September 13, 2013

null

 

POSTHUMOUS GOLD MEDALS AWARDED TO 16TH STREET BAPTIST CHURCH BOMB VICTIMS

 

U.S. Rep. Terri A. Sewell, D-Birmingham, attended a U.S. Capitol ceremony and a presidential proclamation signing ceremony to bestow the Congressional Gold Medal to four Birmingham girls who were killed by the Sept. 15, 1963, bombing of their 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham.

 

"Today, the American people, through their congressional representatives, bestowed the Congressional Gold Medal upon Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley," said Sewell. "As a direct beneficiary of their sacrifice, I was honored that my first piece of legislation honored the 'Four Little Girls' with the highest civilian honor Congress can bestow upon any individual."

 

Sewell gave her remarks accompanied by U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Vestavia Hills, U.S. Sens. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md. and Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa, and congressional leaders. President Obama in a White House ceremony signed a proclamation. "The premature and senseless deaths of these girls awakened the slumbering conscience of America and galvanized the Civil Rights Movement," Sewell said.

 

Their murders partly led to passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. "Our country owes a debt of gratitude to these heroines whose shoulders we stand on today," Sewell said.

 

Members of the Alabama congressional delegation were original co-sponsors of the bill to honor the four girls, ages 11 to 14. The dynamite explosion also injured 22. "Although we will never be able to replace the lives lost or the injuries suffered, this Gold medal will serve as a compelling reminder that the price of freedom is not free," she said.

ALTERNATIVE GOVERNMENT FUNDING PLAN STILL ELUDES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday that an alternative plan to fund government operations beyond Sept. 30 eludes the House. The reason is that conservative opposition forced him to delay a vote, the Hill reported.

 

Without legal action approved by both Houses, parts of government will not be able to legally spend money for the new fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. "There are a lot of discussions going on about how to deal with the [continuing resolution] and the issue of ObamaCare, so we're continuing to work with our members," Boehner, R-Ohio, said. Federal Times said the House plans to vote next week on a continuing spending resolution to fund government through Dec. 15.

 

Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., proposed a stopgap spending bill that forces the Senate to vote to defund President Obama's health insurance law, the Hill said. Hard-line conservatives said the idea was a "gimmick" and Boehner said Republicans had "not quite yet" rejected the plan that could be revised. "There are a million options that are being discussed by a lot of people," Boehner said at a news conference.

 

Some conservatives want a 1-year delay of ObamaCare in exchange for a continuing spending resolution. "I'm well aware of the deadlines," Boehner said. "So are my colleagues. And so we're working with our colleagues to work our way through these issues. I think there's a way to get there."


Cantor said that a scheduled recess at the end of September might be cancelled absent passage of a continuing resolution. Boehner said he told Democrats and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew that the GOP wants spending cuts or reforms in exchange for raising the debt ceiling by next month. "We have a spending problem. It must be addressed. Period," Boehner said.

'UNBRIDLED' CONSUMER BUREAU IS SCRUTINIZED

 

U.S. House Republicans originally didn't allow President Obama's appointment to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to testify to the House Financial Service Committee in April and now GOP members of the committee said they still have concerns about an alleged lack of agency accountability. The Senate eventually confirmed Richard Cordray as CFPB director and he testified this week at the House committee for the first time in six months.

 

"The CFPB is arguably the single most powerful and least accountable federal agency in the history of America," Committee Chairman U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, said. Opponents said that a board or committee rather than an individual should lead the agency.

 

The top Democrat on the committee, U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-California, told Cordray that "issues such as data-collection practices continue to need your attention.

 

"CFPB is a data-driven agency," she said. "As you know, Dodd-Frank specifically prohibits the CFB from gathering or analyzing any information that is personally identifiable. I trust you're carefully adhering to the letter of the law."


Cordray said that his agency looked at broad trends, not individual behavior, the Hill reported, but he was accused of stonewalling by providing no answers. Democrats called the earlier blocking of Cordray's testimony an empty partisan gesture and Waters said Republicans were trying to score political points.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Sessions objects to Obamacare funding    

U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (9/12) U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., released the following statement after cosponsoring the Defund Obamacare Act of 2013: "I have supported and will continue to support efforts to repeal, delay, defund, and block this unaffordable and invasive law. Obamacare will not only make health care less affordable but will reduce the quality of health care and patient choice, increase unemployment, and surge the nation's debt. The Defund Obamacare Act is the latest effort to protect American families from this unwise government takeover."

 

BACKGROUND: "Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced the Defund Obamacare Act of 2013. The bill would deny Obamacare federal funding for any implementation or enforcement activities, end any entitlements or benefits already put in place by Obamacare, and rescind any unspent dollars that have already been appropriated."

Government bidding made easier for small businesses  

Federal Times (9/11) "The General Services Administration is extending the deadline for submissions to its $60 billion One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) from Sept. 17 to Oct. 10, according to a notice Wednesday on Fed Biz Opps.

 

"The agency has modified the 10-year indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity RfP to make it easier for small businesses to compete for contract spots without having had significant past work with federal agencies, according to the agency.

'In keeping with this commitment, GSA is working closely with the small-business community so that they can fairly compete and participate in this important procurement process,' a GSA spokeswoman said."

 

"The OASIS contract will include professional services such as financial management and engineering, scientific and logistics and has separate sections for small businesses and larger firms."

Heated House hearing challenges CFPB's data-mining on credit cards   

Washington Examiner (Pollock, 9/13) "Consumer Financial Protection Bureau officials are seeking to monitor four out of every five U.S. consumer credit card transactions this year - up to 42 billion transactions - through a controversial data-mining program, according to documents obtained by the Washington Examiner.

 

"A CFPB strategic planning document for fiscal years 2013-17 describes the 'markets monitoring' program through which officials aim to monitor 80 percent of all credit card transactions in 2013. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 1.16 billion consumer credit cards were in use in 2012 for an estimated 52.6 billion transactions. If CFPB officials reach their stated "performance goal," they would collect data on 42 billion transactions made with 933 million credit cards used by American consumers.

 

"At a Wednesday hearing before the House Financial Services Committee chaired by Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, CFPB Director Richard Cordray defended the data-mining practice and said his agency is monitoring credit card usage at 110 banks, including Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Capital One, Discover and American Express.

 

"In a related development, Rep. Spencer Bachus, Hensarling's predecessor on the House Financial Services Committee, told the Examiner he believes CFPB violated at least two federal laws by using the impartial U.S. Trustee Program to gather bankruptcy data as part of the data-mining campaign. Bachus also told the Examiner after Wednesday's hearing that a key House subcommittee is planning hearings on possible CFPB abuse of the bankruptcy trustee.

 

"The bankruptcy and anti-trust subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee is investigating this as we speak, and we anticipate a notice of a hearing on this in the near future," Bachus said. The Dodd-Frank Act, which established CFPB, bars the bureau from collecting personally identifiable financial information on consumers and prohibits it from regulating practicing attorneys.

 

"Bachus said Cordray 'exceeded his authority' and violated both provisions if he tried to use the trustee program to obtain files from a company that maintains a document archive for thousands of bankruptcy case attorneys. Bachus said CFPB may also have violated the Fourth Amendment, which entitles Americans to be free from government interference or intrusion in dealing with their legal representation.

 

"At Wednesday's hearing, Cordray refused to answer questions from committee members about CFPB's relationship with the trustee program. 'We don't typically comment on the details of enforcement matters,' he said, though he acknowledged that the bureau is 'working with a number of different agencies, including the Justice Department, to carry out our responsibilities and we will try to do that'."

PROUD PARTNERS OF

US Chamber logo   NAM logo
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
1st Congressional District
202.225.4931


HOUSE CALENDAR            SENATE CALENDAR