Recently in Washington

Last week the House passed H.R. 185, the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2015, by a vote of 250-175.  The bill reforms the procedures by which federal agencies create new rules and regulations by adding more transparency and accountability to the process. The House also passed H.R. 240, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2015, by a vote of 236-191.  It provides $39.7 billion in funding for the Department of Homeland Security.  It also prevented funding for the President’s executive action on immigration.  Finally, the House passed H.R. 37, the Promoting Job Creation and Reducing Small Business Burdens Act, by a vote of 271-154.  The bill includes 11 bipartisan bills designed to provide small businesses with regulatory relief and allow them greater access to capital.  Congressman Simpson supported all three bills.

Congressman Simpson Praises Passage of Regulatory Reform Bill

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson last week supported legislation to reform the regulatory process and reduce the uncertainty plaguing our economy as a result of the Obama Administration’s excessive regulatory rule writing.  H.R. 185, the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2015, passed the House by a vote of 250-175.  

“Like many Americans, I have been stunned by the volume and scope of regulations promulgated by the Administration. I consistently hear from Idahoans that these rules are making it more difficult for them to do business and are putting a damper on the economy,” said Simpson. “Our government needs to take a close look at the economic effects of federal mandates, instead of saddling our job-creators and small businesses with more burdensome and costly regulations.”

The Regulatory Accountability Act makes the regulatory process more transparent, agencies more accountable and regulations more cost-effective through the following provisions: 

-Requiring advance notice of proposed major rulemakings to increase public participation and input before costly agency positions are proposed and entrenched.

-Requiring agencies to use the best reasonably obtainable science and choose the lowest cost rulemaking alternative that meets statutory objectives.

-Permitting costlier rules when there are needs to protect public health, safety, or welfare, but requiring the disclosure of the benefits of those rules to justify their additional costs.

-Providing on-the-record but streamlined administrative hearings in the highest-impact rulemakings—those that impose $1 billion or more in annual costs—so interested parties can subject critical evidence to cross-examination.

After passage, H.R. 185 now moves to the Senate for consideration.

In addition to supporting the Regulatory Accountability Act, Simpson is a cosponsor of the Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny Act, commonly referred to as the REINS Act.  This legislation would require Congress to approve major regulations by federal agencies, including any regulation that has an impact of more than $100 million.

The total cost of regulations from federal agencies is estimated at $1.86 trillion annually.  “Each year, federal agencies issue thousands of new regulations affecting the entire American economy; this often negatively impacts job growth,” said Simpson. “Congress needs to reestablish its authority to oversee these rules in order to reduce the burden on all businesses and stimulate real economic growth.”

The REINS Act is currently under consideration in the House Judiciary Committee and the House Rules Committee.

Floor Schedule

MONDAY, JANUARY 19TH
On Monday, the House is not in session.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 20TH
On Tuesday, the House will meet at meet at 12:00 p.m. for morning hour and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business. The House will recess no later than 5:30 p.m. to allow a security sweep of the House Chamber prior to the President's State of the Union address. The House will meet again at approximately 8:35 p.m. for the purpose of receiving, in a joint session with the Senate, the President of the United States. Members are requested to be on the Floor and seated no later than 8:25 p.m.

No votes are expected.

Legislation Considered Under Suspension of the Rules:

1) H. Res. ___ - Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives condemning the recent terrorist attacks in Paris that resulted in the deaths of seventeen innocent persons and offering condolences to those personally affected by this cowardly act (Sponsored by Rep. Ted Poe / Foreign Affairs Committee)

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21ST
On Wednesday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for morning hour and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business.

H.R. 161 - Natural Gas Pipeline Permitting Reform Act (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Mike Pompeo / Energy and Commerce Committee)

THURSDAY, JANUARY 22ND
On Thursday, the House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business. Last votes expected no later than 3:00 p.m.

H.R. 36 - Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Trent Franks / Judiciary Committee)

FRIDAY, JANUARY 23RD
On Friday, the House is not in session.

In the News

Feds act on wildfire preparedness

Congressional delegation and BLM seek better capabilities

By Greg Moore, Idaho Mountain Express, January 14, 2015

Efforts to address the upcoming wildfire season are already under way in Congress and the U.S. Department of the Interior.

On Jan. 8, Reps. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, and Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., reintroduced H.R. 167, the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act. The bill aims to fund activities to suppress large fires so that the Forest Service and BLM do not have to draw money from fire-prevention programs.        A spokesman for the office of Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said Crapo and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., plan to reintroduce their identical bill in the Senate early next month.

Last year, the bills were co-sponsored by nearly 150 members of Congress and supported by a broad coalition of more than 300 organizations, but did not make it out of committee to be voted on by the full House or Senate.

“There are a number of steps that we need to take to address forest health and management issues, but fixing the wildfire suppression budget must be the first one,” Simpson said in a press release.  “Until we address this issue, anything we do to increase needed management activities in the forests, like hazardous fuels removal, timber harvest, conservation or trail maintenance, will continue to be lost in fire transfers.”

The bill would budget for catastrophic wildfires in the same way that responses to other natural disasters such as floods and hurricanes are funded. Routine wildland firefighting costs, which make up about 70 percent of the cost of wildfire suppression, would be funded through the normal budgeting and appropriations process. Very large fires, which represent about 1 percent of wildland fires but make up 30 percent of costs, would be funded under existing disaster programs.

“The way we currently budget for fire is costing taxpayers and destroying our forests,” Simpson said. “Passing this legislation will have a significant and long-term impact on both our public lands and on our budget, allowing us to finally budget responsibly for wildfire suppression in a way that ultimately decreases firefighting costs by mitigating fire risk and making us better prepared for and more resilient against future fires.”

Also early this month, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell issued a secretarial order establishing a top-level Rangeland Fire Task Force charged with designing a comprehensive fire-management plan for the Western United States. The Department of the Interior includes the BLM, which manages more than 12 million acres of publicly-owned rangeland in Idaho.

According to a press release from the department, the strategy will address protecting rural communities, sagebrush landscapes and habitats essential to the conservation of sage-grouse and other wildlife. The task force will look at what actions can be implemented prior to the 2015 fire season and at longer-term actions that might be implemented beginning in 2016.

The task force will work with other federal agencies, states, tribes, local entities and non-governmental groups on fire management and habitat restoration activities. That includes enhancing the capability and capacity of fire management organizations through improved and expanded education and training, the department stated. The task force also will encourage improved coordination among all partners involved in rangeland fire management.

The group will be chaired by department Deputy Secretary Mike Connor, and include five assistant secretaries. It will have reporting dates for progressively more detailed direction beginning Feb. 1 and March 1, with a final report due May 1.

The secretarial order does not provide additional funding. However, for fiscal 2015, Congress appropriated $896.8 million for the Department of the Interior’s wildland fire management program, including $10 million to reduce hazardous fuels. That money will help support efforts to protect and restore sage-grouse habitat, the department stated.

“Targeted action is urgently needed to conserve habitat for the greater sage-grouse and other wildlife in the Great Basin, as well as to maintain ranching and recreation economies that depend on sagebrush landscapes,” Jewell said.

The department said the order was based partly on a conference it hosted in Boise in early November that brought together scientists and land managers from state and federal agencies to find ways to protect sage-grouse habitat from wildfire.