Newsletter - 1/17/15

Statement

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year and happy new Congress! This weekend marks the second week of the 114th Congress, and I thought I would give you an update on how we've spent our time. Unfortunately, it has been more of the usual do-nothing Congress. House Republican leadership has brought up partisan vote after partisan vote. So far, I have opposed the Keystone XL pipeline, a measure to defund executive action on immigration, the 54th attempt to attack the Affordable Care Act, and a delay in key provisions of Dodd-Frank.

While it may feel like the beginning of another difficult year, even the difficult years can be constructive. Below, you'll find a list of all my legislative achievements from the last year. All of these were signed into law. You'll notice that nearly all of my achievements are amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (NDAA FY15). Many of these began as standalone bills that I modified into amendments. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I've found that the amendment process for this necessary and bipartisan bill is the best way to pass things in the do nothing Congress:

Amended the NDAA FY15 to authorize a Department of Defense Inspector General review of spare parts costs. The DOD has an estimated $96 billion in parts and inventory at any one time and has disposed of nearly $15 billion in excess parts in the past three years. I have spoken on the House floor on this wasteful spending in a segment called "The Price is Wrong." You can watch "episodes" on my YouTube page here.

Amended the NDAA FY15 to authorize women-owned small businesses for sole-source contracts under the same terms as other small business contracting programs and accelerates the disparity study to assess industries in the women-owned small business procurement program. Currently, women-owned small businesses account for only 0.19 percent of the $50 billion designated for small businesses in fiscal year 2013. With this amendment, we will get closer to the 5% federal contracting goal.

Originally introduced as H.R. 520, the Buffalo Soldiers in the National Parks Study Act was incorporated into and passed with the NDAA FY15. This law will commemorate the all-African-American regiments of the U.S. Army who protected our National Parks, including Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, at the turn of the 20th Century.

Amended the NDAA FY15 to take away a good military character defense in a case of military sexual assault. Until this amendment, members of the military could have their sentences reduced or pled away because of the "good soldier" defense.

Amended the NDAA FY15 to establish psychotherapist-patient privilege for members of the armed services.

Amended the NDAA FY15 to limit funding for new Littoral Combat Ships, a wasteful and ineffective ship. The LCS has been plagued with cost overruns, with cost estimates of as much as $600 million for each fully-equipped ship, and performance issues. Simply put, it will not meet the needs of a 21st century Navy.

Amended the NDAA FY15 to limit funding for Littoral Combat Ship training.

Amended the NDAA FY15 to adopt the U.S. Government Accountability Office's recommendations to establish an authoritative source of data on conventional ammunition across the Department of Defense, helping our military redistribute and log ammunition. Much of this extra ammunition is simply destroyed, meaning.

Amended the NDAA FY15 to establish a point person at the Department of Defense to track former employees who find work for defense contractors to better combat the revolving door.

Amended the House Rules so think tanks that testify in front of Congress must disclose funding they receive from foreign governments. While this funding may not distort the testimony of these witnesses, this rule is important so Members can appropriately assess potential conflicts of interest when these policy experts testify in front of Congress. You can watch me introduce the amendment here.
While NDAA may be focused on our national defense, I've successfully used the amendment process to help women-owned small businesses, survivors of sexual assault, promote national parks, and combat wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars. Over the coming year, I will be investigating police militarization, our large intelligence community, and promoting cyber security. I feel more energized than ever to be productive, no matter the obstacles.

As always, don't hesitate to reach out to me and my office with any questions. We can help with a variety of issues, from Capitol tours to help navigating the immigration system. You can learn more under the Constituent Services tab on my website.

All the best,
Jackie

Source