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David Stone
Legislative Committee Chairman
U. S. Congress Information
We will post the Grand Lodges “Grassroots Report” each week on this site. It contains information on what your Grand Lodge is doing for you in Washington and updates you on FOP legislation. Contact President Carlton Stallings to become a member of the Grassroots Program.
Washington Watch: Legislative Update
For the Week of 25 February 2008
In This Week’s Edition
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VI.
I. THIS WEEK IN CONGRESS
The House and Senate returned to session this week following the President's Day break.
Action in the House
The House considered and passed H.R. 5351, the "Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act," on a 236-182 vote. The bill extends existing tax credits on certain renewable energy resources.
Action in House Committees
The House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security held a hearing entitled "Cracked Justice--Addressing the Unfairness in Cocaine Sentencing." The FOP submitted written testimony to the Subcommittee. See Item V for more information.
Action in the Senate
The Senate considered, amended, and adopted S. 428, the "IP-Enabled Voice Communications and Public Safety Act," by unanimous consent. The bill, which requires Voice over Internet Providers (VoIP) companies to provide 9-1-1 and E9-1-1 in accordance with FCC Rules and provides liability parity for public safety answering points (PSAPs). The bill will go to a House-Senate conference committee to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill.
The Senate spent much of the week debating S. 2633, legislation which would force the redeployment of U.S. armed forces currently occupying Iraq.
Action in Senate Committees
The Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs held a hearing entitled "Supporting the Front Line in the Fight Against Crime: Restoring Federal Funding for State and Local Law Enforcement " to examine the impact of the sharp reduction in Federal funding for State and local law enforcement.
II. UPDATE ON FOP TOP LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES
For the complete list of cosponsors for all of our top legislative priorities, or to find out if your Representative and Senators are cosponsors of specific bills, check out http://thomas.loc.gov .
A. SOCIAL SECURITY ISSUES:
(1) Support H.R. 82/S. 206, the "Social Security Fairness Act"
We currently have a total of three hundred twenty-eight (328) cosponsors--more than seventy percent (70%) of the House on H.R. 82. Please note that this total differs slightly from THOMAS, as we are not including in our count Delegates Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-Guam), Donna M. Christensen (D-VI), Luis Fortuno (R-PR), and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), who have limited voting rights on the floor. We are also not including Representatives Julia Carson (D-IN), Paul Gillmor (R-OH), Tom Lantos (D-CA), Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-CA), or Charlie Norwood (R-GA), all of whom have died this year. Similarly, Representatives Bobby Jindal (R-LA) and Martin Meehan (D-MA), who resigned their seats, are also not included in our count.
In January, National President Chuck Canterbury sent a letter to the Chairman of the Social Security Subcommittee, Representative Michael R. McNulty (D-NY), urging him to take action on the bill. Chairman McNulty has not yet replied.
That letter can be found here: http://www.fop.net/publications/archives/letters/2008_0108.pdf
We have thirty-five (35) cosponsors on S. 206.
The National Legislative Office has identified fifteen (15) Members from ten (10) States which had previously cosponsored this bill in the 109th Congress. A list of these Members has been forwarded to the National Legislative Committee, who will in turn distribute it to the State Legislative Contacts and leaders in the appropriate States.
(2) Opposing any legislation that would require the participation of public employees in Social Security
This issue was discussed in both hearings mentioned above. While no legislation has been introduced with a provision that would mandate the inclusion in Social Security of public employees currently not in the system, the FOP included in its testimony to the Subcommittee our strong opposition to such a scheme.
B. Support H.R. 980/S. 2123, the "Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act"
On 17 July, the U.S. House of Representatives considered and passed H.R. 980 under a suspension of the rules on a 314-97 vote. The result of that vote, Roll Call #633, can be viewed here: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll633.xml The bill was transmitted to the Senate for further action.
Prior to the end of the session, S. 2123 was offered as an amendment to H.R. 2914, the "Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act," but it was withdrawn after we concluded that we did not have enough votes to pass it because of the absence of five to six Senators that would have voted in its favor. See the FAQ on the Grand Lodge website for additional details.
We added one (1) new cosponsor to S. 2123, Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), bringing our current total to twenty-eight (28).
The FOP has posted an Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document about the legislation in our website, which can be found here: http://www.fop.net/legislative/issues/bargain/hr980faq.pdf
C. Support H.R. 688/S. 449, the "State and Local Law Enforcement Officers' Discipline, Accountability, and Due Process Act"
We added five (5) cosponsors to H.R. 688 this week, no doubt due to the activity of our Day on the Hill participants. This brings our current total to thirty-nine (39). Please note that this total differs slightly from THOMAS, as we are not including Representative Jo Ann Davis (R-VA), who recently died.
We currently have five (5) cosponsors on S. 449.
III.
We currently have fourteen (14) cosponsors on H.R. 2726. The bill was the subject of a hearing before the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security in early September. The testimony offered at that hearing by National Treasurer Tom Penoza can be found on the FOP website.
The Senate bill, S. 376, which was favorably reported by the Committee on the Judiciary in May, has nine (9) cosponsors.
The language in S. 376 and H.R. 2726 would improve certain provisions of the Law Enforcement Officers' Safety Act (LEOSA), especially with respect to retired law enforcement officers. The legislation would also make clear that law enforcement officers employed by the Amtrak Police Department and the executive branch of the Federal Government who are classified as a GS-0083 meet the definition of "qualified law enforcement officer" in the LEOSA. The Senate bill would also lower the aggregate years of service needed to meet the definition of "qualified retired law enforcement officer" from fifteen (15) to ten (10) and removes confusing language related to that same definition.
IV.
Members of the Fraternal Order of Police who attended the organization’s the 13th Annual Day on the Hill event in Washington, D.C. expected to see their National President, Chuck Canterbury, and receive a legislative briefing on the FOP’s top legislative priorities. Instead, they found themselves greeted by the nation’s top cop, U.S. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey, who spoke to the group about “our shared goal of reducing violent crime in America’s towns and cities.”
National President Canterbury noted in his introduction of the Attorney General that the FOP was the only law enforcement organization who was asked to testify at his nomination hearings.
“As our nation’s chief law enforcement officer, Attorney General Mukasey faces a new and perhaps greater challenge–fighting crime, combating terrorism, and safeguarding our national freedoms,” Canterbury said. “The FOP was proud to support his nomination, and we are proud to be able to work with him to improve public safety.”
U.S. Attorney General Mukasey thanked the FOP leadership and then directed his remarks to the FOP members. “It is humbling to address a room full of people who do what you do for a living, knowing that I carry a pen and wear a suit, while you carry guns and wear body armor. There are many issues that the Fraternal Order of Police cares about that coincide with the priorities of the Department of Justice. Among the most prominent is our shared goal of reducing violent crime in America’s towns and cities.”
The FOP’s Day on the Hill is an annual event which is held in Washington, D.C. to give FOP members an opportunity to lobby lawmakers on the organization’s top legislative priorities, which include the repeal of several provisions affecting the Social Security benefits of law enforcement officers, the recognition of the right of law enforcement officers to bargain collectively, and the protection of a law enforcement officer’s due process rights.
“The number one way to influence lawmakers on policy decisions is direct contact from their constituents,” said Canterbury. “Constituent visits bring home the local impact of legislation to Congress, and the Day on the Hill gives our members the chance to talk with lawmakers about Federal policies that affect their lives.”
V.
Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, provided testimony at a hearing held yesterday by the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, and urged them to block the retroactive application of new, lower guidelines that will result in the release of thousands of hardened drug dealers.
“At least 19,500 crack dealers will have their sentences reduced,” Canterbury said. “And these are not ‘low level dealers’ or first time offenders--80% of them had previously been convicted of a crime, a majority of them have multiple prior convictions and 35% of them also possessed a firearm in connection with their drug dealing operation. At a time when law enforcement is seeing an increase in crime rates that have fallen for more than a decade, it seems at variance with common sense and good public policy to release en masse crack dealers and drug offenders into our neighborhoods.”
Last spring, the U.S. Sentencing Commission changed the sentencing guidelines significantly lowering the penalties for crack cocaine offenses. The FOP, which testified at a hearing on that subject last year, strongly opposed the change. With the failure of Congress to overturn the new guidelines, as they had done on two previous occasions, the new, weaker rules went into effect on 1 November. More recently, the Commission decided to apply the lower sentences to individuals already convicted and serving time, which would allow thousands of drug dealers to leave prison and return to our streets.
“This should not be–cannot be–an abstract discussion of policy. This decision will have real consequences for our communities in every region of the country because the dealers will be back, they’ll be back earlier than they thought, and they’ll know that even the Federal government is no longer serious about keeping drug offenders off the streets,” Canterbury said.
“This has all the makings of a public safety nightmare,” Canterbury said. “I hope that the Congress takes action before these dealers get dumped back into our communities.”
VI.
National President Chuck Canterbury, National Secretary Pat Yoes, and National Sergeant-at-Arms Tim Downs were in Washington, DC for the FOP's 13th Annual Day on the Hill.
National President Canterbury and Executive Director Jim Pasco met with Representative Steny H. Hoyer, House Majority Leader, to discuss FOP legislative priorities.
Executive Director Pasco met the U..S. House of Representative Sergeant-at-Arms Wilson Livingood to discuss arrangements for the National Peace Officers' Memorial Service.
Executive Director Pasco met with Jennifer Korn, the Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Liaison at the U.S. Department of Justice, and discussed an "after action" report regarding the role of the National Legislative Office in securing the attendance of U.S. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey at the Day on the Hill event.
Senior Legislative Liaison Tim Richardson met with government affairs staff at the International Association of Fire Fighters to discuss ongoing efforts in support of S. 2123.
Legislative Liaison Adam Zubowsky met with staff from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and other stakeholder groups to discuss the Take 25 Campaign.
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