Amodei Report: Washington Edition

With my support last week, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies voted to send the FY 2018 Interior and Environment Bill up to the full Committee. This legislation funds the Department of the Interior (DOI), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Forest Service, the Indian Health Service, and several independent and related agencies. Specifically, the bill encourages the responsible use of our natural resources by providing critical funding to combat devastating wildfires, improve forest health, and promote clean air and water. It also supports our Native communities and preserves funding for important arts and humanities programs that add culture and value to our local communities.

You might be interested to know my office requested specific funding, included in this bill, which will benefit many programs and agencies that are important to Nevadans. Learn more about this funding below:

• Increases $4M in administrative funding for certain Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) programs to help reduce the backlogs that are burdening tribal members across several departments.
• Included in this funding is a $1.5M increase in Detention and Corrections administrative funding to ensure our local corrections facilities are paid on time for their partnership with our tribes.
• Between implementing the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience (NATIVE) Act and the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association (AIANTA) Cooperative agreement, $3.4M dollars will be provided to promote and sustain Native tourism. You may be interested to know that the AIANTA Cooperative agreement was created in part by the Executive Director of the Nevada Indian Commission, Sherry Rupert, who is also the President of AIANTA. 

Promoting Art, Culture, and History

• As an arts and humanities enthusiast, I have always supported the work of the Nevada Arts Council, Nevada Humanities, and programs across the state that bring cultural and historical perspectives to our communities through projects, publications, and exhibitions. The federal agencies that support these types of projects are the National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) and the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA). You will be pleased to know that this bill preserves funding for both the NEH and NEA for FY 2018 at $145M. I believe the promotion of the arts is vital to the success and prosperity of our country and I’m pleased to see this funding preserved.

A full Committee markup on this bill has been scheduled for today. My colleagues and I on the House Appropriations Committee will continue conducting vigorous oversight, ensuring the most responsible use of your hard-earned taxpayer dollars by reigning in wasteful spending where needed, and investing wisely in the critical programs and agencies Americans rely on. 

Click here to learn more about additional funding measures included in this bill.

Washington Interns

I’d like to give a special shout out to our summer interns Will, Eric, and Matt. Each of you have contributed immensely to Team Amodei’s Washington office, while helping serve the constituents of CD-2. Thanks for all of your hard work this summer!

Washington Wrap-Up

Supporting Our Troops

With my support last week, the House passed H.R. 2810, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2018. This important legislation funds our national security needs and supports our men and women in uniform. As our world becomes increasingly dangerous, we must continue to ensure our troops have the tools they need to protect our nation from unpredictable threats. The NDAA accomplishes these priorities by recognizing the need for increased funding of military training and readiness programs, equipment, and quality-of-life programs for our troops and their families.

Additionally, this bill equips the Nevada National Guard with the resources and equipment it needs to effectively deliver when Governor Sandoval or the President call. I actually had the opportunity to meet with General Burks and other members of the Nevada National Guard in my Washington office back in March to discuss this legislation and hear their feedback.  

Learn more about the specific funding provided in the NDAA below:

Ensuring Military Readiness

• After five years of cuts, this bill restores military readiness by providing $215.3B to ensure our troops are equipped with everything they need to effectively carry out their missions and return home safely.

Modernizing Our Equipment

• This bill ensures that we maintain our technological edge by providing $72.7B for research and development.  It also provides $117.8B for essential equipment and platform upgrades.

Supporting Our Warfighters

• Personnel & Pay: This bill gives our troops their biggest pay raise in eight years by providing $132.1B for our active-duty and Guard and Reserve Troops. Additionally, it fully funds the authorized 2.1% pay raise.
• Health Care: The NDAA enhances medical care and ensures full benefits for our troops, their families, and veterans by providing:
  • $34.1B - $1.5B above FY16 levels for the Defense Health Program, which ensures our military personnel and their families have access to important programs like TRICARE.

This bill passed the House with a bipartisan recorded vote of 344 - 81. I thank the House Armed Services Committee for its work on this legislation and applaud my colleagues in the House for coming together to responsibly fund our nation’s security needs.

House Accomplishments

The House has accomplished a lot this Congress, leading the pack on productivity compared to the last four administrations. For those who think lawmakers in the House haven't been working this year, we’ve actually passed a record number of bills, making it the most productive in the modern-era. Over the past seven months, we’ve worked to cut down on burdensome regulations, create jobs, and get our economy back on track.

While a number of these bills have been stalled in the Senate – the House will continue working diligently on your behalf. Check out some of the numbers below, courtesy of Majority Leader McCarthy’s office, to learn more:

As always, thank you for subscribing to the Amodei Report. I look forward to continuing to keep you up to date on important health care updates in addition to 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 2^nd District follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube.