Category Archives: House of Representatives

Rep. Michaud Condemns Use of Veterans as Political Pawns

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WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Representative Mike Michaud (ME-02), Ranking Member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, spoke on the House floor today during debate on H.J.Res. 72, a bill that partially funds VA operations and furthers the standoff over the government shutdown. Michaud has previously spoken out against piecemeal approaches pursued by Republican leaders.

“This House bill, like the others before them, will not be considered by the Senate and the President has said he will veto it. Instead of waging a PR war and wasting time on bills that will go nowhere, House Republicans should pursue a solution to the shutdown that could actually pass both chambers and be signed by the President,” said Michaud.

Read more at Veterans Today

AMAC supports democrat elder abuse protection bill

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The Association of Mature American Citizens organization issued a letter of support to Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA) for his bill, H.R. 3090, the Elder Protection and Abuse Prevention Act of 2013. Arizona democrats Ron Barber and Raul Grijalva—of Arizona’s 2nd and 3rd districts respectively—are among 43 co-sponsors of the bill.

Andrew Mangione, on the AMAC web site, wrote, “This piece of legislation sheds light on elder abuse and institutes a number of legal protective measures to ensure that incidents of abuse are properly reported and reduced nationwide. To put an end to these injustices, H.R. 3090 strengthens the definitions of elder abuse, neglect, and elder justice and defines the terms financial exploitation and adult protective services for the first time in the Older Americans Act (OAA) of 1965.”

H.R. 3090 seeks to strengthen the definitions of abuse in Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, section of the United States Code. It also provides funding for various government and private agencies in the area of elder abuse neglect and financial exploitation.

AMAC is a conservative alternate group to AARP.

Congress and the Justice Dept’s Dangerous Attempts to Define “Journalist” Threaten to Exclude Bloggers

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Lawmakers in Washington are again weighing in on who should and should not qualify as a journalist—and the outcome looks pretty grim for bloggers, freelancers, and other non-salaried journalists.

On July 12, the Justice Department released its new guidelines on investigations involving the news media in the wake of the fallout from the leak scandals involving the monitoring of AP and Fox News reporters. While the guidelines certainly provide much-needed protections for establishment journalists, as independent journalist Marcy Wheeler explained, the DOJ’s interpretation of who is a “member[] of the news media” is dramatically narrower than the definition provided in the Privacy Protection Act and effectively excludes bloggers and freelancers from protection. This limiting definition is causing alarm among bloggers like Glenn Reynolds on the right as well.

While the DOJ’s effort to limit the scope of who can be recognized as a journalist is problematic, it doesn’t have teeth. Guidelines are, well, guidelines. But the report is part of a broader legislative effort in Washington to simultaneously offer protection for the press while narrowing the scope of who is afforded it. Importantly, Congress introduced federal shield bills in May—both ironically named the “Free Flow of Information Act of 2013”—that arguably would exclude bloggers, freelancers, and other non-salaried journalists from protection because they are not included within the bills’ narrow definition of who qualifies as a journalist.

If these bills—support for which the White House reaffirmed in its DOJ report—pass without change, Congress effectively will create two tiers of journalists: the institutional press licensed by the government, and everyone else. That’s a pretty flimsy shield if what we are really trying to protect is the free flow of information.

Read more at the Electronic Frontier Foundation

To the moon, Alice! To the moon!

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kramden_powWASHINGTON—Ralph Kramden must have been a Democrat. For years he wanted wife Alice to beat Neil Armstrong to the moon. Or words to that effect. Now Democrat Representative Donna Edwards wants to commemorate one of the events.

If Representative Edwards from Maryland and Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas has her way, Ralph would have been able to take his wife there for their honeymoon (Pun intended, though poor). Edwards has submitted H.R. 2617, “To establish the Apollo Lunar Landing Sites National Historical Park on the Moon, and for other purposes.”

The act would establish a park on the moon protecting the artifacts from the various Apollo missions at the various landing sites. This is, of course, as constitutional as the parks systems within the United States.

The bill would allow the Secretary of the Interior to enter into an agreement with the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to create the proposed park. The secretary will also be able to enter into an agreement with “a Federal agency to provide public access to, and management, interpretation, and historic preservation of, historically significant Apollo lunar landing site resources under the jurisdiction or control of the Federal agency.”

Funding? Not a problem. The bill allows:

The Secretary may accept donations from, and enter into cooperative agreements with, foreign governments and international bodies, organizations, or individuals to further the purpose of an interagency agreement entered into under paragraph (1) or to provide visitor services and administrative facilities within reasonable proximity to the Historical Park.

After all, the bill also allows it to be established with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a World Heritage Site.

This should provide a big boost to Sir Richard Branson’s Space Program.

Source: National Journal

Representative Engel wants to make you Facebook safe.

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WASHINGTON—Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY-16) has submitted the Social Networking Online Protection Act to make your social network and e-mail accounts safe from prying eyes. At least, the eyes of your employer, potential employer or your school.

H.R. 537 would make it illegal for “employers and certain other entities” to demand that you provide passwords for them to access your private social network and email accounts. It would make it unlawful for employers or potential employers to discriminate against you, dismiss you or in anyway harass you for refusing to give this personal information.

The bill would add a section to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 which essentially provides the same limitations on educational facilities as to employers above.

The Department of Homeland Security and other alphabet agencies, of course, will still be able to employ face recognition software and spy techniques in their on-going effort to make us safe from persons who support the Constitution, veterans and those rabid Ron Paul fans.

The house is also considering H.R. 624—the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act—for just that purpose.

House legislation may unlock cell phones once again

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Unlocking-cell-phones-how-to-do-300x224WASHINGTON—Before January of this year, people could unlock cell phones in order to utilize whatever phone service they chose. After January 1st, that option was locked-out. That is to say that you could no longer unlock your cell phone and had to buy a new cell phone to switch services. Although unlocked cell phone are still sold through several stores and Internet sources.

That could change if legislation submitted by Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA6) passes.

The Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act, H.R. 1123, would repeal Paragraph (3) of section 201.40(b) of title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations, amended by the Library of Congress in October of 2012, to allow consumers to unlock cell phones. Cell phones were locked based on Copyright infringement.

This would, of course, allow consumers to switch services without having to purchase new phones. The Bill, with 8 cosponsors, was referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, And The Internet on the 15th.

It is expected that cell phone industry lobbyists will be out in force.

Lawsuit filed to force recount in Allen West’s congressional race

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ST. PETERSBURG — Calling attention to one of the closest November congressional races nationwide, the Houston-based voter integrity group True the Vote announced on Monday that it will be filing a lawsuit to force an independent review of the election which cost Republican Allen West his seat.

The complaint, filed in the Southern District Court of Florida on Sunday, aims to completely review all records and recounts in the race for the 18th Congressional district between Democrat Patrick Murphy and West.

“This dramatic recount was an extraordinary example of how our elections can suffer systematic failure,” said True the Vote president Catherine Engelbrecht. “We run the risk seeing episodes like this becoming ordinary if citizens do not demand answers and hold election officials accountable. The American people own the voting system – we have the right to ask tough questions when we witness the failure of one of America’s core functions.”

Read more at Watchdog

Senate plan would give Napolitano the final say on border security

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Under a bipartisan Senate framework, Democrats say, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano would have final say over whether the border is secure enough to put 11 million illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship.

If Napolitano does not provide the green light for putting illegal immigrants on a pathway to citizenship, the responsibility for judging whether the metrics for border security have been met will be given to her successor.

The early debate over immigration reform has yielded two thorny questions: What metrics will be used to determine whether the goals for border security and other safeguards against illegal immigration have been met? Who will decide whether the metrics have been achieved?

Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), the lead Democratic sponsor of the bipartisan immigration reform framework unveiled this past week, said Napolitano should decide.

Read more at The Hill

House preparing for mass death in US

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WASHINGTON D.C.—California representative Laura Richardson has submitted H.R. 6566—the Mass Fatality Planning and Religious Considerations Act—to prepare for mass deaths in the US including manmade and terrorist attacks. Ms. Richardson states that the act is pursuant to the powers of Congress under Article I, Section 8, Clauses 11 and 182 of the United States Constitution.

Govtrack.us estimates a 1% chance of passage of the legislation. The bill has no cosponsors.

According to the legislation, the government finds:

(1) Emergency preparedness often plans for how to prepare and provide for survivors of a natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man-made disaster, but fails to plan for how to prepare for and respond to mass fatalities that result from such an incident.

(2) Funeral homes, cemeteries, and mortuaries could be overwhelmed should mass fatalities arise from a natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man-made disaster.

(3) Different religions have different customs surrounding death; for example, the Jewish and Muslim religions call for burial of the deceased not later than 48 hours after death.

The act would amend Section 504 of the Homeland Security Act (6 U.S.C. 314) by adding:

`(c) Preparedness for Mass Fatalities- In carrying out this section, the Administrator shall provide guidance to and coordinate with appropriate individuals, including representatives from different communities, private sector businesses, non-profit organizations, and religious organizations, to prepare for and respond to a natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man-made disaster that results in mass fatalities.’.

Section 314 of Title 6 deals with the Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA. The Administrator refers to the administrator of FEMA.

Many web sites across the Internet are linking this legislation with the high volume purchase of ammunition by government agencies.

1. The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

2. To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.