Podcasts about outer continental shelf

They say the wind is driving the whales crazy. BONUS EPISODES available on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/deniersplaybook) SOCIALS & MORE (https://linktr.ee/deniersplaybook) WANT TO ADVERTISE WITH US? Please contact climatetownsponsorships@gmail.comDISCLAIMER: Some media clips have been edited for length and clarity. CREDITS Created by: Rollie Williams, Nicole Conlan & Ben BoultHosts: Rollie Williams & Nicole ConlanExecutive Producer: Ben Boult Editors: Ben Boult & Laura ConteProducers: Irene Plagianos, Daniella PhilipsonAssociate Producer: Miranda Manganaro Archival Producer: Margaux SaxAdditional Research and Fact Checking: Carly Rizzuto & Canute HaroldsonMusic: Tony Domenick Art: Jordan Doll Special Thanks: The Civil Liberties Defense CenterSOURCESAnderson, D. (2023, October 23). Fossil fuel money lurks behind anti-offshore wind power political ads in New Jersey. Energy and Policy Institute. Anderson, D. (2024). Fueling the Opposition. Energy and Policy Institute. Axelrod, J. (2024, June 26). Whales Are Dying but Not from Offshore Wind. Scientific American.BGNews. (2023, May 3). JFarage: The Trump Interview | Wednesday 3rd May. YouTube. Berger, I. (2025, February 4). Years of falsehoods from Fox News helped solidify offshore wind as a prime target for Trump. Media Matters for America. Berke, B. (2025, January 22). Prysmian abandons plans for offshore wind cable factory in Somerset. The Public's Radio; Rhode Island PBS. Chapman, M. (2025, January 8). Are Offshore Wind Farms Actually Harming Whales? IFLScience. Choma, R. (2020, August 4). The biggest Trump financial mystery? Where he came up with the cash for his Scottish resorts. Mother Jones. Daly, M. (2018, November 30). Trump admin approves seismic surveys for Atlantic drilling. AP News. Farrell, R. (2024, December 11). Too hot for humpbacks: The race to protect Pacific whales. BBC. Fox News. (2023, February 1). Tucker examines what's behind the deaths of humpback whales. YouTube. Fox Business. (2023, February 23). Are wind turbines killing whales? YouTubeFrequent Questions—Offshore Wind and Whales. (2024, March 14). NOAA Fisheries. Griffiths, B. (2016, November 22). Trump tweeted about Scottish wind farm 60 times. POLITICO. Hardach, S. (2025, January 30). Which is worse for wildlife, wind farms or oil drilling? BBC. Lewis, A. S. (2023, March 8). The East Coast Whale Die-Offs: Unraveling the Causes. Yale E360; Yale School of the Environment. Lutz, M., & Rowland-Shea, J. (2023, December 11). The Oil and Gas Industry Is Behind Offshore Wind Misinformation. Center for American Progress. Machette, T. L., & Lemonick, M. D. (2020, October 4). When Whales Stop Calling. Scientific American. Mathis, W., & Ferman, M. (2025, January 30). Shell Takes $1 Billion Hit on Wind Farm Trump Wants ‘Dead.' Bloomberg. PowerfulJRE. (2024, October 25). Joe Rogan Experience #2219 - Donald Trump. YouTube. Roadmap and Implementation. (2017). Ocean Noise Strategy; NOAA. Seismic Airgun Blasting in the Atlantic Ocean. (2021, May 21). Earthjustice. Slevin, I., Kattrup, W., & Roberts, T. (2023). Against the Wind: A Map of the Anti-Offshore Wind Network in the Eastern United States. Brown University Climate and Development Lab. Silva, M., & Horton, J. (2023, September 26). Fact-checking Donald Trump's claim that wind turbines kill whales. BBC. Spring, J. (2025, February 16). Trump's war on wind seems to be winning, experts say. The Washington Post. Stevens, A. P. (2024, May 9). Are offshore wind farms harming right whales? Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The White House. (2025, January 2). Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf from Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government's Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects. Understanding Sound in the Ocean | NOAA Fisheries. (n.d.). NOAA Fisheries. White, S. (2024, March 1). Fossil Fuel Interests and Dark Money Donors Are Behind Opposition to Offshore Wind. Conservation Law Foundation. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In Episode 481 of District of Conservation, Gabriella welcomes back André Béliveau, Senior Manager of Energy Policy at the Commonwealth Foundation, to discuss President Trump's Day One energy executive orders and how they put abundance and reliability above unreliable net-zero directive. Tune in to learn more! SHOW NOTES Follow André on X Follow his Commonwealth Foundation work UNLEASHING AMERICAN ENERGY EO DECLARING A NATIONAL ENERGY EMERGENCY Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf from Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government's Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects RGGI Is Unconstitutional, Harmful, and Useless To Achieve American Energy Dominance, Trump Must Avoid ‘All-of-the-Above' Rhetoric

Recent HLS graduate Lowry Yankwich speaks with Earthjustice attorney Chris Eaton about the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement's proposed Blowout Preventer Systems and Well Control Revisions rule for oil and gas operations in the Outer Continental Shelf. This rule is intended to protect workers and prevent oil spills, and is part of the reforms instituted since the Deepwater Horizon tragedy. Lowry and Chris discuss the arc of this rulemaking through the Obama, Trump, and Biden presidencies, and Chris explains its technical and legal aspects. You can stay updated on this rule on our BSEE Regulatory Tracker page https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/2020/05/bsee-blowout-preventer-and-well-control-rule/ Here is a transcript of this episode http://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/Transcript-76-Lowry-and-Chris.pdf

From 2017 to 2021, Scott Angelle was the director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, which regulates the operations of the energy industry on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. In this episode, Angelle talks about the enormous volumes of hydrocarbons that are produced in the Gulf of Mexico, how Louisiana is different from the rest of the United States, and why we should be producing more oil and gas here instead of asking OPEC and Russia to “give us the energy we need to fuel our country.”

On The Capitol Beach, Derek Brockbank welcomes Renee Orr from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). Renee is the Chief of the Office of Strategic Resources, and is currently serving as acting Deputy Director for BOEM. After touching on offshore energy production, the conversation shifts to sand. BOEM manages the Outer Continental Shelf sand resources which have been used to restore over 330 miles of U.S. coastline and has supplied 152 million cubic yards of sand, including the largest coastal restoration project by volume in U.S. history with Gulf Island National Seashore restoration as part of the Mississippi Coastal Improvement Program (MsCIP). How much sand was used? Just imagine a sandcastle the size of the Empire State Building. And then imagine 12 of them in a row!

This week on Versus Trump, Jason and Easha discuss a recent decision reversing President Trump's attempt to de-protect Arctic Ocean waters and permit drilling in the Great White North. They begin by discussing the legal regime governing leases and protection of waters in the Outer Continental Shelf. They then talk about how and why President Obama protected a large swath of land at the end of his Administration, and then they delve into whether President Trump may undo that. The leads into a deep discussion about whether the power to "from time to time withdraw" certain lands from leasing also includes the power to reverse a withdrawal. They end with a Trump nugget highlighting a stunning fact about the Trump Administration's recent success rate in court.You can find us at @VersusTrumpPod on twitter, or send us an email at versustrumppodcast@gmail.com. You can buy t-shirts and other goods with our super-cool logo here. NotesEarthjustice's excellent—and beautiful—feature on litigation related to protection of Alaska and its waters is here. The particular decision under review is here.The Institute for Policy Integrity's Trump litigation round-up is here. More on that study in the coming weeks! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America cheer Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke for taking steps towards allowing energy exploration and development on more than 90 percent of the Outer Continental Shelf.  They also fume at President Trump for taking a week when he could be highlighting his support of Iranian protesters, the Dow crossing 25,000 and expanding American energy production and instead ranting about nuclear button sizes and trying to order a book publisher not to release a book critical of his presidency.  And they laugh at the liberals in the media and beyond who believed an online parody - about Trump being obsessed with the "Gorilla Channel" up to 17 hours at a time - was actually in that new book.

In this episode, we look at the riders added to the must-sign 2015 budget, including favors for Wall Street, unions, agribusiness, the oil and gas industry, electric utilities, the vending machine industry, telecoms, the trucking industry, the insurance industry, and the politicians themselves. Please Support Congressional Dish: Click here to contribute with PayPal or Bitcoin; click the PayPal "Make it Monthly" checkbox to create a monthly subscription Click here to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon Mail Contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North #4576 Crestview, FL 32536 Thank you for supporting truly independent media! CRomnibus Article: CRomnibus Disaster Signals a Sad New Normal in D.C. by David Dayen. The Fiscal Times. December 2014. Article: Wall Street's Omnibus Triumph, and Others by Russ Choma, OpenSecrets Blog, December 2014. Division A Agriculture & FDA Section 741: Defunds an advisory board made up of scientists that evaluates the effectiveness of food safety inspection processes. Section 750: Prohibits funding from being used to inspect livestock slaughterhouses to make sure diseased animals are separated from animals who will be eaten and to make sure the animals are being slaughtered humanely. Section 751: States can exempt schools from the requirement to provide whole grains to students in school lunches. Section 752: No money can be used to implement a law that would require a sodium reduction in school lunches. Division B Commerce, Justice, & Science Section 202: The Department of Justice can't pay for an abortion unless the mother's life is in danger or unless she was raped. The bill acknowledges that this might be unconstitutional and if so, this provision will be "null and void". Section 501: Money can't be used for propaganda that is not authorized by Congress. Section 509: No money can be used to seek the removal of another country's tobacco marketing restrictions, "except for restrictions which are not applied equally to all tobacco or tobacco products of the same type". Article: US floats cutting tobacco from part of Pacific trade pact, Krista Hughes, Reuters, October 21, 2014. Section 516: "None of the funds made available in this Act shall be used in any whatsoever to support or justify the use of torture by any official or contract employee of the United States Government." Section 517: Fully automatic weapons may be exported to Canada without an export license if they are to be used by the US Federal Government or the government of Canada. Section 519: Prohibits new trade agreements from including language that forces countries to police the unauthorized distribution of patented pharmaceuticals, language that prevents generic versions of drugs before the patent has expired, and language that allows patent owners to prevent importation of products even if their product is available in other countries. Section 528: No money can be used to transfer Khalid Sheikh Mohammaed or any other detainee from Guantanamo Bay prison to another location in the United States. Section 530: The government should purchase Energy Star light bulbs to the extent practicable. Section 533: Prohibits government employees from denying or ignoring a permit to import shotguns. Section 538: Prevents the Department of Justice from using it's money to prevent States from implementing their medical marijuana laws. TITLE VI- Travel Promotion Enhancement and Modernization Act Passed the House in July 2014 and was discussed on CD081: The July Bills. Changes the board of directors of Brand USA – a non-profit organization that advertises U.S. tourism – from being made up of travel industry specialists to one made up of entirely of executives, with five seats reserved for people with ties to multinational corporations. It eliminates the seat for the specialist in intercity passenger rail. Extends the authorization for the government to spend $100 million per year on Brand USA through 2020. Extends the Travel Promotion Fee – a $10 fee charged to people who get a visa to travel into the United States – until 2020. Division C Defense Coming Soon Division D Energy & Water Section 107: Federal funding can't be used to enforce the mitigation regulations known as the "Modified Charleston Method." The Modified Charleston Method was implemented in May 2011 and is a formula for calculating how much wetlands need to be protected for each acre of private development. This method protects more wetlands than are protected when it is not used, generally requiring 3 acres of wetland conservation for every acre destroyed. InfoPacket: The University of New Orleans 2013 Economic Outlook & Real Estate Forecast Seminar for the Northshore One of the projects impacted is a Kinder Morgan natural gas pipeline. Kinder Morgan has given almost $80,000 to the Boehner for Speaker Committee. Article: Wetlands Mitigation Rules Get Tougher, and St. Tammany Officials Get Worried by Christine Harvey. The Times-Picayune. March 2012. Amendment added by Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana Press Release: Scalise Applauds Delay of the Modified Charleston Method in 2015 Appropriations Bill, December 2014. The vast majority of Rep. Steve Scalise's campaign funds come from PACs - 71% - but his #1 listed contributing industry is Oil and Gas; he's taken over $600,000. Section 109: Prohibits changes to the regulatory definition of "fill material" or "discharge of fill material". In 2002, the Bush administration changed the definition of "fill material" which can be dumped into waterways with a permit, to include "waste" from coal mining. This was attached by Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho to the 2014 budget. He has taken over $445,000 from electric utilities and $137,000 from mining. Section 111: Prohibits the government from requiring a permit for dumping farming and ranching "fill material" into waterways. Section 112: Deletes an EPA/ Army rule that limits the farming and ranching "fill material" that can be dumped without a permit. Section 312: The Department of Energy is not allowed to construct centrifuges for enriched uranium in 2015 and needs to do a cost-benefit analysis of options for suppling enriched uranium for war purposes and an "estimate to build a national security train". Section 313: Prohibits enforcement of energy efficient light bulb standards. According to the Department of Energy, these standards will save $17.7 billion in energy costs over the next 30 years, as well as avoid 106 million metric tons of co2 emissions. This amendment was added by Rep. Michael Burgess of Texas, whose #5 contributing industry is Electric Utilities - he's taken almost $200,000 -, although he get 69% of his money from PACs. He has added it to must-sign legislation every year since 2010. Division E Financial Services Section 114: The Treasury Department may not redesign the $1 bill. Article: One is the Loneliest Dollar Bill by Sarah Mimms. National Journal. January 2015. Article: Bush Administration Fights Currency Redesign. Associated Press. December 2006. Article: The Blind Welcome a Ruling That May Help Them Count Their Cash by Tina Kelley. New York Times. May 2008. Section 502: Prevents the Federal Communications Commission from implementing a recommendation from 2004 that would change a government subsidy for telecoms to allow payment for broadband lines per household instead of per line, which would effectively reduce the subsidy for the companies. FAQ: Universal Service Administrative Company. Section 630: The text of HR 992, which was the bill written by Citigroup that will allow banks to gamble with credit default swaps on the stock market with customers deposits in FDIC insured banks. Article: Derivatives Markets Growing Again, With Few New Protections by Mayra Rodriguez Valldares. New York Times. May 2014. Article: Three Bankers Bolster Blankfein as Goldman Trading Sinks by Michael Moore. Bloomberg. May 2014. This provision was added by Rep. Kevin Yoder of Kansas, who took over $114,000 from Securities and Investment bankers for the last election alone. Over the course of his four year career, he's taken almost $700,000 from bankers... that we know of. Section 725: "Prohibits Federal agencies from monitoring individuals' internet use." Section 735 Prohibits funding for requirements that would make companies submitting offers for Federal contracts to disclose their political contributions. Section 809: Prohibits Washington DC from using its money to from legalize or reduce the penalties for a schedule I substance, which includes marijuana, for recreational use. Division F Land Management & Environment The Department of the Interior USGS: For the United States Geological Survey to surveys and research topography, geology, hydrology, biology, and the mineral and water resources of the United States... approx $1 billion, available until 9/30/2016. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, offshore safety: $125 million minus fees collected, estimated real appropriation of $66 million for enforcing regulations for leases for oil and gas, other minerals, and energy on the Outer Continental Shelf + $65 million - minus fees collected- over half of which needs to go towards expediting drilling permits on the Outer Continental Shelf. Collection and disbursement of royalties, fees, and other mineral revenue will get $265 million. Wildland fire management: $805 million. Hazardous fuels management and resilient landscapes activities can be privatized. This money can be used by the Secretary of State outside the United States. This money can be used to pay off debts incurred for fires in previous years. This money can be used as emergency funds to deal with earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, storms, oil spills, and to control cricket outbreaks. Section 122: Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from protecting the Sage-Grouse under the Endangered Species Act. Oil backers, conservationists battle over fate of greater sage grouse by Sandra Fish, AlJazeera America, December 2013. Environmental Protection Agency Over $2.3 billion for fire suppression. Federal Firefighting Costs for suppression alone averaged $1.46 billion a year since 2000, a time period that has included 9 out of the 10 hottest years since records began in 1880. Section 411: Allows Alaska red and yellow cedar to be exported to foreign countries. Press Release: Petition Seeks to Protect Tongass' Ancient Yellow Cedars as Endangered Species by the Center for Biological Diversity, June 2014. Article: Forest Service criticized over Tongass management by Maria La Ganga, Los Angeles Times, November 2014. Article: Viking Lumber wins Big Thorne contract, again by Katie Mortiz, Juneau Empire, October 2014. Article: In Alaska, a Battle to Keep Trees, or an Industry, Standing by Michael Wines, New York Times, September 2014. Article: The Forest Service bets on second-growth logging in Alaska by Krista Langlois, High Country News, January 2015. Article: Budget bill boosts logging by Section 419: No money can be used to regulate carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, water vapor or methane emitted from livestock production. Section 420: No money can be used to require mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from manure management systems. Amendments identical to Sections 419 and 420 were attached to the 2014 budget by Rep. Ken Calvert of Southern California. He has taken over $650,000 from Agribusiness. Section 425: No money can be used to regulate the lead content of ammunition or fishing tackle. Division G Labor, Health, & Education Health and Human Services Section 217: Prohibits funding of gun control promotions. Section 220: The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) can privatize research into "security countermeasure" drugs for 10 years. Op-Ed: Ebola and the most important agency America has never heard of by former Rep. Mike Rogers, The Hill, October 2014. Department of Education Section 301: No money can be used for transporting children to other school districts to "carry out a plan of racial desegregation of any school or school system." Section 303: No money can be used to prevent voluntary prayer in public schools. Department of Labor Section 406: The National Labor Relations Board can't use their money to provide employees with electronic voting for electing representatives for their collective bargaining. All Departments Section 506: The Departments of Health & Humans Services, Labor, and Education can't use their money to pay for health benefits coverage that includes abortion coverage. Section 507: Abortions can be paid for with Federal funds if the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest or if the mother's life is in danger. States will be allowed to cover abortion and abortion coverage can be offered separately. Section 508: No money can be used for research that harms a human embryo. Section 521: No money can be used for programs that distribute sterile needles to drug addicts. Section 529: No money can go towards ACORN, "or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, allied organizations, or successors." Article: Congress's Undying (and Less Than Effective) ACORN Funding Ban, by David Weigel, Bloomberg, December 2014. Ebola Response & Preparedness Ebola money is available for use until September 30, 2019. Over $1.7 billion for the Centers for Disease Control to "respond to Ebola domestically and internationally." $10 million for hospital worker and emergency first responder training. $597 million for global health security The money can be used to purchase and insure vehicles in foreign countries. Section 601: The CDC can use this money to "acquire, lease, construct, alter, renovate, equip, furnish, or manage facilities outside the United States." $238 billion in "emergency" funding will go towards the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases" to "respond to Ebola domestically and internationally." $733 million for the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund to "respond to Ebola domestically and internationally" to develop and purchase vaccines, "necessary medical supplies, and administrative activities." Money can be used for the "renovation and alteration of privately owned facilities at the State and local level" Division H Congress Section 102: No money can be used to deliver a printed copy of a bill to a Representative unless that Representative asked for it. Section 105: No more than 50 copies total of the US Code can be printed for the entire House of Representatives. Section 1301: The Government Printing Office is renamed to the Government Publishing Office. Division I Military Construction Section 101: Construction contracts with guaranteed profits will be allowed in Alaska and/or if the Defense Secretary says there's a reason for one in writing. Section 109: Military construction money can't be used to pay property taxes in foreign countries. Section 110: The military can't use this money for any new installations without notifying the House and Senate Appropriations Committees first. Section 111: Architect or engineer contracts over $500,000 in Japan, NATO countries, or countries bordering the Arabian Gulf must be awarded to US firms or be partnerships with US firms. Section 117: Money for military construction can be held & used up to four years after it is appropriated. Section 127: $125 million extra is appropriated until September 2018 for projects anywhere excepts in Europe. Section 512: No money can be used to prepare any United States facilities to house detainees from Guantanamo Bay prison. Veterans Veterans benefits will cost $94 billion and medical expenses will cost $59 billion, which is $153 billion total. Section 236 The Veterans Integrated Service Networks are not allowed to change their system for contracting for diabetes monitoring supplies and equipment. Press Release: Sysmex America Sign Two Contracts with U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, PR Newswire, November 2013. "Sysmex America now holds Veterans Administration hematology contracts and standardization agreements with 16 of the 21 VISNs." "The VA Schedules are indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity type contracts awarded to pre-approved vendors." OpenSecrets: Hal Rogers, chairman of the Appropriations Committee is a shareholder of Roche Holdings, which signed a 10 year distribution agreement with Sysmex America in 2012 which allows Roche to distribute Sysmex hemotology products to countries around the world. Division J State Department & Foreign Operations $2.1 billion for Worldwide Security protection for the State Department, which has doubled since 2008. Article: Exclusive: Blackwater Wins Piece of $10 Billion Mercenary Deal by Spencer Ackerman, Wired, October 2010. Approximately $3.5 billion will go towards the United Nations, including U.N. "peacekeeping missions". Over $1 billion plus $2.7 billion in "global health programs" funds will go to USAID. $5.6 billion will go towards combatting AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. $2.5 billion will go towards "development assistance", which includes spending on: Agribusiness Setting up financial institutions "Policy and regulatory programs" that "improve the environment" for financial institutions. Marketing Energy and storage facilities Infrastructure Schools spreading "ideas and practices of the United States, including new education material and curricula "To expedite the location, exploration, and development of potential sources of energy in developing countries" Over $2.6 billion for the "Economic Support Fund", which includes funding for: Promoting "economic or political stability" Legal education training Academic training for law enforcement (the military is prohibited from participating) Prison programs "Legal reform" and "revision and modernization of legal codes and procedures" Can be used for loan guarantees for Jordan, Ukraine, and Tunisia and this money won't count towards laws limiting assistance to countries. This money can be used to create "enterprise funds" for Egypt or Tunisia, which are "public-private partnerships for the purpose of investing US Government funds to support the private sector". This money "shall be available for economic programs and may not be used for military or paramilitary purposes." $853 million for the War on Drugs Includes authorization for the "use of herbicides for aerial eradication". Tells the State Department to report on the cost of "establishing an aviation platform in Africa" which would be used for, among other things, counternarcotics. $145 million for "Peacekeeping Operations" to "enhance the capacity of foreign civilian security forces" including military forces in charge of policing civilians (gendarmes). $106 million for "International Military Education and Training." $5 billion for the "Foreign Military Financing Program The money can be used "to procure defense articles and services to enhance the capacity of foreign security forces" Over $3 billion must be grants to Israel $1.3 billion can be put in an interest bearing account at the NY Federal Reserve for Egypt, and the money can be used for weapons as long as Egypt meets a list of demands (including giving detainees access to due process of law). Article: Congress allows Obama to reopen military aid to Egypt by Julian Pecquet. Al Monitor. December 10, 2014. $1 billion will be for Jordan. This money can be used in the Western Sahara. This money can be used for "counterterrorism and counterinsurgency" in Pakistan. Section 7004: The State Department can construction "diplomatic facilities" that include office space or "other accommodations" for the US Marine Corps. The Congressional report on where these facilities are and their costs can be classified. Congress doesn't need to be notified of new diplomatic facilities if there is a "security risk to personnel". Section 7008: Money can't be used to directly assist any government whose elected government is removed by the military. However, we can give that country money again as long as the next government is elected. Section 7034: Prohibits money being used for "tear gas, small arms, light weapons, ammunition, or other items for crowd control purposes for foreign security forces that use excessive force to repress peaceful expression." Section 7041: We will give $150 million to Egypt as long as Egypt is taking steps to "implement market-based economic reforms". Section 7041: The State Department can use its money to create a new government and "promote economic development" in Syria. Section 7042: State Department funds are going towards training and equipping Ethiopian military and police. Section 7042: State Department funds will also towards training militaries in Angola, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d"Ivoire, Guinea, and Zimbabwe. Section 7042: State Department money will go towards managing natural resources and supporting security forces in South Sudan. Section 7043: State Department money will be used for naval forces, coast guards and nongovernmental organizations "directly engaged in maritime security issues" in Asia. Section 7043: State Department money will go towards the Philippine army. Section 7043: State Department money will be given to the military of Vietnam and for health/disability activities in areas sprayed with Agent Orange and/or contaminated with dioxin. Section 7044: The State Department can construct and renovated US government facilities to accommodate Federal employees or contractors or expand aviation facilities in Afghanistan if it would "protect such facilities or the security, health, and welfare of United States personnel." Money for Afghanistan can go towards "programs in Central and South Asia relating to a transition in Afghanistan, including expanding Afghanistan linkages within the region." Section 7044: Money can go towards military training in Sri Lanka. Section 7045: State Department funds can be used to "support a unified campaign against narcotics trafficking" in Columbia. 10% of the funds will go towards "aerial drug eradication programs". Section 7045: State Department funds can be given to the Guatemalan army. Section 7045: State Department funds can be given to the Honduran army and police. Section 7045: State Department funds can be given to the Mexican army and police. Section 7074: $100 million for the Special Defense Acquisition Fund, which is under the control of the Defense Department, to buy weapons and defense services for foreign countries. Section 7083: The United States will contribute over $3.8 billion to the International Development Association, a branch of the World Bank that provides loans and grants to "boost economic growth" in poor countries. It's our 17th contribution. Over $1.3 billion will be for State Department security. Over $7.6 billion for the War on Terror. $1.5 billion for Ebola "assistance for countries affected by, or at risk of being affected by, the Ebola virus disease outbreak." Division K Transportation $500 million for national transportation infrastructure, including highway, bridge, rail, port, and public transportations projects. $9.7 billion: For the Federal Aviation Administration. $8.6 billion is from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund so the taxpayer subsidy for air travel is $1.1 billion. $40 billion for the highway trust fund. Section 133: Prohibits enforcement of regulations until September 30, 2015. The regulations delayed say: Commercial drivers must not work for 34 consecutive hours between weeks and that 34 hours must include two periods from 1am to 5am. Commercial drivers must not drive more than 60 hours in 7 consecutive days or 70 hours in 8 consecutive days. Truckers will be able to drive for 82 hours per week. Article: The Department of Transportation wants truckers to sleep more. Congress said no. by Lydia DePillis. Washington Post. December 2014. Article: Survey Shows Hours of Service Top Trucking Concern. Trucking Info. October 2014. OpenSecrets: Senator Susan Collins of Maine inserted the rider on behalf of the trucking industry. She received $21,000 from the trucking industry for the 2014 election. The trucking industry also gave $87,150 to Senator Mitch McConnell, the new Majority Leader in the Senate. $250 million for Amtrak operations. $1.1 billion for Amtrak investments and improvements. Housing Section 235 Forbids funding for a program that reduces mortgage rates for first time home buyers who go through home counseling and financial education. Section 420 "It is the sense of Congress that the Congress should not pass any legislation that authorizes spending cuts that would increase poverty in the United States." Division L Homeland Security Funding for the Department of Homeland Security remains at the same levels as 2014. Funding runs out on February 27, 2015. Article: With Shutdown Avoided, Who Are Winners (And Losers) In 2015 Budget? by Kelly Phillips, Forbes, December 2014. Division M Expatriate Health Coverage This section includes the altered text of HR 4414, the Expatriate Health Coverage Clarification Act of 2014, which was discussed on Congressional Dish episode CD075: The April Bills. Exempts expatriate health plans issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2015 from the minimum standards set by the Affordable Care Act. "Expatriate" includes people from foreign countries working in the United States as part of a job transfer. The effects of this on the PAYGO budget will not be counted. The original version of this bill was written by Rep. John Carney of Delaware, who has taken over $312,000 from the insurance industry. Division N Campaign Contributions In May, as discussed on Congressional Dish episode CD071: Our New Laws, the President signed into law the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act, which eliminated public financing of political party conventions. Section 101: Creates three separate funds for political parties, at least triples the amount of money an individual can contribute to each of these new funds, and eliminates limits on how the parties can spend the money. We don't know exactly how much individuals will be able to contribute to political parties now that this provision is law. NPR has a different number than the Washington Post, which has a different number than The New York Times. Congressional Dish calculations indicate that the changes will allow an individual to contribute at least $257,400 per year and that amount increases every two years based on the Consumer Price Index. Division O Pensions Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), pensions for retiree's who have already started to collect benefits can't be cut unless a company goes into bankruptcy. This section changes the law to allow benefit cuts to multi-employer pension plans under other scenarios. Section 102: Allows a multi-employer pension plan to be labeled in "critical status" five years before it's projected to actually meet critical status criteria, if the plan sponsor chooses to label it that way. Department of Labor list of Multi-Employer Plans listed as "critical status" Section 106: After certifying that a plan is in critical status, a "funding improvement plan" must be crafted, and benefits cannot be cut nor new people excluded during this time. Section 121: Allows the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to merge two or more multi-employer pension plans and allows the PBGC to give cash to the plans. Section 122: Multi-employer plans can be broken up if they've cut all the benefits allowed and need to do so to remain solvent. Section 131: Increases the premium rate for multi-employer plans from $12 to $26 in 2015 and then some complicated amount tied to the national average wage index after that. Section 201: Allows benefits to be cut when a plan is in "critical and declining status", which means the plan is in critical status and projected to become insolvent within the next 15 years. For plans with over 10,000 participants, one participant - selected by the plan sponsor - will advocate on behalf of all the retired participants. The following conditions need to be met in order to suspend benefits: The plan needs to certify that it will avoid insolvency. The plan needs to certify that it will become insolvent if it doesn't cut benefits. Limits on benefit suspensions Monthly benefits can't be reduced below 110% of what would be guaranteed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, which is approximately $1,180 for participants in multi-employer plans. People over 75 are exempted from the benefit cuts. Disability benefits can't be cut. Eleven different factors will determine how much each participant's benefits would be cut. Benefits will be cut first for employees that worked for companies that withdrew from the plan and failed to pay. Benefits can't be cut until the plan sponsor submits can application to the Secretary of the Treasury and notifies plan participants, employers, and employee organizations. The notice can be in electronic form. Process for cutting benefits: The plan sponsor must submit an application to the Secretary of the Treasury for approval to suspend benefits. Within 30 days of receiving the application, the Secretary of the Treasury will solicit comments from employers, employee organizations, and participants on the website of the Secretary of the Treasury. If the Secretary of the Treasury does not approve or deny the application within 225 days, the application will be deemed approved. Within 30 days of the application's approval, participants and beneficiaries must vote on whether or not to cut benefits. Majority rules. If the participants vote not to cut benefits, the Secretary of Treasury can label the plan a "systemically important plan" and allow benefits to be cut even though the participants voted no. Access to the courts is limited: A court reviewing a lawsuit challenging a benefit cut can only grant a temporary injunction if the plaintiffs will probably win. A participant in a pension plan can not challenge a benefit cut in court. OpenSecrets: Rep. John Kline has taken over $14 million in campaign contributions from all kinds of industries. OpenSecrets: Former Rep. George Miller took over $2.4 million from unions, that we know of. Music Presented in This Episode Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio) Blame the Bankers by The Sharp Things (found on Music Alley by mevio) Growing Marijuana Song by Ben Scales Be Heard Have something to say? Leave a message on the Congressional Dish voicemail line and it might be featured on the show! 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This episode highlights the laws and bills that passed the House of Representatives in June. Most of the bills this month were dedicated to cutting corporate taxes and keeping us hooked on fossil fuels. Laws S 1044: WWII Memorial Prayer Act The bill originated in the Senate, where it passed unanimously; it passed the House on June 23 by 370-12 and was signed into law a week later. A plaque will be installed at the Washington D.C. World War II memorial that says that President Roosevelt prayed on the morning of D-Day. The plaque will be privately funded. Written by Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio. No Republicans voted against it. HR 316: Collinsville Renewable Energy Production Act Allows the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reinstate a license for two hydro-electric projects in Connecticut and allows the license to be transferred to the town of Canton, Connecticut. Written by Elizabeth Esty, a Democrat from Connecticut. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate and was supported by every Democrat in the House; only three Republicans voted against it. It was signed into law on June 30th. Bills HR 4457: America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2014 Makes permanent a four year business tax cut that allowed businesses to deduct up to $500,000 in property from their taxes. This is supposed to revert back to $25,000 in 2014. Adds things that can be deducted such as air conditioning, heating, and computer software. Eliminates some limits on what can be deducted. The amounts that can be deducted would increase yearly with inflation. The effects this bill would have on the budget would not be counted. Written by Rep. Patrick “Pat” Tiberi of Ohio. The bill passed with a vote of 272-144. HR 4453 S Corporation Permanent Tax Relief Act of 2014 Lowers the number of years that a kind of corporate income is taxable from ten years to five years. The effects this bill would have on the budget would not be counted. The bill passed 263-155 with the same two Republicans who voted against HR 4457 - Walter Jones of North Carolina and retiring Congressman John Campbell of California- voting against it. Forty-two Democrats said yes to this bill. The bill was written by Rep. David Reichert of Washington. HR 4413: Customer Protection and End User Relief Act Title I requires traders to have enough money to pay out customer bets and adds reporting requirements, but implements no punishment for non-compliance. Title II makes the Commodity Futures Trading Commission publish the costs and benefits of proposed regulations and creates a new Office of the Chief Economist within the Commodities Futures Trading Commission which has no specific purpose. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission could taken to court by a person - or corporation - that doesn't like their rules. The court can overturn the rules. Exempts some swaps gamblers from having to set aside money. Classifies fewer gamblers as "financial entities", which would effectively exempt them from some regulations. These changes are retroactive to July 21, 2010 (the effective date of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law). Walter Jones of North Carolina was the only Republican to vote against this bill (John Campbell didn't vote) and 46 Democrats joined the rest of the Republicans to pass it 265-144. The White House didn't issue a veto threat but said they "strongly oppose" the passage of this bill. It has little chance of becoming law. Written by Frank Lucas of Oklahoma. HR 3301: North American Energy Infrastructure Act Gives the Secretary of State, instead of the President, the authority to approve cross-border oil pipelines and forces them to make a decision within 120 days of the final environmental impact statement. No permit will be required to modify existing cross-border oil or gas pipeline. Allows the export and import of natural gas to Canada and Mexico without approval by the Federal Power Commission, which is required now. Allows the United States to transfer electricity to other countries without approval by the Federal Power Commission, which is required now. These provisions would be effective July 1, 2015. Written by Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan, who has taken over $2 million from the Energy and Natural Resources sector. The only Republican to vote against this bill was once again, Walter Jones of North Carolina. Seventeen oily Democrats joined the vast majority of the Republicans to pass this bill 238-173. HR 6: Domestic Prosperity and Global Freedom Act The Department of Energy would have to make their final decision on applications for gas export facilities within 30 days of the finished NEPA review. The public would have to be told where the gas is being exported. This bill was written by Rep. Cory Gardner, who is currently running for the Senate in Colorado. The bill passed 266-150. HR 4899: Lowering Gasoline Prices to Fuel an America that Works Act The government must lease at least 50% of the outer Continental Shelf that is thought to have the most oil and gas (according to the Minerals Management Service Assessment of Undiscovered Technically Recoverable Oil and Gas Resources of the Nation’s Outer Continental Shelf, 2006). Forces lease sales off of Virginia, South Carolina, and southern California, with rigged environmental reviews that are not allowed to analyze and compare alternatives to drilling. Gives 37.5% of the money the Federal government gets from offshore fossil fuel drilling and gives it to the oil States. Abolishes the Minerals Management Service, which no longer exists. Prohibits implementation of an Executive Order issued during the Deepwater Horizon disaster that says that we'll take care of the oceans. Considers territories to be "States" to force drilling off their shores. Limits the amount of time citizens have to challenge fossil fuel decisions in court to 60 days. Deems approval of drilling permits if they are not decided in less than 60 days. Citizen's will be charged a $5,000 "protest fee" to challenge a drilling permit in court. We would spend $50 million per year to map fossil fuels for the industry. Congress would be given less information about drilling leases. Would pass the PIONEERS Act - again - would would bring back the Bush administration rules for oil shale development, which require fewer environmental studies and allows oil companies decide which new regulations to obey. Would force oil and gas leasing in Alaska and deem approval of permits not decided in under 60 days. Deletes a completed environmental impact statement for drilling in Alaska. This bill was written by Rep. Doc Hastings of Washington, who is retiring at the end of this term. The bill passed the House on June 26 by a vote of 229-185. Weed, CA Fire Music Presented in this Episode Intro and Exit Music: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio) June Gloom by 4-Track Glo (found on Music Alley by mevio) Taxes by Nashville Session Players (found on Music Alley by mevio)

In this episode, Jen and Joe recap all the bills that passed the House of Representatives and were covered on Congressional Dish in 2013. Also, an update on the debt ceiling. Music in This Episode: Intro and Exit Music: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio) In Your Name by The Undercover Hippy (found on Music Alley by mevio) Debt Ceiling  See how your representative voted on S. 540, the bill that suspends the debt ceiling until March 16, 2015, which passed the House on February 11 and the Senate on February 12. If we don't suspend the debt ceiling, we probably will not default on our debt as doing so would be unconstitutional. However, the only way that we would avoid a default would involve a scenario along the lines of the one described by Jeffrey Dorfman in Forbes, which involved slashing the Federal government and even eliminating whole departments. The debt ceiling either needs to be raised or suspended or the government drastically slashed by February 27. Bills Covered by Congressional Dish in 2013 (In Chronological Order) H.Res.5: House Rules for the 113th (Agreed to 1/3/13) Highlighted in episode CD010: House (Finally!) Votes on Sandy Aid Members can take private jets using government money (CD016) Speaker John Boehner promised we would have at least 72 hours to read bills, but this promise wasn't put in the official House rules. (112th Congress) H.R. 8: The Fiscal Cliff Bill (Passed House & Senate 1/1, LAW 1/2) Highlighted in episode CD009: What's in the Fiscal Cliff Bill Extended unemployment insurance Extended Farm bill until September 2013 Extended the Bush tax cuts Increased capital gains taxes from 15% to 20% Extended the college and child tax credits Multinationals -including banks- don't have to pay taxes on income from foreign subsidiaries H.R. 152: Funded Hurricane Sandy relief (Passed House 1/15, Senate 1/28, LAW 1/29) Highlighted in episode CD010: House (Finally!) Votes on Sandy Aid Sandy was on 10/29/12, funding for the recovery was finally provided on 1/15/13 All Reps from Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas voted against it H.R. 307: Prepares for Biological Attacks (Passed Senate 2/27, House 3/4, LAW 3/13) Highlighted in episode CD011: No Budget, Still Get Paid Loosened the definition of an "emergency" to include "threat justifying emergency authorized use" of unapproved medical devices H.R. 325: "The No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013" (Passed House 1/23, Senate 1/31, LAW 2/4) Highlighted in episode CD011: No Budget, Still Get Paid Suspended the debt ceiling until May 18, 2013 House & Senate both have to pass budgets by April 15, 2013 (which they did). Would have paid Congress no matter whether or not they passed their budgets; they would have been back paid. H.R. 225: Pediatric Research (Passed House 2/4) Highlighted in episode CD013: Surveillance, Stupidity, and Drones Public & private non-profits need to help CDC with surveillance systems in order to get pediatric research grants but provided no money. H. R. 444: "Require A Plan Act" (Passed House 2/6) Highlighted in episode CD013: Surveillance, Stupidity, and Drones President would have to submit a second budget if his first budget wasn't balanced. H.R. 235: Helping Veterans Become Emergency Medical Technicians (Passed House 2/12) Highlighted in episode CD014: Marching Towards Sequester Gives grants to States to streamline requirements for veteran EMTs to become civilian EMTs H.R. 592: Gave Hurricane Sandy Money to Repair Churches (Passed House 2/13) Highlighted in episode CD014: Marching Towards Sequester The first amendment to the Constitution prohibits direct funding of religious buildings [caption id="attachment_419" align="alignright" width="150"] A small conduit hydro-electric project[/caption] H.R. 267: Fast Tracks Hydro-Power Projects (Passed House 2/13, Senate 8/1, LAW 8/9) Highlighted in episode CD014: Marching Towards Sequester Fast tracks hydro-power projects on existing dams. H.R. 273: Eliminates Federal Workers' First COLA in 3 Years (Passed House 2/15) Highlighted in episode CD014: Marching Towards Sequester S. 47: Violence Against Women Act Re-authorization (Passed Senate 2/12, House 2/28, LAW 3/7) Highlighted in episode CD017: VAWA & Funding Defense Adds stalking and date rape to list of punishable offenses Cyber stalking counts as stalking Most of the funding decreased from previous levels H.R. 749: Banks Only Send Privacy Notices When Something Changes (Passed House 3/12) Highlighted in episode CD018: The Ryan Budget H.R. 890: Extended a welfare program and prohibits states from operating their own (Passed House 3/13) Highlighted in episode CD018: The Ryan Budget H.R. 803: "SKILLS Act" (Passed House 3/15, S. 1911 introduced in Senate committee 1/9/2014) Highlighted in episode CD018: The Ryan Budget Would effectively put decisions on welfare-to-work training programs in corporate control by changing the make-up of local boards. Would have required layoffs of Federal workers by consolidating 35 programs into one. H.R. 933: The Continuing Resolution (Passed Senate 3/20, House 3/21, LAW 3/26) Highlighted in episodes CD017: VAWA & Funding Defense, CD019: Continuing Resolution- Part 1, CD020: Continuing Resolution- Part 2, and CD021: Trailblazer vs Thin-thread Funded the government until September 30, 2013 Included the Monsanto Protection Act H.R. 678: Waives hydro-power projects from National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)  (passed House 4/10, Senate 8/1, LAW 8/9) Highlighted in episode CD022: Crippling the Regulators Authorizes small hydro-power projects and determines who is first in line for the power H.R. 1120: Shut Down the National Labor Relations Board until 2014 (passed 4/12) Highlighted in episode CD022: Crippling the Regulators Board would have had to stop all work & not enforce decisions make after 1/4/2012 Could have restarted if recess appointments were ruled Constitutional or at start of second session of 113th All about recess appointments made by President Obama which may have been unconstitutional S. 716: Gut the STOCK Act (Passed Senate, 4/11, House 4/12, LAW 4/15 - Passed Congress with no recorded votes) Highlighted in episode CD024: Let's Gut the STOCK Act Exempted Congressional staff and executive branch employees from financial reporting. Eliminated the searchable website for financial reports. H.R. 882: No Contracts for Tax Delinquent Companies (passed House 4/15) Highlighted in episode CD024: Let's Gut the STOCK Act Can be waived H.R. 1163: Authorizes NSA Spying & Data Collection (Passed House 4/16 by 416-0) Highlighted in episode CD024: Let's Gut the STOCK Act Provides a framework for the coordination of information security between civilian, national security, and law enforcement communities. Focuses on automated and continuous monitoring of information systems. Acknowledges “market solutions for the protection of critical information systems important to the national defense and economic security of the National that are designed, built, and operated by the private sector.” Authorizes "secure facilities" for storing information Authorizes having enough staff with classified clearance to analyze that information H.R. 756: "Cybersecurity Enhancement Act" (Passed House 4/16) Highlighted in episode CD024: Let's Gut the STOCK Act Trains cyber-security professionals with taxpayer money & creates a strategy for buying private sector cloud services H.R. 624: CISPA "Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act" (Passed House 4/18) Highlighted in episode CD025: What's in CISPA? Director of National Intelligence would create procedures for giving "cyber threat information" to private companies and utilities Information can be passed from private companies to DHS and DOJ Information given by the private companies to the government will be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act A company that shares cyber intelligence with the government will be exempt from civil or criminal liability if they act "in good faith" The military and intelligence communities can't control, change or direct in any way the cyber-security efforts of a private company. Says US citizens can not be targets for surveillance H.R. 527: The Helium Bill (Passed House 4/26, Senate 9/26, LAW 10/2) Highlighted in episode CD026: A Tale of Two Bills Changes the way we sell our stockpile of helium so we get a fairer price & end the global helium shortage by allowing the government to sell our helium H.R. 807: Debt Ceiling Games (Passed House 5/9) Highlighted in episode CD027: Overtime Tells Treasury to make interest payments and social security payments when we hit the debt ceiling H.R. 1406: Time Off Instead of Overtime Pay (Passed House 5/8, S. 1623 Introduced in Senate committee 10/30) Highlighted in episode CD027: Overtime Allows time and a half in paid time off instead of time and a half pay for overtime, if the employee chooses that option H.R. 45 Repeal Obamacare (Passed House 5/16) Highlighted in episode CD028: The IRS Scandal Introduced by Michelle Bachmann H.R. 1062: Prevent Wall Street Regulations (Passed House 5/17) Highlighted in episode CD028: The IRS Scandal Forces SEC to do a cost-benefit analysis on their regulations of Wall Street SEC must explain why they didn't include suggestions made by the financial industry SEC must review all existing regulations every five years H.R. 258: Don't Lie About Military Medals for Money (Passed House 5/20, Senate 5/22, LAW 6/2) Highlighted in episode CD029: Keystone XL Pipeline The Bush Administration version was ruled unconstitutional for violating the First Amendment This changes it so that you get busted for fraud if you fake having a medal for financial gain H.R. 1073: Penalties for Attacking US and Corporate Ships (Passed House 5/20) Highlighted in episode CD029: Keystone XL Pipeline Penalties that currently apply when a US ship or ship in US territory is attacked would be applied worldwide and would include attacks on corporate ships. H.R. 3: No Permit Needed for Keystone XL (Passed House 5/22) Highlighted in episode CD029: Keystone XL Pipeline [caption id="attachment_580" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Tar sands oil next to a home in Mayflower, Arkansas. Source: EPA[/caption] Bill by Lee Terry of Nebraska Would exempt Keystone XL from the law requiring a Presidental permit Government can waive any law or regulation in order to issue the Keystone XL permit H.R. 1911: Increase Interest Rates for Students (Passed Senate 7/24, Passed House 7/31, LAW 8/9) Highlighted in episodes CD029: Keystone XL Pipeline and CD038: Wasting July Caps student loan interest rates at 8.25% for undergrads and 9.5% for graduate level students H.R. 1344: "Helping Heros Fly Act" (Passed Senate 8/1, House 8/2, LAW 8/9) Highlighted in episode CD029: Keystone XL Pipeline Creates procedures for expediting and private TSA screenings for injured and disabled veterans H.R. 2216: Appropriations for Military Construction and Veterans (Passed House 6/4) Highlighted in episode CD030: Military Construction & Anti-Biotics Never went to conference with the Senate & was funded via Jan 2014 omnibus budget S. 622: Animal Drug Bill (Passed Senate 5/8, house 6/3, LAW 6/13) Highlighted in episode CD030: Military Construction & Anti-Biotics Reauthorizes a fee system for accelerating testing or distribution of animal antibiotics Caps the amount of revenue the fees can bring into the government H.R. 1919: Electronic System for Tracing Pharmaceutical Drug Origins (Passed House 6/3) Highlighted in episode CD030: Military Construction & Anti-Biotics Allows so much time for implementation that the soonest the system would exist is 2028 Prohibits states from enacting stricter standards H.R. 742: Repeal Part of Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform (Passed House 6/12 by 420-2) Highlighted in episode CD031: First Draft of 2014 NDAA Makes SEC (Wall Street Police) liable for lawsuits that arise from them sharing information with other regulators. H.R. 634: Some Financial Gamblers Would be Exempt from Providing Collateral (Passed House 6/12 by 411-12) Highlighted in episode CD031: First Draft of 2014 NDAA H.R. 1256: Merge the Wall Street Police Forces (Passed 6/12) Highlighted in episode CD031: First Draft of 2014 NDAA The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and SEC would have to issue the exact same rules. Would exempt the biggest foreign swap gamblers from United States swaps regulations. Matt Taibbi: "This really just gives banks permission to go around the world regulator shopping." H.R. 1960: House NDAA (Passed 6/14, Final version LAW 12/26) Highlighted in episode CD031: First Draft of 2014 NDAA H.R. 1797: The Abortion Bill (Passed House 6/18, S. 1670 introduced to Senate committee 11/7) Highlighted in episode CD032: The Abortion Bill Doctors can't perform an abortion on a fetus that is 20 weeks or older. Doctors can be fined and sentenced to five years in prison. The mother can't be prosecuted. Exceptions: Life of the  mother in danger, rape, or incest. H.R. 1613: Deepwater Drilling in The Center of the Gulf of Mexico (Passed House 6/27) Highlighted in episode CD033: Let's Deepwater Drill Approves the treaty with Mexico allowing drilling the Western Gap - in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Slipped into the 2014 budget and is now LAW H.R. 2231: Force Offshore Drilling Upon States (Passed House 6/28) Highlighted in episode CD034: Let's Drill Offshore Forces Federal government to lease at least 50% of the unleased Outer Continental Shelf with the most fossil fuel resources Increase oil and gas production Forces leases off of the east coast and southern California Limited the content of environmental impact studies H.R. 2609: Energy & Water Funding (Passed House 7/10) Highlighted in episode CD035: Energy and Water Shorted renewable energy by $1.9 billion Shorted power grid upgrades, fuel efficiency, energy efficient buildings, geothermal energy, wind energy, energy assistance for the poor, environmental clean ups, and natural gas. Gave more than requested for nuclear energy and fossil fuels. H.R. 2094: The Epinephrine Bill (Passed House 7/30, Senate 10/31, LAW 11/13) Highlighted in episode CD038: Wasting July Public schools will be allowed to stockpile epinephrine for students with food allergies and train staff to administer it H.R. 2218: Coal Waste is Not Hazardous (Passed House 7/25) Highlighted in episode CD038: Wasting July Coal industry will have 10 years of meet groundwater protection standards EPA cannot categorize waste from burning coal, oil, natural gas, and tar sands as ‘hazardous waste’. H.R. 1582: Stop EPA Regulations (Passed House 8/1) Highlighted in episode CD038: Wasting July EPA is not allowed to issue a regulation costing over $1 billion The social cost of carbon – climate change, cancer rates, etc. – can’t be used in a cost-benefit analysis H.R. 367: Stop All Regulations, Expect Federal Reserve Regulations (Passed House 7/31) Highlighted in episode CD038: Wasting July Authored by Jo Ann Emerson Forces Federal agencies to get Congressional approval for all major rules that cost over $100 million, affect the finances of businesses, or create a carbon tax If Congress does nothing for 70 working days, the rule can’t be enacted None of this is subject to judicial review Monetary policy by the Federal Reserve is exempted H.R. 313: Stop Government Conferences (Passed House 7/31) Highlighted in episode CD038: Wasting July Government conferences capped at $500,000 but private companies can make up the rest. All conference materials must be posed online. H.R. 2879: Screw Federal Workers (Passed House 8/1) Highlighted in episode CD038: Wasting July Makes it easier to fire high level Federal employees Caps some Federal worker bonuses and prohibits any bonus at all for others. H.R. 1660: Customer Service in Government (Passed House 7/31) Highlighted in episode CD038: Wasting July Each agency must establish customer service standards but will get no extra funding to do so. H.R. 2769: No IRS Conferences (Passed House 7/31) Highlighted in episode CD038: Wasting July H.R. 2768: IRS Staff Must be Told that Taxpayers Have Rights (Passed House 7/31) Highlighted in episode CD038: Wasting July H.R. 2565: IRS Agents Can't Target Audits for Political Purposes (Passed House 7/31) Highlighted in episode CD038: Wasting July and CD028: The IRS Scandal H.R. 2009: Stop Enforcement of ObamaCare (Passed House 8/2) Highlighted in episode CD038: Wasting July IRS prohibited from enforcing tax provisions of Affordable Care Act H.R. 5: The Charter School Bill (Passed House 7/19) Highlighted in episode CD039: The Charter School Bill Expands the number of charter schools Gives charter schools as much taxpayer money as real public schools Charter school programs can be provided by for-profit businesses Public money will go to private schools and tutoring Sex education must teach abstinence to get Federal funds High schools students contact information must be given to military recruiters H.R. 2217: DHS Funding Bill (Passed House 6/6) Highlighted in episode CD042: House DHS Funding Bill Never went to conference & was funding in the omnibus budget in January 2014. S. 157 Natural Gas Pipeline in an Alaska National Park (Passed Senate 7/19, House 9/10, LAW 9/18) Highlighted in episode CD043: Nothin' Allows permits for small hydroelectric projects and a natural gas pipeline to cut through an Alaska national park. H.R. 2844: Prevent Americans From Knowing They Have Slow Internet (Passed House 9/9) Highlighted in episode CD043: Nothin' FCC does a 25 country comparison of data transmission speeds and price; this bill repeals that report. H.R. 2275: Damage ObamaCare (Passed House 9/12, passed House & Senate 10/16, LAW 10/17) Highlighted in episode CD043: Nothin' and CD049: Crisis… Postponed The bill was the "vehicle" to end the shutdown. The text was completely changed Prevents Americans from getting subsidies until the Secretary of Health and Human Services has a subsidy verification system in place. Funded government until 1/15/14 Suspended debt ceiling until 2/7/14 Killed the Monsanto Protection Act H.R. 3102: Cut Food Stamps by $40 Billion (Passed House 9/19) Highlighted in episode CD044: Pretend to Defund ObamaCare Was Titled the "Nutrition Reform and Work Opportunity Act" H.R. 1410: Stop a Casino Near Arizona Cardinal's Stadium (Passed House 9/17) Highlighted in episode CD044: Pretend to Defund ObamaCare Done on behalf of wealthy casino-owning tribes in Arizona that don't want the competition S. 793: Organization of American States is the Main Diplomatic Group in South America (Passed House 9/17, Senate 9/25, LAW 10/2) Highlighted in episode CD044: Pretend to Defund ObamaCare South American wants us out of their business; we're saying we're not going away. H.R. 761: Mining Projects are "Infrastructure" (Passed House 9/18) Highlighted in episode CD044: Pretend to Defund ObamaCare Exempts mining projects from environmental regulations. H.R. 1961: Fire Safety Exemption for the Delta Queen (Passed House 9/25) Highlighted in episode CD045: Stop the Shutdown Exempts an old wooden boat from fire safety standards for 10 years so it can carry passengers overnight The Shutdown Bills The House CR that didn’t really defund the Affordable Care Act (Episode CD044) The Senate CR that has not had a vote yet in the House (Episode CD045) The House CR that delays the Affordable Care Act for year (Episode CD046) The House CR that delays the Affordable Care Act & kills employer-paid health benefits for Congress and their staff. The House bill that requests a conference committee with Senate Funds National Parks and some museums Funds operations in Washington D.C. Funds veterans benefits Funds the National Institutes of Health Funds the National Guard and reserves H.R. 2275 finally ended the shutdown (see above) Back to Work H.R. 3080: Rush Water Projects (Passed House 10/23, Passed Senate with changes 10/31) Highlighted in episode CD050: Privatize Water Projects Speeds up and consolidates studies Speeds up permitting by letting utilities and natural gas companies pay the Army Speeds up environmental reviews Prohibits lawsuits after five months Privatizes maintenance and management of public water infrastructure H.R. 992: Expands Bank Bailouts (Passed House 10/30) Highlighted in episode CD051: Expand Bank Bailouts Bill written mostly by Citigroup lobbyists Makes foreign banks eligible for a bailout Allows bailout-eligible banks to trade in credit default swaps H.R. 2374: Prevent Brokers from Having a Fiduciary Duty to Their Customers (Passed House 10/29) Highlighted in episode CD051: Expand Bank Bailouts Prevents a Department of Labor regulation forcing brokers to do what is best for their customers, not themselves S. 252: Reauthorize and Decrease Funding for Premature Birth Research (Passed House 11/12, Senate 11/14, LAW 11/27) S. 330: HIV Organs Can Go to People With HIV (Passed Senate 6/17, House 11/12, LAW 11/21) Highlighted in episode CD053: TPP- The Leaked Chapter S. 893: Cost of Living Adjustment for Disabled Veterans (Passed Senate 10/28, House 11/12, LAW 11/21) Highlighted in episode CD053: TPP- The Leaked Chapter H.R. 2922: Personal Security Detail for Supreme Court Justices (Passed House 11/12, Senate 12/10, LAW 12/20) Highlighted in episode CD053: TPP- The Leaked Chapter H.R. 982: Publicly Publish Names of People Who Make Asbestos Trust Fund Claims (Passed House 11/13) Highlighted in episode CD053: TPP- The Leaked Chapter H.R. 2655: Penalize Americans for Using the Justice System (Passed House 11/14) Highlighted in episode CD053: TPP- The Leaked Chapter Imposes mandatory financial penalties for filing “frivolous” lawsuits. Eliminates the 21-day grace period to withdraw a lawsuit without financial penalty. H.R. 3350: Allow Insurance Companies to Sell Junk Policies (Passed House 11/15) Highlighted in episode CD053: TPP- The Leaked Chapter H.R. 2061: DATA Act (Passed House 11/12) Highlighted in episodes CD054: Hidden Data Act and CD057: Data Act-tually Pretty Good Streamline reporting standards and publish spending data on USAspending.gov H.R. 1965: Hand Over Our Land to Oil Companies (Passed House 11/20) Highlighted in episode CD055: Three Bills for Fossil Fuels Speeds up oil and gas permitting Forces us to lease our land to fossil fuel companies Leases land for oil shale development - a technology that still doesn't exist Limits Americans' access to the courts to stop drilling Severely limit Native Americans' access to the courts to stop drilling H.R. 2728: Prevent Fracking Regulations (Passed House 11/20) Highlighted in episode CD055: Three Bills for Fossil Fuels Prevents Federal regulation of fracking Rigs studies to only examine benefits of fracking, not the costs H.R. 1900: Speed Up Gas Pipeline Permitting (Passed House 11/21) Highlighted in episode CD055: Three Bills for Fossil Fuels Automatically permits pipelines that are not permitted in under 120 days H.R. 3547: Public Insurance for Private Space Flights (Passed House 12/2, served as the vehicle for the 2014 budget, LAW 1/17/14) Highlighted in episode CD059: NDAA 2014 Taxpayers will pay for private space accidents starting at $500 million and up to $2.8 billion H.R. 2719: TSA Must Publish Their Plans for New Technology (Passed House 12/3, S. 1893 referred to Senate committee 12/20) Highlighted in episode CD059: NDAA 2014 TSA must publicly publish a plan for the security technology they intend to buy Private sector must be included and plan must identify "public private partnership" opportunities H.R. 3626: Illegal To Have Firearms Undetectable to Metal Detectors (Passed House 12/3, Senate 12/9, LAW 12/9) Highlighted in episode CD059: NDAA 2014 H.R. 1105: Private Equity Fund Advisors Don't Need to Register With SEC (Passed House 12/4) Highlighted in episode CD059: NDAA 2014 H.R. 3309: Limit Patent Lawsuits (Passed House 12/5) Highlighted in episode CD059: NDAA 2014 Claims must be available on a public, searchable website Limits lawsuits down the supply chain Lawsuit losers must pay expenses and fees of the winners H.R. 3304: NDAA for 2014 (Passed House 10/28, Senate 11/19, LAW 12/26) Highlighted in episode CD059: NDAA 2014 A cyber-security section was added last minute by Jay Rockefeller Creates a "Conflict Records Research Center" and allows states, foreign governments, and “any source in the private sector” to give money to the Department of Defense. Allows contractors to make more than the President of the United States. Expands the drug war to Chad, Libya, Mali, & Niger.

Low-lights of the Ryan budget are described after we run down the bills passed by the House this week. We also look into an eighteen-year emergency continued this week by President Obama. H.R. 749: Eliminate Privacy Confusion Act The banks currently have to send out a notice regarding their privacy policies every year. This bill would change the law so the banks only have to send the privacy notices out when they change their privacy policies. The privacy policies will be posted online. HR 890: Preserving the Welfare Work Requirement and TANF Extension Act This bill extends the the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program, which is welfare, through the end of this calendar year. The bill also prohibits the Obama administration from following through with a plan to give states waivers which would allow them to operate their own welfare programs, so long as there is a proven 20% increase in the number of welfare recipients who find work. This bill would effectively make sure the Federal government has a one-size-fits all approach to welfare. HR 803: SKILLS Act [caption id="" align="alignright" width="159"] Grandma Foxx of North Carolina sponsored the SKILLS Act[/caption] Would be effective for fiscal year 2014 Most significant effect: It would change the make up of local boards that decide how our taxpayer money would be spent on welfare-to-work and job training programs. The local boards would effectively be in corporate control. Currently: The boards are already required to be a majority of people from the business community, specifically business owners. This bill would change it so that a 2/3 majority of the boards would be business owners. Also, the seat for representatives from labor organizations would be eliminated. The boards are required to come up with a plan for the states on how they run their work programs, including how the state will spend taxpayer money. The boards would also be able to award government funded contracts to the entities that provide training services. It would effectively allow businesses to tell states how to govern. It also prohibits the government job training centers from competing with private employment agencies. The bill would also consolidate 35 different programs into one giant program. The bill would order an accounting of the number of federal workers who administer job training programs and within one year, fire all the federal workers whose positions were gobbled up in the merge. President Obama and the Senate Democrats have already said they don't support it; it won't become law. Ignored Subpoenas Ted Poe (TX) informed Congress that he intends to ignore a subpoena sent by Orly Taitz, a lawyer from Rancho Santa Margarita, CA. Orly Taitz is part of the Defend our Freedoms Foundation and her website proclaims to be the "World's Leading Obama Eligibility Challenge Website". Taitz filed a temporary restraining order to prohibit President Obama's inauguration because they claim that he's using a fake social security number and his birth certificate is forged. US Attorney's filed an opposition on behalf of Congress to stop Taitz's restraining order. Now she's sending subpoena's to members of Congress to try to get them to say they didn't support the US Attorney's effort to squash her restraining order against the President. Ted Poe's response: "After consultation with the Office of Gen-eral Counsel, I have determined under Rule VIII that the subpoena seeks information that is not ‘‘material and relevant'' and that it is not ‘‘consistent with the privileges and rights of the House.'' Accordingly, I intend to move to quash the subpoena. God and Texas, TED POE" Another subpoena was ignored this week by the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The subpoena was issued for a criminal trial being prosecuted by the US District Court for the District of Arizona. The stated reason the subpoena was ignored was because the "documents sought are not material and relevant" and that subpoena is not consistent with the privileges and rights of the House." No more information could be found. Continuing Emergency from 1995 National Emergencies Act automatically ends a National Emergency after 90 days unless the President informs Congress that the emergency needs to continue. President Clinton signed an Executive Order on March 15, 1995 that puts sanctions on Iran's nationalized oil industry. The sanctions prohibit any United States citizen or company from entering into a contract to develop Iran's oil resources, either by physically managing the development or financing it. President Clinton enacted these sanctions after Iran opened their petroleum resources to foreign investment, allowing our corporations to get their invested money back, but not take home profits. Obama Emergency Notification sent to Congress on March 12, 2013: "The actions and policies of the Government of Iran are contrary to the interests of the United St ates in the region and continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. For these reasons, I have deter-mined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared with respect to Iran and to maintain in force comprehensive sanctions against Iran to deal with this threat." The Ryan Budget  Taxes * Change the tax structure from seven brackets to two. The rate for poor people would be 10% * Repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax * Lower the top tax rate to 25% for individuals and corporations Education * Remove regulations in higher education to allow more online classes * Freezes cap on Pell grants for college at $5,645 per year (currently $5,500) * "Eliminate ineffective & duplicative federal education programs. Health Care * Repeal ObamaCare bit by bit * Repeal the Federal expansion of Medicaid (100% paid by Fed gov't, down to 90% in 2016) * Repeal the health-care exchanges * Repeal the entire health-care law. * Want to make sure that "not a penny goes toward implementing the new law." * Ban on denial of coverage due to pre-existing conditions would remain illegal. * Choice program that would allow workers to devote their employer's health-coverage contribution to purchase a health plan that works for them.. if their employer allows it. Medicare * For people born in 1959 or later, Medicare would be privatized. You would have to choose between private plans or a fee for service, go bankrupt if you get really sick, plan. Taxpayer money in the form of a voucher would pay for the private insurance for people whose savings has been drained. * Medicare would have exchanges, just like the ones that would be defunded for the rest of us. * Seniors would get gov't money only for the "second-least-expensive private plan or fee-for-service" plan, whichever costs less. If the senior wants a better plan, they pay the difference out of pocket. Prohibiting Lawsuits * Limits on noneconomic and punitive damages in medical liability lawsuits. Retirement *  Make federal workers pay more towards their pensions so that their benefits come closer to sucking as much as the private sector * "The CBO estimated that, on average, federal employees make 16% more in total compensation than their private-sector counterparts. This reform would begin to rectify that imbalance." Federal Workforce Cuts * Reduce the federal workforce by 10% by 2015. * Reduce the federal workforce "not through layoffs, but via a gradual, sensible attrition policy." Energy * Defund renewable projects; "The budget aims to roll back federal interventional and corporate-welfare spending across energy sectors." * Open the Outer Continental Shelf to oil drilling * Sell off "millions of acres federal land" to oil & gas companies. "The federal government owns nearly one-third of the land in the country… substantial volumes of oil and gas are known to lie under these government lands." * Prohibit the government from buying land. Right now, proceeds from land sales need to go towards buying other parcels of land. The Ryan budget would take 70% of that and put it towards deficit reduction. * "The sale of billions of dollars' worth of federal assets would… remove economic distortions by reducing public ownership." * Limit the amount of money the Department of Interior could collect from the fire sale to $60 million per year. Transportation * Eliminate funding for high-speed rail projects * "High speed rail and other new intercity rail projects should be pursued only if they can be established as self-supporting commercial services" Defense * $560.2 billion for 2014, $6 trillion over the next decade = spending increases. * "It is approximately $500 billion more than will be available absent changes in the Budget Control Act. Our security is the federal government's top priority. The budget must reflect that fact."

April 20, 2010: In today’s episode, Jane Van Ryan interviews Rep. Dean Cannon, Speaker Designate of the Florida House of Representatives, about a recent bill that would open up Florida’s State-owned waters to offshore drilling.

April 6, 2010: In today’s episode, Jane Van Ryan interviews Erik Milito, API’s group director of upstream and industry operations, about President Obama’s announcement to open areas on the Outer Continental Shelf for offshore drilling.

April 6, 2010: In today’s episode, Jane Van Ryan interviews Erik Milito, API’s group director of upstream and industry operations, about President Obama’s announcement to open areas on the Outer Continental Shelf for offshore drilling.

On June 15, 2009 Maureen Bornholdt of the federal Office of Offshore Alternative Energy Programs gave this 40 minute keynote speech to the participants of Energy Ocean 09, at the Samoset Resort in Rockport Maine. Bornholdt describes how her office (a branch of the US Interior Department) has been given the mandate of rationalizing the exploitation of alternative ocean energy in federal and US EEZ waters. To that end she and her staff have put together a Framework to guide the granting of leases, easements and rights of way for renewable energy on the Outer Continental Shelf. Bornholdt's talk was followed by a lengthy Q & A session, that is being uploaded seperately.

  Jane Van Ryan speaks with Gary Luquette president of Chevron North American Exploration and Production Company, about his recent testimony in front of Congress about Chevron’s perspectives on Outer Continental Shelf access.

  August 26, 2008: Jane Van Ryan talks with Ford Brett, president of OGCI PetroSkills, and a director at the Society of Petroleum Engineers, focused on the environmental protection and safety of drilling in the Outer Continental shelf