List of the successful amendments to the Continuing Resolution CR (H.R. 1)

List of the successful amendments to the Continuing Resolution CR (H.R. 1). Bill Summary & Status 112th Congress (2011 - 2012) H.R.1 Hal Rogers CR is a “Monumental Accomplishment” for American Taxpayers. H.R.1 Latest Title: Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 Sponsor: Rep Harold Rogers [KY-5] (introduced 2/11/2011) Cosponsors (None) Related Bills: H.RES.92 Latest Major Action: 2/19/2011 Passed/agreed to in House. Status: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 235 - 189 (Roll no. 147). Latest Action: 2/19/2011 Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers today praised the passage of H.R.1, the Continuing Resolution (CR). The legislation includes funding to continue federal government operations for the rest of the 2011 fiscal year, while making the largest single discretionary spending cut in the history of the nation.

“This bill is a monumental accomplishment for each and every American who believes that their government is spending too much. It dramatically scales back the size and scope of domestic government programs, eliminates $100 billion in spending compared to what the President asked for last year, and will mark the beginning of a new trend of reductions that will take place throughout the next year.

“We held no program harmless from our spending cuts, and virtually no area of government escaped this process unscathed. While these choices were difficult to make, we strived to spread the sacrifice fairly, weeding out waste and excess, with a razor-sharp focus on making the most out of every taxdollar.

“My Republican Committee members and I promised to slash spending and to help reduce our nation’s dangerous levels of deficits and debt so that our economy can grow and businesses can create jobs. This bill does just that,” Rogers said.

In addition to spending cuts, the legislation also contains multiple provisions to stop harmful regulations or programs that would hurt the nation’s economy and inhibit the ability of American businesses to create jobs, such as onerous EPA “greenhouse gas” regulations, the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste storage facility application process, and the Obama Administration’s health care reform act.

“The hand of government has reached too far into Americans’ everyday lives, hindering our freedoms and impairing our economic recovery. This legislation will help stop harmful regulations, misguided laws, and over-reaching bureaucracies to allow our businesses to create jobs and our economy to thrive,” Rogers said.

This legislation will now go to the Senate for a vote. If the CR is not enacted before the current funding measure’s deadline of March 4th, Congress must pass another short-term funding resolution or else risk a government-wide shutdown.

“So that we can promptly continue our regular budgetary work for this year, the House, Senate, and White House must come together to complete this process before March 4th – when our current funding measure expires. It is critically important that we move this CR, avoid a government shutdown, and get spending cuts passed by the Congress and signed by the President. The American people expect no less,” Rogers said.

The CR was considered in an historic and unprecedented open process on the House floor that included more than 580 amendments offered by both parties and a grueling 60-plus hours of public debate. Of these amendments, 67 were accepted or passed, changing the underlying legislation and reflecting the fair representation of the American people. In all, the successful amendments included more than $620 million in additional spending cuts.

“For first time after years of closed-door Democrat control, the House was able to work its will in an open and transparent fashion in full view of the American people. Hundreds of amendments were considered, the debate offered everyone a chance to be heard, and the legislation now contains changes that reflect the many varied interests of families, communities, and businesses across the country. I am proud that the House has returned to a regular and fair democratic process, and look forward to continuing this effort throughout the Appropriations process this year,” Rogers said.

A list of the successful amendments to the CR (H.R. 1) follows:

· An amendment by Rep. Rooney (R-FL) to eliminate $450 million in funding for the Alternate Engine, produced by GE-Rolls Royce, for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

· An amendment by Rep. Michaud (D-ME) to transfer $80 million from the Census Bureau to the Economic Development Administration, an agency within the Department of Commerce.

· An amendment by Rep. Flake (R-AZ) to eliminate $34 million in funding for the National Drug Intelligence Center, a component of the Department of Justice that provides drug-related intelligence, training and support.

· An amendment by Rep. Holt (D-NJ) to ensure that the Department of Justice continues funding the National Instant Criminal Background Check at the current level of $20 million.

· An amendment by Rep. Weiner (D-NY) to transfer $298 million from NASA Cross Agency Support to the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program.

· An amendment by Rep. McClintock (R-CA) to eliminate $1.9 million in funding from the Bureau of Reclamation.

· An amendment by Rep. Pascrell (D-NJ) to transfer $510 million from the research and development programs of the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology program to increase funding for Firefighter SAFER grants, which use federal resources for hiring local firefighters.

· An amendment by Rep. Burton (R-IN) to eliminate $2 million in funding from the Bureau of Land Management for holding pens created for wild horses and burros.

· An amendment by Rep. Pompeo (R-KS) to eliminate $8.4 million from the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Registry, a program that collects data on industrial greenhouse gas emissions, returning its funding to 2008 levels.

· An amendment by Rep. Reed (R-NY) to reduce EPA STAG grants by $10 million to defund sewer improvements in Tijuana, Mexico.

· An amendment by Rep. Walberg (R-MI) to decrease funding for the Grants and Administration portion of the National Endowment for the Arts by $20.5 million.

· An amendment from Rep. Canseco (R-TX) to eliminate $4.5 million from the National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs program, which has the primary purpose of providing grants to not-for-profit institutions for performing arts and exhibitions in Washington, DC.

· An amendment from Rep. Reed (R-NY) that eliminates all funding ($15 million) from the Presidio Trust Fund, removing all funding for the Presidio National Park, a former military compound in San Francisco.

· An amendment from Rep. McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) that increases funding for Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), which funds state grants, by $557.7 million, restoring IDEA funding to the current level of $11.5 billion. The increase is offset by a $500 million cut to Teacher Quality State Grants and a $336.6 million cut to School Improvement Grants, a program that received $3 billion in “stimulus” funds and has $554 million in leftover funds from fiscal year 2010.

· An amendment from Rep. Young (R-AK) that strikes the language that prohibits the Department of Education from using the Alaska Native Education Equity Act and the Native Hawaiian Education Program, providing supplemental education services to the Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native populations.

· An amendment from Rep. Whitfield (R-KY) to eliminate $1.5 million for the “Greening of the Capitol” initiative from the Legislative Branch section of the CR.

· An amendment from Rep. Weiner (D-NY) that eliminates $42.6 million in funding from the United States Institute of Peace.

· An amendment from Rep. Canseco (R-TX) that eliminates $10.7 million in funding for the East-West Center, an independent, public nonprofit that has historically not received funding in the Subcommittee bill.

· An amendment from Rep. McClintock (R-CA) that eliminates $20 million for tropical forest debt reduction, affecting the Department of the Treasury, Debt Restructuring portion of the CR.

· An amendment from Rep. Scalise (R-LA) that prohibits the use of federal funds to pay the salaries and expenses of the following “czars,” or special presidential advisers who are not required to go through the Senate confirmation process: Obama Care Czar, Climate Change Czar, Global Warming Czar, Green Jobs Czar, Car Czar, Guantanamo Bay Closure Czar, Pay Czar and Fairness Doctrine Czar.

· An amendment from Rep. Cole (R-OK) that restricts public funds from being used for the Presidential Election Campaign Fund or political party conventions. This amendment correlates with the “YouCut” bill that passed the House in January, saving $38 million in fiscal year 2012.

· An amendment from Rep. Price (D-NC) that creates a subsidy for the operating expenses of state and local communities by waiving the cost share and eligibility requirements for SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Responders) Grants.

· An amendment from Rep. Walden (R-OR) that blocks funding for the Federal Communications Commission to institute Net Neutrality rules.

· An amendment from Rep. Carter (R-TX) that prohibits the use of funds to implement, administer or enforce the rule entitled “National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants From the Portland Cement Manufacturing Industry and Standards of Performance for Portland Cement Plants,” published by the Environmental Protection Agency on September 9, 2010, which limits the levels of mercury in cement.

· An amendment from Rep. Lummis (R-WY) to put a moratorium, for the duration of the CR, on the payment of legal fees to citizens and groups who sue the government, in order to study abuses in the system.

· An amendment from Rep. Fortenberry (R-NE) that prohibits U.S. military assistance to Chad, due to its continued use of child conscription, consistent with the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2007.

· An amendment from Rep. Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) that provides $30 million to carry out the provisions of title I of the PROTECT our Children Act.

· An amendment from Rep. Lowey (D-NY) that prohibits the use of funds for the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, State and Local Programs to provide grants under the Urban Area Security Initiative to more than 25 high-risk urban areas.

· An amendment from Rep. Hastings (D-FL) that increases funding for the HIV-AIDS within the Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services account by $42 million.

· An amendment from Rep. Kline (R-MN) that bans funding for the Department of Education regulations on Gainful Employment, as-yet-unpublished rules that would restrict federal student aid to for-profit colleges whose students have high debt-to-income ratios and require the schools to report more information about student outcomes.

· An amendment from Rep. Pence (R-IN) to prohibit federal funds from being made available to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., or any of its affiliates.

· An amendment from Rep. Young (R-AK) to prohibit funds from being used by the EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board to consider, review, reject remand or other invalidate any permit issued for Outer Continental Shelf sources located offshore of the States along the Arctic Coast.

· An amendment from Reps. Poe (R-TX), Barton (R-TX) and Carter (R-TX) that defines specifically what greenhouse gases are and prohibits the EPA from imposing regulations on those gasses emitted by a stationary source for seven months.

· Nine amendments to defund various aspects of President Obama’s health care law, effectively blocking the administration from carrying out the planned health system overhaul, including:

o An amendment from Rep. Rehberg (R-MT) that prohibits federal funding from being used to pay any employee, officer or contractor to implement the provisions of President Obama’s health care law, stopping the Department of Health and Human Services from implementing the law.
o An amendment from Rep. King (R-IA) that strips funding for any provision of the President’s health care law.
o An amendment from Rep. King (R-IA) that prohibits the payment of salaries for any officer or employee of any federal department or agency with respect to carrying out the President’s health care law. (This amendment has virtually the same effect as Rep. Rehberg’s amendment.)
o An amendment from Rep. Emerson (R-MO) that bars the use of funds in the bill from being used to implement the individual mandate and penalties and reporting requirements of the President’s health care law.
o An amendment from Rep. Price (R-GA) that prohibits the use of federal funds from being used to carry out the medical loss ratio restrictions in the President’s health care law. These provisions require insurers to spend at least a certain percent of their premium revenues on medical care.
o An amendment from Rep. Gardner (R-CO) that blocks funds for Health Insurance Exchanges, a set of state-regulated health care plans offered under the President’s health care law.
o An amendment from Rep. Burgess (R-TX) prohibiting the use of funds for employee and officer salaries at the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight at the Department of Health and Human Services, created by the President’s health care reform bill.
o An amendment from Rep. Pitts (R-PA) that prohibits the funding of salaries for any officer or employee of the government to issue regulations on essential benefits under section 1302 of the President’s health care law.
o An amendment from Rep. Hayworth (R-NY) that prohibits funds for the independent payment advisory board.

· An amendment from Rep. McClintock (R-CA) that prohibits funds from being used to implement the Klamath (California) Dam Removal and Sedimentation Study, conducted by the US Bureau of Reclamation and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

· An amendment by Rep. Herger (R-CA) that prohibits the use of funds to implement or enforce the Travel Management Rule, which would close roads and trails on National Forest System land.

· An amendment from Rep. Boren (D-OK) that prohibits the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from collecting information on multiple sales of rifles or shotguns to the same person.

· An amendment by Rep. Forbes (R-VA) that prohibits the use of funds to take any action to effect or implement the disestablishment, closure or realignment of the US Joint Forces Command.

· An amendment by Rep. Forbes (R-VA) that prohibits the use of funds made available to the Department of Defense for official representation purposes.

· An amendment from Rep. Johnson (R-OH) to prohibit the use of funds for the Department of the Interior’s Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) from moving forward with a proposed rule that would effectively eliminate the Stream Buffer Zone Rule, a rule that presently allows surface mining operations with qualified permits to work within 100 feet of a stream.

· An amendment from Rep. Reed (R-NY) that prohibits the use of funds for the Overseas Comparability Pay Adjustment, an increase in pay for overseas Foreign Service Officers approved by President Obama under the supplemental appropriations bill in 2009.

· An amendment from Rep. Matheson (D-UT) that prohibits the use of funds for the Community Connect broadband grant program administered by the Rural Utilities Service of the Department of Agriculture.

· An amendment from Rep. Goodlatte (R-VA) that would prohibit EPA funding for enforcement of total maximum daily loads in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

· An amendment by Rep. Weiner (D-NY) that bans foreign aid to Saudi Arabia.

· An amendment by Rep. Weiner (D-NY) that prohibits the use of funds to provide nonrecourse marketing assistance loans to mohair farmers.

· An amendment from Rep. Rooney (R-FL) that prohibits funding for the EPA to impose and enforce federally mandated numeric Florida water quality standards.

· An amendment from Rep. Stearns (R-FL) that prohibits funds for UN construction within the US.

· An amendment from Rep. Flake (R-AZ) that prohibits funds from being used to construct ethanol blender pumps or ethanol storage facilities.

· An amendment from Rep. Hall (R-TX) prohibiting funds to implement a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Service, part of the President’s fiscal year 2012 budget request.

· An amendment from Rep. Griffith (R-VA) prohibiting the EPA, Corps of Engineers and the Office of Surface Mining from implementing coordination procedures that have served to extend and delay the review of coal mining permits.

· An amendment from Rep. Jones (R-NC) that prohibits the use of funds from being used to develop or approve a new limited access privilege program – “catch-shares” – for any fishery under the jurisdiction of the South Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, New England or Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council.

· An amendment from Rep. Luetkemeyer (R-MO) that prohibits funds for the study of the Missouri river projects.

· An amendment from Rep. Luetkemeyer (R-MO) that prohibits the use of funds for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

· An amendment from Rep. Sullivan (R-OK) that blocks funds for the EPA to implement a waiver to increase the ethanol content in gasoline from 10 percent to 15 percent.

· An amendment from Rep. McKinley (R-WV) that prohibits funding for the EPA to deny proposed and active mining permits under Section 404 (c) of the Clean Water Act, specifically to revoke retroactively a permit for the Spruce Mine in West Virginia.

· An amendment from Rep. McKinley (R-WV) that prohibits funding for the EPA to implement regulations to designate coal ash reside as hazardous waste.

· An amendment from Rep. Pompeo (R-KS) that prohibits funds for a government sponsored “consumer products complaints database.”

· An amendment from Rep. Noem (R-SD) to prohibit funding for EPA to modify the national primary ambient air quality standards applicable to coarse particulate matter (dust).

· An amendment from Rep. Burgess (R-TX) that prohibits funds to implement a provision specific to the State of Texas in the “Education Job Fund.” ##### ###

TEXT CREDIT: Committee on Appropriations H-307, The Capitol Washington, DC 20515 Main Number: (202) 225-2771

IMAGE CREDIT: Congressman Hal Rogers Washington, DC Office 2406 Rayburn House Office Bldg Washington, DC 20515 T (202) 225-4601 F (202) 225-0940

Scott Walker on Fox News Sunday 02/20/11 VIDEO

Scott Walker on Fox News Sunday 02/20/11 VIDEO.

The Cost of Public Sector Benefits

Madison–In an effort to raise awareness about the cost of public sector employee benefits today Governor Walker’s office released the following fact sheet.

·In 2001 taxpayers contributed $423 million dollars to state employee health insurance premiums, while in 2011 taxpayers contributed more than $1 billion dollars. In 2011, state employees paid $64 million toward their health insurance, or about 5.6% of the total cost. (ETF Health Care Analysis)

·From 2001 to 2010 taxpayers spent more than $8 billion dollars on state employee health care coverage—over the same period of time state employees contributed about $398 million. (ETF Health Care Analysis)

·Public employers contributed almost $1.37 billion to the state’s pension fund in 2009, while employees contributed about $8 million, or about 0.6%. (LFB paper 84 Wisconsin Retirement System, Table 28)

·From 2000 to 2009 taxpayers spent about $12.6 billion on public employee pensions, during the same period public employees contributed $55.4 million. (LFB paper 84 Wisconsin Retirement System, Table 28)

·When looking at state operations, state employees account for about 60% of taxpayer cost—77% of state operations for the UW are employees, 70% for corrections, 63% for health services. (State Budget Office Memo 2-9-11)

·Wisconsin taxpayers currently make nearly a 100% payment for the employee portion of the public sector pension contribution. Illinois and Indiana taxpayers contribute the entire employee portion as well, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio pay 0% of the employee contribution. (State Budget Office Memo 2-9-11)

·Public employees in Wisconsin are vested in the retirement system immediately, while in Illinois it takes 8 years, 10 years in Indiana, 4 years in Iowa, 10 years in Michigan, 3 years in Minnesota, and 5 years in Ohio. (State Budget Office Memo 2-9-11)

·Survey data finds that private employer HMO plans in Wisconsin typically require a co-pay of $18 per office visit, $45 per specialist visit, $75 per emergency room visit, or $175 in-patient treatment. The average health insurance premium for these plans averaged $108 per month for single coverage and $261 for family. (State Budget Office Memo 2-9-11)

·Taxpayers spent $733 million of general purpose revenue on fringe benefits for state employees in fiscal year 2010. (State Budget Office Memo 2-9-11)

·Fringe benefits made up 25.6% of school district expenditures in 2008-09. (State Budget Office Memo 2-9-11)

Along with the release of this information Governor Walker’s spokesman, Cullen Werwie, released the following statement:

Wisconsin is in a fiscal crisis because past budgets, which were supported by members of both political parties, used one time sources of revenue for ongoing operating expenditures and did little to address the long-term financial challenges facing our state.

Both democrats and republicans know that state workers do great work. But unfortunately many private sector workers who are also hard working, good people either lost their job, took a pay cut, or saw their benefit package reduced as a result of the recent economic downturn. Governor Walker’s budget repair bill strikes a fair balance—asking public employees to make a modest 5.8% pension contribution, which is about the national average, and 12.6% health insurance contribution, which is about half the national average.

Governor Walker is going to engage in an honest discussion about the cost of our government. He will continue to offer long-term budget reforms that fix Wisconsin’s current fiscal disaster, which will ensure sustainable delivery of the core services taxpayers demand.

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VIDEO CREDIT: RepGovs

TEXT CREDIT: Office of Governor Scott Walker 115 East Capitol Madison WI 53702 Phone (608) 266-1212 Email: govgeneral@wisconsin.gov