Congressional Briefs: Norton, Scott, Cummings, Obama

Staff Reports

July 20, 2007, 10:30 p.m. - Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today released a letter she sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), asking him to schedule floor consideration of S.1257, the D.C. Voting Rights Act, as he promised in a meeting in his office with Norton and District elected officials last month.  Norton wrote that the civil rights coalition, prominent Americans, and elected officials have already achieved a healthy majority for passage in the Senate and are very close to getting the necessary votes for cloture, should that prove necessary, and are especially encouraged by the number of senators who say that at the very least, they will vote for cloture.  Norton added, "We believe that once the vote is announced for the floor, more Senators will indicate their support."

Norton cited activities that have sparked momentum, including a radio address by Jack Kemp broadcast to over 13 million people; staff briefings by leading experts; a great deal of editorial support; outreach to editorial boards in key target states; weekly vigils, including one in front of the Senate on Wednesdays; and many other activities in states throughout the country.

Norton said that she was mindful of the pressures facing Reid as he juggles appropriations and other bills that must be passed.  She also thanked Reid for his "gratifying and indispensable" leadership in moving the bill forward, owed in no small part to his announcement that he would provide floor time.  "All we need to do now is keep the momentum moving forward and get a vote in the Senate before the end of July," Norton wrote.

Scott, House Pass Appropriations Bill Including $300,000 for Clayton State University

Congressman David Scott (D-GA) today announced the inclusion of $300,000 for Clayton State University’s development of an archival graduate program in the FY08 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill.  The House of Representatives passed the spending bill today. 

The appropriations bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.

Rep. Cummings Prompts Action from FEMA on Toxic Trailers

In a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee this week, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), a senior member, requested twice that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator R. David Paulison notify all displaced residents recovering from Hurricane Katrina of their potential exposure to formaldehyde from trailers provided by the federal relief agency.  In response to these requests, the Administrator agreed, under sworn testimony.

"It is bad enough that so many families had to endure the disaster wrought by Hurricane Katrina," Congressman Cummings said. "And it is absolutely unacceptable that their lives continue to be disrupted by this new disaster-FEMA's subpar efforts at recovery."

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Three witnesses testified to the dangerous conditions in which their families were living in FEMA trailers-and to FEMA's failure to respond to toxic concerns. One witness, Lindsay Huckabee, highlighted the nightmare of her four-year-old daughter's experience with the formaldehyde exposure, which resulted in recurrent nosebleeds, sometimes occurring as frequently as three times a week, countless ear infections, and several instances of pneumonia-two of which required hospitalization.

Obama bill on military personality disorder discharges

U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) this week introduced legislation to temporarily suspend the Pentagon’s use of personality disorder discharges after receiving broad, bipartisan support for an identical amendment he proposed to the Defense Authorization bill.  The bill would institute a moratorium on discharge procedures until they are thoroughly reviewed and an independent review board is established. Senators Bond (D-MO), Boxer (D-CA), Lieberman (I-CT), McCaskill (D-MO),  Murray (D-WA), Durbin (D-IL), Johnson (D-SD), Sanders (I-VT), and Whitehouse joined as co-sponsors.  

“With thousands of American service members suffering from service-connected psychological injuries, reports of the Department of Defense improperly diagnosing service members with personality disorders are troubling, especially when the VA benefits owed to our service members are at stake,” said Senator Obama.  “This legislation will force the Department of Defense to suspend its use of this discharge procedure until Secretary Gates can conduct a comprehensive review of these policies and establish a review board to evaluate questionable cases.  It is our moral obligation to ensure that all of our returning service members receive the treatment, care, and benefits they deserve.  Meeting this obligation is one thing we can still get right about this war.” 

Recent reports suggest that in some cases the Department of Defense (DOD) has inappropriately and inconsistently used these procedures to discharge members of the armed forces with service-connected injuries such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs). Those discharges can result in the loss of healthcare benefits from the VA as well as the repayment of enlistment bonuses, which can send injured service members and their families into debilitating debt.

Senator Obama originally offered this bipartisan legislation as an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill.  And on June 21, 2007, Obama joined Senator Bond, Boxer, Lieberman, McCaskill, Murray, and twenty-five other Democratic and Republican senators who wrote to Secretary Gates to express concern over continuing reports that personality disorder discharges were being implemented improperly. Over the last six years, Defense Department records indicate that over 22,500 personality disorder discharges have been processed; or on average 10 service members have been discharged per day, every day in that time.

Congressman Cummings Pushes to Improve Children's Access to Dental Care

Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) led more than 60 colleagues in urging that dental coverage be guaranteed under the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) reauthorization and offered three low- to no-cost dental initiatives that would result in tremendous improvements in children's access to dental care.

Spurred to action by the tragic, dental disease-related death of 12-year-old Marylander Deamonte Driver, Congressman Cummings has been adamant in efforts to improve children's access to dental care.  He joined Republican Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho, a former dentist, in circulating a "Dear Colleague" letter to the Energy and Commerce Committee requesting that the SCHIP bill include a mandatory dental benefit (see attached). 

"Because of our failures, dental disease is the single most common chronic childhood disease in this country," Congressman Cummings said. "We have the tools at our fingertips to solve this problem-but we refuse to use them."

Norton, ICE Officials and FPS Contractor Announce Contract

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) this week held a joint news conference with Julie Myers, Department of  Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to release reforms the agency is making to restore public confidence in contract operations and vendor payments for contract guards charged with security for federal buildings, employees and sites.  Norton also announced that she has filed the Federal Protective Service Guard Contracting Reform Act to prohibit FPS from contracting with any security guard service that is owned, controlled or operated by an individual who has been convicted of a felony, "to assure that contractors are capable, responsible, and ethical as required by the Federal Acquisition Regulations."  Dennis Chapas, the newly appointed FPS contract payment ombudsman, and Robert Jenkins, a D.C. resident and owner of a District-based private security guard company contracted by the FPS also spoke at the news conference.  

As Chair of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management, Norton introduced her bill following concerns raised at hearings and meetings she called with DHS officials.  DHS has jurisdiction over FPS and both agencies, in addition to the General Services Administration, fall under the subcommittee's oversight.  Dramatic examples of separate problems have surfaced as evidence to private guard contracting operations, involving Jenkins Security Consulting and STARTECH International, where security guard payrolls were at risk or unmet.  "At stake in both these quite different cases were not only the serious security issues involved, but wages that families, particularly in this income bracket, must have; major benefits payments for pensions, healthcare, union dues and the like; and of course, the vitality and ability of the small business contractors to survive, themselves," Norton said. 

At the news conference, Norton applauded several new ICE initiatives: the appointment of an ombudsman for security guard contracts; outreach to vendors in the National Capital Region, where disruptions have brought particular concern; and the steps the agency has taken to centralize contracting operations for improved implementation, prompt payment, and monitoring of invoices from guard contracting businesses.  However, she got ICE, as well, to agree to clear the back log of payments to all contract vendors nationwide by August 3rd, when Congress is due to adjourn for summer recess, and to provide additional training of FPS regional directors and contracting officers.

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