U.S. Congressman Mike Simpson - 2nd District of Idaho
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Recently in Washington

On Thursday, the House passed H.R. 115, the Thin Blue Line Act, by a vote of 271-143.  The bill includes the killing or attempted killing of a local or state law enforcement officer or first responder as an aggravating factor in federal death penalty determinations.  On Friday, the House passed H.R. 1039, the Probation Officer Protection Act of 2017, by a vote of 229-177. The bill authorizes a probation officer to arrest a third party if there is probable cause to believe that person forcibly assaulted or obstructed a probation officer while performing their official duties. Congressman Simpson supported both bills.


Committee Schedule

Wednesday

At 10:30 a.m., Chairman Simpson will host a House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee hearing regarding the Army Corps of Engineers Fiscal Year 2018 budget request.

At 11:00 a.m., the House Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Subcommittee will hold a hearing with Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos on the Department of Education’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget request.

At 1:00 p.m., the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee will hold a hearing with the Indian Health Service on its Fiscal Year 18 budget request.

At 2:00 p.m., the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee will hold a hearing with the Government Accountability Office regarding programs impacting Indian Country. 


Thursday

At 9:30 a.m., the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee will hold a hearing with Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell regarding the U.S. Forest Service’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget request. 


Floor Schedule

MONDAY, MAY 22ND
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. 1862 - Global Child Protection Act of 2017 (Sponsored by Rep. Martha Roby / Judiciary Committee)


2)
H.R. 1842 - Strengthening Children’s Safety Act of 2017 (Sponsored by Rep. John Ratcliffe / Judiciary Committee)

3)
H.R. 1188 - Adam Walsh Reauthorization Act of 2017 (Sponsored by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner / Judiciary Committee)

4)
H.R. 883 - Targeting Child Predators Act of 2017 (Sponsored by Rep. Ron DeSantis / Judiciary Committee)

5)
H.R. 695 - Child Protection Improvements Act of 2017 (Sponsored by Rep. Adam Schiff / Judiciary Committee)

6)
H.R. 1625 - TARGET Act (Sponsored by Rep. Ed Royce / Foreign Affairs Committee)

 

TUESDAY, MAY 23RD
On Tuesday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for morning hour and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business.

Legislation Considered Under Suspension of the Rules:

1) H.R. 1809 - Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2017 (Sponsored by Rep. Jason Lewis / Education and the Workforce Committee)


2)
H.R. 1808 - Improving Support for Missing and Exploited Children Act of 2017 (Sponsored by Rep. Brett Guthrie / Education and the Workforce Committee)

3)
H.R. 2052 - PRIVATE Act (Sponsored by Rep. Martha McSally / Armed Services Committee)

4)
H.R. 467 - VA Scheduling Accountability Act (Sponsored by Rep. Jackie Walorski / Veterans Affairs Committee)

5)
H.R. 1005 - To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the provision of adult day health care services for veterans (Sponsored by Rep. Lee Zeldin / Veterans Affairs Committee)

6)
H.R. 1162 - No Hero Left Untreated Act (Sponsored by Rep. Steve Knight / Veterans Affairs Committee)

7)
H.R. 1329 - Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2017 (Sponsored by Rep. Mike Bost / Veterans Affairs Committee)

8)
H.R. 2288 - Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Mike Bost / Veterans Affairs Committee)

9)
H.R. 1545 - VA Prescription Data Accountability Act (Sponsored by Rep. Ann Kuster / Veterans Affairs Committee)

10)
H.R. 1725 - Quicker Veterans Benefits Delivery Act of 2017, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Tim Walz / Veterans Affairs Committee)

11)
H.R. 1370 - Department of Homeland Security Blue Campaign Authorization Act of 2017, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Michael McCaul / Homeland Security Committee)

12)
H.R. 2473 - Put Trafficking Victims First Act of 2017, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Ann Wagner / Judiciary Committee)

 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 24TH
On Wednesday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for morning hour and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business.

Legislation Considered Under Suspension of the Rules:

1) H.R. 624 - Social Security Fraud Prevention Act of 2017, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. David Valadao / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

2)
H.R. 1293 - To amend title 5, United States Code, to require that the Office of Personnel Management submit an annual report to Congress relating to the use of official time by Federal employees (Sponsored by Rep. Dennis Ross / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

H.R. 953 - Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2017, Rules Committee Print (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Bob Gibbs / Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)

 

THURSDAY, MAY 25TH
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. 1973 - Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse Act of 2017, Rules Committee Print (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Susan Brooks / Judiciary Committee)

H.R. 1761 - Protecting Against Child Exploitation Act of 2017, Rules Committee Print (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Mike Johnson / Judiciary Committee)


FRIDAY, MAY 26TH
On Friday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. in pro forma session. No votes are expected in the House.


In the News

Spending bill includes big appropriations for INL

 By BRYAN CLARK, Post Register, May 8, 2017

Secretary of Energy Rick Perry is touring INL today and Tuesday to receive briefings and address INL employees.


His visit comes on the heels of President Donald Trump signing into law last week a $1.2 trillion spending package, averting a government shutdown for a few months.

The spending package will keep the government operating through September, when another stop-gap spending bill will be needed if another in a string of always-impending shutdowns is to be avoided.

The package includes some important spending items for eastern Idaho, especially several items related to funding programs at Idaho National Laboratory.

INL officials said they couldn’t comment on the spending package and U.S. Department of Energy officials did not return calls Monday seeking comment.

Rep. Mike Simpson was the only member of Idaho’s congressional delegation to support the measure.

“Through this agreement, Congress has fulfilled its duty of keeping our government open, and while no one got everything they wanted in the final package, we have paved the way back to regular order in the weeks and months to come,” Simpson said in a news release.

Rep. Raúl Labrador, Sen. Mike Crapo and Sen. Jim Risch opposed the measure, each saying the bill doesn’t do enough to address the federal debt.

“I could not in good conscience vote for an overall increase in spending,” Risch said in a statement.

Labrador said in a news release that he also opposed the measure because it didn’t include enough spending on a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The budget shows major shifts from the DOE’s requested budget, which was drawn up under the Obama administration, according to a budget analysis by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Specifically, the budget refuses to make big proposed cuts in research and development funding in fossil fuels research while keeping flat the budget for renewable energies research, which was proposed to see a big increase.

Total research and development funding for nuclear energy was funded to the tune of $835 million, down from an estimated $877 million in 2017.

Simpson pointed to several key appropriations for INL:

• $382 million for the Idaho Cleanup Project and the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project.

• $238 million for infrastructure maintenance and improvement at INL.

• $129 million for INL’s Safeguards and Security Program.

• $115 million for the Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies program.

• $95 million for small modular reactor licensing support.


The package also includes other key spending items for Idaho. The Payment in Lieu of Taxes program, or PILT, has been fully funded. That program pays counties with large amounts of federal land to make up for lost tax revenue from federal lands.

Congress set aside $81 million for the National Park Service to clear a maintenance backlog.

Among the policy riders attached to the bill is one blocking any consideration of listing the Greater Sage Grouse as an endangered species. Another, Simpson noted, would give the Trump administration “flexibility” to rewrite the “Waters of the United States” rule. That rule has seen pushback from agricultural and industrial interests because it would allow the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate pollution in some waters currently exempt from the Clean Water Act.

Simpson said he hopes with the bill’s passage Congress can return to a normal budget-writing process, rather than scrambling to hammer out regular stop-gap spending bills as has been common over the last several years.


MEDIA CENTER


Simpson meets with YouthBuild staff and participants in Twin Falls 

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