Congress Ends a Busy and Productive 2005

Congress Ends a Busy and Productive 2005

January 16, 2006

The partisan bickering that too often occurs on Capitol Hill continued to capture the national media spotlight over the last 12 months, including the battle to confirm Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, the Federal government's handling of the Hurricane Katrina response, and liberal calls for an immediate withdrawal of American troops from the war against terror in Iraq. There was more going on in Washington than these news headlines, however.

Lawmakers return to Washington on January 31 to begin the Second Session of the two-year 109th Congress. The U.S. House of Representatives adjourned its First Session on December 19 after casting 669 recorded votes in 2005. The Senate, by comparison, managed 366 roll call votes.

The last year will be remembered for rising gasoline prices as restricted supply and refining capacity, partly due to the hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, combined with increased foreign consumption of oil. These circumstances underscored the need for a long-term national energy strategy. Congress passed into law the Energy Policy Act to encourage greater domestic production of oil while promoting alternative energy research. The U.S. House followed up late in the year by also passing the Gasoline for America's Security Act (GAS Act) which seeks to expand America's limited oil refining capacity to better meet consumer demand.

American jobs continued to grow in 2005 despite the upheaval created by the Gulf Coast hurricanes. Nearly 2 million jobs have been created over the last year which ended with a 4.9 percent overall national unemployment rate. These job gains capped another 2 million jobs added since 2003. The President's policy of tax relief is largely responsible for maintaining the national economic growth that is creating the new jobs. The U.S. House took action in 2005 to ensure that Americans continue to benefit from lower taxes. This includes the House passage of legislation to permanently repeal the Death Tax and also extend for another year Alternative Minimum Tax relief for middle income families. Workers looking towards retirement also saw the House pass the Pension Protection Act which penalizes employers who do not adequately and consistently fund their pension plans.

With lawsuit "lotteries" threatening businesses and costing American jobs, Congress passed into law the Class Action Fairness Act to move class action lawsuits to Federal courts where there is less potential for abuse of the awards process. Furthermore, the House passed the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act which seeks to limit frivolous lawsuits by requiring plaintiffs to pay attorneys' fees of defendants if the judge determines a frivolous suit was filed. It also reduces the practice of "shopping" for friendly courts by plaintiffs.

Last week, I wrote about the House passage of the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act which seeks to impose the toughest border security and illegal immigration controls yet. It would end "catch and release" of illegals while increasing border security. More Congressional action to bolster border security is expected in 2006.

Finally, Congress passed into law military death benefit expansions for servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan that mirror legislation I introduced last January along with Senator Jeff Sessions. The one-time military death gratuity payment increases from $12,000 to $100,000, and the maximum Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (SGLI) benefit rises from $250,000 to $400,000. The first $150,000 in SGLI coverage would also be guaranteed by the Federal government. The benefits increases are retroactive to October 2001.

http://wwwc.house.gov/everett/news/columns/col_011606.asp