A resignation, renewed “national emergencies”, help for a (very) few veterans, screwing over of VA employees and Native Americans, favors for drug companies, changes to Amtrak, a veto threat and more are highlighted from a relatively calm March in Congress. In the second half of this episode, Jen discusses her plan to keep producing Congressional Dish full time, extends an invitation to hang out, reads some of your letters, and answers your questions.

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Resignation

Representative Aaron Schock of Illinois’s 18th district resigned on March 17th, 2015 after it was discovered that he overcharged taxpayers and his campaign for miles driven on his personal car.

• Article: Aaron Schock resigns after new questions about mileage expenses by Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer and John Bresnahan of Politico, March 17, 2015.
• Article: After ‘Downton Abbey’ scandal, Rep. Aaron Schock to resign from Congress by Donna Cassata of AP, March 17, 2015.
• Article: Congressman’s spending brings Schock and awe by Jake Sherman, John Bresnahan, and Anna Palmer of Poltico, February 9, 2015.
• Article: Taxpayers pay thousands for Rep. Schock’s renovations by Paul Singer of USA Today, February 3, 2015.
• Article: Aaron Schock is looking for a job by Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun Times, May 6, 2015.

Executive Orders

• EO 13660, March 6, 2014, Ukraine
• EO 13288, March 6, 2003, Zimbabwe

March Laws

H.R. 1527: Slain Officer Family Support Act

• Allows contributions made to funds set up for NYPD detectives Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos to be deductible in 2014, instead of 2015.
• Sponsored by Hakeem Jefferies of New York
• 2 pages

S. 535: Energy Efficiency Improvement Act

• Requires the Administrator of General Services to develop model commercial leasing provisions that encourage tenants and government landlords to invest together in energy efficiency measures.
• The model provision will be published publicly to “encourage” private sector landlords to use them.
• The EPA will create a “Tenant Star” program to “recognize” energy efficiency by tenants in commercial buildings.
• Grid enabled water heaters will have activation keys that are only given to the utility or company that operates the grid.
• Grid enabled water heaters will have permanent labels informing people not to buy it unless he home is enrolled in a demand response program.
• It will be illegal for anyone to activate a grid-enabled water heater that is not part of an electric thermal storage or demand response program.
• Creates a public database for researching the energy use of commercial and multifamily buildings.
• Sponsored by Rob Portman of Ohio
• 10 pages

March Bills

H.R. 294: “Long-Term Care Veterans Choice Act”

• For three years, starting on October 1, 2015, the Veteran’s administration can place veterans who can not live independently but want a family setting into “medical foster homes”
• No more than 900 veterans may have their “medical foster home” care paid for by the government
• Limits the amount that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs can award
• According to a fact sheet issued by the U.S. Census on Veteran’s Day 2014, there are 957,504 veterans with a rating of 70 or higher.
• Sponsored by Rep. Jeff MIller of Florida
• 4 pages
• Passed 405-0

H.R. 280: Authorizes the government to take back Department of Veterans Affairs employees’ bonuses

• Allows the government to force an employee of the Department of Veteran’s Affairs to pay back bonuses they previously received.
• The employees can be ordered to give back their bonus if the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines that it’s appropriate under regulations that the Secretary of Veteran’s Affairs will eventually write.
• The employee will be given a notice and be allowed an opportunity for a hearing conducted by another part of the Federal Government.
• The decision to order a bonus repayment will be final and may not be reviewed by any agency or court.
• The Senior Executives Association (SEA), which represents Federal executives, wrote Rep. Jeff Miller a letter in opposition to this bill.
• Sponsored by Rep. Jeff Miller of Florida
• 3 pages
• Passed by voice vote

H.R. 216: Department of Veterans Affairs Budget Planning Reform Act

• Requires the Veteran’s Administration to create more reports
• Creates a ‘Chief Strategy Officer’ position to do the reports
• Prohibits any additional money for the Veterans Department to use for the extra work
• Sponsored by Corrine Brown of Florida
• 17 pages
• Passed by 420-0

H.R. 639: “Improving Regulatory Transparency for New Medical Therapies Act”

Article: House Passes DEA Reform Bill Changing Definition of When a Drug is ‘Approved’, Alexander Gaffney, Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society, March 17, 2015.

Fact Sheet: Drug Schedules, Drug Enforcement Agency

• Delays the approval date of drugs until after the Department of Justice issues a final rule for the drug.
• Forces the Department of Justice to schedule the drug within 90 days of the final rule
• Allows drugs that are in the process of being evaluated to be marketed and sold
• Makes it easier for drugs to be tested in clinical trials by forcing the government to rule on an application within 180 days.
• Creates a path for extending drug patents
• Sponsored by Rep. Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania, who has taken over $928,000 from “health professionals” and $634,000 from the pharmaceutical industry.
• 11 pages
• Passed by voice vote

H.R. 647 Access to Life-Saving Trauma Care for All Americans Act

• Reauthorizes annual grants to trauma centers, but does not adjust the total for inflation
• Removes the requirement that the money be used for Indian trauma centers
• Sponsored Michael Burgess of Texas
• 4 pages
• Passed 389-10

H.R. 648: Trauma Systems and Regionalization of Emergency Care Reauthorization Act

• Reauthorizes funds for trauma centers, without adjusting for inflation
• Grants can only to to regional burn centers that meet the standards and requirements of the American Burn Association.
• Sponsored by Rep. Michael Burgess of Texas
• 4 pages
• Passed 382-15 with all no votes coming from Republicans

H.R. 284: Medicare DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Improvement Act

• For two years, 2017 -2019, a company that wants to bid for a Medicare equipment contract has to buy a “bid bond” that costs between $50,000 and $100,000.
• The companies will forfeit the bid bond if they bid below the median bid rate and don’t accept the contract
• Contracts can not be awarded to companies that don’t meet state licensure requirements.
• Sponsored by Rep. Pat Tiberi of Ohio
• 6 pages
• Passed by voice vote

H.R. 1191: Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act

• Exempts volunteer firefighters and EMT’s from counting towards the Affordable Care Act employer mandate.
• Sponsored by Rep. Lou Barletta of Pennsylvania
• 6 pages
• Passed 415-0
• Was the vehicle for the bill that funded the DHS for a few days in March

H.R. 233: Tenant Income Verification Relief Act

• Landlords would only have to verify income for fixed-income families in subsidized housing once every three years, instead of every year.
• Sponsored by Rep. Ed Perlmutter of Colorado
• 3 pages
• Passed by voice vote

H.R. 360: Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Reauthorization Act

• If the amount of Federal funds, excluding grants, is under 49%, housing projects on Indian land will be exempt from the National Environmental Policy Act.
• Requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to approve or deny cost overruns within 60 days.
• Limits low income Indian housing grants to $650 million per year through 2019 (it was unlimited through 2013).
• Tribes may have to forfeit saved housing grant money that is more than three times their annual grant amount as of January 2016
• A new demonstration project will allow 20 tribes to partner with private investors for housing development projects.
  • Grant money can be used to ensure a “full return on investment” for the investors
• Grants for Native Hawaiian homes will go from unlimited to $13 million per year until 2019.
• Sponsored by Rep. Steve Pearce of New Mexico.
• 38 pages
• Passed 297-98, with most no votes coming from Republicans

H.R. 1030: “Secret Science Reform Act of 2015”

• Prohibits the EPA from proposing or finalizing a regulation unless the research used is publicly available online and can be reproduced
• Sponsored by Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, who has taken over $610,000 from the Oil and Gas industry
• 3 pages
• Passed 241-175
• Veto threat

H.R. 749: Amtrak

• Amtrak will will be funded with half a billion a year for the Northeast and a little under a billion a year for the rest of the country, for the next four years.
• In order to receive grant money, Amtrak will need to hire an “independent entity” to decide what routes it will provide, including establishing new routes, eliminating routes, and frequency of service.
• The views of the private freight companies that own our rail infrastructure will have to be taken into account
• Creates a pilot program to allow the private freight companies to operate passenger service instead of Amtrak on desired routes for 5 years
  • Allows the private companies to use Amtrak’s equipment
  • Gives the private company an “operating subsidy” equal to 90% of what Amtrak receives
  • Requires the private company’s staffing plan be available to the public
  • This program will only be available on a maximum of two intercity passenger rail routes
  • The private company will be required to run the route as frequently as Amtrak did
  • The private company will be guaranteed access to Amtrak’s reservation system, stations, and facilities.
• Requires Amtrak to eliminate their operating loss on food and beverages within five years and removes Federal funding of losses.
• Requires Amtrak to allow private sector use of Amtrak owned right-of-way for telecommunications systems, energy distribution, and “other activities” and Amtrak will share the revenue.
• Creates a pilot program to allow pet dogs and cats on some Amtrak trains within a year of enactment
  • Pets must be in a kennel and stored as carry-on baggage
  • Pet owners will pay an extra fee
  • Larger pets will be allowed in the temperature controlled cargo hold
  • The program will be paid for 100% through pet owner fees
• Sponsored by Rep. Bill Shuster of Pennsylvania
• 80 pages
• Passed 316-101, with every Democrat voting yes

Music Presented in This Episode

• Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio)
• Dirty Little Secret by 54 Seconds (found on Music Alley by mevio)
• Snap Back to Reality by The Undercover Hippy (found on Music Alley by mevio)