House Passes Veterans, Defense, and Homeland Security Legislation
Throughout the month of May and leading up to Memorial Day, the United States House of Representatives considered and passed several measures related to veterans' issues, national defense, and homeland security.
On May 23, 2005, the full House passed without objection a bill to prohibit insurance companies from increasing health care premiums on reservists returning from active duty (H.R. 2046) and a bill to allow service members to save their combat pay tax-free (H.R. 1499). The following day, the House passed a Military Quality of Life-Veterans Affairs bill (H.R. 2419) by a vote of 416-12. This legislation would appropriate a total of $68.1 billion for veterans' programs and $53.5 billion for defense programs related to health care and housing, an average 6% increase over the previous year.
Defense-related measures passed by the House include bills which would, in part, provide a 3.1% pay increase for the military (H.R. 1815) and increase military death benefits from $12,000 to $100,000 (H.R. 1268). H.R. 1815 passed by a vote of 390-39, and H.R. 1268 passed by a vote of 368-58.
Finally, the House approved legislation (H.R. 1544) by a vote of 209-10 which would distribute more terrorism preparedness grants to states based on assessed risk. The House also passed by a vote of 424-4 a homeland security bill (H.R. 1817) which would: authorize hiring an additional 2,000 border patrol agents; require a plan by the Transportation Security Agency to reduce average airport security screening wait times to no more than 20 minutes; and, revise the color-coded alert system used by the Department of Homeland Security so as to include information on appropriate protective measures and to limit the scope as much as possible to a specific locality.
Representative Platts voted with the majority of his colleagues in favor of the aforementioned legislation. H.R. 1268 was signed into law by President George W. Bush on May 11, 2005. The other bills referenced are each currently pending in the Senate.
Web Page Highlights (www.house.gov/platts)
Statement on Passage of Stem Cell Bills
Representative Platts issued the following statement regarding two stem cell bills passed by the full United States House of Representatives.
(http://www.house.gov/apps/list/speech/pa19_platts/stemcell.html)
Helping At-Risk Children through Early Education
The House Education and Workforce Committee adopted an amendment offered by Representative Platts to a Head Start reauthorization bill. Representative Platts' statement explaining the amendment is available on the web site.
(http://www.house.gov/apps/list/speech/pa19_platts/headstart.html)
Leadership, Accountability, and the Inspectors General
A policy address delivered by Representative Platts before the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency, which is comprised of the inspectors general of all federal agencies and departments.
(http://www.house.gov/apps/list/speech/pa19_platts/policyaddress.html)
The Month in Review
The following is a list of some key votes taken by the United States House of Representatives during the month of May 2005:
The Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act (H.R. 1279)
The House voted 279-144 to pass a bill expanding federal criminal jurisdiction over street gangs, treating them in much the same way under federal law as organized crime. H.R. 1279 would also create new mandatory minimum prison sentences for certain gang-related crimes. Representative Platts voted in favor of this legislation.
Internet Spyware Prevention (H.R. 29 and H.R. 744)
The House voted 393-4 and 395-1 to pass two bills intended to clamp down on so-called "spyware," software which secretly gathers information about a computer user while the user navigates the Internet. The first bill would require software companies to obtain permission before installing spyware; the second bill would create criminal penalties for gaining unauthorized access to a computer in order to install spyware. Representative Platts voted in favor of both bills.
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