A coalition of leading animal welfare groups has endorsed bipartisan legislation introduced by Congressman Vern Buchanan to permanently ban the killing of horses for human consumption in America and end the export of live horses to Mexican and Canadian slaughterhouses.
The SAFE Act (Safeguard American Food Exports) is co-sponsored by Reps. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., Ed Royce, R-Calif., and Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-N.M.
Congressman Ken Buck (CO-04) introduced H.R. 519, the Water and Agriculture Tax Reform Act of 2017 (WATER Act), a key legislative priority that Buck shepherded through committee last year and hopes to see on the House Floor in the 115th Congress. The legislation permits mutual water and storage delivery companies to retain their non-profit status even if they receive more than 15% of their revenue from non-member sources. The additional non-member revenue raised under the act must be used for maintenance, operations, and infrastructure improvements. By allowing these companies to raise additional revenue from non-members, they can invest in infrastructure improvements that allow them to offer more affordable water resources to their members.
Freshman Representative Ted Budd co-sponsored the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017. This bill provides law-abiding citizens with concealed carry permits the legal protection to carry in other states that recognize their own residents’ right to concealed carry.
The House of Representatives passed the Improving Access to Maternity Care Act (H.R. 315), introduced by Congressman Michael C. Burgess M.D. (R-TX), Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA), and Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA). The Improving Access to Maternity Care Act would increase data collection by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to help place maternity care health professionals working in the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) throughout geographic regions experiencing a health professional shortage.
Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) introduced her first piece of legislation in the 115th Congress, continuing her focus on growing our economy and boosting our region’s manufacturing industry. She also held a press conference with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and colleagues from the industrial heartland to discuss the legislation.
The Overseas Outsourcing Accountability Act would require President-elect Donald Trump to develop a national strategy to stop outsourcing and allow Congress to measure its success through a review every two years. This legislation does not require Trump to follow a prescribed path; however, it would rein in his inconsistent behavior by requiring him to put a real strategy down on paper for working families to evaluate.
U.S. Representatives G. K. Butterfield (NC-01), David E. Price (NC-04), and Alma Adams (NC-12), the Democratic members of North Carolina’s congressional delegation, sent a letter to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in strong support of a State Plan Amendment to expand Medicaid in the State of North Carolina.
Medicaid expansion is a core provision of the Affordable Care Act. Under North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper’s proposal, North Carolina will receive $4 billion in federal funding while saving over $330 million in uncompensated care. Studies have shown that expanding Medicaid in North Carolina will provide access to care for over half a million state residents, streamline care delivery, and create tens of thousands of new jobs.
Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42) reintroduced legislation aimed at preventing criminal illegal immigrants from being released from custody. The Help Ensure Legal Detainers (HELD) Act, H.R. 514, would require localities to adhere to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers.
U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and U.S. Representative Earl L. "Buddy" Carter, R-Ga.-01, introduced legislation in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives to expand and protect Fort Frederica National Monument located on St. Simons Island, Ga.
Rep. Jeff Duncan (SC-03) along with Rep. John Carter (TX-31) introduced a bill to cut through the red tape on owning firearm suppressors. The Duncan-Carter Hearing Protection Act will remove suppressors from the scope of the National Firearms Act (NFA), replacing the outdated federal transfer process with an instantaneous National Instant Criminal Background Check )NICS). The bill also includes a provision to refund the $200 transfer tax to applicants who purchase a suppressor after October 22, 2015, which was the original date of introduction. In stark contrast, many countries in Europe place no regulations on their purchase, possession, or use.
