Weeks of Dec. 3-7 and Dec. 10-14

Remembered the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.  In response to the tragedy in Newtown Connecticut, Congressman Forbes wrote, ‘A personal reflection on Sandy Hook.’  As a parent and grandparent, Congressman Forbes is grieving along with the rest of the nation as we mourn the loss of those twenty precious children and six brave teachers and school administrators.

Named as a Conferee for the FY13 National Defense Authorization Act.  Congressman Forbes was selected to be a conferee for the FY13 National Defense Authorization Act conference, a bicameral, bipartisan process where the final defense budget bill is decided by select Senate and House members before a final vote in both chambers.

Met with Representatives from the Virginia Ship Repair Association: Congressman Forbes met with Bill Crow, President of the Virginia Ship Repair Association to discuss the economic impact of the ship repair industry in Virginia. The Virginia Ship Repair Association is a regional trade association representing companies engaged in, or supporting, the ship repair industry in Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic region. As the Chairman of the Readiness Subcommittee, Congressman Forbes is focused on ensuring Virginia's ship repair and maintenance industry remains robust.

Supported the U.S. Coast Guard. Congressman Forbes supported passage of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act, H.R. 2838, which authorizes the U.S. Coast Guard to move forward with important maintenance operations as well as construction, acquisition and navigation aid programs. The U.S. Coast Guard protects our maritime interests across the nation and throughout world. This includes rescue operations, port security and many other responsibilities that place men and women of the Coast Guard in harm’s way. This bill passed by voice vote.

Required spending accountability at Homeland Security.  Congressman Forbes supported the DHS Audit Requirement Target Act, S. 1998, to require the Department of Homeland Security to develop a new financial management strategy to obtain a clean and complete audit.  It is important that we demand accountability from our government as to how American taxpayer dollars are being spent.  In an effort to improve transparency within the Department of Homeland Security, this bill requires that a report be provided to Congress regarding what is necessary to modernize the Department’s financial systems.  This bill passed by voice vote. 

Reduced burdensome airport screenings.  Congressman Forbes supported the No Hassle Flying Act, S. 3542, to modify security screening requirements so that international travelers will not be subjected to unnecessary and overly burdensome screenings.  As a result of this bill, an American returning home from abroad will no longer be subjected to additional baggage screening requirements if that individual is coming from a country with sufficient security standards.  This bill passed by voice vote. 

Ended unnecessary reporting requirements. Congressman Forbes supported a bill, H.R. 6605, to eliminate the requirement that state and local governments issue a report to the Department of Justice regarding DNA identification grant programs.  Current law eliminated Justice Department reporting requirements to Congress for the DNA Identification Grants; however, state and local reporting requirements remain intact. This bill passed by voice vote.

Supported implementation of patent treaties. Congressman Forbes supported the Patent Law Treaties Implementation Act, S.3486, to direct the U.S Patent and Trademark Office to issue regulations and rules creating a domestic application process that complies with the requirements of two treaties ratified by the Senate in 2007 – the Hague System and the Patent Law Treaty. The Hague System regarding industrial design was created to streamline procedures for registering such a design and obtaining protection for it.  The Patent Law Treaty was designed to limit the number of formalities that a country can impose on a foreign patent application and unify the application processes through which applicants can obtain patents internationally.  This bill passed by voice vote.

Clarified naturalization test for military translators and interpreters. Congressman Forbes supported a bill, H.R. 6223, to clarify that a period of employment abroad by the Chief of Mission or United States Armed Forces as a translator, interpreter, or in an executive level security position is to be counted as a period of residence and physical presence in the United States for purposes of qualifying for naturalization if at least a portion of such period was spent in Iraq or Afghanistan.  Under current law, a person who provides translator or interpreter services to the U.S. armed forces or U.S. diplomatic service in Iraq or Afghanistan is able to count that period toward the "continuous residence" requirement, but not the one-year “continuous physical presence" requirement for U.S. naturalization. This bill passed by voice vote.

Tackled over-burdensome and unnecessary federal regulations.  Congressman Forbes supported the American Energy Manufacturing Technical Corrections Act, H.R. 6582, to clarify federal energy-efficiency standards for water heaters, air conditioners, and commercial refrigerators.  Without this legislation, manufacturers and consumers of these products were left with regulatory uncertainty and higher compliance costs, even requiring manufacturers to use less efficient and dated components.  This bill passed by a vote of 398-2.