Bradley Byrne’s amendment limiting DOD spending on housing for illegal migrant children passes
The House of Representatives on Thursday adopted an amendment to the defense appropriations bills that would prohibit the Department of Defense from using any money to construct or modify facilities to house unaccompanied alien children (UAC). The amendment to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, proposed by Alabama 1st District U.S. Congressman Bradley Byrne, reads that “none of the funds made available by this Act may be used to modify a military installation in the United States, including construction or modification of a facility on a military installation, to provide temporary housing for unaccompanied alien children.” It was adopted by a vote of 223 to 198. “I’m pleased the House passed my amendment to make clear there are better places to house illegal migrant children than our nation’s military facilities,” Byrne said in a news release. “It simply makes no sense to place these children so close to military activities like Navy aircraft training or live firing ranges.” Byrne’s amendment is especially timely as the Department of Health and Human Services evaluates whether to house illegal migrant children at two Navy outlying airfields in Baldwin County, Alabama. Last week, Byrne sent a letter to the Obama Administration outlining his concerns with housing the children in Baldwin County. “I especially hope the passage of my amendment sends a message to the Obama Administration that they should not bring these children to Navy airfields in Baldwin County,” Byrne continued. “Doing so would put the children at risk while also compromising military readiness.” With Byrne’s amendment included, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act passed the House by a vote of 282 to 138. The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.
This week in the U.S. House of Representatives: Dec. 7 – Dec. 11
The countdown is one — Congress has only a few days left to avert another government shutdown. Lawmakers have until Friday, December 11 to pass a massive, catchall spending bill called an omnibus that will fund the federal government until after the presidential election. Negotiators are aiming to release the text of the massive legislation on Monday. On Monday and Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives is in session and will consider two bills under suspension of the rules. Among those bills is: H.R. 158: the Visa Waiver Program Improvement Act, which prohibits individuals who have been to specified nations such as Syria and Iraq from entering the United States unless they are interviewed by U.S. officials and get a regular visa, even if they are from countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program (which allows citizens from 38 countries to travel to the U.S. without a visa). Alabama co-sponsors: Rep. Bradley Byrne (AL-01); Rep. Robert Aderholt (AL-04) On the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives the remainder of the week: H.R. 2130: Red River Private Property Protection Act. The bill requires the Bureau of Land Management to sell roughly 30,000 acres of federal land along the Red River, which forms part of the border between Texas and Oklahoma, with current and adjacent property owners to have right of first refusal to purchase the land. Alabama co-sponsors: None FY16 Omnibus. The House may consider an omnibus appropriations legislation comprising all 12 regular appropriations bills that would fund the entire government for the remainder of FY 2016. Current funding expires on Friday, Dec. 11. Conference agreement on H.R. 644: a trade enforcement measure that passed each chamber earlier this year during consideration of other trade legislation, including the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), that were eventually signed into law. H.R. 644 includes numerous provisions to facilitate trade and strengthen enforcement of U.S. trade laws, including U.S. intellectual property rights and anti-dumping and countervailing duty laws. Tax Extenders. House and Senate negotiators are reportedly close to reaching agreement on extending or retroactively renewing dozens of business and other tax provisions that are scheduled to soon expire or that expired at the end of 2014. Reconciliation. The House may consider the Senate amendment to H.R. 3762, the House-passed reconciliation measure that would repeal major portions of the Obamacare. As originally passed by the House in October, the measure repealed Obamacare’s individual and employer mandates, the medical device tax, the “Cadillac” tax on high-value employer health care plans, and the Prevention and Public Health Fund. It also defunded Planned Parenthood for one year. Last week, the Senate passed an amended version, by a 52-47 vote, which added provisions to limit the law’s expansion of Medicaid and repeal the tax subsidies for purchasing insurance on the state exchanges, as well as several other taxes under the law.
U.S. House of Representatives: June 16-19
The U.S. House of Representatives returned yesterday to consider several minor bills naming post offices and other federal facilities. However the main legislative work begins today, when the House will take action on the Intelligence Authorization Act, which provides the Intelligence Community authorization needed to protect and defend the United States by supporting critical national security programs such as those protecting Americans against terrorism and cyberattacks. The Remainder of the week, the House will focus on a number of health care-related bills, including pieces of legislation that would repeal two contentious provisions of the Affordable Care Act, all the while Congress and the President wait patiently the Supreme Court’s ruling in King v. Burwell, regarding subsidies for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Legislation on the floor for a vote this week includes: H.R. 1190: Protecting Seniors’ Access to Medicare Act of 2015 Alabama co-sponsors: Rep. Bradley Byrne (AL-1), Rep. Martha Roby (AL-2), Rep. Robert Aderholt (AL-4),Rep. Mo Brooks (AL-5) H.R. 160: Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2015 Alabama co-sponsors: Rep. Bradley Byrne (AL-1), Rep. Martha Roby (AL-2), Rep. Mike Rogers (AL-3), Rep. Robert Aderholt (AL-4),Rep. Mo Brooks (AL-5), Rep. Gary Palmer (AL-6), Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-7) H. Res. 233: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Iran should immediately release the three United States citizens that it holds, as well as provide all known information on any United States citizens that have disappeared within its borders Alabama co-sponsors: Rep. Mike Rogers (AL-3), Rep. Mo Brooks (AL-5) H.R. 2596: Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 H.R. 2505: Medicare Advantage Coverage Transparency Act of 2015 H.R. 2507: Increasing Regulatory Fairness Act of 2015 H.R. 2582: Seniors’ Health Care Plan Protection Act of 2015 H.R. 2570: Strengthening Medicare Advantage through Innovation and Transparency for Seniors Act of 2015 H. Con. Res. 55: Directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces deployed to Iraq or Syria on or after August 7, 2014, other than Armed Forces required to protect United States diplomatic facilities and personnel, from Iraq and Syria
Obama’s trade agenda draws GOP support in U.S. House
Legislation to strengthen President Barack Obama‘s hand for a new round of trade deals advanced Thursday in the U.S. House of Representatives courtesy of Republicans and over the protests of Democrats, a political role reversal that portends a bruising struggle over passage later this spring. The vote was 25-13 in the House Ways and Means Committee as pro-business Republicans outpolled labor-aligned Democrats. It was the second straight day the GOP-controlled Congress voted handed Obama a victory on trade. The Senate Finance Committee approved a nearly identical bill Thursday night that would allow lawmakers to vote yes or no without making changes in trade deals, like the one now taking shape among Pacific Rim trading partners. “They’re waiting for this to put their best offers on the table,” Republican U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the House committee chairman, said of negotiating partners that include Japan, Singapore, Chile and Peru. The president put in a plug for the legislation while speaking dismissively of its critics. “When people say this trade deal is bad for working families, they don’t know what they’re talking about,” Obama told activists and donors with Organizing for Action, a group with roots in his presidential campaigns. Democrats said the legislation didn’t go far enough to assure labor standards and environmental protections strong enough to avoid placing American companies at a disadvantage, and said failure to prohibit currency manipulation abroad would cost U.S. workers their jobs. “Currency manipulation has caused more job loss than anything else connected to trade,” said Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan, the senior Democrat on the panel. But the Democrats’ attempt to substitute their own legislation — weakening Obama’s powers — was ruled out of order by Republicans on grounds that it exceeded the committee’s jurisdiction. As a result, no vote was taken on it. It would have set up a congressional committee with authority to decide if any trade deal had met negotiating objectives, taking the power away from Obama. Unlike the White House-backed measure, it would only have applied to the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks, and not to other possible deals over the next six years. In addition to trade talks involving countries bordering the Pacific, the administration is involved in negotiations toward a TransAtlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the European Union and a Trade in Services Agreement with dozens of countries. Trade legislation is a perennial political irritant for Democrats, never more than now, given the post-recession political fault lines that have developed on the issue of income disparity. Democratic U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, the party’s leader in the House, declined to say whether she supports the legislation. At a news conference, she said: “At the end of the day, you weigh the equities. Is this better than the status quo? How much better? Or is it a wasted opportunity? And right now, I’m disappointed.” She suggested that if the White House and Republicans fail to produce a majority for the measure, it would increase Democratic leverage to seek changes. Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination this week in New Hampshire, similarly declined to state a position. Some Democrats have been far less reluctant, though. Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a persistent critic of large corporations, has engaged in something of a long-range debate with Obama over the subject in recent days. The House legislation is nearly identical to a bill that cleared the Senate Finance Committee on a bipartisan 20-6 vote. Seven of that panel’s 13 Democrats supported the bill. Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina was the only Republican to oppose it. In the House committee, all Republicans joined with Democratic Reps. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Ron Kind of Wisconsin in supporting the bill. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
U.S. Reps. Martha Roby, Bradley Byrne step up efforts to reform Alabama VA
Amid a growing fervor over reports alleging mistreatment of military veterans in Alabama’s VA system — and a purported campaign to cover up and retaliate against whistleblowers — two Alabama members of Congress have stepped up their efforts to reform the deeply entrenched culture that they say led to a pattern of abuse. U.S. Rep. Martha Roby first spoke to whistleblower and associate director at the Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System Richard Tremaine in June 2014. That’s when he told her of his grave concerns observing fraud and the mishandling of records on the part of his superiors and, afterward, a culture of retaliation and exclusion. Roby helped introduce Tremaine this month when he testified before Congress. “I speak with you today, with a heavy heart,” Tremaine told the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. “Disgusted by continued cover-ups, a discrediting campaign through open-ended investigations, and the attempted destruction of my career, by the very VA I have always loved being part of.” Roby joined with Tremaine in expressing outrage over the VA’s failures in central Alabama. She said she is tired of asking nicely for the federal VA to get a hold on the situation The congressman from Alabama’s 1st District, U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, has been outspoken on the issue as well. On Tuesday, he called for a new VA clinic in Mobile. “Our veterans have waited far too long for a new VA clinic in Mobile, and it is past time the VA moves the process forward,” Byrne said in a prepared statement. “The current Mobile clinic is outdated and too small to adequately meet the needs of our area’s veterans. Years ago the VA committed to the construction of a new clinic in Mobile, but bureaucratic obstacles continue to hold the process up.” Byrne has also co-sponsored legislation to grant veterans improved access to private care, in the midst of so many obstacles to quality public services in central Alabama. Byrne said in a prepared statement Tuesday: “[T]he VA’s bureaucratic delays aren’t just hurting our veterans, but they are adding additional costs to the American taxpayer. I understand the unique challenges facing the VA as they undergo reforms, but they can’t lose sight of their number one responsibility: to adequately care for our veterans.” The pair faces a difficult challenge to be sure, as news circulates that Alabamian veterans continue to face far longer wait times than their counterparts elsewhere. Both pledge to continue to fight for improved local VA institutions. Said Roby to Yellowhammer News regarding the wait-time reports: “There are a lot of good people at the VA who deeply care for our veterans and work hard to give them care. But, the truth is, there are also those that aren’t doing the job and who don’t have the best interests of our veterans in mind. “That culture has festered at Central Alabama for years,” she said. “It has carried over through multiple directors, and it isn’t going to change until Secretary McDonald gets serious and puts leadership in place that will clean house. “We need a permanent system director who is empowered and willing to change the lousy culture and turn the place around. I’ll take that message back to Washington … where improving care for veterans remains my top priority.” Byrne echoed that Tuesday via a news release: “Veterans in southwest Alabama deserve better than their current facility, and I plan to do all I can ensure our veterans are treated fairly.”
