Episode Details

A summary of January, the first month of the 114th Congress. In this episode, a favor for Wall Street is signed into law, the Senate did almost nothing, and the House passed bills that benefit Wall Street, fossil fuel companies, and companies that don't want to give you health insurance. There were a few good bills mixed in there too. Please Support Congressional Dish: Click here to contribute with PayPal or Bitcoin; click the PayPal "Make it Monthly" checkbox to create a monthly subscription Click here to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon Mail Contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North #4576 Crestview, FL 32536 Thank you for supporting truly independent media! January Laws HR 26: Terrorism Risk Insurance Program ReAuthorization Act of 2015 The bill reauthorizes and changes the terms of the program that provides Federal insurance to businesses damaged in a terrorist attack. The program was dead for 12 days after expiring on December 31, 2014. Extends the program until December 31, 2020 Decreases the Federal share of compensation from 85% to 80% over the course of the next five years. There's a $100 billion cap on Federal losses. The program trigger, which is the point at which insurance companies get Federal money, gradually increases from $100 million now to $200 million. The Secretary of Treasury alone will certify the act of terrorism; the Secretary of State will no longer be involved. A rollback of the Dodd Frank financial reform bill was attached. The attachment prevents the SEC from telling swaps traders how much cash they need to put up front to make a swaps trade. The attachment is the text of the Business Risk Mitigation and Price Stabilization Act, which was written by Rep. Michael Grimm. He tried to get it passed in the 112th and 113th Congresses, before he resigned on the first day of the 114th Congress after pleading guilty to tax fraud. The Securities and Investment industry was his #2 contributor, giving him over $400,000. Rep. Jeb Hensarling, who fought to keep this provision in the bill, has taken at least $2.8 million from the financial industry. January Bills H.R. 22 and S. 12: Hire More Heroes Act Veterans with government health care will not count towards the 50 employee Affordable Care Act threshold which triggers a company's obligation to give employees health insurance. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Rodney Davis in the House, who has taken over $180,000 from health professionals and over $160,000 from the insurance industry. The bill is sponsored by Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri, who has taken almost $1.3 million from health professionals and almost a million from the insurance industry. H.R. 23: National Windstorm Impact Reduction Act Reauthorization of 2015 Reauthorizes and updates the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program The program designed to improve weather modeling, coordinate post-storm investigations, improve understanding of wind's impact on buildings and vital infrastructure, and promote adoption of storm preparation measures. Appropriates about $21 million per year for the next three years Written by Rep. Randy Neugebauer of Texas H.R. 34: Tsunami Warning, Education, and Research Act of 2015 Consolidates tsunami warning systems for the Pacific and Arctic Oceans and for the Atlantic Ocean into a single warning system, which will cooperate with other countries' warning systems. Appropriates $27 million per year through 2017 to get this done. Passed unanimously. Written by Rep. Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon H.R. 203: Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act Requires annual independent evaluations of Veteran's Administration mental health programs Requires the Veteran's Administration to create a website for information about their mental health services that needs to be updated at least every 90 days. Creates a three year pilot program to repay psychiatrists' loans ($30,000 a year) if they work for at least two years at the Veteran's Health Administration. Prohi