Recently in Washington

The week of October 5^th, the House passed H.R. 3192, the Homebuyer’s Assistance Act, by a vote of 303-121.  The bill H.R. 3192 provides a temporary legal safe harbor, from enforcement of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule requiring certain integrated disclosure requirements for mortgage loan transactions.  The House also passed H.Res. 461, Establishing a Select Investigative Panel of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, by a vote of 242-184.  H.Res. 461 establishes a Select Investigative Panel of the Committee on Energy and Commerce to investigate Planned Parenthood.  The House also passed H.R. 538, the Native American Energy Act of 254-173.  H.R. 538 would facilitate the development of energy on Indian lands by reducing federal regulations that impede such development.  Finally, the House passed H.R. 702 by a vote of 261-159, which prohibits any federal official from imposing or enforcing any restriction on the export of crude oil. Congressman Simpson supported all four bills.

Simpson Continues Gaining Support for Wildfire Fix

Study finds Wildfire Disaster Funding Act the most bipartisan and broadly supported natural resource bill before Congress

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson continues to push for a broadly supported legislative fix to the broken wildfire suppression budget.  Simpson’s Wildfire Disaster Funding Act, H.R. 167, is cosponsored by nearly 150 Members of Congress and supported by a coalition of over 300 organizations and would end the destructive cycle of fire borrowing and treat catastrophic wildfires like similar natural disasters.  The Center for Western Priorities recently issued a report finding that H.R. 167, the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act, is the most bipartisan and broadly supported natural resources bill currently before Congress. 

“This brutal fire season has underscored the importance of changing the way we budget for wildfire suppression,” said Simpson.  “To date nearly 9 million acres have burned, and the U.S. Forest Service has gone $700 million over budget.  Common sense says that wildfires should be treated like every other natural disaster.  That is reflected in the broad support this bill has both in Congress and from a wide range of organizations that understand the importance of this issue.”

Today the Forest Service spends over half of its budget and the majority of its time putting out fires instead of managing our nation’s public lands.  Wildfire suppression funding is based on an historical average of suppression costs over the past ten years, but because these costs have been steadily rising over the past two decades, suppression is regularly underfunded. As a result, agencies must borrow from other accounts, including timber harvest, trail maintenance, and hazardous fuels removal, in order to fight fires.  The Simpson bill ends the practice of fire borrowing and budgets for catastrophic wildfires similarly to hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters.

“Fire borrowing undercuts all our efforts to implement good land management policies, undermines the Forest Service’s ability to collaborate with states, local communities, and interested parties, and chips away at efforts to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfires,” said Simpson.  “When you think about the fact that the Forest Service has had to transfer around $700 million from other accounts during this fire year, you can see how it impacts the agency’s ability to carry out its mission.  This is why the status quo is not acceptable.  And this is why such a large coalition of Members of Congress, state and federal agencies, and interest groups are supporting my legislation to fix our broken wildfire suppression budget.”

Ex-Im Bank levels the playing field, supports job growth, and helps reduce the national debt

By Congressman Simpson

Idaho’s economy, both urban and rural, is inextricably tied to our ability to export the products and commodities we produce.  Whether it be by our high tech industry, which is the largest Idaho export to the world, or our agricultural products, which help support thousands of jobs. 

I strongly believe that Idaho’s farmers and businesses can compete and win on a level playing field and this is where the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank plays an important role.  The Ex-Im Bank is the official export credit agency of the U.S., with a mission to finance and promote exports of U.S. manufactured goods and services.  More than 80% of trade worldwide requires financing, and most countries that we trade with have established export credit agencies, which often support their companies much more generously than the Bank has ever done.  China alone has provided its exporters with at least $670 billion in export financing over the last two years.  To put that in context, the Ex-Im Bank has provided about $590 billion in financing since its inception—81 years ago. 

Why would we want to put American companies at a disadvantage against their Chinese competitors?  That is exactly what we have done since July 1st, when the charter of the Ex-Im bank expired.  Since then, the U.S. has not been able to finance exports, leaving American companies to lose out on business to other countries.  With 95% of the world’s consumers living outside the U.S., now is not the time to surrender this important job growing tool.

According to the Nuclear Energy Institute, U.S. nuclear energy suppliers compete against international rivals that are supported by their governments, and the availability of export credit agency support is almost always a bidding requirement for nuclear power plant tenders.  Numerous American businesses have said that allowing the Ex-Im Bank to expire would be tantamount to unilateral trade disarmament, conceding billions of dollars in orders to other nations that maintain their own export credit agencies. 

For 70 years, the Ex-Im Bank has been reauthorized without issue.  In fact, since I have been in Congress the Bank has been brought up for reauthorization 25 times and has passed with overwhelming support, including mine, each time.  However, many are now arguing that the Bank serves as “corporate welfare.” They claim it puts taxpayers at risk, and only benefits big businesses. 

This cannot be further from the truth.  Last year, fees and interest collected by the Bank brought in a total $675 million to the U.S. Treasury.  The Bank itself has credit assessment procedures that are more rigorous than commercial banks and, as of March 2015, a historical default rate of below 1%.

Large companies do use the Ex-Im Bank to finance exports and make up 40% of the Bank’s balance sheet.  However, 90% of the service products provided by the Ex-Im Bank are made to support small businesses.  From 2009-2014, the Bank has supported $169 million in exports from Idaho, with 71% of support going to small businesses. 

The economic growth of our state depends on the ability of our high tech and manufacturing sectors to ship their products globally, and I will not support threatening the competitiveness of these American companies by dismantling the Ex-Im Bank.  Not only does the Bank level the playing field, but it also supports job growth, capital investment and helps reduce the national debt.  It is a win-win for Idaho.

Floor Schedule

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

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20TH
On Tuesday, 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. 1428 - Judicial Redress Act of 2015 (Sponsored by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner / Judiciary Committee)

2) H.R. 3572 - DHS Headquarters Reform and Improvement Act of 2015, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Michael McCaul / Homeland Security Committee)

3) H.R. 3350 - Know the CBRN Terrorism Threats to Transportation Act (Sponsored by Rep. Brian Higgins / Homeland Security Committee)

4) H.R. 3493 - Securing the Cities Act of 2015, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Dan Donovan / Homeland Security Committee)

5) H.R. 1315 - To amend section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, to require that annual budget submissions of the President to Congress provide an estimate of the cost per taxpayer of the deficit, and for other purposes (Sponsored by Rep. Luke Messer / Budget Committee)

6) H. Res. 348 - Supporting the right of the people of Ukraine to freely elect their government and determine their future, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. David Cicilline / Foreign Affairs Committee)

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21ST
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) S. 1362 - To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to clarify waiver authority regarding programs of all-inclusive care for the elderly (PACE programs) (Sponsored by Sen. Tom Carper / Ways and Means Committee)

H.R. 692 - Default Prevention Act (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Tom McClintock / Ways and Means Committee)

H.R. 10 - SOAR Reauthorization Act (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. John Boehner / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22ND AND THE BALANCE OF THE WEEK
On Thursday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for morning hour and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business.

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

H.R. 1937 - National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2015 (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Mark Amodei / Natural Resources Committee)

H.R. ___ - Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Tom Price / Budget Committee / Ways and Means Committee / Energy and Commerce Committee / Education and the Workforce Committee)

**Additional Legislative Items are Possible**

In the News

Support grows for classifying wildfires as natural disasters

Idaho Statesman, Posted on October 9, 2015 

A brutal U.S. fire season has helped build support in Congress to classify catastrophic wildfires as natural disasters like hurricanes or earthquakes, opening new sources of funding to pay for putting them out.

Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson said his bill is now co-sponsored by nearly 150 House members and has the support of more than 300 outside organizations, including cities, outdoors and conservation groups.

Agencies like the U.S. Forest Service currently borrow from non-fire accounts when fire suppression costs go overbudget. The practice has become commonplace as fire seasons have lengthened and worsened, affecting other agency activities such as hazardous fuels removal or timber harvesting.

More than 11 million acres have burned this year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The Forest Service has gone $700 million over budget on fire fighting, Simpson said.

“Common sense says that wildfires should be treated like every other natural disaster,” he said.