Congressman Randy Forbes | Washington Update
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Week of December 5-8, 2011 Twitter Facebook YouTube Digg RSS

Reforming the Federal Rule-Making Process
 

Congressman supported the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, H.R. 10, a bill he cosponsored to modify the federal rule-making process to require congressional approval of major federal rules.   This legislation is an important step in restoring a system of checks and balances to federal regulations and creating consistency and predictability for business owners throughout Virginia by:

  • Creating a consistent economic environment that makes it easier for businesses to invest and grow. Even a small 5% reduction in the federal regulatory budget (about $2.8 billion) would result in about $75 billion in expanded private-sector GDP each year, with an increase in employment by 1.2 million jobs annually, according to a study by the Phoenix Center.
  • Stimulating job growth. Small businesses are especially hard-hit by costly regulations, incurring 36% in additional costs per employee relative to larger firms in order to comply with them, when averaged across all business sectors.
  • Increasing accountability in Washington. In 2010, unelected bureaucrats in Washington imposed 95 new “major” regulatory rules on businesses, local governments and families, each of which carried an economic burden of over $100 million, according to the Small Business Association.
  • Spurring competitiveness. Certainty for small businesses allows them to focus on what they do best - driving innovation and increasing U.S. competitiveness.

This bill passed the House by a vote of 241-184. 

Fighting for Virginia Jobs
 

Congressman Forbes signed a letter to congressional appropriators requesting that they include language in upcoming funding measures to rescind misguided rulemakings put forth by the Department of Labor changing the H-2B visa program. In January 2011, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule revising how wages paid to H-2B workers are calculated. At a time when companies are struggling to stay in business, this recalculation will cause all H-2B workers’ wages to substantially rise. Many employers will be unable to pay these wages and as a result, they will be unable to hire these workers, their work will go undone, and significant revenues will be lost. Importantly, this could lead to the loss of Virginia jobs that are supported by H-2B workers.  Language was included in previous legislation to temporarily delay the implementation of the rules until January 1, 2012.  However,  the Department’s rules will soon go into effect unless the rules are rescinded.  A copy of the letter is available here.

Reversing Bans on Religious Materials at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
 

Congressman Forbes met with Vice Admiral John Mateczun to express his concern over a September 14th memo released at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center that prohibited visitors, including family members, from giving away or using religious materials and artifacts during visits with patients.  In response, Vice Admiral Mateczun stated that the memo had not been properly vetted and was being rescinded.  In addition, Walter Reed has posted a public apology on its website and is working to adopt a new policy that ensures the religious freedom of its patients. The original memo can be found here.

Judiciary

Supported control of new synthetic drugs. Congressman supported the Synthetic Drug Control Act, H.R. 1254, which added new synthetic drugs, such as those marketed as “bath salts,” to the list of Schedule I controlled substances.  Drugs in this classification have a high potential for abuse, possess no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and there is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision. 
This bill passed the House by a vote of 317-98.

Protected freedom of information-sharing on the Internet. Congressman supported a bill, H.R. 2471, to amend the Video Privacy Protection Act to allow videotape service providers to seek a customer's consent to release information regarding their video rental preferences.  This would allow individuals to connect their video accounts to social media sites to share information about the movies they watch, increasing their access and freedom to share information on the Internet. 
This bill passed the House by a vote of 303-116.

Worked to eliminate race and sex selection abortions.  Congressman Forbes participated in a Constitution Subcommittee hearing on the Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA) of 2011, H.R. 3541.  This bill prohibits discrimination against the unborn on the basis of sex or race.  While the United States regularly condemns other countries for practicing sex-selection abortions, we do not have a law in place in our own country that prohibits the procedure. Ironically, the House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning China for these practices, while failing to protect against the practice here at home. A Zogby International poll showed that 86% of Americans believe sex-selection abortion should be illegal. Individuals on all sides of the abortion debate agree: sex-selection abortions and race-selection abortions are tragic and they reinforce discriminatory attitudes and practices.  

Prevented sexual abuse in immigration detention facilities. Congressman Forbes signed a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano in support of proposed rules implementing the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), a bill cosponsored by Congressman Forbes 2003.  Specifically, the letter urges ICE to comply with PREA standards and expeditiously approve and implement regulations preventing the sexual abuse of immigration detainees wherever they are housed.  Sexual abuse in immigration detention facilities is a serious problem.  The Prison Rape Elimination Commission found that “[a] large and growing number of detained immigrants are at risk of sexual abuse. Their heightened vulnerability and unusual circumstances require special interventions.”  The report indicated that “[m]any factors—personal and circumstantial, alone or in combination—make immigration detainees especially vulnerable to sexual abuse."  DHS has revised its Performance-Based National Detention Standards (PBNDS) to include new regulations that would mitigate this problem of sexual assault at immigration detention centers.  The revised PBNDS, still under review within ICE and supported by Congressman Forbes, explicitly incorporate provisions from the safety standards recommended by the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission.  A copy of the letter is available here.
Armed Services

Selected as House conferee for annual national defense policy bill. Congressman Forbes was selected to take part in the conference reporting process for the Fiscal Year 2012 National Defense Authorization Act.  As Chairman of the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee, Congressman Forbes was selected along with colleagues from the House and Senate to reconcile the chambers’ respective versions of the annual defense policy bill before it can be passed into law.

Defended the need for a forward U.S. military presence.  Congressman Forbes wrote an op-ed published in The Diplomat entitled “Puncturing the U.S. Base Myths.” In the piece, Congressman Forbes argued that shutting U.S. military bases located abroad is an unacceptable and short-sighted way to accomplish reductions to the defense budget. From the piece: “The flexibility afforded to U.S. forces to operate from a network of overseas facilities allows them to quickly respond to any regional crisis as it is emerging. Constraining U.S. forces to a continental posture would undermine this very advantage, placing an insurmountable logistical and geographic burden on them.”  The full piece is available here.

Agriculture

Worked to stop the EPA from burdening Virginia farmers with unnecessary regulations. Congressman Forbes supported H.R. 1633, the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act to ensure that the Environmental Protection Agency does not impose unnecessary and costly regulations on Virginia's agricultural community.  Without this legislation, the EPA could set new standards for the amount of dust, or “particulate matter,” that a farm is allowed to produce during its daily operations.  Congressman Forbes, a cosponsor of H.R. 1633, supported the bill’s final passage to oppose a new regulatory regime that would raise farmers' costs and stifle their growth. 
This bill passed the House by a vote of 268-150.

Regulation

Protected Virginia from costly, unfunded environmental mandates.  Congressman Forbes joined ten of his colleagues in sending a letter to House and Senate Appropriations leadership urging that language be included in the final funding legislation for the Fiscal Year 2012 to reaffirm the right of states to write their own water quality plans.  In the face of enormous unfunded mandates being forced on Virginia’s localities as a result of new one-size-fits-all EPA standards, Congressman Forbes has voiced his support for ensuring that states maintain their ability to set their own environmental standards.  To that end, Congressman Forbes urged appropriators to protect Virginia and other states from costly unfunded federal government mandates that fail to take into account the economy and livelihood of the Commonwealth's citizens.  A copy of the letter is available here.

Environment

Urged transparency and clarification in the EPA’s implementation of Chesapeake Bay Restoration programs.  Congressman Forbes joined eleven other Members of Congress in sending a letter to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson requesting that the Agency clarify its intentions in enforcing the next stage of the Bay restoration program.  Without clarification, Virginia’s communities are left guessing how new environmental standards will be enforced and what the consequences will be for failing to meet these new standards.  Congressman Forbes has called for an end to the EPA imposing costly new regulations on the Commonwealth without transparency and clarity of operation.  A copy of the letter is available here.

Education

Increased standards and accountability for charter schools.  The SOAR Act which was cosponsored by Congressman Forbes provides school vouchers for low-income Washington, D.C. students attending under-performing schools through the Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP); in April, Congress passed the SOAR Act as part of a larger spending bill.  In the past, students who participated in the voucher program and attended private or charter schools were 21% more likely to graduate from high school than their school mates in the public school system.  Congressman Forbes recently supported legislation, H.R. 3237, the SOAR Technical Corrections Act, to make changes to the legislation that require participating schools to ensure that students funded by such scholarships are taught by core subject matter teachers with baccalaureate or equivalent degrees.  It also directs the Institute of Education Sciences to administer national norm-referenced standardized tests to SOAR-funded students, except where the participating school already administers the same test.  Each participating school that administers such a standardized test must make the test results available to the Department of Education to ensure accountability and increase standards.

Transportation and Infrastructure

Expanded accessibility to funding for interstate transit projects.  Congressman Forbes supported S.J.Res. 22, a joint resolution to grant the consent of Congress to an amendment to the compact between the States of Missouri and Illinois regarding the issuance of bonds used to fund transit projects.  The Missouri and Illinois Bi-state Agency is an interstate transit development authority that was formed in 1949 and approved by Congress in 1950.  The agency is primarily funded through sales taxes originating from the city of St. Louis, St. Louis County and the St. Clair County Illinois Transit District, in addition to federal grants and fares paid by passengers. Under its current rules, the agency is permitted to issue bonds with a 30-year maturation rate for various projects and transit expansions.  The agency has recently sought to amend its charter in order to increase the bond maturation rate to 40 years.  Because the agency is a bi-state compact, it is required to obtain congressional approval when seeking to amend its operating rules.

Second Amendment

Provided states flexibility to construct and maintain safe public shooting ranges.  Congressman Forbes cosponsored bipartisan legislation, the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act, H.R. 3065, to help make sure that there are enough accessible ranges where hunters and marksmen can safely practice recreational shooting.  The House bill is a companion to bipartisan legislation Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) introduced in the Senate earlier this year. Under current law, the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act, an excise tax is collected on sporting equipment and ammunition, which states can use for activities such as wildlife restoration and hunter education programs.  However, it has limited effectiveness in establishing and maintaining shooting ranges, which are declining in number.  The Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act would amend the law to give states greater flexibility to use existing funds to create and maintain shooting ranges. This bill does not authorize additional funds or increase taxation; instead, it simply adjusts the formula used to allocate current funds already raised by the excise tax.

Foreign Affairs

Making the Palestinian Authority accountable for its support of terrorism.  Congressman Forbes cosponsored H.R. 2457, the Palestinian Accountability Act.  This legislation restricts U.S. funding to the Palestinian Authority (PA) until key benchmarks of transparency and support for peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are accepted by PA leadership.  These standards include the dismantling of the PA’s infrastructure that support of terrorism, an end to inciting violence through the PA educational system, recognition of Israel’s right to exist, and exclusion of Hamas from any PA unity government.  Until the PA meets these new standards, H.R. 2457 would prohibit U.S. foreign assistance funds from being made available to the organization and would stop U.S. funding for any United Nations entity that recognizes Palestinian statehood.  Congressman Forbes remains dedicated to a peaceful resolution to the conflict that is reached by direct negotiations between the Israeli government and the Palestinian people.  This bill is currently cosponsored by 41 House Members.

Supported moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.  Congressman Forbes cosponsored H.R. 1006, the Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act of 2011.  This bill officially recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocates the United States Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.  Since the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 became law, the Embassy has never been moved due to recurring waivers signed by the sitting President.  This bill would remove the presidential authority to waive the embassy relocation and would finally implement standing U.S. law.  Congressman Forbes, along with 50 other cosponsors, continues to stand with Israel and continues to support Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Family Values

Worked to protect the symbols and traditions of Christmas. Congressman Forbes became a cosponsor of H.Res.489, which expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the symbols and traditions of Christmas should be protected for use by those that celebrate Christmas.  Each year during the Christmas season, there are increasing efforts to remove religious symbols and references from the holiday.  This season, there have been challenges to public nativity scenes in a number of cities.  Additionally, we have seen a push towards “Holiday Trees,” instead of “Christmas trees,” and a prohibition on religious Christmas decorations in a cancer center and a school.  H.Res.489 emphasizes that the First Amendment does not require bans on religious references to Christmas, and supports the use of these symbols by those who celebrate Christmas.

About Washington Update

Washington Update serves as a resource to the constituents of the Fourth Congressional District of Virginia on the work of Congressman Forbes. It is published weekly while Congress is in session. Hyperlinks to bill information are provided if the information disseminated by the House of Representatives is available at the time of distribution.

As always, Congressman Forbes welcomes your comments. To share your thoughts on legislation, votes or issues, please visit http://randyforbes.house.gov to send an e-mail or call any of Congressman Forbes' three district offices.

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