Congressional Dish

Before taking a week off for July 4th, the House passed a bill forcing the Obama administration to sell offshore leases to the oil and gas industry. Links to Information from this Episode Music: "At the Beach" by Andrew Dean & The Farm Machine (found on Music Alley by mevio) Congressional Dish summary of H.R. 2231: "Offshore Energy and Jobs Act" Text and status of H.R. 2231 President Obama put a moratorium on offshore drilling after the Deepwater Horizon spill Document detailing the areas with most untapped oil and gas resources Lease 220 off of Virginia's coast cancelled by the Obama Administration Santa Barbara doesn't want new drilling off their coastline 2010: Bill signed into law allowing old rigs to serve as reefs off of the California coast [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="621"] Areas affected by the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spil[/caption] Solyndra was manufacturing a different kind of solar panel: Thin film solar panels Representatives Quoted in This Episode Rep. Doc Hastings of Washing

In this episode, the House of Representatives tries to approve ultra-deepwater drilling in the "Western Gap": The middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Links to Information in This Episode Song: The Oil Spill song by Steve Clark Congressional Dish summary of H.R. 1613: The Outer Continental Shelf Transboundary Hydrocarbon Agreements Authorization Act Text of H.R. 1613 Jamie Dupree: The guy who told me that the NDAA is not a funding bill How ultra-deepwater drilling is done The Bubba shrimp scene from Forrest Gump "Gulf oil spill's effects still has seafood industry nervious" - Craig Pittman, TampaBay.com, April 13, 2013 "Empty nets in Louisiana three years after the spill" - Matt Smith, CNN, April 29, 2013 Where is the Western Gap? "U.S., Mexico Sign Deal on Oil Drilling in Gulf - Tom Fowler, Wall Street Journal, February 21, 2012 Existing leases in the Western Gap area   The Trans Pacific Partnership: The creepy free trade agreement Hillary Clinton promoted as Secretary of State Representatives Quoted in This

In this episode, the House schedule has Jen frustrated, the House Farm Bill unexpectedly dies, and the House passes an abortion bill. Links to Information in This Episode Govtrack: text and other information about H.R. 1947, the failed House Farm Bill Congress wants to get rid of direct payments to farmers. NPR: Why the Farm Bill's Provisions Will Matter to You Comparison of House and Senate farm bills Government statistics for SNAP (food stamp) program Congressional Dish summary of H.R. 1797, the abortion bill Text of H.R. 1797 Representatives Quoted in This Episode John Fleming of Louisiana Jerrold Nadler of New York

In this episode, we take a look at the first draft of the 2014 Department of Defense funding bill and see what it tells us about the United States future in war. We also look at three bills the House passed for Wall Street. Links to Information in this Episode Music: I Disagree by 20 Riverside (found on Music Alley by mevio) Congressional Dish summary of H.R. 1960: The House 2014 NDAA Text of H.R. 1960 House Armed Services Committee report on H.R. 1960 Army plans for Abrams tanks  Why the F-35 fighter tanks are such an expensive mess Senator McCain's comments on the F-35 Military accepts unfinished planes from Boeing Military gets it's digital data from the NSA  The NSA is collecting and storing all digital data Benghazi embassy was being guarded by a British private contractor Music: Gambler's Blues by Tin Pan (found on Music Alley by mevio) Congressional Dish summary of H.R. 634, H.R. 742, and H.R. 1256: The Wall Street bills Rolling Stone article on Wall Street bills by Matt Taibbi Artwork: 

In this episode, a look at the House's 2014 military construction and veterans funding bill's first-draft and then examine whether it's wise to continue a system that fast-tracks applications for animal anti-biotics. Links to Information in this Episode Music: "In Your Name" by The Undercover Hippy (found on MusicAlley by mevio) Congressional Dish summary of H.R. 2216: Funding for military construction and the Department of Veteran's Affairs Text of H.R. 2216 Transcript of President Obama's May 23, 2013 speech on national defense to National Defense University in Washington, D.C Video/Audio of President Obama's speech Example of the strategy allowed in Section 123 that transfers expired funds to the “Foreign Currency Fluctuations, Construction, Defense” account so that it can magically become unexpired A full explanation of what we did in Iraq: The privatization of their government for the benefit of U.S. corporations leaving Iraqi industries - including cement - to watch and go broke (by Naomi Klein) Music:

The House passed H.R. 3, a bill waiving permit requirements for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline and passed H.R. 1911, a bill that could raise interest rates for college students while tying their rates to the market. Links to Information in this Episode: Music: We've Got Balls by Robin and the Giant (downloaded from Music Alley) Congressional Dish summary of H.R. 3, the Keystone XL bill. James Hansen's warning about Keystone XL's effect on the climate. Refineries in Texas are hunting for business. Keystone XL route from Canada to Texas Canadians don't want tar sands pipelines running through their land. [caption id="attachment_577" align="aligncenter" width="758"] Bitumen is not oil; it's tar and is sticky like peanut butter.[/caption] 2010 tar sands spill in Kalamazoo, Michigan isn't clean yet. EPA photos from the Kalamazoo spill [caption id="attachment_578" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Tar sands oil sinks near Kalamazoo, Michigan: August 1, 2010. Source: EPA[/caption] Keystone XL will go over the O

In this episode, highlights from the House Ways and Means Committee IRS scandal hearing. IRS staffers made a list of keywords including Tea Party, 9-12, Patriot, etc. to help them find social welfare groups applying for tax exempt status that were actually political in nature. This is the scandal you've been told about; the real scandal is how many of them have been approved. Background How IRS "streamlining" in the 1990s led to mismanagement In January of 2010, the Supreme Court ruled in the infamous Citizen's United case that corporations count as people and that corporation donations count as speech, making them protected by the Constitution. This opened the floodgates to large amounts of corporate money making its way into U.S. elections. At the same time, the IRS saw a sharp increase in the number of groups claiming tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(4) of the U.S. tax code. Groups that qualify do not have to pay taxes to the U.S. government and, more importantly to political groups, do not have to

After a health care rant, we look at H.R. 1406, a bill that would have allowed workers to get vacation time instead of cash for their overtime. It's a bill I'd actually like to see survive. Links to Information in this Episode Previous episode CD026 about H.R. 1549 Congressional Dish summary of H.R. 1549 "Help Sick Americans Now Act" Music: Overtime by Man Born Blind Congressional Dish summary of H.R. 1406 "Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013" Status and text of H.R. 1406 Music: Playing Games by Country Drive (found on Music Alley by mevio) Congressional Dish summary of H.R. 807 "Full Faith and Credit Act" Status and text of H.R. 807 Music: Democracy is Dangerous by Thomas Pace (found on Music Alley by mevio) It just keeps getting worse. I am scheduling a vote for next week on the full repeal of #Obamacare. — Eric Cantor (@GOPLeader) May 8, 2013 Representatives Quoted in Order of Appearance Repeal ObamaCare montage Rep. Lynn Westmoreland of Texas Indiana Governor and former Congressman Mike Pence Rep.

The House worked on two bills this week. H.R. 527, which changes the way we sell helium, passed in a beautifully bipartisan way. H.R. 1549, which dismantles a piece of ObamaCare, died a uniquely Republican death. Links to Information in this Episode Music: All Hail to the Market by Alun Parry (found on Music Alley by mevio) Text of H.R. 527: Responsible Helium Administration and Stewardship Act Natural Resources Committee hearing on H.R. 527, an example of government functioning properly. Music: Ask Your Doctor by Neal Fox (found on Music Alley by mevio) Text of H.R. 1549: "Help Sick Americans Now Act" Congressional Dish summary of H.R. 1549 Washington Post: Funds run low for health insurance in state ‘high-risk pools’ by N.C. Aizenman (2/15/13) What is the public health fund? The public health fund has already been cut FreedomWorks blog post by Dean Clancy, the Vice President of Public Policy Representatives Featured in this Episode (in order of appearance) Rep. Doc Hastings of Washington Rep. Jim McGove

H.R. 624: The "Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act", better known as CISPA, passed the House of Representatives and is now moving into the Senate. It's a better bill than it was in the last Congress, but it's still not ready to become law. Links to information in this podcast Music: Democracy is Dangerous by Thomas Pace (found on Music Alley by mevio) Text of H.R. 624: CISPA as it passed the House of Representatives Congressional Dish summary of CISPA White House veto threat Representatives Quoted in This Episode (in order of appearance) Rep. Alcee Hastings of Florida Rep. Rob Woodall of Georgia Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan Rep. Jared Polis of Colorado Rep. Adam Schiff of California Rep. Bill Enyart of Illinois Further Reading Sunlight Foundation article on lobbying efforts for CISPA

In the hours before the Boston marathon bombing, President Obama quietly signed a bill gutting the STOCK Act. Full details on the shady way both houses of Congress passed the bill in under two days. Links to Information in this Podcast Music: Money, Money, Money by The Undercover Hippy (found on MusicAlley by mevio) Congressional Dish summary of S.716 Text of S. 716 60 Minutes segment on insider trading in Congress C-SPAN video of the STOCK Act signing ceremony Senate passage of S. 716 took 10 seconds Rep. Eric Cantor's smirky face as he takes 14 seconds to pass S. 716 in the House: Congressional Dish summary of H.R. 882, the bill that sort of stops government contracts from going to corporations with seriously delinquent tax debt. Text of H.R. 882: Contracting and Tax Accountability Act of 2013 Congressional Dish summary of H.R. 1163, the bill about information security policies. Text of H.R. 1163: Federal Information Security Amendments Act of 2013 Text of H.R. 756: The Cybersecurity Enhancement Act CIA a

This episode is dedicated to my family, friends, and neighbors in Boston.

The House passed two bills this week designed to prevent regulation enforcement; one prevents environmental reviews on certain hydro-power projects, the other prevents the National Labor Relations Board from functioning at all. A small conduit hydroelectic project[/caption] Links to Information in this Podcast Song: We've Got Balls by Robin and the Giant (downloaded from Music Alley) Text of the bill: H.R. 678: "The Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act" Congressional Dish summary of H.R. 678 Bureau of Reclamation report and maps of potential projects in 13 states Bill passed with only 15 House members either voting against it or not voting at all. Song: Work Til You Die by The Undercover Hippie (downloaded from Music Alley) Text of the bill: H.R. 1120: “Preventing Greater Uncertainty in Labor-Management Relations Act” Congressional Dish summary of H.R. 1120 Video from the H.R. 1120 mark-up hearing in the House Education and Workforce Committee What is the National L

Part 3 of the continuing resolution followed by a history of Trailblazer and ThinThread, the NSA's spying programs. *Forward to 28:20 to hear the Trailblazer vs. Thinthread (NSA spying) story* H.R. 933: Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013 B= Billion M= Million DIVISION E: VETERANS Title I—Department of Defense Construction (TOTAL: $10.6 B) $1.7 B: Army construction available until 2017 for "acquisition, construction, installation, and equipment of temporary or permanent public works, military installations, facilities, and real property… and host nation support" $1.5 B: Navy & Marine construction available until 2017 $323 M: Air Force construction available until 2017 $3.5 B: Defense-wide construction available until 2017 Includes $27 M for a new NATO headquarters $614 M: Army National Guard construction available until 2017 $42 M: Air National Guard construction available until 2017 $306 M: Army Reserve construction available until 2017 $50 M: Navy Reserve construction availa

Part 2 of the Continuing Resolution which funds the government until September 30th. In this section, we look at the funding for the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security. H.R. 933: Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013 B= Billion M= Million DIVISION C: DEFENSE DEPARTMENT (TOTAL FUNDING: $597,086,714,000) Title I—Military Personnel $127.5 B: Total funding Title II—Operation and Maintenance $173 B: Total funding Title III—Procurement $100 B: Total funding Public funding for private procurements In every category: "Expansion of public and private plants including the land necessary" "Procurement and installation of equipment, appliances, and machine tools in public and private plants" "contractor-owned equipment lay-away" = no interest is charged Shipbuilding and Conversion, Navy No money can be used to construct ships in foreign shipyards Title IV—Research, Development, Test and Evaluation $70 B: Total funding Title V—Revolving and Management Funds $1.5

Part 1 of a two part series on the continuing resolution that will fund the government until the end of September. In this episode, we examine the funding for the Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Justice, and science related appropriations. H.R. 933: Consolidated and Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013 B = billion M = million DIVISION A: AGRICULTURE, FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION Totals Grand total of division: 139 B for 2013 ($137 B in 2012) ($144 B requested) Food and Drug Administration (FDA): $4 B in 2013 Food Stamps: $77 B for 2013 ($80 B in 2013) ($82 B requested) All domestic food programs: $105 B for 3013 ($106 B in 2012) ($109 B requested) Subject to 2.513% sequester cut TITLE I - Agricultural Programs Extension Activities People eligible for taxpayer food: States, DC, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, Micronesia, the Northern Marianas, and American Samoa Food Safety & Inspection Must have at least 148 inspectors Hazardous Waste Management: LIMITED

Low-lights of the Ryan budget are described after we run down the bills passed by the House this week. We also look into an eighteen-year emergency continued this week by President Obama. H.R. 749: Eliminate Privacy Confusion Act The banks currently have to send out a notice regarding their privacy policies every year. This bill would change the law so the banks only have to send the privacy notices out when they change their privacy policies. The privacy policies will be posted online. HR 890: Preserving the Welfare Work Requirement and TANF Extension Act This bill extends the the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program, which is welfare, through the end of this calendar year. The bill also prohibits the Obama administration from following through with a plan to give states waivers which would allow them to operate their own welfare programs, so long as there is a proven 20% increase in the number of welfare recipients who find work. This bill would effectively make sure the Federal government has a

We take a close look at the Violence Against Women Act re-authorization as the President signs it into law. We also look at the continuing resolution passed by the House, which funds defense while leaving the rest of the government in chaos. S. 47: Violence Against Women Re-Authorization Act of 2013... Was signed by the President! This one is law. President Obama signs VAWA on March 7, 2013 Definition Changes Adds stalking and date rape to the list of offenses. Includes cyber stalking in the definition of stalking. Replaces "spouses" with "parties' Indian Affairs Adds "sex trafficking" and "stalking" to eligible grant programs for Indian women Allows Indian tribes to have jurisdiction over domestic violence crimes unless neither the victim or defendant are Indians. Includes D.C., Indian tribes, and Puerto Rico in the grant funding (decreases funding) Immigrants Allows children to stay in U.S. on their victimized parent's U Visa even if they turn 21 while the VISA is pending New Programs Grants for tra

No one really tried to avert the sequester, the House of Representatives travels in style, and something good actually happened this week in Congress.   Sequester Here is a rundown of what kind of effort each division of Congress put forth to try to avert the sequester. Senate Democrats offered S. 388: The American Family Economic Protection Act of 2013 Freezes the sequester, keeping the budget the same for 2013. Lowers the spending caps from the Budget Control Act, totaling $39 billion in future spending (not a cut) Eliminates direct payments to farmers for peanuts, sugarcane, and sugar beets Protects other agricultural programs by making them mandatory spending, extending their funding, or exempting them from sequestration. Increases taxes on earnings over $1,000,000 to 30% starting in 2014 Eliminates tax deductions for business expenses relating to moving a business out of the United States Defines bitumen products (tar sands) as oil so that it can be taxed as oil This bill failed to pass the Senate; Re

House Republicans tried hard during their week off to label the huge March 1 cuts as "the President's sequester", but was President Obama really the cause? We go back to August 1, 2011, the day sequester was born, to see who was celebrating the cuts and how they passed the House. August 1, 2011: The House of Representatives passed the Budget Control Act. The Budget Control Act: Raised the debt ceiling for 18 months, allowing the United States to pay its bills until the fiscal cliff crisis in January 2013. Mandated a vote on the Tea Party's Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Enacted spending caps until 2021 designed to reduce the debt by $1.2 trillion. Stopped graduate students from getting student loans from the government. Created the SuperCommittee tasked with agreeing on $1.2 trillion of additional government cuts. Created across-the-board, percentage based cuts - 50% to discretionary spending and 50% to defense spending- to take a effect if the SuperCommittee failed. This is "sequester"