The Serrano Report, Vol. VI, #20

Press Release

Serrano's Bill Passes Appropriations Committee

Late Tuesday night, Congressman Serrano, in his role as Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, ushered his FY2010 funding bill through the full Appropriations Committee, defeating multiple harmful amendments in the process.

In the end, the Committee passed the bill by voice vote. The legislation funds a variety of departments and agencies, including the Treasury Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), and the Small Business Administration (SBA), as well as the Federal Judiciary, the Executive Office of the President, and provides federal funding for the District of Columbia. During the four hour markup of the bill, the committee considered numerous amendments, many of which were unsuccessful Republican efforts to reinsert restrictive social riders dictating the behavior of the government and people of the District of Columbia. In opposing the amendments, Serrano reiterated his belief that the District of Columbia should be as free to run its own affairs as any state and should not be micromanaged by Congress.

No amendment passed on a vote, although several were accepted by Chairman Serrano.

"Last night my colleagues on the full Appropriations Committee gave their approval to my bill and its approach to a variety of issues. The bill will increase the ability of our financial regulatory agencies to protect our financial system, our economy, and consumers. It will help make sure capital and other assistance gets to small businesses and low-income communities, which are hurting in this economic downturn. It will also fund the IRS at a level where it can go after tax evaders- including wealthy individuals and businesses who attempt to avoid taxes by parking their cash overseas- but at the same time provide assistance to those needing help filing their taxes."

"We also wrote the bill in such a way as to honor my commitment to the District of Columbia that I would not impose restrictions on it that other states and territories do not have. I strongly believe that Congress has a responsibility to let DC run its own affairs in the manner that it chooses. We had a variety of amendments last night that sought to re-impose social riders that I had taken out. There were amendments that sought to restrict DC's right to conduct a referendum on the use of medical marijuana and to use their own local funds like any other state for abortion services. My colleagues voted these amendments down in both cases. I believe that they too share my belief that the District should be left to govern itself, and I believe a majority in the House will agree.

"We passed a responsible, fiscally-prudent bill last night, which will ensure the health of our economy and raise revenue through the fair application of taxes. In short, we are making key investments in agencies and departments which will benefit all taxpayers in the end. I commend my colleagues for their support and look forward to taking this bill to the House floor soon."

Serrano Condemns Honduran Coup

On June 28, the Honduran military toppled the government of President Manuel Zelaya and expelled him from the country. The next day, Congressman Serrano released a statement condemning the military coup in Honduras and calling for the return of the duly elected President.

Since the coup, the new govenrment has continued to refuse to step down and has denied President Zelaya re-entry into Honduras, Serrano is now cosponsoring a resolution in the House to call for the return of President Zelaya and the end of the coup.

"The United States has a long history of interfering in Latin America," said Serrano. "This is an opportunity to use our influence to promote democracy and strengthen the rule of law. We must make it clear that we support duly elected democracies, even if the elected leaders may frequently disagree with us. The long-term stability of these countries is vastly more important than short-term policy disagreements. I look forward to the peaceful return of President Zelaya and a resolution of the lingering disagreements in Honduras through the established legal processes."

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