Congressional Dish

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: Click here to contribute with PayPal or Bitcoin; click the PayPal "Make it Monthly" checkbox to create a monthly subscription Click here 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! H.J. Res 76: 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. Article: Gaza Crisis: Toll of Operations in Gaza, BBC World, September 2014. Article: Raytheon a key in Israeli defense plan, Boston Globe, July 2014. Written by Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen of New Jersey's 11th district. It passed the House of Representatives with by a vote of 248-176. All Republicans voted yes. There was no recorded vote in the Senate. H.R. 5272: Ship Off Children of Immigrants Act of 2014 Prevents leniency as ordered in a 2012 Department of Homeland Security directive that discourages deportation proceedings for illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as young children. Prevents all undocumented people from working in the United States. Written by Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee's 7th district. Passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 216-192. Every Representative from the following states voted yes: Alaska Arkansas Idaho Kansas Montana Nebraska North Dakota Oklahoma South Dakota West Virginia Wyoming H.R. 5078: Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act of 2014 Prevents implementation and enforcement of a proposed EPA rule that would clearly protect seasonal and rain-dependent streams and wetlands near streams and prevents any rule like it in the future. Written by Rep. Steve Southerland of Florida's 2nd district. The bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 262-152. H.R. 3522 A bill that allows health insurance companies to provide less coverage. Allows health insurance companies to continue to offer health plans to employer that don't comply with the minimum standards set by the Affordable Care Act until 2019. Written by Rep. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana's 6th district The bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 247-167. All Republicans voted yes. H.R. 24 Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2013 Requires an audit of the Board of Directors of the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Federal Reserve banks within a year of this bill becoming law. Eliminates a list of things in the Federal Reserve that are not allowed to be audited, including: 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 Rep. Paul Broun of Georgia's 10th district. The bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 333-92. H.R. 5462 A bill that increases air travel fees Increases the TSA fee from a maximum $5 each way to $5.60 each way or $11.20 roundtrip. Written by Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina's 8th district. Passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 423-0. H.R. 4 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 will not be counted in the PAYGO budget. Ways and Means Includes 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. CBO said this bill would increase the deficit by $45.7 billion over the next ten years. This bill was discussed in CD075: The April Bills. Includes the American Reseach and Competitiveness Act of 2014, which expands and permanently extends the tax credits businesses receive for research and development expenses. The CBO said this bill alone would increase the deficit by $156 billion over the next ten years. This bill was discussed in CD077: The May Bills. Includes the America's Small Business Tax Relief Act, which expands and makes permanent an expiring corporate tax cut. CBO said this bill would increase the deficit by $73 billion over the next ten years. This bill was discussed in CD078: The June Bills. Includes the S Corporation Permanent Tax Relief Act, which reduces the number of years that some corporate income is taxable. CBO said this bill would increase the deficit by $1.5 billion over the next ten years. This bill was discussed in CD078: The June Bills. Includes the corporate tax cuts for upgrading the inside of retail stores which CBO said would increase the deficit by $287 billion dollars over the next ten years. This bill was discussed in CD081: The July Bills. Repeals the medical device excise tax, which is a 2.3% tax on corporations who sell expensive medical equipment. Repealing the medical device tax was discussed in episode CD046: Shutdown Assured. Financial Services Includes 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 CD058: Space Travel, TSA, Wall Street, & Patents. Includes 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 CD064: Chemicals Shall Spill. Oversight Includes 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. Includes 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 CD072: The February Bills. Judiciary Includes 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 CD038: Wasting July. Includes the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act, which prohibits State and local taxes on Internet access. Natural Resources Includes the Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act, which forces the government to cut down trees and lets the Secretary of Agriculture waive the Endangered Species Act. Packaged by Rep. Dave Camp of Michigan's 4th district Passed the House of Representatives on September 15, 2014 by a vote of 253-163. H.R. 2 American Energy Solutions for Lower Costs and More American Jobs Act Includes the Northern Route Approval Act, which grants or eliminates all the permits needed to build the KeystoneXL pipeline. This bill was discussed in CD029: The Keystone XL Pipeline. Includes 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 CD055: Three Bills for Fossil Fuels. Includes the North American Energy Infrastructure Act, which eliminates the permit needed to modify existing oil and gas pipelines. This bill was discussed in CD079: The June Bills. Includes the Energy Consumers Relief Act of 2014, which prohibits the EPA from enacting expensive rules. This bill was discussed in CD038: Wasting July. Includes the Electricity Security and Affordability Act, which shuts down EPA regulations of emissions from fossil fuel powered utilities. This bill was discussed in CD074: The March Bills. Includes the Domestic Prosperity and Global Freedom Act, which speeds up the permitting for natural gas export facilities. This bill was discussed in CD079: The June Bills. Includes 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 CD079: The June Bills. Includes the Bureau of Reclamation Conduit Hydropower Development Equity and Jobs Act, which exempts hydropower projects from environmental reviews. This bill was discussed in CD022: Crippling the Regulators. Includes the Protecting States' Rights to Promote American Energy Security Act, which prohibits the Federal government from regulating fracking. This bill was discussed in CD055: Three Bills for Fossil Fuels. Includes 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 CD074: The March Bills. Includes 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 CD074: The March Bills. This bill was packaged by Rep. Lee Terry of Nebraska's 2nd district. The bill passed on September 18 by a vote of 226-191. CryptoWall Article: CryptoWall: What is it and how to protect your systems, TechRepublic, October 2014. Music Presented in This Episode Intro and Exit Music: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito, I Want Rosa to Stay by Alun Parry, Summer's Over by Jonathon Coulton, Step Up by Dona Oxford

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: Click here to contribute with PayPal or Bitcoin; click the PayPal "Make it Monthly" checkbox to create a monthly subscription Click here 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! H.R. 4718 Permanent Bonus Depreciation Tax Cut Brings back a tax cut that expired on December 31, 2013 and makes it permanent. The cut they want to make permanent is for upgrading the inside of retail stores. Expands the tax cuts to include deductions for "trees and vines bearing fruits and nuts". Gives corporations more choices about how they'd like to get taxed. The effects of this bill won't be counted in the PAYGO budget. CBO Score: "Enacting H.R. 4718 would reduce revenues, thus increasing federal budget deficits, by about $287 billion over the 2014-2024 period." Article: New Estimate Puts Rising Big Dig Costs at $24.3 billion. July 2012. The bills passed the House of Representatives on July 11 by a vote of 258-160. Only two Republicans voted against it: Retiring Rep. John Campbell of Orange County, CA Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina The bill was written by Rep. Patrick Tiberi of Ohio's 12th district. H.R. 4195 Federal Register Modernization Act Says that copies of the Federal Registrar don't need to be printed on paper. CBO Score: It would have no effect on the Federal budget. Passed the House of Representatives on July 14 by a vote of 386-0. Written by Rep. Darrell Issa of southern California's 49th district H.R. 4719 America Gives More Act of 2014 Eliminates the tax deduction for donating stuffed actual animals to charity. Increases the charitable deduction limit for food donations from 10% of a person's net income to 15%. Charitable donations that exceed the cap can be carried over for five years. This would be effective for 2014 taxes. Makes permanent a tax cut that expired in 2013 for charitable contributions direct from retirement funds. Makes permanent tax credits for charitable donations towards conservation and tax credits for corporate farmers and ranchers. Allows people to claim charity deductions for a year that is over if the donation happens before tax day. Cuts the excise tax rate for private foundations investment income in half. The effects of this bill the budget will not be counted in the PAYGO budget. CBO Score: "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 277-130. The bill was written by Rep. Tom Reed of New York's 23rd district H.R. 4450 Travel Promotion, Enhancement, and Modernization Act of 2014 Changes the board of directors of Brand USA - a non-profit organization that advertises U.S. tourism - from being made up of travel industry specialists to one made up of entirely of executives, with five seats reserved for people with ties to multinational corporations. It eliminates the seat for the specialist in intercity passenger rail. Extends the authorization for the government to spend $100 million per year on Brand USA through 2020. Extends the Travel Promotion Fee - a $10 fee charged to people who get a visa to travel into the United States - until 2020. CBO Score: 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 347-57 Written by Rep. Gus Bilirakis of Florida's 12th district H.R. 4411 Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act of 2014 Prohibits United States banks from completing large financial transactions for Hezbollah. The worst penalty for completing a Hezbollah transaction can be for twice the amount of the transaction. This won't apply to "authorized intelligence activities of the United States" The bill is paid for by reducing our yearly financial gift to Pakistan by $3 million. The bill passed the House of Representatives on July 22 by a vote of 404-0. Written by Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina's 11th district H.R. 3136 Advancing Competency-Based Education Demonstration Project Act of 2014 Authorizes a maximum of 30 "entities" to launch demonstration projects of "competency-based" education programs, which would replace credit hours as the system of measurement to get a degree. Schools that participate would be exempted all kinds of existing educational regulations. Projects that reduce the amount of time and/or money required to get a degree would be prioritized. The only restriction to make a school eligible is that it has to be in the United States. Each demonstration project would have between 50 and 3,000 students. After the program has been around awhile, that number can be increased to 5,000. The bill passed the House of Representatives on July 23 by a vote of 414-0. Written by Rep. Matt Salmon of Arizona's 5th district Representatives Quoted in This Segment Rep. John Kline of MN Rep. Matt Salmon of AZ Video Shared in This Segment H.R. 4984 Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act Mandates 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 must be told that Federal loans usually have better terms and conditions than private loans. Students will get another counseling session 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 405-11. All Democrats voted yes. Written by Rep. Brett Guthrie of Kentucky's 2nd district H.R. 3393 Student and Family Tax Simplification Act Permanently extends a tax credit for college expenses that is scheduled to expire in 2017. The tax credit and eligibility numbers would increase with inflation starting in 2018. Includes the text of H.R. 4935: The Child Tax Credit Improvement Act and prohibits the effects of that bill on the budget from being counted. The effects this would have on the budget would not be counted. CBO Score: 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 227-187 Written by Rep. Diane Black of Tennessee's 6th district H.R. 4935 Child Tax Credit Improvement Act of 2014 Increases the amount 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. Increases the tax credit with inflation starting in 2015. CBO Score: 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 237-173 Written by Rep. Lynn Jenkins of Kansas' 2nd district H.R. 935 Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2014 Prohibits 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 267-161. The bill failed to pass three days prior as an uncontroversial "suspension" bill. All Republicans voted yes. Written by Rep. Bob Gibbs of Ohio's 7th district.

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 H.R. 3230 Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 Allows veterans to get medical care outside the Veteran's Administration system; they can go to any health facility that serves Medicare patients, health centers, the Defense Department, and the Indian Health Service. Veterans are only given this option if they'd have to wait over 30 days 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 special identification card. How it works: 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 a problem that was not related to their military service, 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 can not be charged higher co-payments for care at private facilities than they would have been charged at the Veteran's Administration. This program will end in three years. Orders a private-sector review, establishes a fifteen person commission, and creates a technology task force to review VA practices. Wait times for care can not be considered when determining performance bonuses for top officials at the Veteran's administration and performance goals that disincentivize using private health providers for veteran care will be eliminated. Wait times for health care at the VA, VA facility quality measures, and VA doctor credentials will be published online. The VA will add 1,500 graduate medical education residency positions for five years to address staffing shortages. Extends the program that reimburses medical students for education costs and increases the amounts they'll receive for working for the VA. Expands coverage for mental health care related to sexual assaults, which will include veterans on inactive duty. This will be effective August 7, 2015. Extends a pilot program for assisted living care for veterans with traumatic brain injuries until October 2017. Disqualifies public colleges that charge veterans more than State residents from being qualified schools for veteran education benefits. Makes it easier to fire or transfer senior executives at the Department of Veteran's Affairs. Appropriates $15 billion to implement these changes. The bill passed the Senate on July 31st by a vote of 91-3. The bill passed the House of Representatives on July 30 by a vote of 420-5. Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina's statement H.R. 803 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act This bill was originally passed on March 15, 2013 as the SKILLS Act and was discussed in episode CD018: The Ryan Budget. 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 labor will be represented. The Chairmen will be from the business community. The State boards will advise local boards that will determine how funds are best spent in their local communities. States will be allowed to keep their current government-controlled boards, if they had established them before this bill became law. The goal is to come up with 4 year State and local plans to best provide workforce training to give the unemployed the skills most desired by the businesses that operate in the state. The State plans must be approved by the Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Education. The plans are deemed approved after 90 days if the agencies have not formally disapproved in writing. Government officials will be in charge of - and held liable for- disbursing government money for the job training programs. Local boards will have no control over curricula taught in job training courses. Success will be measured by the percentage of people who are employed and how much they're earning six months and a year after leaving the job training programs. If a state fails to meet performance requirements, the state will lose money. If a local board fails to meet performance requirements, their board may be replaced or job trainers may be disqualified. Job training funds are allowed to be spent on services provided by for-profit entities. Twenty percent of the funds will go towards training eligible young people who include kids between the ages of 16 and 24 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. Services for young adults 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 ages 22 through 71 who make less than the poverty level or roughly $29,000 per year. The job trainer providers need to be "one-stop operators", meaning they will need to provide all the services in the program at one location. Services include 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 who don't qualify for Pell Grants. Training services include skills training, on-the-job training, "training programs operated by the private sector", and ESL classes. Companies that provide on-the-job training can have 75% of the worker/trainee's wages paid for by the government. Twenty percent of the money can go towards "incumbent worker training programs", which pay companies to train their own workers to avert layoffs. Employers will pay between ten and fifty percent of the training costs, with larger companies paying more. The program will be funded at $2.8 billion in 2015, increasing to $3.3 billion by 2020. Jobs Corps The law establishes a Department of Labor "Job Corps Program" to provide low income kids between ages 16 and 24 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 end up in the military. Article: Jobs Corps students explore the armed forces Eighty percent of the the participants must be "residential". Jobs corps centers can be private. They can pocket at least one percent of their funds as "management fees". There is no cap. The jobs corps centers will provide participants with English classes, work training, physical education, driver's education, financial literacy classes, counseling, and recreation. Enrollees in the job corps will not be considered Federal employees and will not be protected by laws governing hours of work, compensation, vacation time, or Federal benefits but will be considered Federal employees for taxation purposes. Work place injury compensation will be capped at $1,500 for jobs corps enrollees. Makes the Education Department eligible to receive excess defense articles to carry out any program, not just the jobs corps. Article: Police Want to Get Rid of Their Pentagon-Issued Combat Gear. Here's Why They Can't. The Jobs Corps Program will receive over $1.6 billion in 2015 which will gradually increase to over $1.9 billion by 2020. Administrative costs are capped at 5% of the grant awarded or $85,000, whichever is higher. Adult Education Program Available for people over the age of 16 who do not have a high school diploma or who need help learning English. The providers do not include private for-profit entities. Part of the funds will be used to benefit people in correctional facilities who have a good chance of being released in the next five years. The program will be given over half a billion per year until 2020. H.R. 5021 Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014 Written by Rep. Dave Camp (MI-4) Extends current levels for transportation funding until May 31, 2015. The effects of this extension on the budget won't be counted. Also Discussed In This Episode Check out Jen's latest appearance on the David Seaman Hour Reserve your tickets for The Culture High at Tugg.com Music in this Episode Intro and Exit Music: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio) The Veteran by E.J. Fortin (found on Music Alley by mevio) Let Their Heads Roll by Jack Erdie (found on Music Alley 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 S 1044: 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 plaque 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 privately funded. Written by Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio. No Republicans voted against it. HR 316: Collinsville Renewable Energy Production Act Allows the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reinstate a license for two hydro-electric projects 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 HR 4457: America's Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2014 Makes permanent a four year business tax cut that allowed businesses to deduct up to $500,000 in property from their taxes. This is supposed to revert back to $25,000 in 2014. Adds things that can be deducted such as air conditioning, heating, and computer software. Eliminates some limits on what can be deducted. The amounts that can be deducted would increase yearly with inflation. The effects this bill would have on the budget would not be counted. Written by Rep. Patrick "Pat" Tiberi of Ohio. The bill passed with a vote of 272-144. HR 4453 S Corporation Permanent Tax Relief Act of 2014 Lowers the number of years that a kind of corporate income is taxable from ten years to five years. The effects this bill would have on the budget would not be counted. The bill passed 263-155 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 Rep. David Reichert of Washington. HR 4413: Customer Protection and End User Relief Act Title I 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 costs and benefits of proposed regulations and creates a new Office of the Chief Economist within the Commodities Futures Trading Commission which has no specific purpose. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission could taken to court by a person - or corporation - that doesn't like their rules. The court can overturn the rules. Exempts some swaps gamblers from having to set aside money. Classifies fewer gamblers as "financial entities", which would effectively exempt them from some regulations. These changes are retroactive 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 265-144. The White House didn't issue a veto threat but said they "strongly oppose" the passage of this bill. It has little chance of becoming law. Written by Frank Lucas of Oklahoma. HR 3301: North American Energy Infrastructure Act Gives the Secretary of State, instead of the President, the authority to approve cross-border oil pipelines and forces them to make a decision within 120 days of the final environmental impact statement. No permit will be required to modify existing cross-border oil or gas pipeline. Allows the export and import of natural gas to Canada and Mexico without approval by the Federal Power Commission, which is required now. Allows the United States to transfer electricity to other countries without approval by the Federal Power Commission, which is required now. These provisions would be effective July 1, 2015. Written by Rep. Fred Upton 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. HR 6: Domestic Prosperity and Global Freedom Act The Department of Energy would have to make their final decision on applications for gas export facilities within 30 days of the finished NEPA review. The public would have to be told where the gas is being exported. This bill was written by Rep. Cory Gardner, who is currently running for the Senate in Colorado. The bill passed 266-150. HR 4899: Lowering Gasoline Prices to Fuel an America that Works Act The government must lease at least 50% of the outer Continental Shelf that is thought to have the most oil and gas (according to the Minerals Management Service Assessment of Undiscovered Technically Recoverable Oil and Gas Resources of the Nation's Outer Continental Shelf, 2006). Forces lease sales off of Virginia, South Carolina, and southern California, with rigged environmental reviews that are not allowed to analyze and compare alternatives to drilling. Gives 37.5% of the money the Federal government gets from offshore fossil fuel drilling and gives it to the oil States. Abolishes the Minerals Management Service, which no longer exists. Prohibits implementation of an Executive Order issued during the Deepwater Horizon disaster that says that we'll take care of the oceans. Considers territories to be "States" to force drilling off their shores. Limits the amount of time citizens have to challenge fossil fuel decisions in court to 60 days. Deems approval of drilling permits if they are not decided in less than 60 days. Citizen's will be charged a $5,000 "protest fee" to challenge a drilling permit in court. We would spend $50 million per year to map fossil fuels for the industry. Congress would be given less information about drilling leases. Would pass the PIONEERS Act - again - 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 force oil and gas leasing in Alaska and deem approval of permits not decided in under 60 days. Deletes a completed environmental impact statement for drilling in Alaska. This bill was written by Rep. Doc Hastings of Washington, who is retiring at the end of this term. The bill passed the House on June 26 by a vote of 229-185. Weed, CA Fire Music Presented in this Episode Intro and Exit Music: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio) June Gloom by 4-Track Glo (found on Music Alley by mevio) Taxes by Nashville Session Players (found on Music Alley 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 September 16, 2014 hearing in the Senate Armed Services Committee with testimony from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey. Text of the amendment 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) after the election. How did your representative vote?

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 H. Doc. 113-107: Withdrew Russia as a beneficiary country under the Generalized System of Preferences program Russia loses duty-free treatment. On what? State Dept website 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. USTR numbers sheet: Top 6 Products: Car parts, metals, tires, oil, precious metal jewelry, corn H. Doc. 113-108: Continued National Emergency in Syria H. Doc 113-109: Proposed agreement for nuclear energy with Vietnam Bills That Passed the House HR 4386: State Supervision of Banks Allows state examinations 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 CD050: Privatize Water Projects. 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 3 years, not five months. The bill keeps the provision 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 seven years and the permits have to be available to the public on the Internet. The House version would have allowed privatization of facility management and emergency water projects but the law allows privatization of the construction of publicly paid-for water projects in the United States. The pilot program 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] HR 2548: Economic Hitmen to Africa Act of 2014 Passed 297-117 on May 8, 2014 "The Millennium Challenge Corporation's 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 private sector investment and public sector resources." Would be US policy to promote installation of 20,000 megawatts of electricity in sub-Saharan Africa by 2020 and support "the necessary in-country legislative, regulatory and policy reforms to make such expansion of electricity access possible." Electricity would come from new hydroelectric dams "supported" by the private sector. The President needs to establish the policy and funding strategy which includes efforts "to attract private sector investment and public sector resources". It's the sense of Congress that USAID should give loan guarantees to banks in Africa and grants to undefined groups to support this plan. USAID is requesting $1.5 billion from Congress in 2015. Part of the strategy includes providing technical assistance to African governments "to remove unnecessary barriers to investment" in commercial projects. "Trade and development policy: 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 the hot and dusty parts of Orange County, California. S. 2508, an almost identical bill, was introduced in the Senate in June by a Democrat. The White House has not issued a veto threat. H.R. 4578: 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 electronics and car dealers for price gauging, making good on an announcement from late last year during which he said he wants limits on business' profit margins. President Nicholas Maduro is not a free-market kind of leader. Since February, there have been protests in the wealthier areas of Venezuela. This is where things get murky. The protests were started by students who were apparently protesting the high crime rate, inflation, and inability to get certain products. People against President Maduro quickly joined. President Maduro has accused the United States of stirring up the protests to attempt what he called a "slow-motion" coup, like the recent successful coup in Ukraine. It's worth remembering that the U.S. was proven to have attempted a coup in Venezuela as recently as 2002. Either way, President Maduro's government has responded with arrests of protestors and expelled three U.S. diplomats from Venezuela 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 intimidation of journalists by the government - the U.S. government will take the following actions: Sanctions 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. Sanctions will be applied to people or companies who give Venezuela firearms, ammunition, technology, including telecommunications equipment. The bill also orders a classified report 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 $5,000,000 to USAID to "provide assistance to civil society in Venezuela" There is currently a hold on the Venezuelan sanctions in the Senate because Senator Mary Landrieu - who has taken at least $1.4 million from the oil & gas industry - 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. H.R. 10: Another Charter School Bill Charter School Defined 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 $300 million to expand the number of charter schools in the United States and to divide our education money more equally 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 not currently allowed. The bill would force States to spend 12.5% of their Federal education money on charter school facilities. Creates the "per-pupil facilities aid program" which gives five year grants to States to give to charter schools for facilities. Charter school grants will be valid for five years; currently, the grants are valid for three. States may privatize the application process. Priority for grants will be given to States that don't limit the number of charter schools or the percentage of students that attend charter schools. The application process will include the applicant's ability to get money from the private sector. The vast majority of both Democrats and Republicans voted for it. This bill was authored by Rep. John Kline of Minnesota. He's Chairman of the Education Committee and his #1 campaign contributor for this upcoming election is Apollo Education Group, a multi-billion dollar corporation that makes its money in for-profit education. H.R. 3584: Privately Insured Credit Unions Can Become Members of Federal Home Loan Banks 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 if they are FDIC eligible or are certified by the State. If the State doesn't get to it in under 6 months, the application is deemed approved. This bill was sponsored by Rep. Steve Stivers of Ohio. His top two contributing industries are Insurance and Commercial Banks. H.R. 4225: Jail for Advertisers Bill Makes advertising the services of prostitutes who are under 18 or are forced into prostitution punishable by ten years in prison. Only nineteen representatives voted against this bill and it now moves into the Senate. Authored by Rep. Ann Wagner of Missouri. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Will I get ten years in prison for posting this image?[/caption] H.R. 2527: Therapy for Veteran Sexual Assaults Allows veterans who were sexually assaulted during training to get therapy to deal with the assault included as part of their veterans' health benefit package. Passed without a recorded vote. H.R. 4438: Permanent Business Tax Credits Expands and permanently extends the tax credits businesses receive for research and development expenses. Exempts these tax cuts from being counted by the PAYGO budget scorecard. The bill was written by Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas. The President said he would veto the bill because the tax credits are not paid for. Music Presented in This Episode Intro and Exit Music: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio) Let Their Heads Roll by Jack Erdie (found on Music Alley 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 53 straight years. Money for Israel Congressional Research Service report from April 2014 on U.S. Foreign Aid to 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. Israeli condo builders had to abandon the home's 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 Israeli blockade, 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 not allowed to leave. Gaza is often compared to an open air prison; the residents stuck there and their every move monitored by the Israeli government. The Ralph Nader Hour: The situation in Gaza During this latest Israeli-Gaza war, as of this recording, 1,915 Palestinians have been killed 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 the location 17 times. 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 won't stop until the economic blockade is lifted.. 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 "Qualitative Military Edge" 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 $121 billion dollars, 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 26.3% of the money 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 $704 million for Iron Dome; not one penny of that came back into the United States. Raytheon will soon get half the Iron Dome money. 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, we are paying them interest on our own money. 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 $2.3 billion 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 $1.2 billion 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 ~55% of the money we give away 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. The Arms Export Control Act 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 $250 million for Iron Dome. It was so uncontroversial in the the Senate passed it without a recorded vote and the House passed it 395-8. 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 Plan Columbia 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. Documentary: Plan Colombia- Cashing in on the Drug War Failure 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 Monsanto Round-Up Ready poison 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 farms growing food and animals, 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 Columbia Free Trade Agreement. It was negotiated and signed by the Bush Administration in 2006 and it went into effect on May 15, 2012. 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, the Associated Press reported "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. Oil and gas account for 61% of the stuff we get from Columbia 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 Financial Times reported 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 - Barrancacabermeja - and the Columbian paramilitaries that fight there are the ELN and AUC, 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 being extended, was created in 2005 by the Bush administration. It gives Columbia's military 800 soldiers and 600 private contractors. Africa Section 1261 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 Washington Post in 2012 as "the busiest Predator drone base outside the Afghan war zone." The US Africa Command, known as AFRICOM, and The East Africa Response Force (EARF) operate from Camp Lemonnier, in Djibouti. The captain of the East Africa Response Force told Stars and Stripes, 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 at least 5,000 troops operating as part of AFRICOM on the continent of Africa. In 2013, AFRICOM conducted 546 missions, 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 Krongard, 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 Benghazi. The reason is that "preventing another Benghazi" has been cited repeatedly to justify sending troops, money, and military equipment to countries all over Africa. The 2008 outrage over Joseph Kony was the excuse to funnel at least $550 million to the Ugandan government - much of it going to their military. Joseph Kony has been around for 30 years but we only got involved after oil was discovered in Uganda in 2006. 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 - we give them hundreds of thousands of dollars every year. After the kidnapping, more US troops 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 it didn't want. That assistance included welcoming special forces from the US, Canada, UK, France, and Israel. The "assistance" included surveillance drones, intelligence operations, and military training. 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 has killed over 900 people 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 3,720 miles of oil and gas pipelines, 90 oil fields, and 73 flow stations 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 Ebola 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 killed an estimated 627,000 people in 2012 alone. The miracle cure discovered out of nowhere by the US military comes from the tobacco plant 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 drone bases in Ethiopia, Niger, and the Republic of Seychelles. 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 investing a combined $33 billion in Africa. 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. Section 1211: 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. Section 1212: Extends authority to spend $1.5 billion in 2015 to pay off any country that helps us in Iraq or Afghanistan. Section 1215: 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. Section 1216-7: 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 Obama announced we would be out of Afghanistan by 2016. Iraq Documentary: Why We Did It We're bombing Iraq again to prevent the "bad guys" from getting to Erbil. Erbil is an oil town that houses thousands of Americans who work in the oil industry. Ukraine/Russia Ukraine 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 important gas pipelines 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 quickly signed the trade deal 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. We've given the new government $1 billion, $15 billion in loan guarantees, 300 military advisers, and over $20 million worth of military equipment. The new Ukrainian government has been using our money and weapons to bomb the Russian half of it's own country and we want Russia to stand down - not that we have any proof that Russia is actually fighting. We appear to be restarting the Cold War. The 2015 NDAA that passed the House, orders the Defense Department to make a plan to defend Europe from Russian attacks on NATO countries and orders a very detailed report on Russia's military capabilities to be created every year. To punish Russia for taking Crimea, the bill prevents any NATO country from giving Russia excess military articles and prohibits the militaries of the United States and Russia from cooperating on anything 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 prevent the Defense Department from contracting with Russia's state weapons company. This may be a problem as the Pentagon has already spent over $1 billion on 88 Russian helicopters 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 - prevents implementation of the New Start Treaty 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 banned agricultural products from the United States, Europe, Australia, Canada, and Norway for a year, which will cost multinationals from those countries billions of dollars in sales. Music Presented in This Episode Intro and Exit Music: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio) Bombs Make Terrorists by Dave Gwyther (found on Music Alley by mevio) Honest Gil for Senate in Kentucky

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 230-185 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 Rep. Rob Woodall of Georgia Rep. Alcee Hastings of Florida Passed on April 7, 2014 by 230-165. 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 Rep. Scott Garrett of New Jersey Rep. Bill Pascrell of New Jersey Passed on April 4 by 224-182. 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 Joint Committee on Taxation, 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 Rep. Gerald Connolly of Virginia 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. Current law: "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 248-179. 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. "Labor" isn't on the list. Additional Information CBO analysis of the budgetary effects of HR 2575 Rep. Dave Camp of Michigan just beat cancer. The House of Representatives didn't work much in 2013. The House of Representatives isn't working much in 2014 either. Representatives Quoted in This Segment Rep. Todd Young of Indiana Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland Rep. Tim Griffin of Arkansas Rep. Dave Camp of Michigan Rep. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma Rep. Steve King of Iowa Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts Rep. George Miller of California 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 Congressional Budget Office estimates 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. Current law 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 collateralized loan obligations 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, $11.8 billion of these high risk gambling bundles were created. 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: Citigroup, WellsFargo, and JP Morgan. This is not the only bill that Rep. Andy Barr of Kentucky has written for the big banks. As the New York Times reported in August 2013, 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 over $230,000 from the financial services and investment industry. Additional Information House Financial Services Committee hearing about HR 4167. Representatives Quoted in This Segment Rep. Scott Garrett of New Jersey Rep. Mike Capuano of Massachusetts Rep. Garland "Andy" Barr of Kentucky Passed April 29, 2014 by 268-150. 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 given him almost $270,000. Representatives Quoted in This Segment Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan Rep. John Carney of Delaware Passed on April 10, 2014 by 219-205. 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 CD018: The Ryan Budget Music in This Episode Intro and Exit Music: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio) Work Today by Tim Young (found on Music Alley by mevio) All Hail to the Market by Alun Perry (found on Music Alley by mevio)

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. HR 311: "Farmers Undertake Environmental Land Stewardship Act" FUELS Act Sponsored by Rep. Eric "Rick" Crawford of Arkansas 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 Water Resources Reform and Development Act, 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. H.R. 938: United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014 Sponsored by Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida 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: Analysis: Israeli natural gas fields hold big promise for Noble Energy, Reuters, February 10, 2014. HR 1459: Ensuring Public Involvement in the Creation of National Monuments Act Sponsored by Rob Bishop of Utah 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. Rep. Rob Bishop's campaign'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. HR 1814: Equitable Access to Health and Care Act (EACH Act) Sponsored by Aaron Schock of Illinois On Monday, June 30, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations can pick and choose what is included in their employee's health coverage, 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. H.R. 2641: Responsibly and Professionally Invigorating Development Act (RAPID Act) Sponsored by Rep. Tom Marino of Pennsylvania 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): Rep. Tom Marino of Pennsylvania Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas HR 2824: Preventing Government Waste and Protecting Coal Mining Jobs in America Sponsored by Bill Johnson of Ohio 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, has taken over $200,000 from the mining industry. The bill passed 229-192. Representatives Quoted in This Segment (in order of appearance): Rep. Rush Holt of New Jersey Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia Rep. Bill Johnson of Ohio Rep. Alan Lowenthal of California HR 3189: Water Rights Protection Act Sponsored by Rep. Scott Tipton of Colorado 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 Forest Service directive 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 quoted from the House Natural Resources Committee's Subcommittee on Water and Power's hearing from October 10, 2013 (in order of appearance): Tony Willardson, Executive Director of the Western States Water Council David Corbin, Vice President of the Aspen Skiing Company Glenn Porzak, Attorney for the National Ski Areas Association Representatives Quoted in This Segment (in order of appearance): Rep. Grace Napolitano of California HR 3826: Electricity Security and Affordability Act Sponsored by Rep. Ed Whitfield of Kentucky 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. HR 4015: SGR Repeal and Medicare Provider Payment Modernization Act of 2014 Sponsored by Michael Burgess of Texas 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. HR 4118: SIMPLE Fairness Act Sponsored by Rep. Lynn Jenkins of Kansas 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): Rep. Lynn Jenkins of Kansas Rep. Jim McDermott of Washington HR 4138: ENFORCE the Law Act of 2014 Sponsored by Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina 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): Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia Rep. Martha Roby of Alabama Rep. Jeff Duncan of South Carolina Rep. Richard Nugent of Florida Rep. Ted Poe of Texas Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts 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: Pennsylvania Rep. Chaka Fattah vows to fight federal subpoena, Washington Times, March 13, 2014. Music Presented in This Episode March of the Pigs by A Thousand Suns (found on Music Alley by mevio) Intro and Exit Music: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio)

In this bonus episode, we look into the state of passenger rail service in the United States by examining the history and current condition of Amtrak, the only choice for passenger rail service in the nation. The United States has a third world passenger rail transportation system. There's no denying it. There is only one company, Amtrak, that operates nationwide. Amtrak train cars are decades old, the employees are over-worked, and it's incredibly unreliable. But why is that the case? How can we do better? Passenger rail service is a worthy investment for the United States government. Trains consume far less energy than our other available modes of transportation: Passenger trains consume 17% less energy than airplanes and 21% less energy than cars. Passenger trains also burn far less carbon dioxide: The average intercity passenger train burns 50% less carbon dioxide per passenger mile than an airplane and 60% less than cars. Rail transportation is also a safe mode of transportation, especially when compared to cars; automobile accidents kill an average of 33,000 Americans every year compared to an average of ten deaths caused by accidents on passenger trains. [caption id="attachment_1443" align="aligncenter" width="598"] Automobiles kill 33,000 in the US every year. Trains kill 10.[/caption] But if passenger trains are such a good investment, why is the United States system so behind other countries? It wasn't always this way. In the 1920's, more than 1,000 companies operated on a network of 380,000 miles of track in the United States. 1.27 billion passengers traveled on the United States' rail network every year, at a time when our population was much less than it is today. However, in the 1970's, after the interstate highway system was completed and air travel became affordable for the middle class, the private railroads didn't find passenger trains to be as profitable as freight and they wanted to eliminate passenger services entirely. The government agreed to take over the passenger service that the private sector didn't want to provide for their own financial reasons. Amtrak was created in 1971 as a quasi public-private entity to provide public rail transportation service nationwide. Amtrak was a compromise between the members of Congress who wanted to keep a passenger rail system in the United States and the Nixon administration, who wanted passenger rail to disappear. In the deal that created Amtrak, the private railroad companies would no longer have to provide passenger services but they would have to provide Amtrak with start-up cash and equipment. The private railroads would maintain ownership of the infrastructure - the railraod tracks - but they would not be allowed to deny Amtrak the right to use them. The only place in the United States where the private railroad companies do not own the infrastructure is in the Northeast Corridor, between Boston and Washington D.C., which just so happens to be the area of the country with the best and most reliable passenger rail service in the country. However, Amtrak is responsible for maintaining the infrastructure; as a result, about 75% of Amtrak's budget goes towards maintaining the Northeast Corridor. Amtrak was given two mandates. The first was to provide a nationwide passenger rail service. The second was to turn a profit. While turning a profit is a worthy goal, no passenger rail service in the world is currently profitable even in countries where the passenger train company is not responsible for maintaining the rail infrastructure. The situation got worse for Amtrak in the 1980's due to the Staggers Act, which deregulated the railroad industry. As a result, railroad companies gobbled each other up in mergers and ripped out even more tracks. Since the 1960's, almost half of the countries' rail infrastructure has been abandoned or removed. Today, the vast majority of the country's remaining railroad tracks are controlled by only four companies: BNSF, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific. Bills Discussed in This Episode Amtrak has been starved of funding since it's creation, a problem that continues today. Amtrak needs about $5 billion just to maintain old bridges, tunnels, and walls in the Northeast Corridor, the only section of the country where Amtrak owns the tracks it runs on. H.R. 4745, the transportation funding bill for fiscal year 2015 which passed the House of Representatives on June 10, would not authorize that money, nor much else for operations in other parts of the country. H.R. 4745: The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for 2015 Provides over $15 billion in Federal subsidies for the aviation industry. Provides over $40 billion in Federal subsidies for the highway trust fund. Provides $1.2 billion in Federal subsidies for Amtrak. Amtrak is also authorized to borrow $5.6 billion. In addition, H.R. 4745 contains some outright fiscal attacks on Amtrak's ability to function. An amendment submitted by Rep. Phil Gingrey of Georgia defunds food and beverage service on Amtrak trains. An amendment submitted by Rep. Jeff Denham of California defunds California's high speed rail project. An amendment submitted by Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas eliminates the Sunset Limited, the only Amtrak route that runs between Los Angeles and New Orleans. There is hope, however. H.R. 4745 needs to be merged with the Senate version. There is still time to remove the Amtrak attacks. More importantly, the multi-year transportation bill known as MAP-21 is set to expire on September 30, 2014, right before the 2014 midterm elections. If we want passenger rail service investments in the United States, now is the perfect time to demand them. Representatives Quoted in This Episode (In Order of Appearance) Rep. John Mica of Florida Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland Rep. Larry Bucshon of Indiana Rep. Laura Richardson of California Rep. Ed Pastor of Arizona Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas Sources of Information for the Episode Music Presented in This Episode Slow Train by Bradley West (found on Music Alley by mevio) Intro and Exit Music: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio) New Podcast You Might Enjoy Critical Thinking is Required, hosted by James Sirois Itunes Stitcher