Washington Watch: Legislative Update
For the Week of 17 December 2007
 
 
In This Weeks Edition
 
I.      This Week in Congress
II.     Update on FOP Top Legislative Priorities
III.    Update on LEOSA
IV.     FOP NEWS: Day on the Hill 2008!!!
V.      FOP NEWS: Highlights of State and Local Law Enforcement Funding in H.R. 2764
VI.     Other Legislative News


I.   THIS WEEK IN CONGRESS

Both the House and the Senate were in session this week. 

The House adjourned sine die on Wednesday night, bringing to an end the First Session of the 110th Congress.  The House will reconvene on  Tuesday, 15 January.

The Senate has gone into recess, but will not adjourn and, just as they did during the Thanksgiving break, hold periodic pro forma sessions to prevent the President from making any recess appointments.  The Senate will reconvene for the Second Session on Monday, 22 January.

Unless circumstances dictate otherwise, the next Weekly Update will be distributed on Friday, 18 January.  On behalf of the National Legislative Office staff, Merry Christmas and best wishes to you and yours in the New Year!

Action in the House
The House considered and adopted H.J. Res. 72, a continuing resolution that will fund the Federal government until 31 December.  The measure went into effect following its adoption by the Senate and gives the President time to review the omnibus appropriations bill, H.R. 2764 (see below) before the expiration of H.J. Res. 69, which funds the Federal government until Friday, 21 December.

The House considered and passed H.R. 660, the "Court Security Improvement Act," as amended by the Senate on a voice vote.  The measure now goes to the President for his signature.

The House considered and passed H.R. 2640, the "NICS Improvement Amendments Act," as amended by the Senate by unanimous consent.  The bill, which makes more electronic data available to States for checking the criminal and mental health records of people who want to purchase firearms, now goes to the President for his signature.

The House considered and passed H.R. 2764, the "Consolidated Appropriations Act," on a 272-142 vote.  The omnibus bill contains eleven appropriations measures.  See Item V. below for information on grant programs for State and local law enforcement.

The House considered and passed H.R. 3179, the "Local Preparedness Acquisition Act," by voice vote.  The bill authorizes authorize the use of Federal supply schedules for the acquisition of law enforcement, security, and certain other related items by State and local governments.

The House considered and passed H.R. 3690, the "U.S. Capitol Police and Library of Congress Police Merger Implementation Act," as amended by the Senate on a 413-0 vote.  The bill now goes to the President for his signature.


Action in the Senate
The Senate considered and adopted H.J. Res. 72, a continuing resolution that will fund the Federal government until 31 December.  Its adoption gives the President time to review the omnibus appropriations bill, H.R. 2764 (see below) before the expiration of H.J. Res. 69, which funds the Federal government until Friday, 21 December. 

The Senate considered, amended and passed H.R. 660, the "Court Security Improvement Act," by unanimous consent.  The amended bill was approved by the House and now goes to the President for his signature.

The Senate considered, amended and passed H.R. 2640, the "NICS Improvement Amendments Act," by unanimous consent.  The amended bill, which makes more electronic data available to States for checking the criminal and mental health records of people who want to purchase firearms, was approved by the House and now goes to the President for his signature.

The Senate considered and passed H.R. 2764, the "Consolidated Appropriations Act," on a 272-142 vote.  The omnibus bill contains eleven appropriations measures.  See Item V. below for information on grant programs for State and local law enforcement.

The Senate considered, amended and passed H.R. 3690, the "U.S. Capitol Police and Library of Congress Police Merger Implementation Act," by unanimous consent.  The amended bill was approved by the House and now goes to the President for his signature.

The Senate considered and passed S. 1974, the "Pension Protection Technical Corrections Act of 2007" by voice vote.  The bill, which the FOP supports, would make technical corrections to the Pension Protection Act of 2006, including one to the HELPS Retirees provision with respect to "self-insured plans."

In addition, the Senate voted to confirm A. Ross Ashley III to be the next Assistant Administration of the Federal Emergency Management Agency; Scott M. Burns to be the next Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy ; Gregory F. Jacob as the next Solicitor for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL); Julie L. Myers as Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Howard M. Radzely as the next Deputy Secretary for the DOL.  The FOP supported the nominations of all five of these individuals.


II.  UPDATE ON FOP TOP LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

For the complete list of cosponsors for all of our top legislative priorities, or to find out if your Representative and Senators are cosponsors of specific bills, check out http://thomas.loc.gov .
 
A.  SOCIAL SECURITY ISSUES:

(1)  Support H.R. 82/S. 206, the "Social Security Fairness Act"
In November, the Senate Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy held a hearing entitled "GPO and WEP: Policies Affecting Pensions from Work Not Covered by Social Security."  One of the primary items discussed at this hearing was the repeal of S. 206.  Senator Susan M. Collins, the lead Republican cosponsor of the bill, testified on the first panel. 

The letter written by National President Canterbury to Senator John F. Kerry (D-MA), who chairs the Subcommittee, along with the FOP's testimony in support of S. 206, can be found on the Grand Lodge website (www.fop.net).

FOP members interested in watching the hearing, or reading the testimonies of the witnesses, can do so here:
http://www.senate.gov/~finance/sitepages/hearings.htm

We have thirty-four (34) cosponsors on S. 206.

We currently have three hundred twenty-seven (327) cosponsors on H.R. 82--more than seventy percent (70%) of the House on H.R. 82.  Please note that this total differs slightly from THOMAS, as we are not including in our count Delegates Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-Guam), Donna M. Christensen (D-VI), Luis Fortuno (D-PR), and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), who have limited voting rights on the floor.  We are also not including Representatives Julia Carson (D-IN), Paul Gillmor (R-OH), Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-CA), or Charlie Norwood (R-GA), all of whom have died this year. 

The National Legislative Office has identified eighteen (18) Members from eleven (11) States which had previously cosponsored this bill in the 109th Congress.  A list of these Members has been forwarded to the National Legislative Committee, who will in turn distribute it to the State Legislative Contacts and leaders in the appropriate States.

(2)  Opposing any legislation that would require the participation of public employees in Social Security
This issue was discussed at the hearing mentioned above.  While no legislation has been introduced with a provision that would mandate the inclusion in Social Security of public employees currently not in the system, the FOP included in its testimony to the Subcommittee our strong opposition to such a scheme.


B.  Support H.R. 980/S. 2123, the "Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act"
Last week, Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), Chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pension (HELP) and lead Democratic cosponsor of S. 2123, offered that measure as an amendment to H.R. 2914, the "Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act," on behalf of himself and Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH).

Because of the agreement which governed the debate on H.R. 2914, the collective bargaining amendment, S. Amdt. 3830, required sixty (60) votes in order to pass.  Regrettably, debate on other amendments to the underlying bill created a scheduling conflict between four (4) Senators campaigning for President who were attending a debate in Iowa and were unable to be present for the vote.  The opponents of the bill in the Senate took advantage of their absence and, ultimately, forced Senators Kennedy and Gregg to withdraw the amendment from consideration. 

We added one cosponsor to S. 2123, Senator Blanche L. Lincoln (D-AR), bringing our current total to twenty-seven (27).

On 17 July, the U.S. House of Representatives considered and passed H.R. 980 under a suspension of the rules on a 314-97 vote.  The result of that vote, Roll Call #633, can be viewed here:  http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll633.xml The bill was transmitted to the Senate for further action.

The FOP has posted an Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document about the legislation in our website, which can be found here: http://www.fop.net/legislative/issues/bargain/hr980faq.pdf


C.  Support H.R. 688/S. 449, the "State and Local Law Enforcement Officers' Discipline, Accountability, and Due Process Act"

We currently have thirty-four (34) cosponsors on H.R. 688.  Please note that this total differs slightly from THOMAS, as we are not including Representative Jo Ann Davis (R-VA), who recently died.

We currently have five (5) cosponsors on S. 449.


III.    UPDATE ON LEGISLATION AMENDING LEOSA

We currently have fourteen (14) cosponsors on H.R. 2726.  The bill was the subject of a hearing before the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security in early September.  The testimony offered at that hearing by National Treasurer Tom Penoza can be found on the FOP website.

The Senate bill, S. 376, which was favorably reported by the Committee on the Judiciary in May, has nine (9) cosponsors. 

The Senate Judiciary Committee also considered and favorably reported S. 2084, the "School Safety and Law Enforcement Improvement Act."  The language of S. 376 has been incorporated into Title IV of this measure.  However, Congress passed and sent H.R. 2640, the "NICS Improvement Amendments Act," to the President.  This bill is very similar to the core provisions of S. 2084, so this legislation is very unlikely to receive any action on the Senate floor.  As a result, the FOP will no longer be tracking it.

The language in S. 376 and H.R. 2726 would improve certain provisions of the Law Enforcement Officers' Safety Act (LEOSA), especially with respect to retired law enforcement officers.  The legislation would also make clear that law enforcement officers employed by the Amtrak Police Department and the executive branch of the Federal Government who are classified as a GS-0083 meet the definition of "qualified law enforcement officer" in the LEOSA.  The Senate bill would also lower the aggregate years of service needed to meet the definition of "qualified retired law enforcement officer" from fifteen (15) to ten (10) and removes confusing language related to that same definition.


IV.     FOP NEWS: DAY ON THE HILL 2008!!!

The F.O.P. Day on The Hill 2007 will begin on Monday, 25 February 2007.  The National Legislative Office and the National Legislative Committee will host a short briefing on our legislative agenda at the District of Columbia Lodge #1 at 711 4th Street, NW.  The briefing will take place on Monday afternoon and last approximately one hour.  Additional details will be forthcoming.

Tuesday and Wednesday, 26-27 February, will be devoted to your meetings with Members from your home States and districts.  These appointments should be made in advance!!!  Event participants should make every effort to have their Representative or Senator attend the meeting along with the appropriate staff person.

Accommodations for Day on the Hill Participants
The Grand Lodge has arranged for accommodations at the Washington Plaza at the rate of $149 per night.

The Wahington Plaza is located at 10 Thomas Circle, NW in Washington, DC and is within walking distance of the McPherson Square and Mt. Vernon Square/Convention Center Metro stops.  Make your reservations now by calling 202-842-1300 or 800-424-1140 and tell them you are with the Grand Lodge Fraternal Order of Police' to get this special rate.

You can also book your reservation online at www.washingtonplazahotel.com and click on MAKE A RESERVATION.  Then click "Group Reservations on the bottom of the screen and use 6844 as the "Attendee Code."

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SPECIAL RATE WILL EXPIRE ON 1 FEBRUARY!!!


V.      FOP NEWS: Highlights of State and Local Law Enforcement Funding in H.R. 2764

The National Legislative Office can provide more detailed information on the State and Local law enforcement funding programs in H.R. 2764 upon request.


VI.     OTHER LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY

Executive Director Jim Pasco met with several key staff members in numerous Senate offices regarding the nominations mentioned above.

Senior Legislative Liaison Tim Richardson met with officials at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to discuss the FY2008 grant guidance for law enforcement personal protective equipment (PPE).


Legislative Liaison Tiffany Waddell met with Labor Liaisons of the Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy (LAC). 

Washington Watch: Legislative Update
For the Week of 26 November 2007
 
 
In This Weeks Edition
 
I.      This Week in Congress
II.     Update on FOP Top Legislative Priorities
III.    Update on LEOSA
IV.     Other Legislative News


I.   THIS WEEK IN CONGRESS

The House was in recess this week, and the Senate conducted no business, though it did hold pro forma sessions to prevent the President from making any recess appointments.  Both chambers will reconvene next week.


II.  UPDATE ON FOP TOP LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

For the complete list of cosponsors for all of our top legislative priorities, or to find out if your Representative and Senators are cosponsors of specific bills, check out http://thomas.loc.gov .
 
With Congress out of session, no changes to the status of our top priorities were possible.


III.    UPDATE ON LEGISLATION AMENDING LEOSA

With Congress out of session, no changes to the status of legislation amending the Law Enforcement Officers' Safety Act was possible.


IV.     OTHER LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY
National President Chuck Canterbury attended a dinner at the White House with President Bush.

Executive Director Jim Pasco represented the FOP at a White House Christmas reception.

Executive Director Pasco met with Julie Cram, Director of the Office of Public Liaison at the White House, to discuss Federal law enforcement issues.

Executive Director Pasco met with Scott M. Burns, the Deputy Director for State and Local Affiars in the Office of National Drug Control Policy, to discuss Federal drug enforcement issues.

Executive Director Pasco met with Bruce Cohen, Senior Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, to discuss the issue of immunity for telecommunications companies and pending nominations.

Executive Director Pasco also met with J. Michael Hickey, Vice President of Government Affairs for National Security Policy at Verizon, and accepted a $25,000 donation to the National FOP Foundation from Verizon.

Legislative Liaison Tiffany Waddell participated in a conference call held by the Pandemic Influenza Consortium to discuss the updated guidance on medical countermeasures for the emergency services sector.

Legislative Liaison Waddell represented the FOP at a Stakeholder Outreach Meeting on National Strategy on Pandemic Influenza.

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