Letter to Constituents
Letter
Dear Friends,
It's not often that I get to speak for an extended period of time on the House floor about the people who have inspired me and even shaped my life.
This week, I organized a special hour of speeches so that any member who wished could honor the late Pastor Chuck Colson. If you've got some time, take a look, or feel free to forward the link on to someone who may appreciate it.
Defense Authorization
Legislatively, I've been quite busy. Yesterday, the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act, which included an amendment I cosponsored instructing the Department of Justice to order an investigation into the possible violation of U.S. law regarding numerous leaks of sensitive information involving U.S. and Israeli military, intelligence, and operational capabilities. (H.R. 4310 would authorize the discretionary budget authority for programs within the jurisdiction of the Armed Services Committee.)
Proving that not everything in Washington has to be contentious, the amendment I cosponsored passed with strong bipartisan support... a total of 234 Republicans and 145 Democrats voted "aye".
Preserving Transit Benefits for Train & Bus Commuters
This week, I also sent a letter to each member of the Conference Committee who will decide the fate of this year's major transportation bill. (This is the legislation which will define the next five years of U.S. transportation policy, and since the House and Senate passed different versions, a special Conference Committee has been assembled to iron out the differences and create a final version.)
On January 1, 2012, commuters using public transit to get to work saw their transit benefit (in the form of a tax break on pre-tax benefits) almost cut in half, while the benefit for people choosing to drive to work increased slightly.
I asked that conferees preserve Section 40204 of the Senate's Map-21 bill (S.1813), which would extend this tax break for public transit commuters at $240 through December 31, 2012. It just doesn't make sense to me to punish people taking the train or subway to work, while simultaneously rewarding people who drive and then park at the office.
In service,
Randy
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