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News From Congressman Vic Snyder-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Recent News on Capitol HillThe House recently passed the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act, which will create more opportunities for people of all ages to contribute to our nation's recovery. A top priority of President Obama, this legislation enlarges the AmeriCorps program and creates new ways for people to volunteer in fields such as clean energy and education. On March 26, 2009, the Senate also passed its version of the bill. I look forward to seeing volunteer and education legislation implemented to help our nation recover from our economic downturn.
This week, the House passed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act. The package contains 164 bills, including measures to designate William Jefferson Clinton’s birthplace home a national historic site in Hope, Arkansas. The omnibus bill is now on its way to President Obama's desk to be signed into law.
On St. Patrick’s Day, I spoke on the floor in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives regarding health care reform. Here is a link to the Congressional Record of my floor speech and to the video of the floor speech exchange between Congressman Pallone (NJ-06) and me.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Recent News from my CommitteesThis past Wednesday, the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations held the first of three hearings to analyze the Army's progress in implementing legislation designed to ensure the Army buys the best equipment and contractor support at the best price, both in peace and war. Currently there are as many contractors as U.S. soldiers in Iraq, providing important - sometimes controversial - services, such as security. In 2007, an independent group, "the Gansler Commission", provided recommendations to the Army to help them streamline their contracting and budget organizations. The witness testimony this week made clear the Army has made progress toward implementing the Gansler Commission’s recommendations, but work remains-particularly improving the capacity of the contracting workforce. I look forward to the next two hearings as we continue to work on this issue. On Tuesday, March 24, 2009 the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) received testimony on U.S. security developments in the Pacific, Europe, and Korea. The hearing focused on the geopolitical implications of moving troops from Japan to Guam, transitioning troops from Seoul to more southern locations within the Republic of Korea, as well as possibly changing troop levels in Europe. HASC also held a hearing on Wednesday, March 25th, to receive testimony on Effective Counterinsurgency: How the Use and Misuse of Reconstruction Funding Affects the War Effort in Iraq and Afghanistan. The importance of integrating economic with security assistance to strengthen some fragile countries has been an important lesson of the last several years. The House Committee on Veterans' Affairs met this week to vote on three bills that would improve benefits and services to veterans provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). H.R. 1377 would expand veteran eligibility options for emergency treatments for veterans who do not have third party care options. H.R. 1171 would reauthorize the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program through fiscal year 2014 and make grants available for job training, counseling, placement services, and child care services and help reintegrate of veterans into the labor force. H.R. 1513, would direct an increase in the basic compensation of disabled veterans and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation to their survivors and dependents, in order to keep pace with the rising cost-of-living. The adjustment would become effective December 1, 2009, and would be equal to that provided on an annual basis to Social Security recipients. These bills are scheduled to come to floor for a vote in the near future.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Recent News from the DistrictI am happy to see more funding flowing into Arkansas from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
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Featured Photo
Congressman Snyder is pictured with Mr. Mostafa El Shakaa and Ms. Hebat Sayed. The Egyptian university students interned in our Washington D.C. office to learn about the legislative process of the U.S. Congress. They were selected as part of the Model American Congress, a program that is organized by The American Council of Young Political Leaders. |
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