Week of July 30- August 3

Supported increased accountability for federal employees with seriously delinquent tax debts. Congressman Forbes supported the Federal Employee Tax Accountability Act of 2012, H.R. 828, which makes individuals with “seriously delinquent” tax debts ineligible for federal employment.  At the end of FY 2009, 184,000 civilian federal employees owed more than $1.5 billion in taxes.  The average delinquency rate for federal civilian employees was 3.35%, up from 2.29% in FY 2008.  The bill defines “seriously delinquent” tax debts as those for which a notice of lien has been publicly filed, and would prevent both the executive and legislative branches from employing these individuals.  The measure includes exceptions for federal workers who are paying their debt in a timely manner, those for whom a collection due process hearing has been requested or is pending, or cases where the Internal Revenue Code has granted relief for the debt.   This bill passed by a vote of 263-114.

Supported efforts to stop new unnecessary regulations on our farmers.  Congressman Forbes supported the Farmers Undertake Environmental Land Stewardship Act (FUELS  Act), H.R. 3158, directing the Environmental Protection Agency to change its implementation standards for new oil tank spill regulations that could otherwise cost farmers and ranchers tens of thousands of dollars in new compliance costs.  The bill will still allow a farm with over 10,000 gallons of oil stored in a single tank, and certification by a professional engineer will still be required.  However, if a farm has no history of spills and is storing less oil or gasoline, they will not be required to meet these costly new standards.  This bill passed by voice vote.

Urged relief for American consumers and ranchers.  Congressman Forbes joined over 130 of his colleagues in sending a letter to the Director of the Environmental Protection Agency urging that the Renewable Fuel Standard ethanol mandate be adjusted for this year after record-breaking droughts have devastated the nation’s corn crop.  This waiver will help reduce the rise in the cost of corn that will have far reaching consequences for American consumers and businesses.  Without an adjustment to the Renewable Fuel Standard a significant portion of the corn that survives this drought will be used to make ethanol, exacerbating rising food costs for American families. 

Supported assistance for agriculture community.  Congressman Forbes supported the Agriculture Disaster Assistance Act, H.R. 6233, to ensure that farmers and ranchers devastated by record-breaking drought have access to critical disaster assistance programs.  H.R. 6233 reauthorizes programs that would otherwise not be available to Virginia’s farmers and ranchers, and seeks to stabilize prices for American consumers and protect thousands of American agricultural jobs.  This bill passed by a vote of 223-197.

Supported strengthening sanctions against Iran.  Congressman Forbes supported passage of the Iran Threat Reduction Act, H.R. 1905, asserting that Congress believes that Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons is a major threat to U.S. national security interests, and that Tehran’s material assistance to known terrorist groups provides the regime the potential to further impact U.S. national security.  The bill declares that it is the policy of the United States to deny Iran the ability to support acts of terrorism and develop unconventional weapons by implementing specific sanctions that can help in successfully executing that policy.  These sanctions are applied to individuals or groups who provide Iran weapons technology, nuclear technology, goods, services, technology, and information or support that could directly contribute to Iran’s ability to import refined petroleum products.  This bill passed by a vote of 421-6.

Held the Administration accountable for its role in resolving defense 'sequestration' cuts.  On Wednesday, August 1^st, the House Armed Services Committee held a hearing on ‘Sequestration Implementation Options and the Effects on National Defense: Administration Perspectives.’  Testifying at this hearing were the Office of Management & Budget Acting Director Jeffrey Zients and from the Department of Defense, Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter.  At this hearing, Congressman Forbes asked Director Zients if he believed it was the President’s responsibility to put forth a realistic proposal to stop sequestration. Congressman Forbes voted against the Budget Control Act in August 2011 that cut $487 billion from defense and set up the sequestration process that threatens to arbitrarily cut another $492 billion from the Department of Defense in January 2012.

Worked to ensure effective use of taxpayer dollars.  On Wednesday, August 1^st, Congressman Forbes chaired a House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee hearing on force posture in the U.S. Pacific Command’s area of responsibility. In the hearing, Congressman Forbes highlighted the importance of a credible forward presence in this region and focused on the need to ensure American taxpayer dollars were being used effectively to support this presence.

Supported our nation’s shipbuilding industrial base.  This week, members of the Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus sent a bipartisan letter to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta voicing their support for America's nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and the industrial base that supports them. The Members noted that our domestic shipbuilding industry is one of the most critical elements of America’s global defense strategy, is an important component of the nation’s economic health, and contributes significantly to our nation’s manufacturing industrial base, employing tens of thousands of skilled workers nationwide. 

Worked to ensure the safety of children. Congressman Forbes supported the Child Protection Act, H.R.6063, to increase the maximum penalty from 10 to 20 years for child pornography possession offenses involving minors under the age of 12.  The bill also provides federal courts with the means to control witness intimidation through effective protection orders, and a new felony penalty for violation of such orders to strengthen the deterrent effect of a restraining order and prevent intimidation. Finally, this bill reauthorizes the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task forces and removes the cap on funding for training for ICAC's.  This bill passed by voice vote.

Increased penalties for foreign espionage. Congressman Forbes supported the Foreign and Economic Espionage Penalty Enhancement Act, H.R.6029, to increase the maximum penalty for an individual convicted of foreign espionage to 20 years, a fine of up to $5 million, or both and provides that the maximum penalty for an organization convicted is up to $10 million or three times the value of the stolen trade secret.  This bill passed by voice vote.

Supported efforts to combat identity theft. Congressman Forbes supported the STOP Identity Theft Act, H.R.4362, to add tax return fraud to the list of predicate offenses for aggravated identity theft and expand the definition of an “identity theft victim” to include businesses and charitable organizations, which often have their identities stolen and used in “phishing” schemes to extract the sensitive information from unsuspecting taxpayers used in tax return thefts.  This bill passed by voice vote.

Reauthorized programs to protect children from sexual exploitation and violent crime.  Congressman Forbes supported the Adam Walsh Reauthorization Act, H.R.3796, which reauthorizes for five years the Sex Offender Management Assistance Program, as well as funding for the U.S. Marshalls Service to assist jurisdiction in apprehending sex offenders who violate registration requirement.  This bill passed by voice vote.

Renewed efforts to combat criminal activity. Congressman Forbes supported the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program Reauthorization Act, H.R.6062, which reauthorizes the program for 5 years.  This grant program is designed to provide federal assistant to enhance state criminal justice programs. Under the law, grants are provided for several program areas that encompass a wide variety of activities. These areas include law enforcement programs, prosecution and court programs, crime prevention efforts, corrections, drug treatment, technical assistance and a variety of witness programs.  This bill passed by voice vote.

Called for increased efforts to combat violent crime. Congressman Forbes supported the Federal Law Enforcement Recruitment and Retention Act, H.R.1550, directing the Department of Justice to establish a program to consider, in consultation with state and local governments, the need to recruit, assign and retain federal law enforcement officers in jurisdictions with high rates of homicide or other violent crimes.  This bill passed by voice vote.