Oct 26, 2014
In this episode, we discuss the bills that passed in August and September, the last bills to pass before the election. Included are bills that give money to Israel, screw over immigrant kids, audit the Fed, poison the environment, create huge corporate tax cuts, and more. Also, the story of CryptoWall, the computer virus holding our memories hostage.
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H.J. Res 76: A bill that gives $225 million to Israel's Iron Dome
Iron Dome By Israel Defense Forces and Nehemiya Gershoni
- Gave $225 million to Israel for their Iron Dome missile defense system.
Written by Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen of New Jersey's 11th district. It passed the House of Representatives with by a vote of 248-176. All Republicans voted yes. There was no recorded vote in the Senate.
H.R. 5272: Ship Off Children of Immigrants Act of 2014
-
- Prevents leniency as ordered in a 2012 Department of Homeland Security directive that discourages deportation proceedings for illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as young children.
- Prevents all undocumented people from working in the United States.
Written by Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee's 7th district. Passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 216-192. Every Representative from the following states voted yes:
- Alaska
- Arkansas
- Idaho
- Kansas
- Montana
- Nebraska
- North Dakota
- Oklahoma
- South Dakota
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
H.R. 5078: Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act of 2014
- Prevents implementation and enforcement of a proposed EPA rule that would clearly protect seasonal and rain-dependent streams and wetlands near streams and prevents any rule like it in the future.
Written by Rep. Steve Southerland of Florida's 2nd district. The bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 262-152.
H.R. 3522 A bill that allows health insurance companies to provide less coverage.
- Allows health insurance companies to continue to offer health plans to employer that don't comply with the minimum standards set by the Affordable Care Act until 2019.
Written by Rep. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana's 6th district The bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 247-167. All Republicans voted yes.
H.R. 24 Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2013
- Requires an audit of the Board of Directors of the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Federal Reserve banks within a year of this bill becoming law.
-
Eliminates a list of things in the Federal Reserve that are not
allowed to be audited, including:
- Transactions for or with foreign central banks, foreign governments, or international financing organizations.
- Debates and decisions on monetary policy
- The amount of money in member banks
Written by Rep. Paul Broun of Georgia's 10th district. The bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 333-92.
H.R. 5462 A bill that increases air travel fees
Written by Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina's 8th district. Passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 423-0.
H.R. 4 Jobs for America Act
This bill is a package of bills that
have already passed the House of Representatives in the 113th
Congress.
- The entire bill will not be counted in the PAYGO budget.
Ways and Means
- Includes the Save American Workers Act, which requires an employee to work 40 hours per week, instead of 30 hours per week, in order to be considered “full-time” and get employer-provided health insurance. CBO said this bill would increase the deficit by $45.7 billion over the next ten years. This bill was discussed in CD075: The April Bills.
- Includes the American Reseach and Competitiveness Act of 2014, which expands and permanently extends the tax credits businesses receive for research and development expenses. The CBO said this bill alone would increase the deficit by $156 billion over the next ten years. This bill was discussed in CD077: The May Bills.
- Includes the America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act, which expands and makes permanent an expiring corporate tax cut. CBO said this bill would increase the deficit by $73 billion over the next ten years. This bill was discussed in CD078: The June Bills.
- Includes the S Corporation Permanent Tax Relief Act, which reduces the number of years that some corporate income is taxable. CBO said this bill would increase the deficit by $1.5 billion over the next ten years. This bill was discussed in CD078: The June Bills.
- Includes the corporate tax cuts for upgrading the inside of retail stores which CBO said would increase the deficit by $287 billion dollars over the next ten years. This bill was discussed in CD081: The July Bills.
- Repeals the medical device excise tax, which is a 2.3% tax on corporations who sell expensive medical equipment. Repealing the medical device tax was discussed in episode CD046: Shutdown Assured.
Financial Services
- Includes the Small Business Capital Access and Job Preservation Act, which exempts private equity fund advisers from registering with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This bill was discussed in episode CD058: Space Travel, TSA, Wall Street, & Patents.
- Includes the Small Business Mergers, Acquisitions, Sales, and Brokerage Simplification Act, which exempts mergers and acquisition brokers from registering with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This bill was discussed in episode CD064: Chemicals Shall Spill.
Oversight
- Includes Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act which forces the government to let private companies write the rules that will govern them and says political factors must be considered.
- Includes the All Economic Regulations are Transparent Act, which makes it slower and harder for the government to enact any regulations. This bill was discussed in episode CD072: The February Bills.
Judiciary
- Includes the Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act (RIENS Act), which shuts down all regulations (except those enacted by the Federal Reserve) by requiring Congressional approval for all major rules that cost over $100 million or affect the finances of businesses; rules that don't pass in under 70 days are automatically killed. This bill was discussed in episode CD038: Wasting July.
- Includes the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act, which prohibits State and local taxes on Internet access.
Natural Resources
- Includes the Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act, which forces the government to cut down trees and lets the Secretary of Agriculture waive the Endangered Species Act.
Packaged by Rep. Dave Camp of Michigan's 4th district Passed the House of Representatives on September 15, 2014 by a vote of 253-163.
H.R. 2 American Energy Solutions for Lower Costs and More American Jobs Act
- Includes the Northern Route Approval Act, which grants or eliminates all the permits needed to build the KeystoneXL pipeline. This bill was discussed in CD029: The Keystone XL Pipeline.
- Includes the Natural Gas Pipeline Permitting Reform Act, which rushes permits for natural gas pipelines and automatically approves applications that take too long. This bill was discussed in CD055: Three Bills for Fossil Fuels.
- Includes the North American Energy Infrastructure Act, which eliminates the permit needed to modify existing oil and gas pipelines. This bill was discussed in CD079: The June Bills.
- Includes the Energy Consumers Relief Act of 2014, which prohibits the EPA from enacting expensive rules. This bill was discussed in CD038: Wasting July.
- Includes the Electricity Security and Affordability Act, which shuts down EPA regulations of emissions from fossil fuel powered utilities. This bill was discussed in CD074: The March Bills.
- Includes the Domestic Prosperity and Global Freedom Act, which speeds up the permitting for natural gas export facilities. This bill was discussed in CD079: The June Bills.
- Includes the Lowering Gasoline Prices to Fuel an America That Works Act, which forces the government to lease at least 50% of the area in the ocean with oil to the oil companies, automatically approves drilling permits that take too long, charges citizens a $5,000 protect fee to fight drilling in court, and abolishes the Minerals Management Service - which no longer exists. This bill was discussed in CD079: The June Bills.
- Includes the Bureau of Reclamation Conduit Hydropower Development Equity and Jobs Act, which exempts hydropower projects from environmental reviews. This bill was discussed in CD022: Crippling the Regulators.
- Includes the Protecting States’ Rights to Promote American Energy Security Act, which prohibits the Federal government from regulating fracking. This bill was discussed in CD055: Three Bills for Fossil Fuels.
- Includes Preventing Government Waste and Protecting Coal Mining Jobs in America, which brings back a Bush Administration rule - which was recently thrown out by the courts for failing to comply with the Endangered Species Act - which would allow waste from mountaintop removal for coal mining to be dumped into rivers and streams. This bill was discussed in CD074: The March Bills.
- Includes the Responsibly And Professionally Invigorating Development Act of 2014 (RAPID Act), which lets companies conduct their own environmental reviews, automatically approves permits that aren't finished on time, and prohibits judicial review of Federal permits. This bill was discussed in CD074: The March Bills.
This bill was packaged by Rep. Lee Terry of Nebraska's 2nd district. The bill passed on September 18 by a vote of 226-191.
CryptoWall
Article: CryptoWall: What is it
and how to protect your systems, TechRepublic, October 2014.
Music Presented in This Episode
Intro and Exit Music: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito, I Want Rosa to Stay by Alun Parry, Summer's Over by Jonathon Coulton, Step Up by Dona Oxford