YOUR CONGRESS AT WORK

U.S. House of Representatives (Photo courtesy of WikiMedia.)

WEEK OF JULY 7, 2014

Our elected officials were in fine form during the week of July 7th to July 11th. It seems their July Fourth festivities refreshed them enough to come back to work ready to do battle for the benefit of polluters and big business.

HOUSE RESOLUTION 4923:

HR 4923 is the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015, which funds numerous projects relating to all types of waterways, as well as to all manner of energy and science programs. It also funds for "flood control and coastal emergencies, including hurricanes and other natural disasters." This bill relates to the appropriation of $30.4 billion for energy, water and nuclear safety programs in fiscal 2015.

HR 4923 was passed in a 253 to 170 vote in the House on July 10, 2014.  The bill:

• Increases spending for fossil-fuel research;
• Reduces spending for renewable-energy and energy-efficiency programs (by $112 million);
• Funds the National Nuclear Administration, the Army Corps of Engineers water projects, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Appalachian Regional Commission;
• Prohibits funding for certain environmental protections under the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act;
• Prohibits the Army Corps of Engineers from enforcing its ban on firearms on its land; and
• Limits U.S. cooperation with Russia in nuclear non-proliferation programs.

HR 4923 passed with 218 Republican, and 18 Democrat, votes to approve sending the bill to the Senate.

BAN ON CLIMATE-CHANGE FUNDING:

Amendment 1040 to HR 4923 prohibits funding Department of Energy or Army Corps of Engineers policies meant to combat climate changes that are based on "biased" science. So, claiming that 97% of the scientific community has plotted to bamboozle us into accepting that climate change exists has resulted in appropriating money to deal with the effects of climate change, but not to address means of preventing the effects of climate change.

Amendment 1040 passed by 229 for, to 188 against, with 224 of the "aye" votes cast by Republicans and the remaining 5 votes by Democrats.  Only ONE Republican voted against prohibiting funding to combat climate change.

INCREASING FUNDING OF RENEWABLE ENERGY:

Amendment 989 to HR 4923 will either increase or decrease funding for Energy Efficient and Renewable Energy by $111,641,000, and either increase or decrease funding for Fossil Energy Research and Development by the same amount. To be clear, if Energy Efficient and Renewable Energy programs get the money, Fossil Energy Research and Development does not, and vice versa.

Amendment 989 was rejected by 245 votes, versus 172 votes. This means that the money goes to fossil fuels and NOT to renewable or efficient energy programs. Of the nay votes that defeated this proposal, 224 of them were cast by Republicans and 21 by Democrats.  This vote confirms that Republicans are the primary force against progress in energy efficiency or renewable energy.

BONUS DEPRECIATION!!

HR 4718 to amend the IRS Code of 1986 to modify and make permanent bonus depreciation sounds a lot more fun than it is. This bill will provide yet another BONUS to business, but only those businesses that purchase "qualified property," so small mom and pop establishments are unlikely to feel any "bonus" at all.

The known cost is $287 billion in the form of federal deficits between fiscal 2014 and 2024, according to official projections. This expense is added to current deficits.

Historically, "bonus depreciation" has been enacted on a temporary basis to stimulate purchasing by businesses during economic slumps. It allows businesses to deduct 50% of the cost of qualified properties purchased, with the deduction taken during the year of purchase. This bill makes the "bonus" permanent, on top of the regular depreciation allowances for the same items.  

Bonus depreciation is an obvious maneuver with real benefits on a temporary basis that clearly can make the decision to make certain buys more palatable when times are tough. On a permanent basis, it costs taxpayers millions, and fails to provide stimulus when needed. Having bonus depreciation all the time means that businesses can depreciate qualified purchases, while real small businesses and regular people pay the tab for the "bonus."

IS THIS SOMETHING THAT WE THE PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN GIFTING TO BUSINESSES RIGHT NOW?

The budgetary effects will be difficult to track, as the "scorecards" used by Congress will not be applied to this bill (see Section 2 of the bill's text here).

JOB-TRAINING REFORMS:

In a 415 for, and 6 against vote, the House sent President Obama a bipartisan bill regarding job-training reform. HR 803 will consolidate dozens of federal programs into a single program administered by States. All job-training, adult education and literacy programs will be offered in a workforce program funded by grants which Governors will control.

The potential downside is that applicants to each of the former programs will compete with each other for acceptance in the broader program.  This bill is a five-year renewal of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), and will be funded at $6 billion or more annually.

Aside from HR 803, which will go to the President, the other approved bills and their amendments will go on to the Senate for a vote.

Big winners last week:  Not us.