Recently in Washington

Simpson Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Expand Geothermal Energy Production

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson introduced H.R. 1719, the Geothermal Production Expansion Act of 2015. H.R. 1719 makes a small but important change to current law to facilitate the development of geothermal energy on public lands.     

H.R. 1719 would allow for expansion of renewable geothermal energy, while at the same time protecting the national interests in receiving fair market value for energy leases on federal lands.  The intent of the legislation is to protect legitimate geothermal developers from speculators by allowing companies that have discovered geothermal resources through capital-intensive drilling to obtain a one-time noncompetitive lease on up to one square mile of adjoining federal lands. 

“Geothermal projects on federal lands offers incredible potential for reliable, clean, low-cost energy production,” said Simpson. “Given these unique and valuable capabilities, I was pleased to offer legislation that encourages expanded geothermal production in a fair and efficient manner. As the United States continues to focus on promoting domestic and diverse energy solutions, I am confident that geothermal can be a strong contributor to the portfolio.”

Congressman Simpson is joined in support of H.R. 1719, by cosponsor Peter DeFazio (D-OR). In the Senate, Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced the legislation with Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch as cosponsors.

Simpson Supports Bipartisan Medicare Reform and Secure Rural Schools Package

“This kind of bill represents exactly what the American people want to see out of their elected representatives. They want us to fix problems, not shout across the aisle and point fingers.” – U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson supported H.R. 2, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015.  It passed the House with strong support from both Republicans and Democrats by 392-37.

The bill strengthens Medicare and ensures senior’s access to care by repealing the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) and replacing it with an updated system that will work better, and save money over the long term. The SGR is a formula that determines payment amounts to doctors who treat Medicare patients.

“Repealing the SGR has been the top priority for almost every Idaho medical professional who I have met with for years.  Before this vote, Congress had simply kicked the can down the road a total of 17 times, at great cost to taxpayers and over the strong objections of the health community,” said Simpson. “Though the full cost of the bill is not covered in the first ten years, it is important to look at the big picture when you are reforming major programs like Medicare.  The right-leaning American Action Forum completed an exhaustive study that found the bill results in $295 billion of spending reductions by 2035.”

Also included in this package is a two-year extension of The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (SRS) which provides an alternative source of education funding for counties with a high percentage of national forests and fulfills the federal government’s responsibility to counties with tax-exempt federal lands.

“My western colleagues and I have been working tirelessly to ensure Congress address the immediate needs of Secure Rural Schools payments and I was thrilled that H.R. 2 offered the solution,” said Simpson. “By voting yes, western members were able to lend their support to one of the most important programs to our rural communities. We must now turn our attention to enacting a long-term and sustainable solution that doesn’t stick Idaho’s rural counties with the annual uncertainty of an up or down vote from Congress.”

“Though H.R. 2 is not perfect, you would have to look long and hard to find a reason to vote no,” added Simpson. “This kind of bill represents exactly what the American people want to see out of their elected representatives. They want us to fix problems, not shout across the aisle and point fingers.”

Congressman Simpson has long been an advocate for SRS and signed a letter last October urging House leadership to secure full funding for Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) and SRS. 

H.R. 2 now heads to the U.S. Senate for consideration.

Committee Schedule

Tuesday

At 9:00 a.m., the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Subcommittee on Appropriations will hold a hearing regarding early childhood education.

Wednesday

At 10:00 a.m., the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Subcommittee on Appropriations will hold a hearing regarding Ebola oversight and funding.

At 10:00 a.m., Chairman Simpson will host a markup of the Fiscal Year 2016 Energy and Water Appropriations bill.

Floor Schedule

MONDAY, APRIL 13TH
On Monday, the House will meet at 12:00 p.m. for morning hour and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 p.m.

Legislation Considered Under Suspension of the Rules:

1) H.R. 299 - Capital Access for Small Community Financial Institutions Act of 2015 (Sponsored by Rep. Steve Stivers / Financial Services Committee)

2) H.R. 1259 - Helping Expand Lending Practices in Rural Communities Act (Sponsored by Rep. Andy Barr / Financial Services Committee)

3) H.R. 1265 - Bureau Advisory Commission Transparency Act (Sponsored by Rep. Sean Duffy / Financial Services Committee)

4) H.R. 601 - Eliminate Privacy Notice Confusion Act (Sponsored by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer / Financial Services Committee)

5) H.R. 1367 - To amend the Expedited Funds Availability Act to clarify the application of that Act to American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands (Sponsored by Del. Amata Radewagen / Financial Services Committee)

6) H.R. 1480 - SAFE Act Confidentiality and Privilege Enhancement Act (Sponsored by Rep. Bob Dold / Financial Services Committee)

TUESDAY, APRIL 14TH AND THE BALANCE OF THE WEEK
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for morning hour and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business.

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

On Friday, no votes are expected in the House.

Legislation Considered Under Suspension of the Rules:

1) H.R. 1058 - Taxpayer Bill of Rights Act of 2015 (Sponsored by Rep. Peter Roskam / Ways and Means Committee)

2) H.R. 1152 - IRS Email Transparency Act (Sponsored by Rep. Kenny Marchant / Ways and Means Committee)

3) H.R. 1026 - Taxpayer Knowledge of IRS Investigations Act (Sponsored by Rep. Mike Kelly / Ways and Means Committee)

4) H.R. 1314 - Ensuring Tax Exempt Organizations the Right to Appeal Act (Sponsored by Rep. Patrick Meehan / Ways and Means Committee)

5) H.R. 1295 - IRS Bureaucracy Reduction and Judicial Review Act (Sponsored by Rep. George Holding / Ways and Means Committee)

6) H.R. 709 - Prevent Targeting at the IRS Act (Sponsored by Rep. Jim Renacci / Ways and Means Committee)

7) H.R. 1104 - Fair Treatment for All Gifts Act (Sponsored by Rep. Peter Roskam / Ways and Means Committee)

8) H.R. 1562 - Contracting and Tax Accountability Act of 2015 (Sponsored by Rep. Jason Chaffetz / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

9) H.R. 1563 - Federal Employee Tax Accountability Act of 2015, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Jason Chaffetz / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

H.R. 650 - Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act of 2015 (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Stephen Fincher / Financial Services Committee)

H.R. 685 - Mortgage Choice Act of 2015 (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Bill Huizenga / Financial Services Committee)

H.R. 622 - State and Local Sales Tax Deduction Fairness Act of 2015 (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Kevin Brady / Ways and Means Committee)

H.R. 1105 - Death Tax Repeal Act of 2015 (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Kevin Brady / Ways and Means Committee)

In the News

House Panels to Open Fiscal 2016 Appropriations Season

By Tamar Hallerman, CQ Roll Call, April 13, 2015

House appropriators are getting a running start to their fiscal 2016 work this week, but it is unclear how far they will be able to progress before stringent spending caps and contentious policy riders undercut their efforts.

Appropriations subcommittees plan to mark up the first two spending bills of the season, Military Construction-VA and Energy-Water, on Wednesday. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said the measures are likely to reach the House floor the last week of April.

Chairman Harold Rogers, R-Ky., is looking to recreate last year’s brisk pace, when appropriators kicked off their fiscal 2015 work at a record early date. Those optimistic efforts, though, were scuttled by July, when the political realities of the midterm elections stalled nearly all legislative work on Capitol Hill.

Moving two relatively popular funding bills early could create a sense of momentum around the appropriations process — both measures typically sail through the House — but appropriators are operating on shaky ground, since many lawmakers want to revisit spending caps and negotiate another budget deal later this year.

The president has threatened to not sign any appropriations bill written to statutory cap levels (PL 112-25), which would essentially freeze discretionary funding at $1.017 trillion. That could prompt Democrats to withhold support of many nondefense titles, particularly critical in the Senate, where the GOP needs to win over six Democrats to advance anything through the chamber.

Because of that, appropriators may face difficulties moving most spending bills besides the most popular titles before hitting a point where measures are perceived as being under-funded.

Flat Funding Likely

Since both defense and non-defense funding is slated to stay relatively flat for fiscal 2016, at about $523.1 billion and $493.5 billion, respectively, the allocations for both Military Construction-VA and Energy-Water are likely to stay close to last year’s levels.

Overall, the content of both bills is expected to tack fairly close to last year’s House versions as well.

For the Military Construction-VA measure, new subcommittee Chairman Charlie Dent, R-Pa., is expected to maintain the bill’s bipartisan bent. Lawmakers are typically in agreement on spending levels, and many of the bill’s programs are already funded as advance appropriations for the following fiscal year.

The biggest points of contention on the measure typically center on policy riders. Limitation language barring funding for transferring detainees to the U.S. from the Guantánamo Bay prison and blocking Department of Veterans Affairs physicians from prescribing medical marijuana in states where it’s legal are likely to resurface this year.

Other efforts that are likely to get bipartisan support, as in previous years, are trimming the VA’s claims backlog, limiting bonuses for senior VA employees and prohibiting another round of military base closures.

A big question for this year is how the committee addresses recent news reports that wait times at VA hospitals have not improved nearly a year after Congress passed VA health care access legislation (PL 113-146). Another is whether Obama’s threat to oppose bills over spending levels will dissuade any Democrats for voting for the wildly popular measure.

Energy Messaging

The Energy-Water bill the committee is advancing is unlikely to garner the same level of bipartisan support as the Military Construction-VA measure, but will provide the GOP with a chance to send messages on many core issues for the party, including energy independence.

Led by subcommittee chairman Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, GOP appropriators are expected to deny the Obama administration’s request to boost funding for the Energy Department’s renewable energy and energy efficiency programs 41 percent above current enacted levels. Instead, regional and partisan alignments will shift more money toward fossil fuel research and development, as well as continuing funding for a permanent nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev., money that was not requested by the administration.

Expect appropriators to backfill the Army Corps of Engineers' budget. The administration proposed cutting down the agency’s civil works budget by 15 percent, a move that has prompted bipartisan anger.

Policy riders on the measure have typically drawn the most partisan vitriol in recent years.

GOP appropriators will be under pressure to include a rider blocking the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers from expanding the definition of U.S. waters subject to the Clean Water Act. The House passed such a provision last year.

With the GOP in control of both chambers, expect a provision allowing guns to be carried on Army Corps land to return. The rider was included in the House Energy-Water bill last year but was ultimately stripped out during omnibus (PL 113-253) negotiations.

Connor O’Brien and Geof Koss contributed to this report.