FACT SHEET | July 28, 2008

Senate Democrats Say to Senate Republicans: Obstructionism or Progress?

Since January 2007, the Democratic-led, 110^th Congress has made a significant down-payment on our promise to take the country in a new direction after nearly a decade of Republican control. Under Democratic leadership, Congress has enacted bills to provide economic stimulus, extend unemployment benefits, provide a 21^stCentury GI bill, promote energy independence, invest in food and nutrition programs, increase the minimum wage, prevent foreclosures, provide a pay increase for our troops, provide middle class tax relief, strengthen homeland security, fund and improve critical domestic programs, and reform the ethics and lobbying system. And just this past weekend, Congress passed major legislation, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, to address the nation's housing crisis. 

Unfortunately, as Democrats have worked to advance the priorities of the American people during the 110^thCongress, Bush- McCain Republicans have set new records for obstructionism. Senate Republicans have blocked committee hearings, engaged in 87 filibusters, and placed countless numbers of "holds" on bipartisan legislation that would normally pass the Senate expeditiously by unanimous consent. One Republican Senator, with the support or quiet acquiescence of his Republican colleagues, has stood in the way of progress for the American people by using the procedural hold to block nearly 80 bills.
 

Today, Senate Democrats are giving Senate Republicans an opportunity to end these delays by voting to proceed to S. 3297, the Advancing America's Priorities Act of 2008, which includes more than thirty House-passed, bipartisan-sponsored, non-controversial bills that should have passed and been enacted into law. The bill includes legislation to promote important medical research, authorize new programs to protect children from exploitation, and advance U.S. foreign policy goals.

 

The Advancing America's Priorities Act of 2008 includes the:

•Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Registry Act, which would provide for the creation and maintenance of a single nationwide Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Registry at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) by identifying, building upon, expanding and coordinating among pre-existing registries and building on the foundation provided by the pilot programs. The purpose of the registry is to better describe the incidence and prevalence of ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease) in the United States; examine appropriate factors, such as environmental and occupational factors that may be associated with the disease; better outline key demographic factors (such as age, race or ethnicity, gender and family history of individuals diagnosed with the disease); and better examine information about other disorders that can be confused with, misdiagnosed as, or progress to ALS. 

•Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, which would support and enhance cooperation in paralysis research, rehabilitation, and quality of life programs for people with paralysis. 

•Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act, which would strengthen the ability of the federal government to investigate and prosecute unsolved murders from the civil rights era. It would create new cold case units at the Justice Department and FBI solely dedicated to investigating and prosecuting unsolved cases involving violations of criminal civil rights statutes which resulted in death and occurred before January 1, 1970. 

•PROTECT Our Children Act, which would streamline the protection and investigation of child exploitation cases by establishing a Special Counsel for Child Exploitation Prevention within the Department of Justice, and to combine state, local, and federal insight into how best to address the growing problem of child exploitation on the internet through creation of an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. 

•Enhancing the Effective Prosecution of Child Pornography Act, which would amend the federal criminal code to: 1) include child pornography activities and the production of such pornography for importation into the United States as predicate crimes for money laundering prosecutions; and 2) define "possess" with respect to crimes of child sexual exploitation and child pornography to include accessing by computer visual depictions of child pornography with the intent to view. 

•Reconnecting Homeless Youth Act, which would reauthorize and increase authorization levels for the programs under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA), such as the Basic Center Program (BCP) and the Transitional Living Program's (TLP). The legislation would also require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop performance standards for RHYA direct service grantees, require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to evaluate the grant-making process for these programs under HHS, require HHS to conduct an incidence study on the prevalence of the runaway and homeless youth population, and authorize HHS to conduct a public information campaign to raise awareness of the unaccompanied youth population and their service and support needs.

 

In addition to these measures, the S. 3297 would enact the: 

•Stroke Treatment and Ongoing Prevention Act(also known as the "STOP Stroke Act"), which would help establish comprehensive systems of stroke care in health care settings as well as augment the education of first responders to ensure that patients presenting with signs or symptoms of a stroke will receive the highest quality of care. 

•Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act, which would help provide support services to women suffering from postpartum depression and psychosis and would also help educate mothers and their families about these conditions. In addition, it would support research into the causes, diagnoses, and treatments for postpartum depression and psychosis. 

•Vision Care for Kids Act, which would ensure that children get the vital vision care that they need to succeed in school by establishing a state grant program through the CDC to compliment and encourage existing state efforts to improve children's vision care. 

•Prenatally and Postnatally Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act, which would ensure that pregnant women facing a positive prenatal test result, or who deliver an infant with a postnatal condition, will be more likely to receive up-to-date, scientific information about the life expectancy, clinical course, intellectual and functional development, and prenatal and postnatal treatment options, and referrals to support services. 

•Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Reauthorization and Improvement Act, which would enable state and local governments to apply for funding for mental health courts, which can divert qualified offenders from prison to receive treatment; programs to provide specialized training for criminal justice and mental health system personnel; local treatment programs that serve individuals with mental illness; and mental health treatment for those in or released from prison. 

•Effective Child Pornography Prosecution Act, which would close a jurisdictional loophole that allowed a Kansas man who was convicted of possessing child pornography to escape punishment. The legislation would expand definitions used in the crimes of child sexual exploitation and child pornography to cover those offenses to the full extent of Congress's Commerce Clause powers. 

•Drug Endangered Children Act, which would authorize the Department of Justice to award grants designated to improve coordination among law enforcement, prosecutors, child protection services, social service agencies, and health care providers to help transition drug endangered children into safe residential environments. 

•Beach Protection Act, which would reauthorize the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2000 (BEACH), which requires the Environmental Protection Agency to develop rapid testing procedures not currently used that detect bathing water contamination so that beaches can be closed as rapidly as possible if contamination is detected. 

•Appalachian Regional Development Amendments Act, which would reauthorize the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) for five years. ARC fosters economic development and improvements in the quality of life for the 23 million people who live and work in Appalachia. 

•Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act, which would establish a foundation to promote and support study abroad programs for American students. 

•Overseas Private Investment Corporation Reauthorization Act, which would reauthorize the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). OPIC helps U.S. businesses invest overseas and promotes economic development in new and emerging markets, which in turn supports U.S. foreign policy and creates U.S. jobs. 

•Tropical Forest and Coral Conservation Reauthorization Act, which would reauthorize the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998, which created the "debt-for-nature" program. The program allows developing nations to reduce their foreign debt through investment in environmental protection programs that help to protect tropical forests and coral reefs. 

•Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act, which would reauthorize through Fiscal Year 2009 a program to assist victims of torture through the Department of Health and Human Services and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Nations (UN). 

•Broadband Data Improvement Act, which would update broadband data collection policies at the Federal Communications Commission; require additional broadband study by the General Accountability Office, Small Business Administration, and Bureau of the Census; and create a program of public-private partnerships to map the availability and use of broadband at the state level. 

•Training for Realtime Writers Act, which would authorize a grant program to be administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration at the Department of Commerce to promote the training and placement of closed caption writers. 

•Hydrographic Services Improvement Amendments Act, whichwould reauthorize and amend the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act (HSIA). The measure would permit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to acquire hydrographic data and provide hydrographic services to support the conservation and management of coastal and ocean resources, protect life and property, support the resumption of commerce after emergencies and disasters, and meet homeland security and maritime domain awareness needs. 

•Ocean and Coastal Exploration and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Act, whichwould authorize the National Ocean Exploration Program, National Undersea Research Program, and the Integrated Ocean and Coastal Mapping Program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to increase scientific knowledge for the management, use, and preservation of oceanic, coastal and Great Lake resources. 

•National Sea Grant College Program Amendments Act, whichwould reauthorize the National Sea Grant College Program, a university-based program that supports coastal resource use and conservation. 

•Predisaster Hazard Mitigation Act, whichwould reauthorize the Predisaster Mitigation Grant Program at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is a Stafford Act program that gives grants to states for eligible projects to mitigate the risk of future natural disasters. The subtitle also requires FEMA to report to Congress on the suitability of using funds under the Predisaster Mitigation Program for flood control projects and authorizes FEMA to make grants for up to five flood control projects that are eligible under the criteria for the Predisaster Mitigation Program. 

 

The Advancing America's Priorities Act bills are overwhelmingly popular and bipartisan. On average, the bills included in S. 3291 passed the House of Representatives with 379 votes each, with the support of 159 Republicans. All of the bills have Republican co-sponsors and nearly one-third were introduced by Republicans. 

There is no rational rationale to block this bill. Despite the popularity, uncontroversial nature, and obvious need for the enactment of S. 3297, some Senate republicans persist in their efforts to derail this legislation. Some have even attempted to spread the absurd myth that the authorizations included in S. 3297 would increase the federal deficit. On July 25, 2008, however, the Congressional Budget Office stripped-away this faulty argument. CBO confirmed that, absent actual appropriations, authorizing a future appropriation neither triggers new spending nor increases the national debt. The letter also confirmed a fact that is becoming more and more clear: other than obstruction, there is no credible reason to block passage of this bill. 

The pathway should be clear for Senate Republicans to join Democrats by voting this afternoon to allow consideration of the S. 3297, the Advancing America's Priorities Act of 2008.

DPC