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The Burgess Bulletin - Legislative Alert

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Washington, Oct 13 - As the 108th Congress draws to an end, I wanted to take a moment to provide you with some specifics on key pieces of legislation the House of Representatives have passed. Below is only a partial list of bills, but I wanted to include those issues which are most frequently written about by my constituents and those items which I believe are particularly important to the citizens of the 26th Congressional District. I hope that you find this information valuable, and I encourage you to visit my website at www.house.gov/burgess for more my voting record and recent news.

Congressman Michael C. Burgess

Flu Vaccine Shortage
On October 8, 2004, the House Government Reform Committee held a hearing regarding the Influenza Vaccine shortage that was announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Chiron Corporation, a British vaccine manufacturer, notified United States officials on October 5, 2004 that none of its influenza vaccine would be available for distribution in the U.S. for the 2004-2005 influenza season. Because of manufacturing and quality control problems faced by Chiron, the amount of influenza vaccine available to Americans will be about one-half of the number of doses demanded during the influenza season. Chiron was originally scheduled to deliver 46-48 million doses to the United States for the upcoming influenza season.

As a member of the Government Reform Committee, I will be monitoring the response of the Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control as the influenza season begins in earnest.

Marriage Protection Amendment (H.Con.Res. 106)
I strongly support the Marriage Protection Amendment, formerly known as the Federal Marriage Amendment. As a cosponsor of H.J.Res. 56, The Federal Marriage Amendment and H.J.Res. 106, The Marriage Protection Amendment, I believe we must define marriage as the union of a man and a woman, and make any state law defining it in any other way unconstitutional. The Marriage Protection Amendment would effectively prevent the further undermining of marriage by our nation's courts.

On September 30, 2004, the U.S. House of Representatives debated H.J.Res. 106, The Marriage Protection Amendment. The amendment would establish the definition of marriage solely between a man and woman under federal law, thus preempting any state laws on this matter. Additionally, it would effectively prevent the further undermining of marriage by our nation's courts.

The House did not acquire the 2/3 majority of the vote necessary to pass this constitutional amendment. H.J.Res. 106 was defeated by a vote of 227-186. I voted for the passage of the amendment because I want to do what is legally necessary to defend the institution of marriage. The House of Representatives will continue to work on this issue to keep unelected judges from altering the definition of marriage.

The 9-11 Commission Recommendations Act (H.R. 10)
The House passed H.R. 10 on October 8, 2004. I voted in favor of the bill. H.R. 10 includes a wide-sweeping reform and multi-level improvement of our country’s current security and intelligence operations.
The bill:

Creates a National Intelligence Director;

Grants the National Intelligence Director authority to prioritize spending for intelligence agencies;

Authorizes federal officials to track “lone wolf” terrorists;

Cuts off material support for terrorists;

Enhanced border protection and greater authority to deport dangerous illegal aliens;

Strengthens laws against weapons of mass destruction;

Enhances airline security;

Cracks down on money laundering and terrorist financing; and

Improves security identification.

The House and Senate versions of this bill will be debated in a conference committee before being sent to the President for enactment into law.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (H.R. 4200)
The House passed H.R. 4200 on October 9, 2004. I voted in favor of the conference report. The legislation sets policies, programs and funding levels for the nation's military. H.R. 4200 authorizes $447.2 billion in budget authority for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the national security programs of the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE). The conference report has been sent to the President for his signature and enactment into law.

Additional highlights of the conference report include:

$25 billion to support the Global War on Terror's operational costs, personnel expenses and procurement of new equipment;

Army and Marines end strength increases;

Enhanced TRICARE benefits for reservists and family members;

Eliminating the reduction in Survivor Benefit Plan annuities;

Concurrent Receipt phase-in improvements;

Military housing privatization initiative fix (allows for continuation of the program to revitalize military housing);

Rapid acquisition and armor initiatives to protect our troops; and

3.5 percent across-the-board pay raise for the armed forces as well as special pays and bonuses.

Survivor Benefit Plan as part of H.R. 4200
The House passed H.R. 4200, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 on October 9, 2004. I voted in favor of the conference report. The legislation sets policies, programs and funding levels for the nation's military. H.R. 4200 also includes eliminating the reduction in Survivor Benefit Plan annuities. I have been working to ensure that the SBP is fixed this year. I believe it is essential that we express our gratitude to our nation's veterans and their families by strengthening the federal programs designed to help them. The conference report has been sent to the President for his signature and enactment into law.

The Fiscal Year 2005 Military Construction Appropriations Act (H.R. 4837)
The House passed H.R. 4837 on October 9, 2004. I voted in favor of the conference report. H.R. 4837 appropriates approximately $10 billion for military construction and other improvements for military installations and military housing.

Military construction projects - $5.5 billion (55 percent of total bill)

Active Duty - $4.5 billion

Guard and Reserve - $945 million

Military and family housing - $4.5 billion (40 percent of total bill)

Base realignment and closure activities - $246 million (in addition to $115 million in estimated Navy land sale revenues),

NATO Security Investment Program - $161 million

Environmental cleanup- $321 million

Operations and maintenance - $40 million; and,

Chemical Demilitarization Construction- $82 million.

The conference report has been sent to the President for his signature and enactment into law.

The Fiscal Year 2005 Homeland Security Appropriations Act (H.R. 4567)
The House passed H.R. 4567 on October 9, 2004. I voted in favor of the conference report. H.R. 4567 provides $32 billion for operations and activities of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in fiscal year 2005, an increase of $1.1 billion above the fiscal year 2004 enacted levels. The increases reflect the authority to obligate $2.5 billion for Project Bioshield, a program that will help first responders meet the challenges of a bioterrorist attack, as requested by the President. These amounts exclude the $2 billion supplemental recently provided the Department for Hurricanes Charley and Frances and the pending supplemental of $6.5 billion for Hurricanes Ivan and Jeanne.

H.R. 4567 supports state and local first responders by providing them $4 billion for their activities, protects our nation’s borders by providing $9.8 billion for border protection and related activities, and enhances transportation security by providing $5.7 billion for the U.S. Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Air Marshal Program. The conference report has been sent to the President for his signature and enactment into law.

The American Jobs Creation Act (H.R. 4520)
The House passed the JOBS Act on October 7, 2004. I voted in favor of the conference report. H.R. 4250 primarily seeks to bring the Foreign Sales Corporation/Extraterritorial Income (FSC/ETI) tax credit in the U.S. tax code into compliance with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

I voted for H.R. 4520 because it includes a number of important tax cuts that I believe will spur economic growth in America. Most importantly, it includes a provision that restores tax parity for Texans. Under the current tax code, Texans pay more than their fair share of federal taxes. This is because there are two ways that state governments raise revenue (state income taxes or state sales taxes). Current law allows individuals to deduct any state income taxes from their federal income tax, but does not allow individuals to deduct state sales taxes. State sales tax deduction was allowed prior to 1986 and H.R. 4520 temporarily restores the ability of Texans to deduct state sales tax from their federal taxes in 2004 and 2005, which amounts to almost $1 billion in tax relief for Texans.

Once this legislation is signed into law by President Bush, the average Denton County family could save approximately $860 per year and the average Tarrant County family could save $770 per year under this provision, according to calculations based on data provided by the Texas Comptrollers Office and the U.S. Census Bureau.

The sales tax deductibility will be a huge boon to the Texas economy as well. According to Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton-Strayhorn, this provision can be expected to create 16,573 new Texas jobs, generate $623 million in new Texas investment, and increase 2005 Texas Gross State Product by $923 million.

Military Draft (H.R. 163)
I do not support reinstating the military draft. In fact, I agree with U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld when he stated that a military draft does not fit the mission of the modern military.

Congressman Charles Rangel (D-New York) introduced H.R. 163, The Universal National Service Act of 2003 on January 7, 2003. H.R. 163 would require that all U.S. citizens and residents, regardless of gender, between the ages of 18 and 26, serve a mandatory two years of military or civilian service for the common defense of our nation. Additionally, the bill sets forth provisions regarding induction deferments and exemptions, as well as discharge after the service requirement is fulfilled.

The U.S. House of Representatives defeated H.R. 163 on October 5, 2004, by a vote of 2-402. It is worth noting that Rep. Rangel, the author of the bill, did not vote in favor of its passage. I voted against H.R. 163 because I do not support reinstating the military draft. It should be noted that the sponsor of the bill – Congressman Rangel – even voted against H.R.163.

The Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2004, Part V (H.R. 5183, Public Law 108-310)
The House passed H.R. 5183 on September 30, 2004. As a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I voted in favor of the bill. H.R. 5183 includes an eight-month extension of Highway Trust Fund expenditure authority until May 30, 2005. The bill takes away the immediate need for Congress to complete a multi-year highway bill this year and prevented a shutdown of federal agencies and state programs associated with surface transportation. The House and Senate conference committee continues to meet to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate surface transportation reauthorization bills.

In Texas, our identified transportation needs outstrip available funding three to one. Texas has several specific transportation needs, such as seeking opportunities for increased funding, supporting international trade transportation and more efficient environmental processes, and expanding innovative financing techniques.

I am committed to working with local, state and federal officials during the federal surface transportation reauthorization to address Texas’ long-term needs. I am working with other Members of Congress to produce a bill that adequately provides for our economic security, creates and sustains jobs, enhances safety, and continues to improve mobility for our nation’s citizens.

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