e-News 12/18/15

• We thank our servicemen and women this holiday season
• Keeping the Federal Government Open, Funding American Security
• Top Eight Reasons the Omnibus Appropriations Act Strengthens America
• “Why Air Power Alone Won’t Beat ISIS”
• Caring for 9/11 First Responders
• A Big Win for American Jobs

 

We thank our servicemen and women this holiday season

Especially during the holidays, we must salute the over 200,000 servicemen and women who are serving overseas away from their families!  On behalf of a grateful nation, we thank you for your tireless courage and sacrifice!

Keeping the Federal Government Open - Funding American Security

When the House voted today on the Consolidated Appropriations Act, legislation designed to keep the federal government open for business, I was counted among the “yes” votes. 

In an increasingly dangerous world, the defense and intelligence portions of the Act provide funding for our Armed Forces and our intelligence community to confront multiple threats we face across the world, what some have described as "the long war against extremism." 

Fundamentally, this legislation is absolutely critical for the national security of the United States. The defense section of this Appropriations bill, drafted and developed by my Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, funds our troops, improves their readiness, allows our Armed Forces to conduct operations overseas and cares for military families and the wounded.  It also provides the money to combat the real-world threat of the ISIS, al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations, to continue operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and to combat other current and emerging threats from Iran, Russia, North Korea and China. It is a major component of the effort to keep America and Americans safe. 

View my statement on the floor of the House here.

Of course, the Consolidated Appropriations Act also contains funding for all non-defense agencies and programs of the federal government. It is by no means perfect.  Had I been allowed to write it, many provisions would have been changed, deleted or added.  But on balance, the critical importance of strengthening our national security led me to support the bill:   

• Increasing defense spending. We must continue building a 21^st century military capable of protecting Americans at home and abroad. This means ensuring our troops are equipped with the tools necessary to carry out their missions safely and effectively. The increased military funding levels in this bill will enhance our preparedness so we can aggressively combat foreign terrorism and protect U.S. national security interests around the globe.
• Strengthening the Visa Waiver Program. Senior U.S. intelligence officials believe that vulnerabilities within the visa waiver program, which allows citizens of 38 participating countries to visit America for up to 90 days without a visa, may serve as a gateway for foreign terrorists seeking to infiltrate our borders. In response, the House voted overwhelmingly last week to strengthen the program by increasing data sharing with our international partners, beefing up regular reviews of the program, and requiring travelers who recently visited countries of concern to obtain a visa before entering the U.S. This bill is included in the appropriations package to help ensure we know exactly who is crossing our borders.
• Restricting the transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees. Despite the President’s repeated attempts to circumvent Congress and the American people on Guantanamo, we must prevent the world’s most dangerous terrorists from reaching our shores. This bill reaffirms critical restrictions on transferring Guantanamo detainees to U.S. soil.
• Strengthening our Intelligence Community. The bill includes the annual Intelligence Authorization Act, which supports critical national security programs such as those protecting Americans from terrorism and cyberattacks. Moreover, this bipartisan measure sustains critical capabilities to fight terrorism, counter the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and sustain efforts to combat radical Islamic extremism at home and abroad.
• Enhancing cybersecurity. Another key provision, the Cybersecurity Act, establishes a new, voluntary process to enhance public-private data sharing on cybersecurity information without legal barriers and the threat of unfounded litigation—all while protecting private information. It also improves federal network and information system security, provides assessments on the federal cybersecurity workforce, and provides reporting and strategies on cybersecurity industry-related and criminal-related matters.
• Honoring our commitment to our veterans. This bill ensures our veterans receive their much-deserved health benefits, speeds up VA claims processing, prioritizes modernizing the VA’s electronic health care record system, and tightens oversight of construction projects.

Read the text of the Consolidated Appropriations bill here.

Read a summary of the Consolidated Appropriations bill here.

“Why Air Power Alone Won’t Beat ISIS”

“Ever since the dawn of the air age more than a century ago, military strategists have been prone to the delusion that bombing by itself can win wars.

“Today the air-power fantasy is that dropping enough bombs on Islamic State jihadists will get the job done in Iraq and Syria. The approach is a bipartisan, indeed multinational, daydream, shared by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, and now by Britain and France as well.

“Military history offers little justification for such faith.”

Read the rest of Max Boot’s commentary in the Wall Street Journalhere.

Caring for 9/11 First Responders

The House and Senate also included the Zadroga Act into the "must-pass" Consolidated Appropriations Act. This bipartisan measure provides long-term extension of the vital health care program for first responders, many from New Jersey, and others suffering from long-term health problems.

Along with the NYFD and other New York personnel, dozens of New Jersey’s first responders, firefighters and EMS worked in the recovery zone at Ground Zero that horrible day and thereafter, including the New Jersey Task Force One search and rescue team.  The decision to reauthorize their long-term health program is very good news for our 9/11 heroes and their families. They deserve the very best medical care if they get sick.

In 2010 Congress created, with my support, the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) and the Victim Compensation Fund (VCF), two critical programs that provide medical monitoring, treatment, and compensation to first responders and survivors that have been found to have a higher incidence of certain illnesses and cancers due to exposure to toxins at Ground Zero.

James Zadroga was a New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer who died of a respiratory disease that has been attributed to his participation in rescue and recovery operations in the rubble of the World Trade Center.  He was the first NYPD officer whose death was attributed to exposure to his contact with toxic chemicals at Ground Zero.

Read more about the Zadroga Act here.

A Big Win for American Jobs

Yesterday, the House acted to provide certainty for hardworking people and more opportunity for America’s small businesses by passing the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act. The important measure renews and makes permanent important tax incentives that support both individuals and job creators.

Job creators across the country said that it will make it easier for them to plan ahead, hire new workers, grow their businesses and invest in their communities.

You see, for years, Washington has haphazardly set important tax policies one year at a time, often at the last minute.  

For example, the research & development tax credit has been extended 16 times in 34 years!

But now, for the first time, we are making many of these vital policies permanent, including allowing state sales tax deductions and the research & development tax credit.

The way I see it, this is solid down payment on next year’s effort to scrap our current broken tax code and replace it with a system that is fairer, flatter and simpler.

Read a summary of the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act here.