Recently in Washington

Last week the House passed H.R. 1363, legislation enacted to provide funding for the military and Department of Defense for the duration of the fiscal year, cut government spending by $2 billion over six days, and prevent a government shutdown while Congress passes a long-term continuing resolution that includes an historic $38.5 billion in cuts for the remainder of the fiscal year.

The House also passed H.R. 910, the Energy Tax Prevention Act, which prevents the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, as well as H.J.Res. 37, a resolution disapproving the net neutrality rule submitted by the FCC, which would increase regulation of the Internet.  Congressman Simpson supported both H.R. 910 and H.J.Res. 37.

Simpson Lauds Bill to Limit EPA Authority
Chairman of the appropriation subcommittee over EPA cosponsors, supports bill to prevent EPA from expanding greenhouse gas regulations
Congressman Mike Simpson praised House passage of legislation to limit the EPA’s regulatory authority.  H.R. 910, the Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011, clarifies that EPA does not have authority to regulate greenhouses gases under the Clean Air Act.  Simpson, who chairs the House Interior and the Environment Appropriation Subcommittee that oversees EPA’s budget, is a cosponsor of the bill.

“To me, it is pretty clear the Obama Administration’s climate change regulations circumvent the legislative process and take the decision about how to address our nation’s energy future out of the hands of the American people,” said Simpson.  “The Administration is basically trying to use the EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act to force Congress to pass cap and trade legislation that is widely opposed by the American people, all without regard for the impact that it would have on our still-fragile economy. “

H.R. 910 responds to the EPA’s decision that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare and subsequent regulations put out by the agency to regulate greenhouses gas emissions from stationary sources.  The bill includes a number of exemptions to ensure that existing vehicle emission standards and other programs continue to operate, but it prevents the EPA from imposing regulations that would constitute a significant energy tax on American families and businesses.

“Businesses in Idaho have made it clear that they cannot afford to invest in job creation with burdensome, expensive regulations hanging in the balance,” said Simpson.  “It is imperative that Congress clarifies that the Clean Air Act is not the appropriate statute under which to regulate climate change to provide the certainty that job creators need to get our economy going again.  This is why I included language in H.R. 1 to prevent EPA from using funding to implement greenhouse gas regulations and why I am a cosponsor of H.R. 910.”

H.R. 910 was passed by the House of Representatives last week by a 255-172 vote.

Simpson Supports Troops, Reining in Spending
Votes for one-week CR to providing military funding and cut spending by $12 billion
Congressman Mike Simpson last week voted to cut federal spending by $12 billion in one week, ensure that troops in harm’s way continue to get paid, and prevent an unnecessary government shutdown.  The House of Representatives voted 247-181 for H.R. 1363, legislation to provide funding for the military for the remainder of the fiscal year and save taxpayers $12 billion while final negotiations continue on a long-term bill funding government operations for the rest of the fiscal year.

“My colleague from across the aisle says that this is an ideological position on which Republicans will not yield, and he is right—our ideological position is that this country is in a fiscal crisis, and we have got to get this house back in order,” said Simpson from the House floor.  “If that’s the position for which we’re being criticized, I welcome that criticism.”

“No one wants a government shut down, and there’s no reason for one.  The smart thing to do would be to pass this one-week CR that saves taxpayers $12 billion in a single week and meets the dual goals of addressing the fiscal crisis that we’re in and averting a government shutdown,” Simpson continued.  “It also funds our troops for the rest of the fiscal year, and it enables our congressional leaders and the White House to dot the i’s and cross the t’s on the final spending bill for FY11 so that we can clean up this mess and move on to the real budget battle in FY12.  That would be the smart thing to do.”

H.R. 1363 provides $151.76 billion in funding for the Department of Defense through the remainder of the fiscal year, which constitutes a 1.4% increase over current levels and is equal to the funding provided to DOD in H.R. 1.  The bill reduces discretionary funding for non-Defense programs by $13.1 billion.  It also includes language preventing Guantanamo Bay detainees from being transferred into the U.S., as well as language prohibiting federal and local funding to be used to provide abortions in the District of Columbia.

“Congress has the constitutional responsibility to fund government operations.  Failing to do so is not a smart political strategy, it is a failure of leadership,” said Simpson.  “This is why I am frustrated and disappointed that Senator Harry Reid has refused to pass a long-term continuing resolution in the Senate and negotiate in good faith with the House.  The only way to interpret his refusal to get serious about finishing the budget is that he wants to shut the government down.  The American people elected us to lead and to make the hard decisions needed to get our budget on track, but Senator Reid has made it clear that he is not interested in being a leader.”

On Friday night, H.R. 1363 was amended by the U.S. Senate in order to prevent a government shutdown, and the House, the Senate, and the White House agreed to an historic $38.5 billion cut over the next six months.

Simpson Joins Budget Committee in Passing FY2012 Budget
House Budget Committee advances Path to Prosperity, cuts federal budget by $6.2 trillion over ten years
Congressman Mike Simpson, a member of the House Budget Committee, joined his Chairman Paul Ryan in passing the Fiscal Year 2012 budget resolution out of committee last week.  The committee worked all day Wednesday and into the night crafting and debating portions of the budget, which was unveiled Tuesday, and cuts $6.2 trillion over its ten year window.

“This really is an extraordinary accomplishment in budgeting,” said Simpson. “It is a crucial first step in the process of reforming our entitlements and ending our debt crisis because it provides a plan by which Congress can stabilize our long term budget outlook and end the practice of run-away spending in Washington”

The budget resolution, known as the Path to Prosperity, not only reduces yearly spending to below 2008 levels, but it reforms Medicare and Medicaid without affecting the benefits of those in or near retirement, forces bipartisan discussions on securing the future of the Social Security system, reforms the tax code, repeals Obama’s health care law and reforms and privatizes Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  These reforms create enormous savings.

“The House Budget Committee has passed a Resolution that tackles the problem head on. This has not been the case in recent years; in fact, last year, the Democratic Majority did not even propose a budget, let alone pass one.  Republicans have committed themselves to taking the difficult, sometimes unpopular steps needed to fix the real problems our country faces. I am proud to be a part of this endeavor.”

Specifically the House Budget:
• Cuts spending by $6.2 trillion over the next decade compared to Obama’s budget request;
• Cuts $179 billion next year below Obama’s requested level;
• Reduces non-security discretionary spending to below 2008 levels;
• Balances the federal budget over the long term and puts the government on track to pay off the national debt;
• Eliminates the $800 billion tax increase in Obama’s health care law and rejects the President’s $1.5 trillion tax increase proposed in his FY12 Budget request;
• Simplifies the tax code for individuals, families and businesses by capping rates and incentivizing growth, savings and investment;
• Spurs economic growth which will create 1 million new private-sector jobs next year;
• Reforms and repairs our broken Medicare and Medicaid systems by providing flexibility to states and giving individuals the opportunity to choose the plan they want while not effecting the current benefits of anyone over age 55;
• Repeals Obama’s Health Care law and reforms and privatizes Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Read the entire Republican Path to Prosperity, or visit the House Budget Committee’s website to get more information. You may also watch Chairman Ryan explain the proposal in this video.

Committee Action

**Native American public witness hearings originally scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday will be rescheduled due to floor action on the FY2011 budget.**

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13TH
At 10:30 a.m., the House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee will hold a hearing on duplication in Department of Education programs.

THURSDAY, APRIL 14TH
At 9:30 a.m., Chairman Simpson will hold a hearing of the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee where public witnesses are invited to testify.

At 10:00 a.m., the House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee will hold a hearing to examine Department of Labor enforcement programs.

FRIDAY, APRIL 15TH
At 9:30 a.m., the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee public witness hearing will continue.

At 10:00 a.m., the House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee will hold a hearing to examine for rural and tribal education programs.

Floor Schedule

MONDAY, APRIL 11TH
On Monday, the House will meet at 11:00 p.m. in pro forma session.

TUESDAY, APRIL 12TH
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. 1308 - To amend the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission Act to extend the termination date for the Commission, and for other purposes (Sponsored by Rep. Elton Gallegly / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

2) S. 307 - To designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at 217 West King Street, Martinsburg, West Virginia, as the "W. Craig Broadwater Federal Building and United States Courthouse (Sponsored by Sen. Jay Rockefeller / Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13TH
On Wednesday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for morning hour and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business.

H.R. 1217 - To repeal the Prevention and Public Health Fund (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Joe Pitts / Energy and Commerce Committee)

H.R. __ - Making Further Continuing Appropriations for the Department Of Defense and Other Agencies (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Hal Rogers / Appropriations Committee)

THURSDAY, APRIL 14TH
On Thursday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for morning hour and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business.

Begin Consideration of H.Con.Res. __ - Establishing the budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2012 and setting forth appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2013 through 2021 (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Paul Ryan / Budget Committee)

FRIDAY, APRIL 15TH
On Friday, the House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business. Last votes for the week are expected no later than 3:00 p.m.

Complete Consideration of H.Con.Res. __ - Establishing the budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2012 and setting forth appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2013 through 2021 (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Paul Ryan / Budget Committee)

In the News

New federal budget deal includes provision to delist wolves
Provision to delist wolves comes as judge rejects a settlement that would have done the same thing.
By Rocky Barker, April 10, 2011, Copyright: © 2011 Idaho Statesman

WASHINGTON — Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson got his rider delisting wolves in Idaho and Montana into the budget bill that prevented the government shutdown Friday.
And it came just in time.

On Saturday, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy of Missoula rejected a settlement between 10 environmental groups and the Obama administration that would have removed wolves from the endangered-species list and allowed Idaho and Montana to resume state management of wolf populations — which included hunting seasons.

“Molloy’s ruling demonstrates why Congressman Simpson’s language is so necessary to address this issue for the West,” said Nikki Watts, Simpson’s press secretary.

Simpson, chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and the Environment, had included the wolf provision in the original House budget resolution that ended up being negotiated in the long talks between the House and the Senate that ended Friday.

Simpson’s original wolf provision would reinstate the 2009 decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to delist the gray wolf in Idaho and Montana. But the new language — and the final budget resolution bill — won’t be finished until later this week.

Molloy’s 24-page decision Saturday said he did not have authority to return wolves to Idaho and Montana state management in part because all 13 groups that sued did not agree to the settlement.
The developments threw environmentalists for a loop. They had supported the settlement to relieve the pressure from angry hunters and state officials who say the Rocky Mountain wolf population is recovered. They didn’t want to set a precedent of having Congress remove wolves from the protection of the federal Endangered Species Act.

“Congressional leaders should put this forth as a stand-alone bill if they want to undercut one of the foundations of American environmental law, rather than sneaking it through the back door,” said Andrew Wexler, Director of Natural Resource Defense Council’s Wildlife Conservation Program.

The proposed settlement had effectively asked Molloy to reverse his previous rulings. Last August he faulted the Fish and Wildlife Service for a 2009 decision that took wolves off the endangered list in Montana and Idaho but not neighboring Wyoming. He also said decisions on the Endangered Species Act should be based on science and not on political boundaries, such as state lines.

The federal government appealed that decision, leading to the proposed settlement agreement that has now been rejected.

“I can’t blame Molloy for the ruling,” said Kieran Suckling of the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the 10 conservation groups favoring the settlement. “It’s a very tortuous situation. We entered into a settlement agreement we didn’t love but thought it was the lesser of two evils.”

Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester had supported language similar to Simpson’s, and his support helped it stay in the final budget deal.

“This wolf fix isn’t about one party’s agenda,” Tester said. “It’s about what’s right for Montana and the West — which is why I’ve been working so hard to get this solution passed, and why it has support from all sides.”