Congressional Dish

This episode is the summary of everything that happened in the House of Representatives during the 113th Congress.   Please support Congressional Dish: to contribute with PayPal or Bitcoin; click the PayPal "Make it Monthly" checkbox to create a monthly subscription to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon Mail Contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North #4576 Crestview, FL 32536 Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Information Presented in This Episode The One Bill by Which All Representatives Should be Judged , the "bill written by CitiGroup that would allow banks to use our deposits to gamble with the same financial scam products that crashed the economy in 2008 and would give these banks - foreign and domestic - taxpayer funded bailouts when it inevitably blows up in their faces again." Travel Expenses [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="998"] An example of how much money the Representatives in the House have spent on travel, possibly because they were allowed to use our money on private jets.[/caption] The Fiscal Cliff Law : Senate report: Apple claims subsidiaries to avoid paying billions in taxes each year, InfoWorld, May 2013. Ebola Malaria kills about 500,000 Africans per year. New discoveries raise West Africa oil hopes, Reuters, February 2012. The West African Oil & Gas Market 2013-2023, MarketWatch, September 2013. : U.S. Ebola fighters head to Africa, but will the military and civilian effort be enough?, Washington Post, October 2014. Ebola FearMongering from : Millions of Doses of Ebola Vaccine to Be Ready by End of 2015, Scientific American, October 2014. : Ebola outbreak: Johnson & Johnson get OK to fast-track vaccine trials, CBC News, September 2014. Ebola and the most important agency America has never heard of by Rep. Mike Rogers, The Hill, October 2014. Ukraine : Ukraine Crisis Death Toll Nears 4K: United Nations, International Business Times, October 2014. Syria The death toll in U.S. airstrikes in Syria, broken down, The Washington Post, October 2014. We Always Give Them Their Jobs Back Voters Throw Bums In While Holding Congress in Disdain, Bloomberg, December 2012.

In this episode, we discuss the bills that passed in August and September, the last bills to pass before the election. Included are bills that give money to Israel, screw over immigrant kids, audit the Fed, poison the environment, create huge corporate tax cuts, and more. Also, the story of CryptoWall, the computer virus holding our memories hostage. Please support Congressional Dish: to contribute with PayPal or Bitcoin; click the PayPal "Make it Monthly" checkbox to create a monthly subscription to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon Mail Contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North #4576 Crestview, FL 32536 Thank you for supporting truly independent media! : A bill that gives $225 million to Israel's Iron Dome Iron Dome By Israel Defense Forces and Nehemiya Gershoni Gave $225 million to Israel for their Iron Dome missile defense system. : Gaza Crisis: Toll of Operations in Gaza, BBC World, September 2014. : Raytheon a key in Israeli defense plan, Boston Globe, July 2014. Written by of . It passed the House of Representatives with by a vote of . All Republicans voted yes. There was no recorded vote in the Senate. : Ship Off Children of Immigrants Act of 2014 as ordered in a that discourages deportation proceedings for illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as young children. all undocumented people from working in the United States. Written by of . Passed the House of Representatives by a vote of . Every Representative from the following states voted yes: Alaska Arkansas Idaho Kansas Montana Nebraska North Dakota Oklahoma South Dakota West Virginia Wyoming : Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act of 2014 of a that would clearly protect seasonal and rain-dependent streams and wetlands near streams and in the future. Written by of . The bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of . A bill that allows health insurance companies to provide less coverage. Allows health insurance companies to continue to offer health plans to employer set by the Affordable Care Act until 2019. Written by of The bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of . All Republicans voted yes. Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2013 of the Board of Directors of the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Federal Reserve banks within a year of this bill becoming law. a list of things in the Federal Reserve that are not allowed to be audited, : Transactions for or with foreign central banks, foreign governments, or international financing organizations. Debates and decisions on monetary policy The amount of money in member banks Written by of . The bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of . A bill that increases air travel fees the TSA fee a maximum $5 each way to $5.60 each way or $11.20 roundtrip. Written by of . Passed the House of Representatives by a vote of . Jobs for America Act This bill is a package of bills that have already passed the House of Representatives in the 113th Congress. The entire bill in the PAYGO budget. Ways and Means the Save American Workers Act, which requires an employee to work 40 hours per week, instead of 30 hours per week, in order to be considered “full-time” and get employer-provided health insurance. said this bill would increase the deficit by $45.7 billion over the next ten years. This bill was discussed in . the American Reseach and Competitiveness Act of 2014, which expands and permanently extends the tax credits businesses receive for research and development expenses. The said this bill alone would increase the deficit by $156 billion over the next ten years. This bill was discussed in . the America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act, which expands and makes permanent an expiring corporate tax cut. said this bill would increase the deficit by $73 billion over the next ten years. This bill was discussed in . the S Corporation Permanent Tax Relief Act, which reduces the number of years that some corporate income is taxable. said this bill would increase the deficit by $1.5 billion over the next ten years. This bill was discussed in . the corporate tax cuts for upgrading the inside of retail stores which said would increase the deficit by $287 billion dollars over the next ten years. This bill was discussed in . the , which is a 2.3% tax on corporations who sell expensive medical equipment. Repealing the medical device tax was discussed in episode . Financial Services the Small Business Capital Access and Job Preservation Act, which exempts private equity fund advisers from registering with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This bill was discussed in episode . the Small Business Mergers, Acquisitions, Sales, and Brokerage Simplification Act, which exempts mergers and acquisition brokers from registering with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This bill was discussed in episode . Oversight Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act which forces the government to let private companies write the rules that will govern them and says political factors must be considered. the All Economic Regulations are Transparent Act, which makes it slower and harder for the government to enact any regulations. This bill was discussed in episode . Judiciary the Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act (RIENS Act), which shuts down all regulations (except those enacted by the Federal Reserve) by requiring Congressional approval for all major rules that cost over $100 million or affect the finances of businesses; rules that don't pass in under 70 days are automatically killed. This bill was discussed in episode . the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act, which prohibits State and local taxes on Internet access. Natural Resources the Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act, which forces the government to cut down trees and lets the Secretary of Agriculture . Packaged by of Passed the House of Representatives on September 15, 2014 by a vote of . American Energy Solutions for Lower Costs and More American Jobs Act the Northern Route Approval Act, which grants or eliminates all the permits needed to build the KeystoneXL pipeline. This bill was discussed in . the Natural Gas Pipeline Permitting Reform Act, which rushes permits for natural gas pipelines and automatically approves applications that take too long. This bill was discussed in . the North American Energy Infrastructure Act, which eliminates the permit needed to modify existing oil and gas pipelines. This bill was discussed in . the Energy Consumers Relief Act of 2014, which prohibits the EPA from enacting expensive rules. This bill was discussed in . the Electricity Security and Affordability Act, which shuts down EPA regulations of emissions from fossil fuel powered utilities. This bill was discussed in . the Domestic Prosperity and Global Freedom Act, which speeds up the permitting for natural gas export facilities. This bill was discussed in . the Lowering Gasoline Prices to Fuel an America That Works Act, which forces the government to lease at least 50% of the area in the ocean with oil to the oil companies, automatically approves drilling permits that take too long, charges citizens a $5,000 protect fee to fight drilling in court, and abolishes the Minerals Management Service - which no longer exists. This bill was discussed in . the Bureau of Reclamation Conduit Hydropower Development Equity and Jobs Act, which exempts hydropower projects from environmental reviews. This bill was discussed in . the Protecting States’ Rights to Promote American Energy Security Act, which prohibits the Federal government from regulating fracking. This bill was discussed in . Preventing Government Waste and Protecting Coal Mining Jobs in America, which brings back a Bush Administration rule - which was recently thrown out by the courts for failing to comply with the Endangered Species Act - which would allow waste from mountaintop removal for coal mining to be dumped into rivers and streams. This bill was discussed in . the Responsibly And Professionally Invigorating Development Act of 2014 (RAPID Act), which lets companies conduct their own environmental reviews, automatically approves permits that aren't finished on time, and prohibits judicial review of Federal permits. This bill was discussed in . This bill was packaged by of . The bill passed on September 18 by a vote of . CryptoWall CryptoWall: What is it and how to protect your systems, TechRepublic, October 2014. Music Presented in This Episode Intro and Exit Music: by by ,  by , by

In this episode, we look at the bills that passed the House of Representatives in July but haven't yet become law. Topics include tax cuts, student loans, education, Hezbollah, and pesticides in our water. Please support Congressional Dish: to contribute with PayPal or Bitcoin; click the PayPal "Make it Monthly" checkbox to create a monthly subscription to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon Mail Contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North #4576 Crestview, FL 32536 Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Permanent Bonus Depreciation Tax Cut Brings back a on and . The cut they want to make permanent is for . Expands the tax cuts to include deductions for . Gives corporations about how they'd like to get taxed. The effects of this bill in the . : "Enacting H.R. 4718 would reduce revenues, thus increasing federal budget deficits, by about $287 billion over the 2014-2024 period." Article: July 2012. The bills passed the House of Representatives on July 11 by a vote of . Only two Republicans voted against it: of Orange County, CA of North Carolina The bill was written by of . Federal Register Modernization Act Says that copies of the Federal Registrar . : It would have no effect on the Federal budget. Passed the House of Representatives on July 14 by a vote of . Written by of southern America Gives More Act of 2014 for . Increases the charitable deduction limit for food donations from of a person's net income . Charitable donations that exceed the cap can be . This would be . that expired in 2013 for charitable contributions direct from retirement funds. Makes permanent tax credits for charitable donations and tax credits for . Allows people to claim charity if the donation happens before tax day. for private foundations investment income in half. The effects of this bill the budget in the PAYGO budget. : "enacting H.R. 4719 would reduce revenues, thus increasing federal budget deficits, by about $1.9 billion over the 2014-2024 period" The bill passed the House of Representatives on July 17 by a vote of . The bill was written by of Travel Promotion, Enhancement, and Modernization Act of 2014 Changes the board of directors of - a non-profit organization that advertises U.S. tourism - from being made up of to one , with five seats reserved for people with ties to multinational corporations. It eliminates the seat for the specialist in intercity passenger rail. for the government to spend $100 million per year on Brand USA through 2020. - a $10 fee charged to people who get a visa to travel into the United States - until 2020. : The bill would decrease the deficit by $231 million over the next ten years. Passed the House of Representatives on July 22 by a vote of Written by of Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act of 2014 United States banks from completing large financial transactions for Hezbollah. The worst for completing a Hezbollah transaction can be for . This to "authorized intelligence activities of the United States" The bill is by reducing our yearly financial gift to Pakistan by . The bill passed the House of Representatives on July 22 by a vote of . Written by of Advancing Competency-Based Education Demonstration Project Act of 2014 Authorizes a "entities" to launch demonstration projects of "competency-based" education programs, which would as the system of measurement to get a degree. Schools that participate would be exempted all kinds of . Projects that reduce the amount of time and/or money required to get a degree . The only to make a school eligible is that it . Each demonstration project would have . After the program has been around awhile, that number . The bill passed the House of Representatives on July 23 by a vote of . Written by of Representatives Quoted in This Segment Video Shared in This Segment Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act that schools make sure that students know and understand the terms and conditions of their Federal student loans every year by using either in-person counseling sessions or online. Students that Federal loans usually have better terms and conditions than private loans. Students will get to explain their loan status and the consequences of failing to re-pay it as they leave college. The bill passed on July 24 by a vote of . All Democrats voted yes. Written by of Student and Family Tax Simplification Act for college expenses that is scheduled to expire in 2017. The tax credit and eligibility numbers would starting in 2018. : The Child Tax Credit Improvement Act and . The effects this would have on the budget . : The bill would increase the deficit by $96.5 billion over the next ten years. Passed the House of Representatives on July 24 by a vote of Written by of Child Tax Credit Improvement Act of 2014 of money a family is allowed to make and still claim the child tax credit. Currently, married people can make $110,000; this bill would increase that to $150,000. Single people can make $55,000, which would increase to $75,000. starting in 2015. : The bill would increase the deficit by about $115 billion over the next 10 years. The bill passed on July 25 by a vote of Written by of Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2014 States from requiring permits to dump pesticides into oceans and rivers as long as the pesticide is legal to sell. The bill passed on July 31 by a vote of . The bill failed to pass three days prior as an uncontroversial "suspension" bill. All Republicans voted yes. Written by of .

This episode examines three bills that passed Congress in July and have since become law. The first new law will give veterans quicker access to health care. The second new law is designed to provide job training to poor people, but a hidden provision will likely take us one step closer to 1984. The third new law is another glaring example of this Congress failing to do its job. Also, Jen tells you her plans for Congressional Dish's future. July Bills that Became Law Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 Allows veterans to get medical care ; they can go to any health facility that serves Medicare patients, health centers, the Defense Department, and the Indian Health Service. Veterans are they'd have to wait for an appointment with the Veteran's Administration or if they live 40 miles or further from a Veteran's Administration clinic. If eligible, the veteran will receive a . Veteran notifies VA, VA puts Veteran on an electronic waiting list or authorizes their request, VA works out a payment agreement with the health care provider, VA reimburses health care provider but no more than they would for Medicare services. If the veteran gets treated for , their health insurance plan will be responsible for payment and the health care provider will be responsible for going after the insurance company for the money. Veterans for care at private facilities than they would have been charged at the Veteran's Administration. . Orders a , establishes a , and creates a to review VA practices. when determining performance bonuses for top officials at the Veteran's administration and performance goals that disincentivize using private health providers for veteran care . for health care at the VA, VA facility , and will be published online. The VA will for five years to address staffing shortages. and they'll receive for working for the VA. Expands coverage for , which will include . This will be . Extends a pilot program for assisted living care for veterans with traumatic brain injuries . that charge veterans more than State residents from being qualified schools for veteran education benefits. Makes it senior executives at the Department of Veteran's Affairs. to implement these changes. The bill passed the Senate on July 31st by a vote of . The bill passed the House of Representatives on July 30 by a vote of . Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina's Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act This bill was originally passed on March 15, 2013 as the SKILLS Act and was discussed in episode . The bill that became law was drastically different. Job Training Programs Keeps the make up of the boards largely the same: Most members will be representatives of the business community, twenty percent of the members must be State officials, and . The . The State boards will advise that will determine how funds are best spent in their local communities. , if they had established them before this bill became law. The goal is to come up with 4 year and plans to best provide workforce training to give the unemployed most desired by the businesses that operate in the state. The State plans . The plans are deemed approved after 90 days if the agencies have not formally disapproved in writing. will be in charge of - and held liable for- disbursing government money for the job training programs. Local taught in job training courses. Success will be measured by the six months and a year after leaving the job training programs. If a state fails to meet performance requirements, the . If a local board fails to meet performance requirements, their . Job training funds are allowed to be spent on services provided . of the funds will go towards training eligible young people who include who have dropped out of school, are in the juvenile detention system, are homeless, are pregnant or single parents, can't speak English, or are disabled. will include tutoring, paid and unpaid internships, drug and alcohol abuse treatment, and financial literacy classes. The rest of the funds will be for adults or . The job trainer providers , meaning they will need to provide all the services in the program at one location. eligibility verification, skill testing, job search assistance, statistic compilation, assistance with unemployment filing and student loan applications, career planning, and English language lessons. Training services will only be available to people . skills training, on-the-job training, "training programs operated by the private sector", and ESL classes. Companies that provide on-the-job training paid for by the government. Twenty percent of the money can go towards , which pay companies to train their own workers to avert layoffs. , with larger companies paying more. The program will be at $2.8 billion in 2015, increasing to $3.3 billion by 2020. The law establishes a Department of Labor to provide an "intensive social, academic, career and technical education" to prepare them for jobs in "in-demand industry sectors or the Armed forces". Document: Over half of the students consistently . Article: of the the participants must be "residential". Jobs corps centers . They can pocket of their funds as "management fees". There is no cap. The jobs corps centers with English classes, work training, physical education, driver's education, financial literacy classes, counseling, and recreation. Enrollees in the job corps will by laws governing hours of work, compensation, vacation time, or Federal benefits but . Work place injury compensation will be for jobs corps enrollees. Makes the Education Department to carry out any program, not just the jobs corps. Article: The Jobs Corps Program over $1.6 billion in 2015 which will gradually increase to over $1.9 billion by 2020. Administrative costs are , whichever is higher. Adult Education Program Available for people who do not have a high school diploma or who need help learning English. The providers . Part of the funds will be used to who have a good chance of being released in the next five years. The program will be given until 2020. Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014 Written by Rep. Dave Camp (MI-4) Extends current levels for transportation funding . The effects of this extension on the budget . Also Discussed In This Episode Check out Jen's latest appearance on Reserve your tickets for Music in this Episode Intro and Exit Music: by (found on by mevio) by (found on by mevio) by (found on by mevio)

This episode highlights the laws and bills that passed the House of Representatives in June. Most of the bills this month were dedicated to cutting corporate taxes and keeping us hooked on fossil fuels. Laws : WWII Memorial Prayer Act The bill originated in the Senate, where it passed unanimously; it passed the House on June 23 by 370-12 and was signed into law a week later. A will be installed at the Washington D.C. World War II memorial that says that President Roosevelt prayed on the morning of D-Day. The plaque will be . Written by Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio. : Collinsville Renewable Energy Production Act Allows the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to in Connecticut and allows the license to be transferred to the town of Canton, Connecticut. Written by Elizabeth Esty, a Democrat from Connecticut. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate and was supported by every Democrat in the House; only three Republicans voted against it. It was signed into law on June 30th. Bills : America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2014 Makes permanent a four year business tax cut that allowed businesses to in property from their taxes. This is supposed to . Adds things that can be deducted such as , and . on what can be deducted. The amounts that can be deducted would . The effects this bill would have on the budget . Written by . The bill passed with a vote of . S Corporation Permanent Tax Relief Act of 2014 Lowers the number of years that a kind of corporate income is taxable . The effects this bill would have on the budget . The bill passed with the same two Republicans who voted against HR 4457 - Walter Jones of North Carolina and retiring Congressman John Campbell of California- voting against it. Forty-two Democrats said yes to this bill. The bill was written by of Washington. : Customer Protection and End User Relief Act requires traders to have enough money to pay out customer bets and adds reporting requirements, but implements no punishment for non-compliance. Title II makes the Commodity Futures Trading Commission publish the and within the Commodities Futures Trading Commission which has . The Commodity Futures Trading Commission could by a person - or corporation - that doesn't like their rules. The court can overturn the rules. swaps gamblers from having to set aside money. , which would effectively exempt them from some regulations. These changes are to July 21, 2010 (the effective date of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law). Walter Jones of North Carolina was the only Republican to vote against this bill (John Campbell didn't vote) and 46 Democrats joined the rest of the Republicans to pass it . The White House didn't issue a veto threat but said they the passage of this bill. It has little chance of becoming law. Written by of Oklahoma. : North American Energy Infrastructure Act Gives the Secretary of State, , the authority to and forces them to make a decision within 120 days of the final environmental impact statement. to modify existing cross-border oil or gas pipeline. Allows the without approval by the Federal Power Commission, which is required now. Allows the United States to without approval by the Federal Power Commission, which is required now. These provisions would be effective . Written by of Michigan, who has taken over $2 million from the Energy and Natural Resources sector. The only Republican to vote against this bill was once again, Walter Jones of North Carolina. Seventeen oily Democrats joined the vast majority of the Republicans to pass this bill 238-173. : Domestic Prosperity and Global Freedom Act The Department of Energy would have to make their final decision on applications for gas export facilities of the finished NEPA review. The public would have to be told . This bill was written by , who is currently running for the Senate in Colorado. The bill passed . : Lowering Gasoline Prices to Fuel an America that Works Act The government must lease of the outer Continental Shelf that is thought to have the most oil and gas (according to the ). Forces lease sales off of , , and , with that are to drilling. Gives of the from offshore fossil fuel drilling and gives it to the oil States. , which . of an Executive Order issued during the that . Considers to force drilling off their shores. citizens have to challenge fossil fuel decisions in court to 60 days. if they are not decided in less than 60 days. Citizen's will be charged to challenge a drilling permit in court. We would spend to map fossil fuels for the industry. Congress would be given information about drilling leases. Would pass the - - would would bring back the Bush administration rules for oil shale development, which require fewer environmental studies and allows oil companies decide which new regulations to obey. Would and not decided in under 60 days. for drilling in Alaska. This bill was written by , who is retiring at the end of this term. The bill passed the House on June 26 by a vote of . Weed, CA Fire Music Presented in this Episode Intro and Exit Music: by (found on by mevio) June Gloom by (found on by mevio) Taxes by (found on by mevio)

In this bonus episode, details and analysis of the authorization to create a new military in Syria which is speeding towards becoming law.   Information Presented in This Episode Clips in this episode are from the with testimony from and . that was attached to the Continuing Resolution which will authorize the creating of a military in Syria. Congress plans to move forward with an Authorization for Military Force (AUMF) .

In this episode, we look at a bill that furthers the "new normal" in Africa, a bill that sanctions Venezuela, a banking bill, a charter school bill, some silly bills that won't become law, and a few Presidential declarations. Presidential Declarations : Withdrew Russia as a beneficiary country under the Generalized System of Preferences program Russia loses duty-free treatment. On what? says: Products that are eligible for duty-free treatment under GSP include: most manufactured items; many types of chemicals, minerals and building stone; jewelry; many types of carpets; and certain agricultural and fishery products. : Top 6 Products: Car parts, metals, tires, oil, precious metal jewelry, corn : Continued National Emergency in : Proposed agreement for with Vietnam Bills That Passed the House : State Supervision of Banks of banks if the state examines the banks for compliance with federal rules. Became Law on August 8th without any recorded votes. H.R. 3080: Water Project Funding This was the bill that privatized water projects that was the subject of episode . The version that became law didn't rush environmental reviews. There's no deemed approval of projects and lawsuits against a permit will be barred after , not five months. The bill that allows natural gas companies and utilities to pay the Army to speed up their permitting process, but added that the authority will expire in and the permits have to be on the Internet. The House version would have allowed privatization of facility management and emergency water projects but the law allows in the United States. The to privatize fifteen flood mitigation projects also survived. [caption id="attachment_1556" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Escape from privatized flood control projects in style![/caption] : to Africa Act of 2014 on May 8, 2014 "The work in the energy sector shows high projected economic rates of return that translate to sustainable economic growth and that the highest returns are projected when infrastructure improvements are coupled with significant legislative, regulatory, institutional, and policy reforms." Orders a report on "Administration policy to support partner country efforts to attract " Would be US policy to promote installation of of electricity in sub-Saharan Africa by 2020 and support "the necessary in-country legislative, regulatory and policy to make such expansion of electricity access possible." Electricity would come from new "supported" by the private sector. The President needs to establish the policy and funding strategy which includes efforts It's the sense of Congress that to banks in Africa and to support this plan. USAID is requesting in 2015. Part of the strategy includes providing technical assistance to African governments in commercial projects. : In general, the director of the Trade and Development Agency should promote United States private sector participation in energy sector development projects..." Introduced by Rep. Ed Royce, who represents . , an almost identical bill, was introduced in the Senate in June by a Democrat. The White House has not issued a veto threat. : Sanction Venezuela Act No Recorded Vote - Passed Unanimously After the former President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, died in 2013, his hand-picked Vice President, Nicholas Maduro, became President. President Maduro continued the policies of Hugo Chavez which are not liked by the multi-national corporations. For example, he recently cracked down on and for price gauging, making good on an announcement from late last year during which he said he wants . President Nicholas Maduro is . Since February, there have been protests in the wealthier areas of Venezuela. This is where things get murky. The who were apparently protesting the high crime rate, inflation, and inability to get certain products. People against President Maduro quickly joined. President Maduro has to attempt what he called a "slow-motion" coup, like the recent . It's worth remembering that the as recently as 2002. Either way, President Maduro's government has responded with and whom President Maduro said were responsible recruiting students to lead the protests. H.R. 4578 says that in response to the government's response to the protests - including the - the U.S. government will take the following actions: against current or former Venezuelan government officials, or anyone acting on behalf of the government, who ordered violence, the arrest of protestors, media censorship, or provided money or support to someone who did. The sanctions include asset blocking of money or property if it comes into the possession of the United States or a United States "person" (corporation). Exception: The importation of goods. The same people eligible for sanctions will be ineligible for visas into the United States. Exception: To let them in for a United Nations event. will be applied to people or companies who give Venezuela firearms, ammunition, technology, including telecommunications equipment. The bill also orders a from the Secretary of State on how to improve communications for activists in Venezuela, including activities to "train human rights, civil society, and democracy activists in Venezuela to operate effectively and securely." Gives to to "provide assistance to civil society in Venezuela" There is currently a in the Senate because Senator Mary Landrieu - - put a hold on the bill after Citgo - the wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Venezuela's national oil company - raised concerns that the sanctions would make it harder for the company to import their Venezuelan oil. : Another Charter School Bill A public school that is exempt from State and local rules about the management of public schools. The schools can not be religious or charge tuition. The purpose of the bill is to use to in the United States and to between public and charter schools. The most significant change to the rules on charter schools is that public money would go towards charter school facilities, which is . The bill would of their Federal education money on charter school facilities. Creates the which gives five year grants to States to give to charter schools for facilities. Charter school grants will be valid for ; currently, the grants are valid for . States may . Priority for grants will be given to States that or the percentage of students that attend charter schools. The application process will include the applicant's ability to . The vast majority of both Democrats and Republicans voted for it. This bill was authored by . He's Chairman of the Education Committee and his #1 campaign contributor for this upcoming election is , a multi-billion dollar corporation that makes its money in for-profit education. : Privately Insured Credit Unions Can Become Members of Federal Home Loan Banks Are privately owned cooperatives; they're owned by the member banks They provide money to local banks There are twelve of them around the country Most locals banks are members of at least one Federal Home Loan Bank They get their money from the global credit market. What Would H.R. 3584 Do? Allows privately insured credit unions to become members of Federal Home Loan Banks they are FDIC eligible or are certified by the State. If the State doesn't get to it in under 6 months, the . This bill was sponsored by Rep. Steve Stivers of Ohio. His top two contributing industries are . : Jail for Advertisers Bill Makes the services of prostitutes who are under 18 or are forced into prostitution punishable by . Only voted against this bill and it now moves into the Senate. Authored by of Missouri. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Will I get ten years in prison for posting this image?[/caption] : Therapy for Veteran Sexual Assaults Allows veterans who were sexually assaulted to get therapy to deal with the assault included as part of their veterans' health benefit package. Passed without a recorded vote. : Permanent Business Tax Credits Expands and for research and development expenses. by the PAYGO budget scorecard. The bill was written by of Texas. The President said he would because the tax credits are not paid for. Music Presented in This Episode Intro and Exit Music: by (found on by mevio) by (found on by mevio)

A look at the funding for foreign militaries that might become law as part of the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that passed the House of Representatives in May. Included is a look at the US funding for Israel's military, the funding for the "drug war" in Columbia, the "new normal" in Africa, the continuation of our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the brewing war with Russia. Congress has passed a National Defense Authorization Act for Money for Israel After the holocaust, Jewish survivors who had just been put through Hell on Earth needed a place to go. In 1948, the United Nations decided to give them a country. That’s what Israel is- a country created after World War II for the Jewish people. Now, the fair thing to do would have been to give them some of Germany’s land. After all, Germany was responsible for the Holocaust. But instead, because of their religion, the men in charge gave the Jewish people their Holy land around Jerusalem. There was one huge problem with this course of action: The land they wanted for Israel already had people living there, the Palestinians. In 1948, the land around Jerusalem that had been a British colony was split and Isreal was officially created. In the process, Palestinians were kicked out of their homes. The people who were kicked out - most of them Arab - were pissed about it. They’re still pissed, not only about that original injustice but also because of the continued land grabs that have happened ever since. Over the years, the map of Israel has been redrawn, each time more land going to the Jewish people and less land remaining for the Palestinians. The Palestinians have been pushed into two bubbles - One is a large chuck in the Eastern part of Israel, which borders the Dead Sea and Jordan called the West Bank. The other chunk is a teeny tiny strip of land in the south part of Israel called Gaza. Gaza is surrounded by Israel on two sides, the sea on one side, and Egypt on the other. Inside that little strip are 1.8 million people, 70% of them refugees from the land that now makes up Israel. In 2005, the Palestinians scored a victory in the smaller bubble known as Gaza. they built on Palestinian land - described on the TV as “settlements” - and the Israeli military withdrew their troops from the tiny Gaza strip. However, Israel would still control the airspace over Gaza and the sea off Gaza’s shore, meaning Gaza is still surrounded and controlled by Israel on three of it’s borders; Egypt controls the other. In 2007, the Palestinians elected a political group called Hamas to run their government. Hamas is openly anti-Israel - they say so right in their charter - and the Palestinians would be punished by Israel for their electoral decision. Since 2007, Israel has enacted a blockade, allowing very few products into or out of Gaza. Because of the , Gaza residents can’t export their products, which means they have few opportunities to make money. Israel has also limited what products can come in: They’ve limited food, medicine, access to doctors, drinking water, energy, etc. In addition to blocking products, the people themselves are Gaza is often compared to an open air prison; the residents stuck there and their every move monitored by the Israeli government. During this latest Israeli-Gaza war, as of this recording, with the UN estimating that over 85% of them are civilians. With their intricate knowledge of the layout and personal details of all the Gazan residents, there’s no way that is an accident. The proof that stands out in my head is the UN school - the United Nations was housing Gaza refugees in a school and told Israel . Israel bombed it anyway. Hamas - the political party currently running Gaza- is also behaving immorally. Hamas has been firing rockets into Israel and has said . They've put up their best fight, launching thousands of rockets but have only managed to kill three Israeli civilians along with 64 Israeli soldiers. The law of the United States is that it is our responsibility to make sure that Israel has a “” over other countries, which means we need to make sure Israel can defeat any military "through the use of superior military means…” As of April 2014, the United States has given Israel almost all of that going towards the military. Money from the United States makes up a quarter of Israel’s military funding. This is sold to the American public by saying that this spending protects Israel - which it certainly does- and on our end, it creates American jobs. But due to a deal made by the Bush administration, Israel is allowed to spend we give them on weapons Israel manufactures itself, meaning that none of that money is coming back into the United States. Israel is the only country in the world allowed to do this with our cash. Iron Dome is a missile defense system manufactured by an Israeli weapons manufacturer - Rafael Advanced Defense Systems - paid for with that 26.3% of the money that we give Israel which they’re allowed to use to pay Israeli weapons companies. We’ve paid over for Iron Dome; not one penny of that came back into the United States. Even worse, after we give Israel our money, they can - and do - park that cash in interest bearing accounts with the US Federal Reserve, so not only are we giving them cash, Raytheon is also going to benefit from David’s Sling, another missile defense system which is manufactured by the same Israeli weapons company that makes Iron Dome. We also pay for the Arrow, Arrow II, and Arrow III, which are missile defense systems that we’ve paid over and counting for. These systems are manufactured in part by Boeing and another Israeli weapons manufacture, Israel Aerospace Industries. On top of cash and missile defense systems, Isreal is also in on the excess defense article game. Israel is authorized to have of United States’s weapons stockpiled to use and call their own. For 2015, the President requested another $3.1 billion plus an additional half billion for missile defense. This is to foreign militaries. In addition, Section 1258 says “(c) It is the sense of Congress that air refueling tankers and advanced bunker buster munitions should immediately be transferred to Israel…” Bunker Buster Bomb We have a legitimate way to get out of funding Israel’s military. says that the United States may stop military aid to countries which use it for purposes other than “legitimate self-defense”. Congress did not do that. Before leaving for their August vacation, Congress quickly passed an additional . It was so uncontroversial in the the Senate passed it without a recorded vote and the House passed it The extra money law was signed by the President on August 4 and the money was on it’s way. Columbia Another thing the 2015 NDAA is probably going to do is extend the latest version of for it’s 10th year. Plan Columbia is a program for that allows the Department of Defense to partner with Colombia’s government to fight three groups: The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC), the National Liberation Army (ELN), and the United Self-Defense Forces of Columbia (AUC). Plan Columbia started in 1999 and it effectively involved the US providing Columbia’s government with a military in return for new laws, although that’s not what the Columbians thought the deal was at the time. The Columbian president in the 1990’s had asked for US money for a national reconstruction plan. He got a military instead. Since Plan Columbia was originally launched in 1999, it has taken $1.5 billion a year from our pockets and sent it to Columbia for the Columbian military's weapons, training, and infrastructure. 20% of the $1.5 billion we give to Columbia also goes towards planes that kill plants by spraying on Columbian farms. The official story is that we’re killing coca plants to stop the drug trade. Columbia’s cocaine production has gone down but the poison is also working, on , who are also being sprayed too with Monsanto’s RoundUp Ready plant killer. Seven years after we started providing war machines and poison to Columbia, the United States and Columbia signed the . It was negotiated and signed by the Bush Administration in 2006 and it . It expands profits of the multi-national corporations by eliminating taxes the companies have to pay in order to get their products into Columbia. Columbia can no longer tax 80% of the products that come from multi-nationals; ten years from now, they won’t be able to tax any of them. One of the industries that wanted this deal the most was the agriculture industry. Before the trade deal, Columbia protected their agriculture industry. You could bring in food products from other countries, but it was taxed heavily, sometimes over 100% for products including corn, wheat, rice, and soybeans. You know who profits from those exact crops? A little corporation called Monsanto. So, here you have a Monsanto produced poison being dropped on farms all over Columbia, literally killing Columbia’s domestic agriculture industry. Then, a deal is negotiated that allows Monsanto crops to be brought in tax-free to be sold to Columbians who can no longer grow their own food. If the Columbians still want to grow their own food, they’ll have to buy the genetically modified kind from Monsanto that can withstand the RoundUp Ready poison that rains down from the planes in the sky. If your government were working for corporations and didn’t actually give a crap about drugs, this would be brilliant and effective plan to ensure profits in Columbia. And in Columbia, it’s working. In January 2013, after the trade agreement went into effect, “Agricultural products giant Monsanto reported Tuesday that its profit nearly tripped in the first fiscal quarter as sales of its biotech corn seeds expanded in Latin America.” The trade agreement doesn’t just help Monsanto. Thanks to the trade agreement, multi-nationals are now allowed to own 100% of a Columbian subsidiary in the construction, telecommunications, and energy sectors. The product we import the most of from Columbia - by far- is oil and gas. followed by metals and coal. The stuff we export the most to Columbia are oil and coal products, accounting for 33% of our total exports to that country. Chemicals and agriculture are #2 and #3. In July, the that Anadardo, Royal Dutch Shell, Statoil, and Repsol are trying to get licenses for offshore oil leases in Columibian waters. International oil companies also want to get their hands on Columibia’s significant deposits of shale oil and gas, tar sands, and coal. There were three targets of the Plan Columbia program specifically listed in the law, and they are telling. FARC is the biggest paramilitary group in Columbia, a large, violent pain in the government’s ass and big time dealers in the drug trade. But the other two groups listed have been attacking oil infrastructure, trying to make life difficult for the foreign companies that are taking Columbia’s natural resources and leaving Columbians out of the proceeds. There’s an entire town devoted to the oil industry - - and the Columbian , the other two groups that are specifically named as targets in the Plan Columbia program likely being extended by the NDAA. The updated version of Plan Columbia, which is was created in 2005 by the Bush administration. It gives Columbia’s military 800 soldiers and 600 private contractors. Africa orders a report on the “New Normal” in Africa and expresses Sense of Congress that the US should achieve the “basing” and access agreements needed to support our forces. In addition, it requires an assessment from the Department of Defense on how the US could “employ permanently assigned military forces” to support the mission of the US Africa Command. This report can be classified. Camp Lemonnier is in Djibouti; it's the only US military base we’ve actuality admitted to having. It’s the main operational hub on the African continent and was described by the as “the busiest Predator drone base outside the Afghan war zone." The US Africa Command, known as , and The East Africa Response Force () operate from Camp Lemonnier, in Djibouti. The captain of the East Africa Response Force told , a military publication, “We’re basically the firemen for AFRICOM (U.S. Africa Command). If something arises and they need troops somewhere, we can be there just like that.” While the task force remains on call to fight anywhere AFRICOM needs them, the rest of the troops guard the bases and train militaries that have partnered with us. In total, we now have operating as part of AFRICOM on the continent of Africa. In 2013, AFRICOM conducted , up from 172 during it’s first year, 2008. Missions doing what? I don’t know. Just like in Columbia, we are providing militaries for other countries, apparently all over Africa. Here’s a quote from Vice Adm. Alexander , deputy commander of the task force based out of Djibouti: “I think the heart of our mission is trying to create militaries that are capable on their own of bringing stability, so you can have peace and security in this region,” One of the biggest propaganda tools being used to justify this military buildup is . The reason is that “” has been to justify sending troops, money, and military equipment to countries all over Africa. The 2008 outrage over Joseph Kony was the excuse to funnel to the Ugandan government - much of it going to their military. Joseph Kony has been around for 30 years but we only got involved . The outrage over the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram is being used to justify the military buildup in Nigeria, a country we get a lot of oil from. In return for access to their oil, we give the corrupt Nigerian government - which has hundreds of thousands of people locked up and dying in military detention camps - . After the kidnapping, were sent to Nigeria’s next door neighbor Chad to expand the use of spying with Predator drones. The Nigerian government was also forced to accept “international assistance” that . That assistance included welcoming . The “assistance” included surveillance drones, intelligence operations, . And it’s not just oil that we’re getting in return for our cash and military- we’re getting IMF reforms too. 75% of the citizens of Nigeria are poor and poverty has increased since 2004 despite the nation’s new found oil wealth. The only benefit the people used to get from oil extraction came from a law that said that 50% of the national oil revenue must go to the local governments of the oil-producting countries in the Niger Delta. In 2011, Nigeria's new President declared a State of Emergency in Nigeria and the next day eliminated all fuel subsidies, an IMF plan which causes the citizens of Nigeria to have to spend $8 billion more a year out of their own pockets for the fossil fuels dug out of their own land. Boko Haram - the same group that kidnapped the girls - then stepped up attacks on the government. Since 2009, the group fighting what they say is a corrupt regime. Thing is that the people of Nigeria are angry with the government that keeps them desperately poor and they have supported Boko Haram. Why do we want our military in Nigeria? A big part of it is the that Shell has in the country, which the Nigerian military is not strong enough to protect from Boko Haram and other groups that want the Nigeria’s oil wealth to benefit the people of Nigeria. And now the media is obsessing over an in that same region of Africa, and the media convincing us that if we don’t intervene immediately we’re all going to die. Ebola has been around for forty years and this latest outbreak has killed about 1,000 Africans. That is sad but it pales in comparison to the death rate of malaria, which . The miracle cure discovered out of nowhere by the US military and prompted the spokesman for Reynold’s American, the giant tobacco company that makes the miracle drug, to say that this could mark a step forward in the company’s goal of transforming the tobacco industry both in terms of remolding its image and meeting emerging market demands. All of these stories are being used to build up our military all over Africa, which is what is described officially in legislation as the “new normal”. Along with the base we’ve actually admitted to having in Djibouti, the US military also has . We have regular military bases in Kenya and Uganda. We have a US spying network operating out of Burkina Faso,Mauritania and Chad. We have confirmed troops on the ground in Congo, Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Uganda. Just last week, President Obama announced that the US government, World Bank, and corporations will be . Corporate America is moving in - and we’re going to pay their entrance fee with money and militaries to shut down any citizen dissent. Afghanistan There are a bunch of provisions in this year’s NDAA to continue the war in Afghanistan. Extends a program that gives $400 million for the war in Afghanistan in 2015. It also says that the Defense Department can accept money from “any person” - and remember, corporations are people now, foreign governments, or international organization” and add it to that $400 million. The permission to use that money won’t ever expire. Extends authority to spend $1.5 billion in 2015 to pay off any country that helps us in Iraq or Afghanistan. If Afghanistan dares to tax the Defense Department or a US contractor, the US will withhold that much money plus 50%. This holds Afghanistan to a deal - “Status of Forces Agreement” - they made with the Bush administration in 2003. Funds withheld by the US taxpayers will go towards paying contractors back for their Afghanistan taxes. Doesn’t expire until Afghanistan signs a new security agreement. Confirms that we will be keeping military members in Afghanistan through 2018 and tells the Defense Department to make a plan for it, even though President . Iraq We're bombing Iraq again to prevent the "bad guys" from getting to Erbil. that houses thousands of Americans who . Ukraine/Russia is really like two different countries. The west side wants to be part of Europe; the east side is more culturally connected to Russia. Ukraine’s elected government was thrown out earlier this year in a coup after the government refused to sign a free trade deal with Europe. Europe wants Ukraine on it’s side instead of Russia’s because Ukraine has some very that supply gas to Europe and two ginormous natural gas formations have been found under Ukrainians’ feet which the multinationals who benefit from free-trade agreements would love to get their hands on. The law under the old government was that Ukraine’s gas was only allowed to be sold to Ukrainians. The government that was installed and now Ukraine’s gas is available to be exported. Russia, in response to the coup, took over a part of Ukraine - a dingleberry peninsula hanging off of Ukraine’s coast called Crimea. Russia had a contract with the old democratically elected government for a Russian military base on Crimea and when that government was thrown out, Russia took the land that houses their military base and is full of people who identify as Russian anyway. It really wasn’t that unreasonable a thing to do. This area was literally a part of Russia when my grandparents were born. In response, however, the war mongering psychos controlling our government are escalating this tension with Russia over Crimea to ridiculous heights. And make no mistake- we are central to the Ukraine story. The new government was one hand picked and supported by the United States and Europe. , and over The new Ukrainian government has been using our money and weapons and we want Russia to stand down - that Russia is actually fighting. We appear to be restarting the Cold War. The 2015 NDAA that passed the House, orders the from Russian attacks on NATO countries and orders to be created every year. To punish Russia for taking Crimea, the bill and prohibits the militaries of the United States and Russia as long as Russia is in Ukraine. Furthering the trade war that began with sanctions in the Ukraine Aid bill, the 2015 NDAA is poised to . This may be a problem as the for the Afghan military, a contract that may have to be cancelled and the funds shifted to an “American” weapons dealer. The most disturbing clause - which limits the number of nuclear weapons of both counties, until Russia leaves Ukraine. And now Russia is starting to fight back with their own economic attacks. In response to the sanctions which we’ve already placed on Russia, Russia has , which will cost multinationals from those countries billions of dollars in sales. Music Presented in This Episode Intro and Exit Music: by (found on ) by (found on )

This episode highlights the bills that passed the House of Representatives in April including a bill that makes it tougher for wage slaves to get health insurance, a bill that gives away weapons to other countries, a bill written for the banks that lets them gamble with risky financial products, and more. Bills Highlighted in This Episode Passed on April 8, 2014 by Changes the way the budget baseline is calculated by not factoring inflation. Congressional committees will be able to do the report on how much new programs will cost. Representatives Quoted in This Segment Passed on April 7, 2014 by Starting in 2017, the President's budget must include the costs of direct loan and loan guarantee programs. Starting in 2017, no new loans may be issued or existing loans increased unless the money is provided in advance by a Congressional appropriations Act. Exemptions include entitlement loans such as student loan programs and veteran's home loan guaranty programs, loans for farmers giving by the Commodity Credit Corporation, or loans provided by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. All loans, including those made by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, will count against the budget. Representatives Quoted in This Segment Passed on April 4 by Requires the Congressional Budget Office to analyze the economic impact of each bill or resolution for forty years on the gross domestic product, businesses, stocks, employment, interest rates, and labor supply using "a variety of economic models." The Congressional Budget Office will have to do a follow up report for every new law on the accuracy of their original economic impact analysis. Any estimations of changes in tax revenue will be done by the , a group made up of ten members of Congress. [caption id="attachment_1485" align="aligncenter" width="605"] Current Joint Committee on Taxation Members[/caption] Representatives Quoted in This Segment Passed on April 1, 2014 without a recorded vote. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] The Doppler radar debris ball from the tornado that ripped apart Vilonia, AR on April 27, 2014.[/caption] Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research would be authorized to receive $83 million in 2014 and $100 million per year in 2015 -2017 to create a program to research weather, research public response to weather warnings and forecasts, and transfer information and technologies between government and the private sector. Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research would give money to the private sector, universities, and nongovernmental organizations. 30% of the research money authorized has to be given to these non-governmental  groups. Directs the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research to make plans for improving hurricane warnings, data collection, and tornadoes. Gives a specific goal of increasing tornado warning times to one hour. Requires experiments to be done with new private sector produced technologies and data before the government buys it, if it costs more than $500,000,000. : "Neither the President nor any other official of the Government shall make any effort to lease, sell, or transfer to the private sector, or commercialize, any portion of the weather satellite systems operated by the Department of Commerce or any successor agency." Changes the current law above to allow the government to buy weather data from private researchers and to pay to put satellites on private land. Tells the Dept. of Commerce to create a strategy for buying weather data from the private sector. The strategy needs to evaluate financial benefits and risks with buying private weather data, figure out what to do about private cancellation fees, determine how to set standards, and guarantee public access to weather information. Allows the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and the National Weather Service to swap up to ten staff members for a year. Passed on April 3, 2014 by . Requires an employee to work 40 hours per week, instead of 30 hours per week, in order to be considered "full-time" and get employer-provided health insurance. Rep. Todd Young has collected over $5 million in the last five years from all kinds of industries. Additional Information of the budgetary effects of HR 2575 Rep. Dave Camp of Michigan . The House of Representatives . The House of Representatives either. Representatives Quoted in This Segment Passed on April 7, 2014 without a recorded vote. Authorizes the President to transfer US warships to other countries over the course of three years. The other countries will pay the transfer costs - but the ships will not be paid for as they will be counted as "excess defense articles" - and any repairs needed before the transfer must be done in the United States. [caption id="" align="alignright" width="320"] U.S.S. Gary: One of the warships we'd be giving away.[/caption] Authorizes the President to give Taiwan four warships. Authorizes the President to give Mexico two warships for offshore surveillance and "oil platform security". Authorizes the President to give Thailand two warships. The the warships would be sold for about $10 million each. The value of the warships given away by this bill will not be counted towards the total of "excess defense articles". Increases the amount of military equipment and services the President is allowed to sell to other countries without notifying Congress. Makes it easier for the Department of State to authorize weapons exports. Passed on April 29, 2014 without a recorded vote. limits the types of investments that banks can make in order to protect the money that customers deposit. This bill allows banks to keep risky investments called if they had them before January 31, 2014. Collateralized loan obligations are from middle-sized and large business loans that are bunched together and then gambled with. Because they are structured so similarly to the mortgage backed securities that destroyed our economy, almost no one was gambling with collateralized loan obligations in 2008 and 2009. In the last few years, however, the practice has made a big comeback. In April, the month this bill passed the House, . It was the highest amount since the financial meltdown. This is a bill to help the biggest of the big banks. Almost 75% of all bank-owned collateralized loan obligation are owned by just three banks: . This is not the only bill that Rep. Andy Barr of Kentucky has written for the big banks. As the , he introduced a bill to eliminate a new federal rule intended to prevent banks from issuing mortgages to customers who could not afford to repay the debt — a measure pushed by bank lobbyists who had visited his office. Rep. Andy Barr has taken from the financial services and investment industry. Additional Information Representatives Quoted in This Segment Passed April 29, 2014 by . Exempts expatriate health plans from the Affordable Care Act. This is Representative John Carney's second Congress and his third most generous contributing industry is the insurance industry; they have . Representatives Quoted in This Segment Passed on April 10, 2014 by This is the Ryan Budget. Same ideas, different year. The numbers assume the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Transforms Medicare into a privatized system with vouchers for poor seniors Reduces government employees' retirement benefits Puts limits on the amount that can be spent on veterans' health care Changes the way housing loan guarantees are counted so the deficit appears higher Keeps War on Terror funding off the official books. For a detailed account of the 2013 Ryan Budget, listen to Music in This Episode Intro and Exit Music: by (found on ) by (found on ) by (found on )

This episode highlights the bills that passed the House of Representatives in March, including a bill that allows toxic mountaintop removal waste to be dumped in streams, a bill that skips environmental reviews for new nuclear power plants, a bill that wasn't meant to become law but could screw over every government employee if it did, a bill that prevents the government from managing water rights, multiple bills to chip away at ObamaCare, and more. Bills Presented in This Episode Every one of these bills passed the House of Representatives in March, 2014 and is now awaiting action in the Senate. Relaxes the EPA rule that requires farms install spill prevention equipment if they store oil on their properties. This bill became law as part of the , although with different numbers. The previous law said that a farm would need to install spill prevention equipment if they stored more than 1,320 gallons of oil on their property and would have to have that equipment inspected and certified by an engineer if they stored more than 10,000 gallons of oil. The new law says that the farm must get oil spill prevention equipment if they store more than 6,000 gallons of oil on their property and must have that equipment inspected and certified by an engineer if they have over 20,000 gallons of oil. H.R. 311 would have allowed farms to store up to 42,000 gallons of oil before they would have to have oil spill prevention equipment installed and certified by and engineer. The author of H.R. 311 was Rep. Rick Crawford of Arkansas; he has taken over $278,000 from the crop production and basic processing industry. Would add Israel to a list of countries that gets approved faster for weapons shipments from the United States. Title II: Takes a $2 million a year grant program for renewable energy research and development and shifts its money towards natural gas. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen's top contributor is the "Pro-Israel" lobby, which has given her over $893,000. The bill passed 410-1. Additional Information: , Reuters, February 10, 2014. Changes the rules for creating a National Monument. Requires environmental reviews of proposed National Monuments. The President can only create one National Monument per state per term; any additional National Monument declarations must be created by Congress. ’s top contributing industry for the upcoming election is the oil and gas industry, which has given him $22,000. In total, the oil and gas industry has given Rep. Rob Bishop over $150,000. Another industry that benefits from this bill is real estate, Rep. Rob Bishop's fourth most generous contributing industry, which has given him over $100,000. This bill had the closest vote of the month, passing 222-201. On Monday, June 30, so long as they say that that coverage is against the owners' religion. This ruling means that H.R. 1814 would have far wider implications than originally intended if it were to become law. HR 1814 let’s people get out of buying health insurance entirely if they say their “sincerely held religious beliefs” say they can’t get medical care. If someone went to the doctor that year voluntarily, the exemption would be nullified. There’s no penalty for lying. After the Supreme Court decision, if H.R. 1814 were to become law, corporations might be able to get out of providing for their employees by claiming that doing so is against their religion. The bill passed overwhelmingly in March, without a recorded vote, but it's future now looks bleak in the Senate. Prohibits more than one environmental impact statement and one environmental assessment per project. Allows the company applying for a permit to conduct that environmental review. Lets the Federal government, at the company’s request, accept an environmental analysis that was prepared under State laws; the State laws have to be “substantially equivalent to NEPA” - not entirely, meaning that the Federal government can accept environmental studies that are not as stringent as NEPA. The Federal government can use the environmental analysis of a completely different but similar project in “geographical proximity” that was prepared within the last five years. “Geographical proximity” is not defined. All project reviews must be done at the same time. If other agencies are supposed to be involved in the environmental study process. they will have 30 days to respond to the lead agency or forever hold their peace. The other agencies won’t be allowed to participate or even submit comments if they didn’t respond in those first 30 days. Once a project schedule has been created, the lead agency is not allowed to respond to or include any NEPA document, comment, or new information that was submitted outside the time allotted for environmental analysis in the schedule. Sets time limits for environmental impact statements and public comment periods. If the lead agency doesn’t meet these deadlines, the permit is deemed approved. The permit can not be reversed by any agency or the courts. Bars judicial review of Federal permits, with a few narrow exceptions Representatives Quoted in This Segment (in order of appearance): Forces the States to comply with a rule that allows the waste from mountaintop removal for coal mining operations to be dumped into rivers and streams. The rule was implemented in the last days of the Bush Administration and was recently thrown out by the courts because it didn't comply with the Endangered Species Act. Bill Johnson, the author of this gift to the coal industry, . The bill passed 229-192. Representatives Quoted in This Segment (in order of appearance): R This bill prohibits the Federal government from requiring companies operating on public land to turn over their water rights as a part of their lease renewals. The bill was written to settle a dispute over a that would have required ski resorts operating on public land to turn over their water rights to the government in order to keep operating on public land. The Forest Service had already retracted that directive at the time this bill passed. The bill however, would prohibit the entire Department of Agriculture and the entire Department of the Interior from requiring the relinquishment of water rights as part of a permit to operate on public land, meaning the bill would effect far more than just ski resorts. The bill passed 238-174. No Republicans voted against it. Witnesses from the House Natural Resources Committee's Subcommittee on Water and Power's from October 10, 2013 (in order of appearance): Tony Willardson, Executive Director of the David Corbin, Vice President of the Glenn Porzak, Attorney for the Representatives Quoted in This Segment (in order of appearance): The EPA will be not be allowed to enact any standard on fossil fuel powered electric utilities that regulates emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and a few other gases unless at least 6 utilities have already been meeting the standard for over a year; no results of demonstration projects can be included. Prohibits some specific proposed EPA rules from ever going into effect. Rules enacted by the EPA to set emission standards on fossil fuel utilities can’t go into effect until Congress passes a Federal law to set the enactment date. Ed Whitfield’s second highest contributor over the course of his career has been electric utilities; he’s taken over $614,000 from them. Electric utilities are his top contributor for the upcoming 2014 election; he’s taken over $157,000 and counting for this election alone. Ed Whitfield has also taken almost half a million over the course of his career from the oil and gas industry, over $100,000 of that for this upcoming election. The bill passed 229-183. This bill repeals the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) method of paying doctors who treat Medicare patients. The SGR rate ties the doctors' payments to the growth of the economy, which has short changed the doctors as medical costs have risen and the economy has remained flat. In it’s place, HR 4015 establishes what they call a “merit-based incentive payment system” that would come into effect on January 1, 2018. It creates a complicated system of scoring doctors based on their performance. Section 10, however, waives the tax penalty for not buying health insurance until 2019. This provision will kill the bill in the Senate. The bill passed 238-181. No Republicans voted against it. Delays the tax penalty assessed if you fail to buy health insurance for one year. The Congressional Budget Office determined that the result will be that one million fewer Americans sign up for health insurance over the next few years, with half of those being poor people eligible for Federal subsidies. The government would save a few billion over the next ten years, therefore, by not giving health insurance to poor people. Rep. Lynn Jenkins top five contributing industries include both health professionals and insurance. She’s taken over $300,000 from both. Representatives Quoted in This Segment (in order of appearance): Allows the House of Representatives, the Senate, or the Congress as a whole to to “bring civil action” against another part of the government if Congress doesn’t think that part of the government is “faithfully executing the law” Allows either part of Congress to sue over the actions of the Executive branch, any department or agency or “any other officer or employee” of the United States for formal or informal policies, practices or procedures. Before Congress can file these civil suits, Congress needs to pass a resolution. After the lawsuit is filed in a district court, the rules are that the lawsuit will be heard by a three-judge court and their decision can only be appealed directly to the Supreme Court. This bill was presented as a solution to the "problem" of an Executive Branch that refuses to enforce the law. This bill, however, is so broadly and carelessly written that it appears to allow Congress to sue any part of the government, individual employees included, if Congress determines they have not "faithfully executed the law." [caption id="attachment_1453" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Stars of the "President Obama Sucks" montage[/caption] The only clear winners if this bill became law are the lawyers who would get to argue these civil cases. The author of the bill, Rep. Trey Gowdy, is a lawyer. Trey Gowdy’s most generous contributing industry are lawyers and law firms, which have given him over $188,000 during his two terms in Congress. The bill passed 233-181, with the support of every, single Republican. It stands no chance in the Senate. Representatives Quoted in This Segment (in order of appearance): Ignored Subpoena Rep. Chaka Fattah of Pennsylvania informed the House of Representatives that he is not going to comply with a subpoena. It's not clear exactly what the subpoena was for but he has been under Federal investigation for various improprieties since 2007. Additional Information: , Washington Times, March 13, 2014. Music Presented in This Episode March of the Pigs by (found on ) Intro and Exit Music: by (found on )