Massive Bills in Congress: Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill, Farm Bill, DOD Appropriations Bill

Today in Washington. D.C. - June 13, 2013
The Senate reconvened and resume consideration of S.744, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill. No recorded votes were done today.

The House reconvened and took up (H.R. 1960) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2014 for military activities of the Department of Defense and for military construction, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes." Numerous Amendments being considered.
Some of the Approved Amendments:
Pearce (R–NM): Amendment No. 4 – Provides the Department of Defense with final approval over any new land use project that utilizes covered research, development, test and evaluation lands within the continuous United States. – ADOPTED BY VOICE
Turner (R–OH): Amendment No. 6 – Establishes mandatory minimum sentences of discharge or dismissal, and confinement required for certain sex–related offenses committed by members of the Armed Forces. – ADOPTED BY VOICE
Radel (R-FL), Amash (R-MI), Massie (R-KY), Salmon (R-AZ): Amendment No. 12 - Requires the Department of Defense to submit to the Congress a report every year containing: (1) the names of any U.S. citizens subject to military detention, (2) the legal justification for their continued detention, and (3) the steps the Executive Branch is taking to either provide them some judicial process, or release them. Requires that an unclassified version of the report be made available, and in addition, that the report must be made available to all members of Congress. – ADOPTED BY VOICE
Lummis (R–WY), Daines (R–MT), Cramer (R–ND): Amendment No.3 – Requires DOD to preserve currently active ICBM silos in warm status. – ADOPTED 235 – 189
McGovern (D–MA), Jones (R–NC), Smith (D–WA), Lee (D–CA), Garamendi (D–CA): Amendment No. 10 – Requires the President to complete the accelerated transition of combat operations from U.S. Armed Forces to the Government of Afghanistan no later than by the end of 2013; the accelerated transition of military and security operations by the end of 2014, including the redeployment of U.S. troops; and to pursue robust negotiations to address Afghanistan's and the region's security and stability. Establishes the sense of Congress that should the President determine the necessity for post–2014 deployment of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the Congress should vote to authorize such a presence and mission by no later than June 2014. – ADOPTED 305 – 121
Goodlatte (R–VA): Amendment No. 11 – Requires the government, in habeas proceedings for United States citizens apprehended in the United States pursuant to the AUMF, to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the citizen is an unprivileged enemy combatant and there is not presumption that the government's evidence is accurate and authentic. – ADOPTED 214 – 211
Some of the Rejected Amendments:
Blumenauer (D–OR), Mulvaney (R–SC), Bentivolio (R–MI): Amendment No. 2 – Reduces from 11 to 10 the statutory requirement for the number of operational carriers that the U.S. Navy must have. – REJECTED 106 – 318
Coffman (R–CO): Amendment No. 5 – Cuts $250 million from the Defense Rapid Innovation Program (DRIP), and moves the money to alleviate training and readiness shortfalls. – REJECTED 206 – 220
Rigell (R–VA): Amendment No. 9 – Modifies the temporary suspension of public–private competitions for conversion of Department of Defense functions to contractor performance. Permits the Secretary of Defense to exempt existing public–private partnerships from the OMB Budget Circular A–76 process. – REJECTED 178 – 248
Smith (D-WA), Gibson (R-NY): Amendment No. 13 - Amends Section 1021 of the FY2012 National Defense Authorization Act to eliminate indefinite military detention of any person detained under AUMF authority in the United States, territories or possessions by providing immediate transfer to trial and proceedings by a court established under Article III of the Constitution or by an appropriate state court. Strikes section 1022 of the same Act (which provided for mandatory military custody of covered parties). – REJECTED 200 – 226

Numerous amendments were passed by block voice vote with the number only identified with other numbers. The only way you will know what they include is to do detailed research on each Amendment.  One of the amendments passed in a block vote was Amendment 77 by Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA) that grants amnesty to illegal aliens who enroll in the military.  The amendment says these illegals who join the military will get "conditional" lawful permanent resident (LPR) status. However, under current law, an LPR in the military is IMMEDIATELY eligible for naturalization, so the conditional thing made no sense. Once naturalize, these servicemen can immediately sponsor their illegal parents for LPR status, along with other relatives. As Roy Beck, NumbersUSA noted, "Enticing illegal aliens to join in order to obtain lawful permanent resident status, along with a path to legal status for their family members through chain migration, cheapens the commitment that millions of Americans have made to serve our nation."

Today, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said he now believes President Obama and his Democratic allies in Washington have decided to deliberately allow student loan rates to double on July 1, rather than work with Republicans to enact a fix, in an effort to create a distraction from their party’s current troubles. Boehner expressed dismay that the president appears to have resorted to picking a fake fight with Republicans to distract from divisions that are preventing a solution on student loans from advancing in the Senate. House Republicans have already passed a bill – mirroring a plan proposed in the president’s own budget – that prevents rates from doubling, and provides more certainty for students and families, but Senate Democrats have refused to send it to the president’s desk.

Today, Sean Hackbarth on the US Chamber of Commerce blog Free Enterprise noted "In describing the struggle over federal approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) quipped at a Washington, DC energy conference that it is the “Kim Kardashian of energy.” What should have been an easy decision by President Obama has turned into a drama worthy of an E! network reality show. The Keystone XL pipeline should have been approved years ago."

Hackbarth also highlighted that "approving the pipeline is a no-brainer" and then summarized six reasons why:

1. According to the State Department, more than 42,000 jobs would be created annually over the pipeline’s construction period.
2. State and local governments will collect more than $585 million in new taxes.
3. We’ll import more oil from a friendly neighbor and less from countries that aren't as friendly.
4. Canadian oil sands will be developed. It will either go south to the United States—creating jobs here--or elsewhere.
5. Majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents support the pipeline.
6. Both businesses and labor back Keystone XL.

The Heritage Foundation commented today on the Senate passed bloated Farm bill "which doesn't have much at all to do with farms." It now it moves on to the House of Representatives, where Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has said he will vote for it. Heritage noted, "Among other questionable provisions in the costly bill, more than 80 percent of the spending goes to food stamps, not farmers. It spends half again as much as the last farm bill, passed in 2008. It even taxes Christmas trees and rocks!" Heritage’s Amy Payne puts it plainly: “Let’s be honest. This isn't a ‘farm’ bill. It’s a food stamps and whatever else Congress can throw in the bill.”

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