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Posted by Dave Reyburn on 6/23/2008, 8:10 am
I. This Week in Congress (6/9/2008)
The House and Senate were in session this week.
House and Senate negotiators continued to work behind the scenes on H.R. 2642, the "Supplemental Appropriations Act." The Senate-amended version of the bill contains $490 million of Federal funding for law enforcement. The FOP strongly supports the Senate language.
Action in the House
The House considered and passed H.R. 5749, the "Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act," on a 274-137 vote, and H.R. 5938, the "Former Vice President Protection Act," which would provide Secret Service protection for former Vice Presidents of the United States, by voice vote. Both bills have been transmitted to the Senate for further action.
In addition, the House considered and passed H.R. 6003, the "Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act," which reauthorizes Amtrak, on a 311-104 vote, and H.R. 6028, the "Merida Initiative to Combat Illicit Narcotics and Reduce Organized Crime Authorization Act," on a 311-106 vote. The latter bill authorizes the President to provide assistance to Mexico and to the countries of Central America for law enforcement and security assistance, including combating gangs and illegal drug and arms trafficking. Both pieces of legislation have been transmitted to the Senate for further action.
Action in House Committees
The Appropriations Subcommittees on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies and on Homeland Security met this week. Both Committees rejected the Administration's proposals to cut Federal funding to law enforcement programs.
The Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security favorably reported H.R. 3546, legislation which would reauthorize the Edward J. Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne-JAG) programs, by voice vote. The Senate companion measure, S. 231, passed the Senate last year. The bill, which authorizes $1.1 billion for the grant programs, now goes to the full Committee on the Judiciary for further consideration.
The Committee on the Judiciary favorably reported H.R. 5057, the "Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act," by voice vote. The bill, which reauthorizes the Federal DNA backlog analysis program, also includes an amendment that would provide incentives to States to collect DNA samples from anyone arrested for murder or a sex crime. The bill will next be considered by the full House.
Action in the Senate
The Senate spent much of the early part of the week debating S. 3044, the "Consumer-First Energy Act." The bill was subject to a filibuster, and the first attempt to invoke cloture failed on a 51-43 vote.
II. Update on Top Legislative Priorities
For the complete list of cosponsors for all of our top legislative priorities, or to find out if your Representative and Senators are cosponsors of specific bills, check out thomas.loc.gov.
A. Social Security Issues
(1) Support H.R. 82/S. 206, the "Social Security Fairness Act"
We added two (2) new cosponsors to H.R. 82, bringing our current total to three hundred thirty-nine (339) cosponsors—more than seventy-five percent (75%) of the House. Please note that this total differs slightly from THOMAS, as we are not including in our count Delegates Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-Guam), Donna M. Christensen (D-VI), Luis Fortuno (D-PR), and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), who have limited voting rights on the floor. We are also not including Representatives Julia Carson (D-IN), Paul Gillmor (R-OH), Tom Lantos (D-CA), Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-CA), or Charlie Norwood (R-GA), all of whom have died this year. Similarly, Representatives Bobby Jindal (R-LA) and Martin Meehan (D-MA), who resigned their seats, are also not included in our count.
In January, National President Chuck Canterbury sent a letter to the Chairman of the Social Security Subcommittee, Representative Michael R. McNulty (D-NY), urging him to take action on the bill. Chairman McNulty has not yet replied. That letter can be found here. Chairman McNulty has not yet replied.
We currently have thirty-six (36) cosponsors on the Senate companion bill, S. 206.
The National Legislative Office has identified thirteen (13) Members from ten (10) States which had previously cosponsored this bill in the 109th Congress. A list of these Members has been forwarded to the National Legislative Committee, who will in turn distribute it to the State Legislative Contacts and leaders in the appropriate States.
(2) Opposing any legislation that would require the participation of public employees in Social Security
This issue was discussed in both hearings mentioned above. While no legislation has been introduced with a provision that would mandate the inclusion in Social Security of public employees currently not in the system, the FOP included in its testimony to the Subcommittee our strong opposition to such a scheme.
B. Support H.R. 980/S. 2123, the "Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act"
No further progress has been made in the negotiations between the staff of Senators Judd Gregg (R-NH), the bill sponsor, and Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) and lead cosponsor of H.R. 980, and that of Mike Enzi (R-WY), the Ranking Member on the HELP Committee to get an agreement to resume debate on the measure.
Senator Harry M. Reid (D-NV), the Majority Leader in the Senate, continues to keep our legislation as a pending item for the Senate floor. At this writing, the staffs of Senators Judd Gregg (R-NH), the bill sponsor, and Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) and lead cosponsor of H.R. 980, are working with the staff of Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the Minority Leader, and Mike Enzi (R-WY), the Ranking Member on the HELP Committee, to get an agreement to resume debate on the measure.
Senator Enzi is a staunch opponent of the bill, and, in the absence of Senator Kennedy, negotiations have gone slowly. It is important that our members stay in contact with their Senators on the issue—especially the cosponsors and the those who voted for cloture on 13 May! All Senate Democrats, as well as independent Senators Lieberman (ID-CT) and Sanders (I-VT), voted in favor of the cloture motion, as did the following Republicans (cosponsors of the Senate companion bill, S. 2123, are marked with an asterisk):
Chambliss (GA)
Coleman (MN)*
Collins (ME)*
Domenici (NM)*
Grassley (IA)
Gregg (NH)*
Hagel (NE)
Hatch (UT)
Martinez (FL)*
McConnell (KY)
Murkowski (AK)*
Smith (OR)*
Snowe (ME)*
Specter (PA)*
Stevens (AK)*
Sununu (NH)*
Thune (SD)
Voinovich (OH)
All FOP members should call their Senators (ESPECIALLY those listed above) at their Washington offices, or through the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121, and thank them for their vote in favor of cloture and ask that they continue to work to get this bill passed on the Senate floor.
When contacting your Senators, we encourage you to refer to the FOP's Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document: http://www.fop.net/legislative/issues/bargain/hr980faq.pdf.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the National Sheriffs' Association (NSA) remain very active in working to build and maintain opposition to this bill. Administration officials have now issued two separate veto threats. National President Canterbury sent a letter to Senate leadership in which he addressed some of the arguments being made by these and other opponents to the bill, which can be found here: http://www.fop.net/publications/archives/letters/2008_0509.pdf.
The U.S. House of Representatives considered and passed H.R. 980 under a suspension of the rules on a 314–97 vote in July of last year. The result of that vote, Roll Call #633, can be viewed here: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll633.xml.
The Senate companion bill, S. 2123, has thirty-six (36) cosponsors.
C. Support H.R. 688/S. 449, the "State and Local Law Enforcement Officers' Discipline, Accountability and Due Process Act"
We currently have fifty-six (56) cosponsors on H.R. 688. Please note that this total differs slightly from THOMAS, as we are not including Representatives Jo Ann Davis (R-VA), who recently died.
We currently have six (6) cosponsors on S. 449.
In addition, staff from the National Legislative Office is working with staff in the offfices of Representative Jim Ramstad (R-MN), the sponsor of H.R. 688, and that of Representative Linda T. Sanchez (D-CA), who has sponsored a similar measure, in an effort to draft an improved version of H.R. 688.
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