Recently in Washington

Recently, the House passed H.R. 897, the Zika Vector Control Act, by a vote of 258-156. This legislation clarifies Congressional intent regarding regulation of the use of pesticides for control of exotic diseases, such as the Zika virus and West Nile virus, as well as for other lawful uses in or near navigable waters.  The House also passed H.R. 5233, the Clarifying Congressional Intent in Providing for DC Home Rule Act of 2016, by a vote of 240-179. This legislation repeals the Local Budget Autonomy Act of 2012 passed by the District of Columbia, and amended the Home Rule Act to declare that nothing included in the Act shall be construed as authorizing the District of Columbia to make any change in law, regulation, or basic procedure and practice relating to the respective roles of Congress, the President, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Government Accountability Office.

The House also passed the House Amendment to S. 2012, the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2016, by a vote of 241-178. This legislation amends current law and authorizes activities, to be administered primarily by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of the Interior (DOI), in an effort to advance energy infrastructure development, modernization, and protection; enhance domestic energy security; and promote energy efficiency and government accountability. The bill combined 37 House-passed bills, with modifications, into the House amendment.  The House voted down H.R. 5055, the Energy and Water Appropriations Act of 2017, by a vote of 112-305. This bill would have provided funding for national defense nuclear weapons activities, the Army Corps of Engineers, various programs under the Department of Energy, and other related agencies. The legislation provided for $37.44 billion in discretionary funding for fiscal year (FY) 2017.  Congressman Simpson voted in favor of all four bills.

Great Achievements by INL Cleanup Operations

By Congressman Mike Simpson

“This week, nuclear waste cleanup operations at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory site transitioned to a new federal contractor. I want to express my gratitude to CH2M-Washington Group and BWX Technologies for their years of service, dedication, and commitment to environmental stewardship at the Idaho site.

“By all accounts, the job of cleaning up decades-old toxic materials – much of it left over from the World War II Manhattan Project – is a difficult task. Yet contrary to popular belief, Idaho’s cleanup contractors have made remarkable progress. 

“Guided by strong and determined leaders, the employees working for CH2M-Washington Group have safely dispositioned 3,186 nuclear fuel units, completed 364 shipments of remote-handled transuranic waste, and exhumed enough targeted buried waste to fill 27,000 55-gallon barrels. In total, they have met 99.8 percent of the more than 700 regulatory milestones they were contracted to complete.

“Similarly, BWX Technologies’ workforce has shipped 57,000 cubic meters of above-ground waste out of the state of Idaho, with another 8,000 cubic meters scheduled to be retrieved by the end of this year. These waste shipments will be added to the nearly 800 shipments of waste that are certified and ready to be shipped to New Mexico’s Waste Isolation Pilot Project facility. During BWX Technologies’ tenure in Idaho, waste shipments from Idaho to New Mexico’s repository have accounted for nearly 50 percent of the nation’s waste shipments. 

“While continued challenges exist in cleaning up the Idaho site, including the startup of the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit and transferring additional waste to New Mexico’s repository, I’m confident Fluor-Idaho, the new cleanup contractor, is up to the job. I look forward to working closely with them and the Department of Energy to ensure they have the resources necessary to ship the remaining waste out of the state.     

“Whether we measure success by the cubic meters of buried or above-ground nuclear waste removed from the desert, the task of transferring spent nuclear fuel from wet to dry storage, the operation of complex and unique machinery, or the demolishing of dozens of aging buildings, it’s clearly evident the leadership and employees at CH2M-Washington Group and BWX Technologies have made real, tangible progress in cleaning up the legacy of nuclear waste in Idaho. I am astonished at the progress that I have personally witnessed in the amount of waste removed from the site in the last several years.  Today, I can say with confidence that the State of Idaho is better because of their commitment and service.”

Calling All STEP Challenge Participants!

The first Mile Tracker Board will be updated on Tuesday, June 14^th. That means you must post the TOTAL miles you have walked since June 1^st, by June 13th. For example, John Smith posted the 10 miles he walked on June 3^rd, on Congressman Simpson’s website, but he walked another 30 miles by June 13^th,  so he posted 40 miles. Please round your miles to the nearest whole mile.

Use this link to visit the Mile Tracker Board for individuals: https://simpson.house.gov/forms/form/?ID=1338 

Use this link to visit the Mile Tracker Board for teams: https://simpson.house.gov/forms/form/?ID=1339

If you have questions about the rules review this link: https://simpson.house.gov/district/step-challenge-rules-and-information.htm

Or email SimpsonSteps@mail.house.gov

If you are on social media remember to use the hashtag #hikewithMike when you are out getting steps!

 Committee Schedule

Thursday

At 10:00 a.m., the House Appropriations Committee will markup the FY17 Financial Services and General Government and Related Agencies Appropriations bill. 

Floor Schedule

TUESDAY JUNE 7TH
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. 5338 - Checkpoint Optimization and Efficiency Act of 2016 (Sponsored by Rep. John Katko / Homeland Security Committee)

2) H.R. 5273 - Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act of 2016, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Pat Tiberi / Ways and Means Committee)

3) H.Con.Res. 129 - Expressing support for the goal of ensuring that all Holocaust victims live with dignity, comfort, and security in their remaining years, and urging the Federal Republic of Germany to reaffirm its commitment to this goal through a financial commitment to comprehensively address the unique health and welfare needs of vulnerable Holocaust victims, including home care and other medically prescribed needs, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen / Foreign Affairs Committee)

4) H.R. 4906 - To amend title 5, United States Code, to clarify the eligibility of employees of a land management agency in a time-limited appointment to compete for a permanent appointment at any Federal agency, and for other purposes. (Sponsored by Rep. Gerry Connolly / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

5) H.R. 4904 - MEGABYTE Act of 2016 (Sponsored by Rep. Matt Cartwright / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

6) H.R. 1815 - Eastern Nevada Land Implementation Improvement Act (Sponsored by Rep. Cresent Hardy / Natural Resources Committee)

7) H.R. 87 - Shiloh National Military Park Boundary Adjustment and Parker’s Crossroads Battlefield Designation Act (Sponsored by Rep. Marsha Blackburn / Natural Resources Committee)

8) H.R. 2733 - Nevada Native Nations Land Act (Sponsored by Rep. Mark Amodei / Natural Resources Committee)

9) H.R. 3070 - EEZ Transit Zone Clarification and Access Act (Sponsored by Rep. Lee Zeldin / Natural Resources Committee)

10) H.R. 3826 - Mount Hood Cooper Spur Land Exchange Clarification Act (Sponsored by Rep. Greg Walden / Natural Resources Committee)

11) H.R. 2009 - Pascua Yaqui Tribe Land Conveyance Act, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Raúl Grijalva / Natural Resources Committee)

WEDNESDAY JUNE 8TH
On Wednesday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for legislative business and recess immediately. The House will reconvene at approximately 10:45 a.m. for a Joint Meeting of Congress to receive His Excellency Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India. 

Legislation Considered Under Suspension of the Rules:

1) House Amendment to S. 2276 - PIPES Act of 2016, as amended (Sponsored by Sen. Deb Fischer / Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)

H.R. 4775 - Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2016 (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Pete Olson / Energy and Commerce Committee)

THURSDAY JUNE 9TH 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.

H.R. 5325 - Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2017 (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Tom Graves / Appropriations Committee)

H.R. 5278 - Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), Rules Committee Print (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Sean Duffy / Natural Resources Committee)

H.Con.Res. 89 - Expressing the sense of Congress that a carbon tax would be detrimental to the United States economy. (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Steve Scalise / Ways and Means Committee)

H.Con.Res. 112 - Expressing the sense of Congress opposing the President’s proposed $10 tax on every barrel of oil. (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Charles Boustany / Ways and Means Committee)

In the News

Mike Simpson’s fitness push: a weighty issue meets a lofty goal

BY ROBERT EHLERT, IDAHO STATESMAN: MAY 24, 2016 3:06 PM

The first time Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, visited with our Editorial Board in 2015 I had begun to notice something was either out of place or, ah, missing?

I knew I hadn’t seem much of Simpson since his re-election victory in 2014. But on this day, when we had arranged to discuss the status of his Boulder White-Clouds legislation, I started playing closer attention.

Suddenly it dawned on me that, yes, I had been seeing less and less of Simpson, literally. He had obviously lost weight. And he seemed reticent to reach into the candy dish that had become a temptation that we planted in front of him.

Though we on the Ed Board are hit and miss about putting out that dish for guests, we took some perverse pleasure observing the interaction between a trained dentist like Simpson and leftover fun-size Halloween treats with questionable expiration dates. So, when the nine-term Congressman was scheduled to come in — well, we were ready for him.

On this day, though, Simpson was not only restrained, he addressed the diminishing elephant in the room. He talked “on the record” about shedding a few pounds (about 25 at the time). He explained he’d been wearing an activity tracker since Congress reconvened in 2015, and he was making progress walking all over the U.S. Capitol, to and from his Rayburn House Office Building and to other destinations in Washington, D.C.

I was motivated to get one of those trackers, a Fitbit, myself not long after. But I have to tell you, I have yet to see the results Simpson has: down nearly 70 pounds and counting. Kudos to him for losing a couple spare tires off his girth and cheating all those middle-age maladies — not only that, but sharing his experience and using it to motivate others.

How an Idaho congressman lost 68 pounds

Republican Rep. Mike Simpson has cut his weight from 275 pounds to 207 pounds in the past 17 months, by exercising more and eating less. He's been tracking his steps on Fitbit since November 2014.

My problem, I think, is that I have been looking at the digital readout on the device with guilt instead of a goal — and Simpson has thrown down such a challenge: the Idaho STEP Challenge, a (I love this) “non-partisan, non-political interactive event open to the public.”

Stopping short of just coming out and saying we should “Be like Mike” — and some of us should — Simpson is inviting us to walk the virtual 3,000 miles between Washington D.C. and Boise over the next 14 months, beginning June 1. According to my rough calculations by crunching some Fitbit data, that amounts to 6,648,000 steps.

OK. What have I got to lose? I’m in — with a couple of exceptions. Congressman, I looked at the map of the virtual route you are taking from D. C. to the City of Trees, and there is no way I’m passing anywhere near Philadelphia and/or Cleveland in July — especially not during the Republican and Democrat conventions.

Not happening. My virtual path is going to go due west and join up with the Appalachian Trail, then jog over to Route 66 and then up toward Colorado, and then zig-zag my way across some Fourteeners, and then through Park City, Utah, and on back to Boise.

Simpson says he wants to continue to lose weight, and I wish him well. But to apply one of his oft-used appropriations/budget-cutting quotes to weight loss: “once you have cut through all that discretionary spending, the only thing left are the entitlements.”

The easy stuff is over, Congressman. May the best man lose.

HOW DID HE DO IT?

Rep. Simpson lost nearly 70 pounds by eating smaller portions and walking regularly.

Breakfast: Chobani Greek yogurt.

Snacks: Bananas, nuts and Clif Bars.

Meals: Simpson still eats food he enjoys, just less of it.

Favorite recipe: Oven-roasted asparagus

Workout routine: This varies greatly based on his schedule. When in D.C., Simpson works out on his treadmill doing interval training at various times, most often late at night. Home in Idaho, he gets up early and walks in his neighborhood or hits the treadmill.