WASHINGTON WATCH: GRAND LODGE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE ...
Tuesday July 6th 2010 9:59 AM
... For the Week of 28 June 2010 ...
I. Legislative News and Activity
II. This Week in Congress
III. Update on FOP Top Legislative Priorities
IV. Update on LEOSA
V. STATEMENT OF NATIONAL PRESIDENT CANTERBURY ON THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING BILL
VI. STATEMENT OF NATIONAL PRESIDENT CANTERBURY ON IMMIGRATION REFORM
VII. FOP NEWS: FOP Welcomes Presidential Announcement on Spectrum
VIII. FOP NEWS : Call to Action: Letter Writing Campaign to Congress in Defense of ATF Agent
I. LEGISLATIVE NEWS AND ACTIVITY
Executive Director Jim Pasco attended the speech delivered by President Barack H. Obama II which called for comprehensive immigration reform.
Executive Director Pasco and Senior Legislative Liaison Tim Richardson met with senior staff for Senator Michael B. Enzi (R-WY) regarding a possible time agreement for the consideration of S. 1611, the "Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act," on the Senate floor.
Executive Director Pasco and Senior Legislative Liaison Richardson met with Rear Admiral (ret) James A. Barnett, Jr., the Chief of the Federal Communication Commission's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, and Deputy Chief of the Bureau Jennifer A. Manner, concerning the Administration's recently announced Spectrum Initiative as well as the ongoing implementation of the FCC's National Broadnad Plan for public safety.
Executive Director Pasco met with James E. McDermond, Assistant Director for Strategic Intelligence and Information with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) regarding the case of ATF Special Agent William G. Clark.
The National Legislative Office is pleased to announcing the hiring Irene M. Egan, who joined the Washington D.C. staff this week as a Legislative Liaison. Irene brings several years of lobbying experience from CH2 Hill and we'd like to welcome her aboard!
II. THIS WEEK IN CONGRESS
The House and the Senate were in session this week, but went into recess late Thursday night. Both chambers will stand in recess in observance of Independence Day all of next week and return to session the week of 12 July.
Action in the House
The House considered and passed H. Res. 1500, the rule which governed the debate on H.R. 4899, the “Supplemental Appropriations Act,” on a 215-210. As reported below, H.R. 413/S. 1611, the "Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act," has been incorporated into H.R. 4899, which will be considered by the Senate when that body returns to session in July.
The House considered and passed H.R. 5618, the "Restoration of Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act," on a 270-153 vote. The legislation would extend Federal unemployment benefits that expired in early June. The bill will now be transmitted to the Senate for further action.
The House considered and passed the conference report on H.R. 4173, the "Restoring American Financial Stability Act," on a 237-192 vote. The bill would overhaul the national's financial regulatory system.
Action in House Committees
The Committee on Agriculture considered and favorably reported H.R. 4645, the "Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act," which would end existing prohibitions with respect to travel and importation of goods into Communist Cuba. The FOP opposes normalization of trade relations with this country until they agree to extradite U.S. citizens wanted for serious crimes committed in the United States.
The Committee on Appropriations' Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and State adopted a draft bill making appropriations for these Departments for Fiscal Year 2011.
Action in the Senate
The Senate continued its consideration of H.R. 5297, the "Small Business Lending Fund Act," and held several procedural votes on the measure. The legislation, which has not yet been put to a final vote, would establish the Small Business Lending Fund Program to make capital investments in eligible institutions in order to increase the availability of credit for small businesses.
The Senate continued its consideration of H.R. 4213, the "American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act." This legislation would extend Federal unemployment benefits that expired in early June. While a procedural vote to move this legislation was defeated, the bill is still pending and a final vote is expected when the Senate returns from its Fourth of July recess.
The Senate confirmed General David H. Petraeus to command the U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
Action in Senate Committees
The Committee on the Judiciary continued its hearings on the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court of the United States.
III. 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. 235/S. 484, the "Social Security Fairness Act"
We added one (1) cosponsor to H.R. 235 this week, bringing our current total to three hundred and twenty-two (322)--more than a House majority! Please note that this total differs slightly from THOMAS, as we are not including six (6) Representatives who are no longer serving in Congress, nor the three (3) Delegates, who have limited voting rights on the floor..
We currently have thirty (30) cosponsors on S. 484. Please note that this total differs slightly from THOMAS, as we are not including in our count Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), who died last year. Senator Kennedy's successor, Senator Scott P. Brown (R-MA), is not currently a cosponsor of the bill.
(2) Opposing any legislation that would require the participation of public employees in Social Security
The FOP will continue to lobby against this scheme and oppose any legislation which would mandate participation in Social Security.
B. Support H.R. 413/S. 1611/S. 3194, the "Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act"
The "Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act" has been incorporated into H.R. 4899, the “Supplemental Appropriations Act,” which passed the House this week!!!
This legislation will be considered next by the Senate, when that body returns from its Fourth of July recess.
We currently have two hundred and eighteen (219) cosponsors on H.R. 413--more than a House majority! Please note that this total differs slightly from THOMAS, as we are not including in our count three (3) Representatives no longer serving in Congress, nor the three (3) Delegates, who have limited voting rights on the floor.
We currently have twenty-three (23) cosponsors on S. 1611. Please note that this total differs slightly from THOMAS, as we are not including in our count Senators Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), who died last year, or Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL), who resigned his seat last year. Senator Scott P. Brown (R-MA), who succeeded Senator Kennedy is now a cosponsor, but Senator George LeMieux (R-FL), who succeeded Senator Martinez, is not.
In addition to S. 1611, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-NV) introduced S. 3194, which is identical to S. 1611.
C. Support H.R. 1972, the "Law Enforcement Officer’s Procedural Bill of Rights Act"
We currently have (9) cosponsors on H.R. 1972.
The Senate companion bill has not yet been introduced.
D. Support H.R. 673, the “Law Enforcement Officers’ Equity Act"
We currently have thirty-two (32) cosponsors on H.R. 673. Please note that this total differs slightly from THOMAS, as we are not including in our count two (2) Representative no longer serving in Congress.
The Senate companion bill has not yet been introduced.
IV. UPDATE ON LEGISLATION AMENDING LEOSA
In May, the Senate passed S. 1132 by unanimous consent. This legislation has been referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary for further consideration.
We currently have thirteen (13) cosponsors on H.R. 3752. Please note we are not including in our count two (2) Representatives who are no longer serving in Congress. The bill is similar in most respects to the Senate companion bill, S. 1132. The House bill includes language that would also clarify the status of retired military personnel that served as law enforcement officers in their respective branch of service.
V. STATEMENT OF NATIONAL PRESIDENT CANTERBURY ON THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING BILL
At this writing, I am pleased to report that H.R. 413/S. 1611, the “Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act,” has been incorporated into H.R. 4899, the “Supplemental Appropriations Act,” which will be considered by the House prior to or immediately after the Fourth of July recess.
The legislation will be considered in two parts and then, by rule, the bill will be merged into a single piece of legislation that will be transmitted to the Senate for further action. Under the rule that will govern the House debate on the bill, no amendments to remove our language will be in order, so, assuming the bill wins final passage–which we believe is likely–the next stage of our effort will come in the Senate.
Executive Director Jim Pasco and his counterpart with the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), Kevin O’Connor, will be meeting with staff in the office of Senator Michael B. Enzi (R-WY), the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) and a leader of the bill’s opponents in an effort to reach an agreement on what amendments can be offered when H.R. 4899 returns to the Senate for final action. We anticipate that Senator Enzi will present a mix of the seven (7) previously circulated amendments as well as those offered by Senators Mary L. Landrieu (D-LA) and John H. Isakson (R-GA). Our goal in the course of this negotiation is to exclude “poison pill” amendments that would cost us votes on final passage and minimize amendments which would do harm to the intended goal of the legislation.
In the event an agreement cannot be reached, we have assurances from Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH), the sponsor of S. 1611, that he will work with us in an effort to ensure we have enough votes on the Republican side to overcome any procedural hurdles and defeat hostile amendments. Making the effort to craft an agreement is necessary and we hope that we can get that done this afternoon.
The legislative vehicle, H.R. 4899, is considered a “must pass” bill as it contains the funding for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as disaster relief for the areas affected by the Deep Horizon oil spill. Assuming H.R. 413/S. 1611 is included in H.R. 4899 when it is passed, and all indications at this stage are that it will be, then the Senate will either accept the changes made to H.R. 4899 or attempt to amend it. If the bill is amended, it will have to return to the House for final action. Robert M. Gates, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Defense, and General David H. Petraeus, have both urged Congress to act quickly on the spending bill. The timing may work in our favor.
Our members should recall that we are in a similar circumstances as we were prior to the Easter recess when we were in direct talks with the House Majority Leader, Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD). Our language was initially accepted into draft legislation, but then excluded when political considerations forced Representative David R. Obey (D-WI), Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations to cancel a scheduled mark-up on the bill. Following this cancellation, all non-spending language was stripped out, but this situation has now changed again.
While I remain cautiously optimistic that our language will be in the House bill when it passes, our members need to keep in mind that the situation remains very fluid. This opportunity did not happen by accident–it was created by the hard work of the Washington, D.C. staff. Our grassroots activism, both ongoing and the Day on the Hill event in May also helped create a situation where Congressional leadership agreed to include our language–a bill that we’ve been working on for more than fifteen years–into a must pass spending bill. This is a huge opportunity.
The road ahead, albeit short, will be very difficult. The National Sheriffs’ Association, the League of Cities, the National Right-to-Work Committee, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors are all outperforming us in terms of grassroots activity. They will be flooding Capitol Hill with arguments against our bill. And these groups will not be constrained by simply arguing against the merits of our bill–the National Right-to-Work Committee in particular has demonstrated that it will use deliberate misinformation and outrageous claims about the bill’s effect to scare Members of Congress into voting against the bill.
You need to make YOUR voices heard!!!
We understand the frustration that many members may be feeling. I am a bit frustrated myself, but this is the legislative process. It is tedious, it is lengthy, and it is frustrating. A lot of work has been done on this bill, particularly in the last two years and, while it may be difficult for our members to see the fruits of those labors, let me assure you that opportunities like this one is a demonstration of all of our hard work.
Negativity and apathy work against us. A Member that receives a flier from the National Right-to-Work Committee telling them that this bill will let their local police officers strike is likely to vote against us if he doesn’t hear from law enforcement officers from his district in telling them how important it is to them, their family and the community they protect. FOP members who are “fed up” with the legislative process and disengage or, even worse, make statements like “this bill is dead” or “Congress doesn’t care about police officers” will result in a self-fulfilling prophecy. If your Representative and Senators do not think this bill is important to you, they will assume that how they vote is not important to you!
I ask our members to again make every effort to contact their Representative and their Senators this week and tell them to support the inclusion of H.R. 413/S. 1611, the “Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act,” into H.R. 4899, the “Supplemental Appropriations Act,” and to vote against any amendments to the collective bargaining bill language.
VI. STATEMENT OF NATIONAL PRESIDENT CANTERBURY ON IMMIGRATION REFORM
The President showed real leadership in his address at American University regarding the need for comprehensive, bipartisan immigration reform. Our members listened attentively to his remarks and I am sure they, like me, were encouraged by what we heard.
For more than twenty years, our members have been calling for Congressional action on illegal immigration to no avail. Because for so long, Congress has failed to act, we have on our hands a true national crisis. How else can you describe a situation in which 11 million people–which is a conservative estimate–have illegally penetrated our nation’s borders?
The recently enacted law in Arizona, which mirrors existing Federal law, has ignited a lot of controversy–some of which is quite unfair. But the greater unfairness here is that a State should have to address what is a national issue. States and localities cannot, on their own, resolve a national crisis, and President Obama was quite right in his assertion that a patchwork of State and local laws will not solve this problem. In his remarks, he called on Members of Congress to show some courage on this issue, to set aside politics and find solutions to the problems of illegal immigration. Mr. President, we could not agree more and would add only–it’s about time.
We need a bill that provides for greater security at our nation’s borders, aggressive enforcement of immigration law internally, and enhanced penalties against businesses and individuals that exploit and traffic in illegal laborers. Individuals who have broken the law to come to the United States are often targets of criminals, who realize that they may be unwilling to seek the help they need from law enforcement so they can continue to hide here in the United States. This makes our schools, neighborhoods and this vulnerable population more unsafe.
A comprehensive, national approach must involve law enforcement at every level of government. There must be greater cooperation and a unity of purpose between local and State law enforcement agencies dealing with specific problems– from gangs comprised of illegal immigrants, human trafficking or other criminal activities in which illegal immigrants are being victimized, as well as assisting Federal law enforcement in identifying persons in the criminal justice system who are here unlawfully.
Like Arizona, some localities are dealing with cooperation issues on their own. The City of Philadelphia is contemplating ending its long-standing agreement with the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to identify violent illegal aliens that have been arrested. This effort further demonstrates the need for Congressional action.
One of the chief criticisms leveled at the State law in Arizona is that it enables law enforcement officers to engage in racial profiling. Racial profiling is illegal. Our nation’s law enforcement officers are dedicated professionals who put their lives on the line everyday to protect the individuals in their communities without needing to know their legal status. Officers must both enforce the laws and protect the rights of the law-abiding and law-breakers alike. We entrust them to make life and death decisions in a fraction of a second and I believe we can tone down the rhetoric by also recognizing that law enforcement officers know what the terms “reasonable suspicion” and “probable cause” mean.
Another necessary component of any immigration reform bill is an expanded use of and funding for the 287(g) program, which provides State and local law enforcement with training and the authorization to identify, process, and when appropriate, detain persons they encounter during their regular, daily law-enforcement activity who are illegally present in the United States. With this kind of training law enforcement officers will be able to enforce the laws, protect their communities and do so while respecting the rights of all non-citizens and Americans alike.
On behalf of the more than 327,000 members of the Fraternal Order of Police, I applaud President Obama for his courage in calling our nation’s attention to this issue and demanding Congressional action. This problem will only grow worse if we ignore it or of we allow politics and posturing to trump sound public policy. The FOP will be part of the debate and we hope that, when the debate concludes, we will be a more united country.
VII. FOP NEWS: FOP Welcomes Presidential Announcement on Spectrum; Public Safety will have “first claim” on auction revenue
Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, welcomed a statement by Lawrence H. Summers, Director of the National Economic Council, regarding the Administration’s Spectrum Initiative, which was established by a Presidential Memorandum signed and issued yesterday.
“Today’s announcement really augments the work being done by the Federal Communications Commission and its National Broadband Plan,” Canterbury said. “By making more spectrum available and by spurring competition and innovation on the commercial side, public safety can and will reap the benefits of existing and merging technologies.”
The four part plan announced yesterday makes it clear that auction proceeds from the sale of spectrum will be go first to promote public safety. The plan contemplates that the national public safety wireless broadband system will incorporate commercial technologies, which is a component the FCC’s National Broadband Plan.
“This is life-saving technology,” Canterbury said. “In order for our nation’s public safety officers to have a robust national broadband network, both the existing spectrum held by the Public Safety Broadband Licensee and commercial networks must be appropriately leveraged. This initiative will do just that.”
The plan also proposes swift action on a Notice of Proposed Rule Making to lay the groundwork for the auction and licensing of the “D Block”–10MHz of spectrum proximate to the spectrum currently controlled by the Public Safety Broadband Licensee. The Presidential Initiative will also conduct and inventory of existing spectrum to identify ways in which the spectrum can be used more efficiently and aim to free up 500MHz of additional spectrum over the next five years. The sale and licensing of this spectrum will help fund public safety communications, as well as technological innovations.
“I think public-private partnerships work, and Director Summers noted several instances through our nation’s history where they did so in spectacular fashion,” Canterbury said. “I believe that the National Broadband Plan and this Administration’s Spectrum Initiative will help law enforcement and other public safety officers develop the advanced broadband network we need to protect our communities and our nation.”
VIII. FOP NEWS : Call to Action: Letter Writing Campaign to Congress in Defense of ATF Agent
National President Chuck Canterbury is asking FOP members to mount a letter-writing campaign to their respective U.S. Senators and Representatives in support of William G. Clark, a Special Agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), who has been unjustly charged for actions he took in defense of his life and that of another citizen in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Special Agent Clark, who serves in the U.S. Virgin Islands, was involved in a fatal domestic violence case and while the shooting was ruled as justifiable by the ATF Shooting Incident Review Board (SIRB), the Territorial court has ruled that there are aspects of the Constitution which do not apply in the Virgin Islands. Specifically, the court has invalidated the supremacy clause and refuses to recognize Clark as a Federal agent, recognition which would spare him prosecution for justifiable actions in the line of duty.
In 2008, ATF Special Agent Clark was stationed in the Territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands and assigned to the island of St. Thomas. On 7 September of that year, Special Agent Clark was off-duty and leaving his home when he observed a heated domestic confrontation involving his neighbors, Margie Duncan and her boyfriend Marcus Sukow. He noted that the intoxicated Sukow was violently threatening Duncan and that the situation was rapidly escalating when Sukow armed himself with a large metal flashlight, similar to those used by law enforcement officers. Sukow repeatedly struck the vehicle in which Ms. Duncan was trying to flee and when Special Agent Clark responded to her pleas for help, Sukow became enraged and attacked him and Ms. Duncan.
As the assailant swung at Special Agent Clark, the assailant struck hard against the vehicle door frame immediately prior to attempting to strike Special Agent Clark in the head. Special Agent Clark drew his service weapon and fired at the assailant at close range, striking him several times in the chest. Despite Special Agent Clark's best attempts to resuscitate him, the attacker did not survive his injuries.
In spite of the findings of the SIRB, Special Agent Clark was charged with second degree murder by the Attorney General's Office in the U. S. Virgin Islands. His defense team has exhausted all legal remedies to prevent having this case tried in a Territorial court. Such efforts have been hampered by bad faith omissions, flawed logic and poor application of existing law. In April 2009, U.S. District Court Judge Gomez ruled against transferring the case to U.S. District Court; but this decision was certainly affected by the U.S. Virgin Islands withholding details of witness' exculpatory statement of the shooting.
More recently, in March of this year, the U.S. Virgin Islands Superior Court Judge Brenda Hollar invalidated the supremacy clause declaring that the "Constitution does not follow the flag" and that "not every provision of the Constitution is applicable in the Virgin Islands" and that, therefore, Special Agent Clark could not be granted immunity as a Federal agent for the actions he took in the line of duty.
A direct result of this case has been that the ATF has pulled all of their agents out of the U.S. Virgin Islands and other Federal law enforcement agents, like the DEA and FBI, are not responding or assisting local law enforcement, leaving island residents more vulnerable to crime.
The agencies, however, have felt they have no recourse given the rulings of the Territorial court against Agent Clark and its implications for other Federal agents.
"Now, given the current legal and factual positions taken by the Virgin Islands Government, federal agents are not responding and will not respond…," wrote Paul A. Murphy, acting U.S. Attorney for the territory.
To hopefully prevent any further miscarriage of justice, FOP members are asked to contact their Senators and U.S. Representatives to ask them to intercede on Special Agent Clark's behalf. A suggested text for a letter to be sent via email to Congressmen can be downloaded here .
Congressmen prefer receiving correspondence by email. To find out the email address for your Senator and/or Representative, go to www.senate.gov and www.house.gov, and there you will be given directions on how to find your senator or representative and how to send an email to him or her.
You can view the transcript of the Jury Status hearing here: http://www.fop.net/news/clarkwilliam/transcript.pdf
You can view a news article about the impact the case is having on law enforcement in the U.S. Virgin Islands here: http://www.fop.net/news/clarkwilliam/sttsourcearticle.pdf
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