Congressional Dish

This week, after Russia took the Syria vote off the House schedule, the House did not fund the government for 2014 despite their September 30th deadline. In this episode, we look at what they did instead.  Links to Information in This Episode Intro and Exit Music: by (found on ) President Obama's speech from Tuesday, September 10th regarding Syria: and Music: Get Out of Our House by (found on ) Incorrect assertion that the is already extended was made by , , and The that prompted the lazy news organizations above to report the fake extension House spending bill was this week; it did not get voted on to become Louisiana's Secretary of Veteran's affairs : The "Denali National Park Improvement Act" allows permits for small hydroelectric projects and a natural gas pipeline to cut through an Alaska national park. , lead sponsor of S. 157, has taken over $720,000 from electric utilities and over $670,000 from the oil & gas industry , Alaska's only Representative and person credited with pushing S. 157 through the House, has taken almost $1.2 million from the oil & gas industry Thank you for clicking this link to buy President Obama's extending the National Emergency from 9/11/01 Representatives Quoted in This Episode

In June 2013, the House of Representatives passed their version of a Department of Homeland Security funding bill. The House prioritizes border security and locking up immigrants at the expense of emergency preparedness and the TSA. Details and much more in this episode...  Links to Information in This Episode  The House version of the Department of Homeland Security funding bill (has not been signed into law) The explanation for funding levels, which is more interesting to read than the bill itself History of the Department of Homeland Security Intro and Exit Music: by (found on ) Song: Warden Pale's Big Profit Prison by inside the Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano's as DHS Secretary to the National Press Club on August 27, 2013 DHS's headquarters is still Democracy Now with Judy Greene, justice policy analyst for Justice Strategies, from May 4, 2006 Story of the Boston Marathon bombers: , the unlucky but badass guy who remembered Tamerlan's face and helped the F.B.I. catch the Boston bomber brothers. Page 36 of the "DoD has researched, developed and employed advanced surveillance technologies for service in overseas con flits such as Iraq and Afghanistan. As these conflicts come to a close, technologies such as VADER, aerostats, manned and unmanned aerial systems, and associated audio, visual, radar, and other detection and monitoring systems in use or under development may become excess equipment... ... DHS should actively seek to capitalize on DOD's expertise and work with DOD to expedite the identification, designation, transfer and integrations of technologies and equipment to support border security improvements." : The "excess military article" DHS may soon receive which can see people from 25,000 feet in the air : The spy blimps What are ? -see page 6 for ATS-P(assenger) information website Ammonium nitrite was 270 tons of ammonium nitrite exploded on April 17, 2013 in West, Texas and caused this explosion: And this is what it was like for the resident's of West, Texas: The storage facility that exploded had 270 tons of ammonium nitrite (they're allowed to have 1 ton) but about it. The facility had by the Department of Labor in 1985. The facility had . Sets out the rules for intelligence sharing that says the software they use must not transmit any personally identifiable information in accordance with privacy law but.. "This section shall not apply to the legislative and judicial branches of the Federal Government and shall apply to all Federal agencies within the executive branch except for the Department of Defense, the CIA, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence"

While the U.S. Congress remained on vacation, British Parliament was called back to debate a pending attack on Syria. We also look at some facts about Syria that suggest we might be getting into a Shock Doctrine type of situation. Links to Information in This Episode Intro Music: by (found on ) Song: by (found on ) Buy by Naomi Klein (Amazon) of the British Parliament debate on August 29, 2013 of the Syrian chemical attack on August 20, 2013 Obama Administration says an attack According to the British, there have been of the random Syrian Assad supporter The twelve things about Syria the Assad supporter wanted Americans to know:   There is a , and in the Middle East in general Syria must share its water with neighbors: Syria has oil reserves Assad's intends for Syria to become a transportation hub for fossil fuels Syria, Iraq, and Iran signed a $10 billion deal for a natural gas pipeline that would export Iranian natural gas out of Damascus () : President Obama announces that Assad must resign The United States sanctions on Iran around the world on behalf of the American monopoly patent holders in their humanitarian missions Strengthening the monetary policy framework and the financial sector 29. Notwithstanding the progress in activating monetary policy in the past two years, Syria's monetary policy framework remains rudimentary and in need of major strengthening to allow the central bank to use indirect instruments of monetary control to operate effectively in a financial system that will increasingly become market-based. Indirect instruments will strengthen the price mechanism in the financial sector, ensuring a more efficient allocation of financial resources and a proper pricing of financial risks. 30. Progress toward this medium-term goal should start by having the central bank gain full control of existing direct instruments. The central bank should have the right to decide on credit ceilings and credit policies of banks with a view to ensuring a pace of credit and monetary expansion consistent with maintaining price stability while fostering economic activity and employment. Banks have to abide by all prudential regulations. Beyond this, the role and responsibilities of the central bank and the ministry of finance in exercising oversight on the banks should be clearly defined. While the government could play a lead role in choosing the board and the management of public banks, the CBS should have the authority to evaluate and approve banks' policies, and procedures related to the credit and investment. 31. Furthermore, the CBS should have operational independence and the institutional capacity to exercise effective banking supervision. Indeed, in the absence of effective banking supervision, the strong credit growth and the rapid opening of the banking system could endanger the soundness of the financial sector. Therefore, the mission urges the authorities to: give the central bank power to: (i) address noncompliance, as well as safety and soundness concerns it may have for certain banks, and (ii) to ensure that fit and proper criteria are met in appointing senior staff in public and private banks and that credit policies are consistent with safe and sound best practices; allocate adequate resources to continue to build capacity for banking supervision; and complete the banking supervision framework including a licensing manual to ensure prudent and transparent licensing policy. (Another article ) "Rebels" after Qaddafi was removed from power The Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran is

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) did not exist before September 11, 2001. In this episode, we look back at the bills that created these new government agencies. Links to Information in This Episode Intro and Exit Music: by (found on ) Music: by (found on ) The Department of Homeland Security was created by the (signed into law on November 25, 2002). President Bush signs the Homeland Security Act into law. Contains an interview with , former President of Public Citizen The stated purpose was to consolidate all departments related to "homeland security" into one cabinet in response to the September 11 attacks. Twenty-two agencies were brought into the new department: New $4.5 billion Department of Homeland Security headquarter complex ; they just moved over the last few weeks. The Homeland Security Act was passed ; corporate friendly provisions were slipped into the bill. orders the Department of Homeland Security to start data-mining: "To establish and utilize, in conjunction with the chief information officer of the Department, a secure communications and information technology infrastructure, including data-mining and other advanced analytical tools, in order to access, receive, and analyze eta and information in furtherance of the responsibilities under this section, and to disseminate information acquired and analyzed by the Department, as appropriate." Contains a Pentagon press conference by Pete Aldridge, then Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology, during which he explains the plan for Contains an interview with Gail Russell Chaddock, author of an about the creation of the Department of Homeland Security "According to government documents, the fusion centers collect cell phone numbers, insurance claims, credit reports, financial records, and names of relatives and associates. The information is shared among law enforcement officials nationwide." - Private intelligence companies such as Contains details on a Senate report that concluded Department of Homeland Security fusion centers to be "useless" [caption id="" align="alignright" width="275"] Border Patrol drones (Source: DHS.gov)[/caption] about immigration prisons Contains and interview with Judy Greene, justice policy analyst for The Transportation Security Administration was created by the signed into law on November 19, 2001. The act federalized airport security. Contains information about the Bush administrations resistance to federalizing airport security Contains information on Argenbright Security, the private security company which failed to detect the 9/11 hijackers at Newark International Airport and Washington-Dulles International Airport. Watch the September 11 hijackers walked by - not through- the metal detectors monitored by employees of . , was the security firm at Boston Logan airport on September 11, 2001. Both of the planes that hit the World Trade Center in New York City originated from Boston Logan International Airport & all the hijackers went undetected through security managed by Huntleigh. After airport screening operations were federalized, , calling the federalization "unfair". The allows airport security operations to be re-privatized. Sixteen airports currently have private security. Section 147 of the  limited liability for the owners and operators of the World Trade Center and New York City for the events of September 11: (b) EXTENSION OF LIABILITY RELIEF TO AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURERS AND OTHERS- Section 408 of that Act is amended-- (1) by striking `air carrier' in the section heading; (2) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following: `(a) IN GENERAL- `(1) LIABILITY LIMITED TO INSURANCE COVERAGE- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, liability for all claims, whether for compensatory or punitive damages or for contribution or indemnity, arising from the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, against an air carrier, aircraft manufacturer, airport sponsor, or person with a property interest in the World Trade Center, on September 11, 2001, whether fee simple, leasehold or easement, direct or indirect, or their directors, officers, employees, or agents, shall not be in an amount greater than the limits of liability insurance coverage maintained by that air carrier, aircraft manufacturer, airport sponsor, or person. `(2) WILLFUL DEFAULTS ON REBUILDING OBLIGATION- Paragraph (1) does not apply to any such person with a property interest in the World Trade Center if the Attorney General determines, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing on the record, that the person has defaulted willfully on a contractual obligation to rebuild, or assist in the rebuilding of, the World Trade Center. `(3) LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY FOR NEW YORK CITY- Liability for all claims, whether for compensatory or punitive damages or for contribution or indemnity arising from the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, against the City of New York shall not exceed the greater of the city's insurance coverage or $350,000,000. If a claimant who is eligible to seek compensation under section 405 of this Act, submits a claim under section 405, the claimant waives the right to file a civil action (or to be a party to an action) in any Federal or State court for damages sustained as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, including any such action against the City of New York. The preceding sentence does not apply to a civil action to recover collateral source obligations.'; and (3) by adding at the end of subsection (c) the following: `Subsections (a) and (b) do not apply to civil actions to recover collateral source obligations. Nothing in this section shall in any way limit any liability of any person who is engaged in the business of providing air transportation security and who is not an airline or airport sponsor or director, officer, or employee of an airline or airport sponsor.'. , New York Times, November 26, 2002. Information regarding the history of the World Trade Center construction, New York City building codes, and the death tolls from the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 were from : Hurricane Katrina exposed the dis-function of the Department of Homeland Security Contains an interview with Matthew Brzezinski, author of " Representatives Quoted in this Episode (clip from House floor, November 16, 2001) (clip from House floor, November 22, 2002)

On July 19, 2003, the House of Representatives passed that would largely eliminate the Federal government's role in K-12 education and expand the number of charter schools in the United States. stated purpose is to undo a portion of the 2009 stimulus bill (the ) called , along with a program that Race to the Top helped enact in most of the United States. Race to the Top was a $4.35 billion contest between the States. Financial prizes were awarded to states based on school performance, teacher performance, data reporting, among other factors; one of the most critical factors was the adoption of Common Core standards. are national minimum standards for English and math education that are intended to be adopted by the entire country. The standards were cleverly implemented. In 2009, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers wrote the standards and then copyrighted the text. By copyrighting the text, the authors ensured that the standards could not be changed by individual states after their adoption, which in effect, created a national standard. The next step was to get the states to adopt the standards. That's where Race to the Top came in. In order to be eligible to participate in the Race to the Top contests, States had to adopt the Common Core standards. All but five states did; Texas, Virginia, Alaska, and Nebraska refused to participate. Minnesota adopted English standards, but not math. Essentially, the States had a choice whether or not they would participate in implementing a national standard for education; Race to the Top gave the States incentives and the push mostly worked. [caption id="attachment_820" align="aligncenter" width="645"] Common Core has been adopted in most states[/caption] Since then, a concentrated effort to stop Common Core has emerged; Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Oklahoma legislatures are actively trying to stop implementation. H.R. 5 would help the haters get rid of the Common Core national standards and put control of education policy firmly in the hands of individual states: States can only receive Federal money if they have developed standards for reading, math, and science and have students take annual math and reading tests. The Secretary of Education must approve a State's plan within 120 days. If it disapproves, the Federal government can't list specific things the State should change. The Federal government is prohibited from directly or indirectly forcing or incentivizing the adoption of national standards, specifically Common  Core. (TITLE V) In fact, the bill aimed to take the Federal government out of all aspects of education: No State would need Federal approval for academic standards to receive Federal money (TITLE V) The Federal government can't influence a State's choice of curriculum (TITLE V) The Federal government can't test students or teachers. (TITLE V) States will fill out their own annual report cards. (Section 111) New school programs would not be required to work specifically with Head Start and other government pre-school programs (Section 115) Charter Schools One aspect of Race to the Top would continue, however, is the provision lifting the caps on the number of charter schools. In fact, the expansion of charter schools is a clearly stated goal of H.R. 5: "It is the purpose of this subpart to - (2) provide financial assistance for the planning, program design, and initial implementation of charter schools; (3) expand the number of high-quality charter schools available to students across the nation; () Charter schools are sort-of public schools; they are funded by our taxpayer money but they are exempt from some education standards. Naomi Klein, author of , described them as "publicly funded institutions run by private entities according to their own rules." Charter schools are allowed to create their own curriculum and often are not required to provide student services such as transportation and meals like the traditional public schools. Funding for charter schools is determined state by state, but often the states fund charter schools by diverting money away from the traditional public school district where the new charter school is built. Charter schools are not allowed to charge tuition or use taxpayer money to upgrade their facilities. Unlike traditional public schools, there are avenues for private profit to be made in the charter school system. Charter schools - whether started by a non-profit, university, or our government- can be managed by for-profit corporations. TITLE III: "Parental Engagement & Local Flexibility" expands the charter school system Charter schools will get as much money as public schools States must pass a law giving charter schools money per student to be eligible for Federal grants No limit on the number or percentage of schools that can be charter schools "Individuals directly involved in the operation of charter schools" need to be consulted by the State while they are developing rules and regulations 15% of funding can be used for facilities and instructional materials Public money will be used to attract private money for property and construction Evaluations will be done on how the government distributed money to charter schools, not what the charter schools do with the money Makes it easier to overhaul entire education systems: Section 115 allows local governments to change their entire education systems; currently, this can only be done in districts where over 40% of the students are from low-income families New programs can be provided by for-profit businesses. Lowers qualification and accountability standards: Data used to evaluate schools would only have to be "evidence based" instead of "scientifically based research" (throughout the bill) Teachers need to be "effective" instead of "highly qualified" (throughout the bill) Repeals minimum qualifications for teachers (Section 119) Gives public money for setting up teacher evaluations systems and furthering teacher education in States; the process can be privatized. (TITLE II) Schools teaching teachers can't be required to have degree-holding faculty, restrictions on infrastructure spending, or accreditation (TITLE II) Addresses some of the criticisms of charter schools: Provides public money for transportation and nutrition services (Section 105) Provides public money for expanding charter school programs for kids with disabilities (Section 131) Provides public money for programs for kids who need to learn English; the administration can be privatized (Section 131) Gives charter school and private businesses a larger role in State education policies : Federal money can only go to states with an educational plan that will be written in part by "public charter school representatives, private sector employers, and entrepreneurs." (Section 111) "Peer review boards" will be created to monitor charter schools. 10-35% of the boards must be "representatives of private sector employers". Federal government employees are prohibited from participating (Section 111) Advisory boards that review regulations will have seats for charter school representatives, charter school teachers, and private school representatives (Section 151) Local governments need to let private schools help write the programs that how much public money private schools get; local governments must explain any disagreements in writing and an appeal process will be established for private schools (Section 120) Expands public funding for education services provided by for-profit organizations: Eliminates a requirement that 90% of funds are to go towards "free public education" - this is called the "maintenance of effort" requirement (Section 121) Provides grants of at least $500,000 to organizations that teach "family engagement policies" (TITLE III) Provides grants to "non-governmental entities" which can be public or private organizations, faith-based organizations, or businesses to "increase academic achievement" of public school students (TITLE III) Provides public money for after school, summer school, and tutoring - both online and on-campus (Section 105, TITLE III) Provides public money for private school students, including tutoring (Section 120) Provides public money to private schools based on the number of students enrolled instead of their number of low-income students, unless this is illegal in that State and this can be waived (Section 120) Creates an ombudsman to make sure private schools get their new, increased share of public money (Section 120) The task of administering public funds can be privatized by the States (Section 120) Ideological provisions: Repeals grants for the Close Up Foundation, which teaches high school students about the democratic process (Section 141) Federal government can't require the distribution of "scientifically or medically false" materials or prohibit the distribution of "scientifically or medically true" materials (TITLE V) Federal money can't be used for sex education that doesn't teach abstinence (TITLE V) Federal money can't pay for contraceptive programs (TITLE V) Local governments accepting Federal money need to give the names, addresses, and phone numbers of high school students to military recruiters unless the parents opt-out in writing. The opt-out expires on the student's 18th birthday (TITLE V) Links to Information & Music Presented in This Episode Intro and Exit Music: by (found on ) Music: by (found on ) Edison Learning (a school management company that has recently switched its focus to testing, summer school, and tutoring) working for them this year. Sylvan Learning Centers (tutoring services) working for them this year. Rosetta Stone (language learning software) working for them this year. Representatives Quoted in This Episode

In this episode, we catch up on most of the bills that passed the House during the last two weeks of August. A lot of bills were passed; very few have a prayer of becoming law. Intro and Exit Music: by (found on ) Is now law Covered in detail in the second half of Continues a system designed to expedite the approval of anti-biotics for animals Caps revenues from application fees paid by pharmaceutical companies Music: by (found on ) Has been amended by the Senate, passed the House again on July 31, and is now on the President's desk Original version covered in Now ties student loan interest loan rates to the market and caps rates at 8.25% for undergraduates and 9.5% for graduate students Student loan rate will be fixed at the rate where it starts for the life of the loan CBO predicts the rates will be above the current 6.8% starting in 2017 [caption id="attachment_801" align="aligncenter" width="912"] Congressional Record for July 31, page H5219[/caption] Passed the House on July 30, 2013 Public schools will be allowed to stockpile epinephrine for students with food allergies and train staff to administer it Passed the House on July 25, 2013 States will be allowed the regulate coal waste instead of the Federal government Gives the coal industry 10 years to meet groundwater protection standards Prohibits the EPA from categorizing waste from burning coal, oil, natural gas, and tar sands as 'hazardous waste'. saying that fossil fuel waste should not be classified as hazardous: Today's action applies to all remaining fossil fuel combustion wastes other than high volume coal combustion wastes generated at electric utilities and independent power producing facilities and manage separately which were addressed by a 1993 regulatory determination. These include: Large-volume coal combustion wastes generate at electric utility and independent power producing facilities that are co-managed together with certain other coal combustion wastes; coal combustion wastes generated at facilities with fluidized bed combustion technology; petroleum coke combustion wastes, wastes from the combustion of mixtures of coal and other fuels (i.e, co-burning); wastes from the combustion of oil, and wastes from the combustion of natural gas. The Agency has concluded these wastes do not warrant regulation under subtitle C or RCRA and is retaining the President Obama and his EPA wanted to classify fossil fuel wastes a hazardous Petroleum Coke blowing over Detroit Passed the House on August 1, 2013 EPA is not allowed to issue a regulation costing over $1 billion The social cost of carbon - climate change, cancer rates, etc. - can't be used in a cost-benefit analysis Passed the House on July 31, 2013 Was called the Forces Federal agencies to get Congressional approval for all major rules that cost over $100 million, affect the finances of businesses, or create a carbon tax If Congress does nothing for 70 working days, the rule can't be enacted None of this is subject to judicial review Monetary policy by the is exempted Passed the House on July 31, 2013 Government can't spend more than $500,000 on any individual conference All materials presented at the conference must be posted online Private companies can spend money on government conferences Three bills were combined into one and passed the House on August 1, 2013 Allows businesses to record in-person and telephone conversations with Executive Branch agencies such as the EPA, OSHA, and the IRS. Makes it easier to fire high level federal employees Caps the bonuses of federal employees and prevents 2/3 of eligible federal employees from getting bonuses at all Government doesn't create jobs, the private sector does. — Eric Cantor (@GOPLeader)   Passed the House on July 31, 2013 Each agency must establish customer service standards including targets for response times, processing of benefits & payments, etc. Create a pilot program for the IRS and two other agencies to collect taxpayer complaints Gives no money or extra personal to the agencies to implement these new policies The full story of the IRS scandal: IRS can't have any conferences until they implement a bunch of recommendations IRS agents must be reminded that taxpayers have rights But they can still give political groups tax exempt status (<- not in bill, but still true) Prohibits the IRS from enforcing the tax provisions of ObamaCare Thank you for having me on your show! Representatives Quoted in This Episode

Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan tried to attach an amendment to the Department of Defense funding bill for 2014 which would have limited the government's authority to collect our telephone records. The amendment failed but not by much; the episode highlights the debate. Links to Information in This Episode Text of the Amash Amendment At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the following new section: Sec. __. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to execute a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court order pursuant to section 501 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 () that does not include the following sentence: ``This Order limits the collection of any tangible things (including telephone numbers dialed, telephone numbers of incoming calls, and the duration of calls) that may be authorized to be collected pursuant to this Order to those tangible things that pertain to a person who is the subject of an investigation described in section 501 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 ().''. The FISA court The death of Thinthread: The system that could have stopped 9/11 Total Information Awareness Edward Snowden worked for Booz Allen Hamilton, not the U.S. government "Company filings show that 99% of Booz Allen's revenue comes from various levels of the federal government" from Representatives Quoted in This Episode

During the week of July 10-11, the House of Representatives passed a funding bill for agriculture programs which had only been available to read for 20 hours. In this episode, we take a closer look at what was in that surprise bill. Links to Information in This Episode Intro and Exit Music: by (found on ) : The original Farm Bill which failed to pass the House in mid-June : The Factory Farm Bill, which passed the House on July 11, 2013. : The Factory Farm Bill TITLE I: Commodities programs TITLE X: Crop Insurance Paige McClanahan published by The Guardian, July 19, 2012 Music: by (found on ) Representatives Quoted in This Episode During the week of July 10-11, the House of Representatives passed a funding bill for agriculture programs which had only been available to read for 20 hours. In this episode, we take a closer look at what was in that surprise bill. Links to Information in This Episode Intro and Exit Music: Tired of Being […]

Most of this episode is dedicated to the Energy & Water funding bill that passed the House of Representatives; however, the House also pulled a fast one this week, passing a 608-page agriculture bill that was available for public-reading for less than one day. Links to Information in This Episode Intro Music: by (found on ) Music: by that explains the reasoning behind the funding levels in H.R. 2609 , the 608-page bill that was passed in less than one day Republicans promised to prohibit votes on bills that haven't been posted online for 72 hours. Current United States drought conditions The Mark Sanchez Butt Fumble Representatives Quoted in this Episode

Before taking a week off for July 4th, the House passed a bill forcing the Obama administration to sell offshore leases to the oil and gas industry. Links to Information from this Episode Music: by (found on ) President Obama put a after the Deepwater Horizon spill detailing the areas with most untapped oil and gas resources Lease 220 off of Virginia's coast by the Obama Administration Santa Barbara off their coastline 2010: Bill signed into law allowing off of the California coast [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="621"] Areas affected by the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spil[/caption] Solyndra was manufacturing a : Thin film solar panels Representatives Quoted in This Episode