For the Week of 29 October 2007
In This Week’s Edition
- I. This Week in Congress
- II. Update on FOP Top Legislative Priorities
- III. Update on LEOSA
- IV. Other Legislative Activity
I. THIS WEEK IN CONGRESS
Both the House and Senate were in session this week.
Action in the House
The House passed H.R. 2262, the "Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007" by a vote of 244-166. The bill would increase royalties for mining.
Action in House Committees
The House Ways and Means Committee marked-up H.R. 3996, the "Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007," which would provide one-year relief against the alternative minimum tax (AMT) by a vote of 22-13.
Action in the Senate
The Senate passed H.R. 3963, the "State's Children Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Reauthorization Act of 2007," by a vote of 64-30. The measure, which would expand children's health insurance by $35 billion over five years heads to the President who is expected to veto it.
Action in Senate Committees
The Subcommittee on Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife Protection approved S. 2191, the "America's Climate Security Act," by a vote of 4-3. The bill would reduce carbon emissions by 63% by 2050.
II. UPDATE ON FOP TOP LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES
For the complete list of cosponsors for all of our top legislative priorities, or to find out if your Representative and Senators are cosponsors of specific bills, check out http://thomas.loc.gov .
A. SOCIAL SECURITY ISSUES:
(1) Support H.R. 82/S. 206, the "Social Security Fairness Act"
We added two (2) cosponsors to H.R. 82, bringing our current total to three hundred twenty-six (326) cosponsors--more than seventy percent (70%) of the House. Please note that this total differs slightly from THOMAS, as we are not including in our count Delegates Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-Guam), Luis Fortuno (D-PR), and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), who have limited voting rights on the floor. We are also not including Representatives Jo Ann Davis (R-VA), Paul Gillmor (R-OH), Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-CA), or Charlie Norwood (R-GA), all of whom have died this year.
The National Legislative Office has identified nineteen (19) Members from eleven (11) States which had previously cosponsored this bill in the 109th Congress. A list of these Members has been forwarded to the National Legislative Committee, who will in turn distribute it to the State Legislative Contacts and leaders in the appropriate States.
We currently have thirty-four (34) cosponsors on S. 206.
(2) Opposing any legislation that would require the participation of public employees in Social Security
At this time, no legislation has been introduced with a provision that would mandate the inclusion in Social Security of public employees currently not in the system.
B. Support H.R. 980/S. 2123, the "Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act"
On 17 July, the U.S. House of Representatives considered and passed H.R. 980 under a suspension of the rules on a 314-97 vote. The result of that vote, Roll Call #633, can be viewed here: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll633.xml
The bill was transmitted to the Senate for further action.
We added three cosponsors on S. 2123, bringing our total to twenty-four (24).
The FOP has posted an Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document about the legislation in our website, which can be found here: http://www.fop.net/legislative/issues/bargain/hr980faq.pdf
C. Support H.R. 688/S. 449, the "State and Local Law Enforcement Officers' Discipline, Accountability, and Due Process Act"
We have thirty-three (33) cosponsors on H.R. 688. Please note that this total differs slightly from THOMAS, as we are not including Representatives Jo Ann Davis (R-VA), who recently died.
We currently have five (5) cosponsors on S. 449.
III. UPDATE ON LEGISLATION AMENDING LEOSA
Last month, the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security held a hearing on the implementation of the Law Enforcement Officers' Safety Act (PL 108-277) and on legislation to amend current law, H.R. 2726. The testimony offered at that hearing by National Treasurer Tom Penoza can be found on the FOP website.
We currently have fourteen (14) cosponsors on H.R. 2726.
The Senate bill, S. 376, which was favorably reported by the Committee on the Judiciary in May, has nine (9) cosponsors. The written report accompanying the bill is available here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/cpquery/R?cp110:FLD010:@1(sr150)
On 2 August, the Senate Judiciary Committee considered and favorably reported S. 2084, the "School Safety and Law Enforcement Improvement Act." The language of S. 376 has been incorporated into Title IV of this measure. At this writing, Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) has placed a hold on S. 2084, which will hinder its consideration on the floor.
The language in S. 376, H.R. 2726, and S. 2084 would improve certain provisions of the Law Enforcement Officers' Safety Act (LEOSA), especially with respect to retired law enforcement officers. The legislation would also make clear that law enforcement officers employed by the Amtrak Police Department and the executive branch of the Federal Government who are classified as a GS-0083 meet the definition of "qualified law enforcement officer" in the LEOSA. The Senate bills would also lower the aggregate years of service needed to meet the definition of "qualified retired law enforcement officer" from fifteen (15) to ten (10) and removes confusing language related to that same definition.
IV. OTHER LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY
Executive Director Jim Pasco met with Bruce Cohen, Senior Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, to discuss the Hometown Heroes Act and Judge Mukasey's nomination.
Executive Director Pasco met with Treasury Department officials to discuss tax issues.
Executive Director Pasco attended the confirmation hearing of Howard Radzely to be the new Deputy Secretary of Labor.
Executive Director Pasco represented the FOP in a conference call with officials from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to discuss the U.S. Sentencing Commission's decision to retroactively review individuals convicted of crack cocaine offenses and to strategize testimony.
Executive Director Pasco met with Jonathan Felts, Political Director at the White House, to discuss collective bargaining.
Executive Director Pasco met with Kevin O'Connor, Executive Director of the International Association of Firefighters, to discuss collective bargaining issues and pending openings at the Office of Justice Programs (OJP).
Executive Director Pasco met with Bob Foosaner, Senior Vice-President at Sprint/Nextel, to discuss their sponsorship of next year's NASCAR race. |
