While taking action to keep Americans safe, we must also ensure we are not creating unintended consequences for the millions of law-abiding citizens who responsibly exercise their right to protect themselves each day. Unfortunately, it’s become much too common for law-abiding citizens with concealed carry permits to unknowingly break the law and suffer arrest because of the current hodgepodge of concealed carry reciprocity laws between states. To solve this problem, the House took action this week to pass H.R. 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, legislation that would allow law-abiding citizens to exercise their right to protect themselves in any state. The policy would be similar to how a driver’s license is recognized across state lines.
To date, 119,735 Nevadans – or about 4% of our state’s total population – hold a concealed carry permit. To obtain a permit in Nevada, applicants must take an eight-hour course, demonstrate competence with a firearm, pay local and federal fees, be over 21 years of age, be qualified to legally possess a firearm by a variety of state standards, pass a criminal background check, and submit fingerprints to Nevada and the FBI.
Congress has a responsibility to ensure our current laws are enforced to prevent dangerous criminals and mentally-impaired individuals from illegally obtaining firearms. Contrary to what you may have heard about this bill, it’s important to note that nothing in H.R. 38 would alter your right to bear arms or change federal law requiring background checks. In fact, this bill would increase funding for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to maintain accurate records and ensure our current system is working properly.
Finally, if enacted, this bill would require the Justice Department to report to Congress within 180 days on the issue of bump stock accessories and require the Attorney General to issue recommendations for penalties on using such accessories.
Washington Visitors
Chairman Tso of the Las Vegas Paiutes
Mayor Daniel Corona of West Wendover
Washington Wrap-Up
Tax Reform
After passing different versions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act recently, the House and Senate each voted this week to send the bill to a Conference Committee where appointed Members from both chambers will work through the legislative differences to ultimately reach an agreement. The version of the bill agreed to in the Conference Committee must successfully pass out of both chambers before it can head to the President’s desk for a signature. As always, my staff and I will remain transparent throughout this process, keeping you informed of any updates we receive along the way.
Sexual Harassment & Workplace Discrimination
Speaker Ryan recently announced the House’s zero tolerance policy regarding sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace. The House took action last week to condemn this inappropriate behavior by passing H.Res.630, a resolution requiring all Members and their staffs to complete mandatory anti-harassment and anti-discrimination training during each session of Congress. All of my staff in Washington, Reno, and Elko have completed the training and are fully compliant, myself included.
As you may know, Congress passed the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to protect employees of the Legislative Branch. To ensure Members of Congress and their staffs follow a certain code of conduct while employed in Congress, the Act established the Office of Compliance (OOC) to administer and ensure the Act’s integrity through education and enforcement. The bill also established “an account of the Office in the Treasury of the United States for the payment of awards and settlements.” This account, otherwise known as the OOC’s Awards and Settlement Fund, may be used to settle any workplace dispute for any employee, including personnel not associated with House Member offices such as individuals employed by the Architect of the Capitol or U.S. Capitol Police.
Since the enactment of this bill, about $17 million has been used to settle workplace disputes. In the last five years, six disputes have come directly from congressional offices with the total amount paid out from those claims being close to $360,000. Of those six disputes, one of the settlements was a sexual harassment claim totaling $84,000.
Net Neutrality
Commonly referred to as “net neutrality” rules, the regulatory impact prohibits the blocking of legal content, forbids paid prioritization of affiliated or proprietary content, and prohibits the throttling of legal content by broadband Internet access service providers. This is the ruling the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is currently determining whether or not to review. The FCC will vote on the issue during its Open Meeting on December 14.
As my staff and I continue to closely monitor this issue, you might be interested to know these rules are regulated by the Administration. This is not something Congress had a hand in. In fact, Chairman Wheeler exercised the same authority under President Obama. While there is a lot of misinformation and emotion out there, what Chairman Pai is attempting to do is rollback some of the most stringent regulations implemented under the Obama Administration.
Government Shutdown
This week, the House voted on a short term spending bill to fund the government through December 22. As you may remember, the last government shutdown lasted 16 days, from September 30 to October 17, 2013. I’m pleased the House was able to avoid a government shutdown as the last one did not prove to be an effective tool in negotiations with opposing parties. I’m hopeful the House will now shift focus to a proper funding package that includes Nevada’s priorities.
DACA
In accordance with the President’s March 5 deadline for Congress to address the DACA issue, I recently signed onto a letter to Speaker Ryan asking House leadership to act on DACA as soon as possible - preferably by the end of the year. Frankly, I’m embarrassed by the House’s inability to bring a single DACA bill to the floor since I’ve been here. My embarrassment is heightened by the fact that we’ve criticized the previous Administration for executive action in this area as we stand against a deadline from the present Administration because we haven’t acted.
Addressing the issue sooner, rather than later, will allow Congress to potentially discuss other immigration related issues, such as: border security, chain immigration, or Visa overstays. If you are a frequent reader of this newsletter, you are aware of my distaste for making policy decisions at the 11th Hour as they usually result in poor legislative outcomes.
I respectfully disagree with those who believe continued inaction is the best path for DACA and immigration reform. The Constitution specifically states the Congress shall decide immigration and naturalization policy. President Obama overreached and created the current dilemma, and President Trump has now asked Congress to act on this issue by March. I agree with the President, which is why I have asked House leadership to get to work!
Once again, Washington-based special interest groups – on both sides of the issue – have failed to provide relevant facts and instead rely on “fake news” with the hopes of evoking emotional reactions from those concerned about immigration reform. I thank them all for being a “productive” part of the policy discussion – I hope you appreciate my sarcasm.
House Productivity Score Board
To date, there are nearly 400 House bills stuck in Senate limbo. While the Senate has passed a few of the bills we’ve sent over this year, the majority haven’t seen any action.
Included in this pile of stalled bills are all 12 Appropriations bills the House passed earlier this year. These important pieces of legislation allocate funding for the critical programs and agencies Americans rely on. Unfortunately, the Senate is significantly behind, having yet to vote on a single Appropriations bill all year. It’s incredibly frustrating that the bulk of our agenda has been stalled because of the Senate’s inaction when the House has worked hard all year to do its part, stay on schedule, and advance the people’s priorities.
Learn more about some of the priorities awaiting action in the Senate below:
Health Care
H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act (AHCA)
I continually hear from constituents that they don’t want Congress to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) – they want us to fix it. Well, the American Health Care Act (AHCA) is absolutely a fix. Passing this bill was the first step in a long journey of dealing with true health care reform. Although the Senate failed to pass its health care reform bill this year, health care still remains one of our top priorities.
There is still much work that needs to be done to reform certain aspects of the ACA as premiums for some of the most popular ACA plans are expected to spike next year. We expect health care to take center stage again after the first of the year, so I’ve continued to work with my staff to gather data and meet with relevant stakeholders in Nevada as well as lawmakers here in Washington.
*This bill passed the House on 5/4/2017. The Senate failed to pass its version of this bill on 7/28/2017.
H.R. 2192, to amend the Public Health Service Act to eliminate the non-application of certain State waiver provisions to Members of Congress and congressional staff
You might be interested to know that this past May, Members of the House unanimously voted in favor of striking down exemptions under the American Health Care Act for Members of Congress, making a clear statement to the American people that Congress wants the same health care options we are attempting to give you because we believe it’s better than what you have right now.
*This bill passed the House on 5/4/2017. To date, the Senate has not taken any action on this legislation.
H.R. 3922, the Championing Healthy Kids Act
This legislation would extend funding for important programs and providers such as the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Community Health Centers (CHCs), and other important public health priorities. Additionally, this bill is fully offset as it includes responsible policies to pave the way for new spending. These offset policies would help lower premiums, stabilize insurance markets, and redirect dollars to proven public health programs all while ensuring lower-income children and medically underserved populations have access to the care and services they deserve.
*This bill passed the House on 11/3/2017. To date, the Senate has not taken any action on this legislation.
H.R. 849, the Protecting Seniors’ Access to Medicare Act of 2017
The Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), established under the ACA, has authority to unilaterally cut Medicare spending without any congressional oversight or input. With the unprecedented authority to alter Medicare policy, the IPAB could potentially reduce seniors’ access to health care and also put the government – rather than the patient – at the center of our nation's health care system. H.R. 849 would amend the ACA by terminating the IPAB in order to protect and strengthen Medicare for our nation’s seniors.
*This bill passed the House on 11/2/2017. To date, the Senate has not taken any action on this legislation.
H.R. 2824, the Increasing Opportunity and Success for Children and Parents through Evidence-Based Home Visiting Act
This bill would reauthorize current levels of funding for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program, a program that gives at-risk pregnant women and their families the resources and skills they need to raise healthy children. This bill would make additional improvements to the program by requiring states to continue demonstrating progress in child abuse prevention, improving newborn health, and reducing crime and domestic violence.
*This bill passed the House on 9/26/2017. To date, the Senate has not taken any action on this legislation.
Appropriations
H.R. 3219, the Make America Secure Act
This legislation includes the following Appropriations bills: Defense, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, Legislative Branch, and Energy and Water. Also known as the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, this bill would provide funding for our national security initiatives, military priorities, and veterans. Additionally, it contains a portion of the Homeland Security Appropriations bill which includes the White House’s requested amount for construction to begin on the southern border. The passage of this legislation means this is the fifth year in a row the House has successfully provided increased funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Over the last five years, we’ve increased funding for the VA by nearly 27%.
*This bill passed the House on 7/27/2017. To date, the Senate has not taken any action on this legislation.
H.R. 3354, the Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act
This legislation incudes the remaining eight Appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2018 that were not included in H.R. 3219. H.R. 3354 includes the: Agriculture, Financial Services, Homeland Security, Interior, Labor, State & Foreign Operations, Transportation, and Commerce, Justice & Science Appropriations bills. This bill accomplishes our spending priorities by providing appropriate levels of funding for important federal agencies and programs, while eliminating wasteful spending for a number of underachieving programs.
*This bill passed the House on 9/14/2017. To date, the Senate has not taken any action on this legislation.
Sanctuary Cities
In June, the House worked to target dangerous sanctuary city policies by advancing legislation with measures that do more to identify and deport criminal individuals who are here illegally. It’s simply unacceptable that we can detain a criminal immigrant, but cannot deport them because we do not have the capability, or because local law enforcement is unwilling to report them. Learn more about these bills below:
H.R. 3003, the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act
Sanctuary cities threaten our laws and put our citizens in harm’s way. In an effort to increase public safety, Congress must eliminate sanctuary policies and require all states to abide by the same set of federal immigration laws. H.R. 3003 would eliminate certain federal funding for jurisdictions that shield criminal immigrants from immigration law enforcement.
*This bill passed the House on 6/29/2017. To date, the Senate has not taken any action on this legislation.
H.R. 3004, Kate’s Law
As you may know, in 2015, 32-year-old Kate Steinle was shot and killed in a sanctuary city by an illegal immigrant with a stolen firearm. Sadly, Kate is just one of many victims. You might also recognize the names Sarah Root and Grant Ronnebeck. As the father of two daughters, this is an issue that hits close to home for me. I cannot imagine the pain these victims’ parents and families must have gone through – especially over a crime that was preventable. H.R. 3004 would protect individuals by imposing increased penalties on criminal aliens who re-enter the U.S. illegally or participate in criminal activity. While there is still more work to be done on this issue, the passage of this bill sends a strong message to sanctuary cities that the protection of criminal aliens will not be tolerated.
*This bill passed the House on 6/29/2017. To date, the Senate has not taken any action on this legislation.
Veterans
H.R. 3262, the Grow Our Own Directive: Physician Assistant Employment and Education Act of 2017
This legislation directs the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) to carry out a pilot program where it has the ability to train former members of the Armed Services that have certain medical experience to become physician assistants within the VA. This legislation would give the VA the flexibility to address their health care provider shortage.
*This bill passed the House on 7/28/2017. To date, the Senate has not taken any action on this legislation.
H.R. 2372, the Veterans Equal Treatment Ensures Relief and Access Now (VETERAN) Act
This bill would give veterans the choice to either stay in the VA or receive financial support for a private health care plan. While the VA delivers for some veterans, no veteran should be forced to stay in a health care system that does not effectively meet their needs.
*This bill passed the House on 6/15/2017. To date, the Senate has not taken any action on this legislation.
As always, thank you for subscribing to the Amodei Report. I look forward to continuing to keep you up to date on the issues you care about most.
For additional information, please visit my website at amodei.house.gov or call my Washington office: (202) 225-6155, Reno office: (775) 686-5760 or Elko office: (775) 777-7705. To receive updates on what I am doing in Washington and in Nevada’s 2nd District follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube.
