Act. The legislation would make structural changes to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and would improve the Financial Stability Oversight Council review process of the CFPB’s rulemaking. The CFPB was created by the Dodd-Frank Act as an independent agency within the Federal Reserve, but was designed in a way to escape appropriate oversight and accountability. Without reforms to the agency, the CFPB will be a large and powerful agency of more than 1,000 federal employees, whose direction will have the sole authority to spend hundreds of millions of dollars without congressional approval, and the ability to determine which financial products and services are available to consumers.

FY 2012 Legislative Branch Appropriations — Finally, the House is scheduled next week to begin consideration of the FY 2012 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill. The bill would provide $3.3 billion – excluding Senate items, which are traditionally left to the Senate to determine. This total represents a decrease of $227 million, or 6.4 percent, from the FY 2011 enacted level and a decrease of $472 million, or 12.4 percent, from the President’s requested level. The bill would cut the spending in this title by 9 percent from FY 2010 spending levels, returning funding to $111 million below FY 2009 levels. This marks the largest-ever, two-year reduction for this bill, totaling $329 million.

Also of Note

Rep. Gary Miller Writes Letter to the Editor to Protect American Jobs: The San Gabriel Valley Tribune published a letter to the editor by Congressman Miller supporting the protection of American jobs for American workers. To read the letter, go to http://www.sgvtribune.com/letters/ci_18480076

Government Spending and the Debt

• Spending in Washington has been out of control for years.
• However, the spending binge of the magnitude seen under this administration – from the stimulus to Obamacare to the skyrocketing increase in discretionary spending is unprecedented.
• During the first two years of the Obama Administration, non-defense discretionary spending has increased 24 percent - totaling $734 billion in new federal spending over the next 10 years.
• Our country will see this year – for the third year in a row – a budget deficit in excess of $1 trillion.
• Meanwhile, the President’s healthcare overhaul calls for an additional $1.4 trillion in new spending, which the CBO has recently pointed out will NOT drive down the cost of healthcare.
• Despite promises that spending hundreds of billions of dollars would hold unemployment below 8 percent, unemployment has risen again in recent months to 9.2 percent in June.
• The President’s failed stimulus now carries an $830 billion price tag - $43 billion more than originally estimated.
• 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.
• In order to create jobs, our economy needs the private sector to grow – not the government.
• It is vital that we pay down our debt and rein in spending to give the private sector the confidence it needs to create new jobs and spur long-term economic growth.
• House Republicans will continue to work towards their Pledge to America to reduce out-of-control federal spending and limit the size of government.
• Next week, the House is expected to consider a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution that would help to restrain future government overspending and put an end to reckless borrowing from other nations.
• States must balance their budgets – and so should the federal government.
• The fact is we cannot spend, tax or borrow our way to prosperity. To create jobs and avoid national bankruptcy, the government must stop spending money we do not have.
• House Republicans demand that the White House work cooperatively with Congress on a serious plan that will cut spending, reduce our nation’s debt, prevent job-killing tax hikes on our nation’s employers, and get our economy back on track

Taxes and Obamacare

• While Republicans believe that the key to economic recovery and paying down our national debt involves putting an end to the federal spending spree and eliminating wasteful government programs that we cannot afford, the Obama Administration and congressional Democrats wrongly believe that we can tax our way out of this fiscal crisis.
• Last year, President Obama signed into law the largest tax increase since 1993 with the enactment into law of the so-called Affordable Care Act – also known as ObamaCare.
• While some of the health care law's tax increases have already taken effect, beginning in 2013 a slew of new taxes will take effect that will limit patient access and choice, and hurt our economy as it struggles to recover.
• Starting in 2013, the bill adds an additional .9 percent Medicare tax for individuals earning more than $200,000 and couples making more than $250,000.
• ObamaCare also – for the first time – applies Medicare’s 2.9 percent payroll tax rate to investment income on higher-earning taxpayers– including dividends, interest income and capital gains. Added to the .9 percent payroll surcharge, this amounts to a 3.8 percent tax hike on these individuals and couples.
   However, because these taxes aren’t indexed for inflation, many middle-class families will be burdened with this additional tax as their incomes rise past the $250,000 threshold. Unless something is done, we will experience the same problems we have had with the Alternative Minimum Tax, which was originally designed to apply only to a handful of millionaires, but now threatens to force millions of middle-class families to pay more of their hard-earned dollars to the government.
• The cost to the taxpayer over 10 years: $210 billion.
• Also beginning in 2013 is a new 2.3 percent excise tax on medical device manufacturers and importers which is expected to raise $20 billion. This tax will hit California especially hard, as medical device manufacturers employ more than 72,000 workers in the Golden State.
• There are also concerns that this tax on medical device manufacturers will reduce capital these companies need to research, develop, and bring to market new lifesaving technologies and increase costs for patients.
• Beginning in 2018, Obamacare imposes a massive 40 percent excise tax on health insurance plans. While it only applies to two years in the 2010-2019 window of the healthcare takeover's original budget score, this tax would raise $32 billion and much more in future years.
• In 2014, a new annual fee on health insurance providers will take effect. It is estimated that this tax increase will raise $60 billion. This tax – like so many others – will be passed along to consumers in the form of higher healthcare costs.
• Earlier this year, the House Majority voted to repeal Obamacare in its entirety and lift the burden of these looming tax increases on our economy.
• While the Democrat-controlled Senate has rejected efforts to repeal the government takeover of healthcare, House Republicans will continue to work to repeal Obamacare and these job-killing, cost-raising tax hikes.