NEWS FROM CONGRESSMAN EHLERS
 •House of Representatives passes bill that will help Michigan manufacturers
 •Ehlers supports bill strengthening federal Head Start program
 •Town hall meeting a success!
 •Election day May 8

THIS WEEK IN THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 •Monday, May 7, 2007
 •Tuesday, May 8, 2007
NEWS FROM CONGRESSMAN EHLERS

House of Representatives passes bill that will help Michigan manufacturers

Congressman Vernon J. Ehlers praised the passage of the Technology Innovation and Manufacturing Stimulation Act of 2007 (H.R. 1868), which authorizes funding to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). It passed by a vote of 385-23 on Thursday, May 3.
 
Congressman Ehlers was pleased that many provisions from his Manufacturing Technology Competitiveness Act (H.R. 255) were included in the bill. It authorizes funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), a vital resource for small and medium sized manufacturing firms in the district and around the nation. It also authorizes a manufacturing research and development grant program and a manufacturing research science fellowship program. Upon the bill’s passage in the House, Ehlers stated that the many of the programs included in the legislation are important in helping smaller manufacturing firms cut costs and become more efficient.

“Our economy and tax base benefits directly when these companies are revitalized and remain competitive,” said Ehlers. “In fact, modern manufacturing makes the highest contribution to economic growth of any industrial sector. The National Institute of Standards and Technology assists all types of manufacturers in advancing innovations of great importance to our national competitiveness.”

Congressman Ehlers’ manufacturing bill was passed by the House twice in previous Congressional sessions, but was never adopted by the Senate. Ehlers fought to include the manufacturing provisions in the NIST authorization to help ensure the measure has a good chance of being adopted by both houses of Congress, and is eventually signed into law by President Bush.

 
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Ehlers supports bill strengthening federal Head Start program

 
The federal Head Start early childhood education program has demonstrated itself to be a great program. But Congressman Vernon J. Ehlers says it’s a program that can be made even better. Ehlers voted in favor of the Improving Head Start Act of 2007 (H.R. 1429), which passed the House Wednesday by a vote of 365-48.

Currently, the Head Start program provides disadvantaged children with critical health, educational and social skills before they enter kindergarten. Although the program has been successful in preparing children, there are areas where it can be improved, particularly in pre-mathematics and pre-science readiness. The Math and Science School Readiness Act (H.R. 38) was introduced by Congressman Ehlers and included in H.R. 1429 to promote pre-math and pre-science readiness for preschool-aged children enrolled in Head Start. It would update current law to establish scientifically-based performance standards to ensure Head Start students are developing pre-math and pre-science skills.

“Head Start has always done a good job of helping close the readiness gap between children and their more advantaged peers,” Ehlers said. “Now more than ever, we need to prepare students with math and science skills so they are prepared for more advanced learning. This bill sets that foundation for Head Start students to ensure they are fully prepared to learn the basic concepts of math and science when they enter kindergarten.”

The measure introduced by Congressman Ehlers in H.R. 1429 would require Head Start programs to ensure students can develop and demonstrate skills such as counting, grouping similar objects together, and deciphering whether items have been added or subtracted. Similar provisions were introduced by Ehlers in Head Start reauthorization bills that passed the House in 2003 and 2005, but did not become law.

 
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Town hall meeting a success!

Thank you to everyone who appeared at this weekend's town hall meeting on Saturday, May 5 in Grand Rapids. Around 200 people showed up at the Gerald R. Ford Museum to make their voices heard to the Congressman. Ehlers heard a diverse range of concerns from constituents, all of which help him make decisions in Washington.

Dozens of students from area high schools were honored with Congressional Medals of Merit as well on Saturday. Also, Jin Kim of South Christian High School took home the Grand Prize in the Third District's Congressional High School Art Competition. Also winning art prizes were Jay Van Dam of Forest Hills Central HS, Karissa Green of East Grand Rapids HS, Shizuka Horii of Forest Hills Northern HS, Bethany Sanders of South Christian HS, and Angela Tidball of Rockford HS. A total of 64 high school students from the Third District participated in the art competition, and Congerssman Ehlers thanks all of them for their hard work and pursuit of the arts.
  
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Election day May 8

 
Communities in every county in the state will hold elections for a variety of issues on Tuesday, May 8. Dozens of communities in the Third District are holding local elections. The Michigan Secretary of State office has a handy list by county on its Web site at the following link: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/sos/May_8_Elections_194313_7.pdf (requires Adobe Acrobat reader).

 
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  THIS WEEK IN THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Monday, May 7, 2007
(Bills on suspension are generally considered non-controversial and have reduced debate time, but require a two-thirds majority vote to be passed.)

Suspensions (17 bills):

1) H.Res. 355 - Recognizing and welcoming the leaders of the Pacific Islands to Washington, D.C., and commending the East-West Center for hosting the Pacific Islands Conference of Leaders (Sponsored by Del. Faleomavaega / Foreign Affairs Committee)

2) H.Con.Res. 124 - Authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the National Peace Officers' Memorial Service (Sponsored by Del. Norton / Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)

3) H.R. 1595 - Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act (Sponsored by Del. Bordallo / Natural Resources Committee)

4) H.R. 407 - Columbia-Pacific National Heritage Area Study Act (Sponsored by Rep. Baird / Natural Resources Committee)

5) H.R. 1080 - Grand Teton National Park Extension Act of 2007 (Sponsored by Rep. Cubin / Natural Resources Committee)

6) H.R. 487 - Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Equitable Compensation Amendments Act of 2007 (Sponsored by Rep. Herseth / Natural Resources Committee)

7) H.R. 1737 - City of Oxnard Water Recycling and Desalination Act of 2007 (Sponsored by Rep. Capps / Natural Resources Committee)

8) H.R. 30 - Eastern Municipal Water District Recycled Water System Pressurization and Expansion Project (Sponsored by Rep. Issa / Natural Resources Committee)

9) H.R. 1025 - Lower Republican River Basin Study Act (Sponsored by Rep. Moran (KS) / Natural Resources Committee)

10) H.R. 1114 - Alaska Water Resources Act of 2007 (Sponsored by Rep. Don Young / Natural Resources Committee)

11) H.R. 1140 - South Orange County Recycled Water Enhancement Act (Sponsored by Rep. Calvert / Natural Resources Committee)

12) H.R. 1642 - Homeless Veterans Housing at Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center Promotion Act (Sponsored by Rep. Sherman / Veterans Affairs Committee)

13) H.Res. 325 - Commending the Michigan State University Spartans for their victory in the 2007 NCAA Hockey Championship (Sponsored by Rep. Stupak / Education and Labor Committee)

14) H.Res. 290 - Honoring the contributions of the Rocky Mountain Senior Games on its 30th anniversary for significantly improving the health and well-being of older Americans (Sponsored by Rep. Musgrave / Education and Labor Committee)

15) H.Res. 371 - In observance of National Physical Education and Sports Week (Sponsored by Rep. Altmire / Education and Labor Committee)

16) H.Res. __ - Recognizing annually a National Classified School Employee of the Year and honoring the valuable contributions of Classified School Employees in the United States (Sponsored by Rep. Woolsey / Education and Labor Committee)

17) H.Res. 264- Supporting the goals and ideals of "National Correctional Officers and Employees Week" and honoring the service of correctional officers and employees (Sponsored by Rep. Holden / Judiciary Committee)

H.Res. 370 - Providing for consideration of the concurrent resolution (S.Con.Res. 21) setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2008 and including the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2007 and 2009 through 2012 (Sponsored by Rep. Slaughter / Rules Committee)

Motion to go to Conference on S.Con.Res. 21 - Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for FY08(Sponsored by Rep. Spratt / Budget Committee)and Republican Motion to Instruct Conferees

Special Orders
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Tuesday, May 8, 2007
H.R. 1294 - Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2006 (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Moran / Natural Resources Committee)

H.R. 1873 - Small Business Fairness in Contracting Act (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Braley / Small Business Committee)

Suspensions (6 bills):

1) H.Res. 307 - Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that public servants should be commended for their dedication and continued service to the Nation during Public Service Recognition Week, May 7 through 13, 2007 (Sponsored by Rep. Davis (IL) / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

2) H.Con.Res. 117 - Commemorating the 400th Anniversary of the settlement of Jamestown (Sponsored by Rep. Jo Ann Davis / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

3) H.Res. 291 - Supporting the goals and ideals of Peace Officers Memorial Day (Sponsored by Rep. Poe / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

4) H.Con.Res. 105 - Supporting the goals and ideals of a National Suffragists Day to promote awareness of the importance of the women suffragists who worked for the right of women to vote in the United States (Sponsored by Rep. Berkley / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

5) H.R. 2080 - To amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to conform the District charter to revisions made by the Council of the District of Columbia relating to public education (Sponsored by Del. Norton / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

6) H.R. 2081 - To amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to increase the salary of the Chief Financial Officer of the District of Columbia (Sponsored by Del. Norton / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)


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