July 31, 2015

Federal Regulations

On Tuesday the House considered H.R. 427, Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2015. This legislation is nothing more than an effort to limit federal oversight of food, water, financial products, drugs and much more. Similar legislation has passed the House in two previous Congresses but gone no further. H.R. 427 imposes severe restrictions on the rulemaking process of every federal agency. It requires both the House and the Senate to approve every major rule issued by a federal agency within 70 legislative days. If either legislative body fails to take action, the rule is not approved and cannot be brought up again until the next Congress convenes. This legislation is designed specifically to delay the implementation of agency rules. The Administration has already said H.R. 427 would be vetoed. I voted NO. H.R. 427 passed and the entire vote is recorded below:

Veterans

On Wednesday the House considered H.R. 1994, the VA Accountability Act of 2015. This legislation gives Veterans Affairs officials more authority to fire employees and broadly defines “employee misconduct”. It gives employees who have been fired or demoted only 7 days to take their case to the Merit System Protection Board (MSPB). The MSPB then has 45 days to issue a ruling. If the board doesn’t act within 45 days, then the action against the employee stands. H.R. 1994 also prohibits employees from appealing the MSPB’s decision. I voted NO. H.R. 1994 passed and the entire vote is recorded below:

Transportation and Veterans’ Health Care

Also on Wednesday the House passed H.R. 3236, the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015. You may recall that two weeks ago the House passed a 5 month extension of what has traditionally been multi-year bipartisan transportation legislation. The Senate would not consider a five month extension so the House passed a three month bill.

The Senate this week took up a 6 year transportation bill and the House is expected to consider its own legislation in September. I am disappointed that another short term extension was necessary but encouraged that there is finally some movement toward a longer term solution.

H.R. 3236 also includes additional money for the Department of Veterans Affairs, which was facing a budget shortfall. VA officials warned that some veterans’ health care facilities were at risk of closing in August if additional funding was not allocated for them. H.R. 3236 addresses the shortfall until September 30th, the end of the current fiscal year.

The short term transportation extension only runs until October 29th. I hope thoughtful people can come together in the next three months to address funding issues and pass a multi-year infrastructure bill. I voted YES. H.R. 3236 passed and the entire vote is recorded below:

What’s Up Next

The August District Work period will begin. Next House votes are expected in September.