‘Golden Fleece’ award, trade and highway bills part of Congressional work

As lawmakers prepared for the Memorial Day recess, Congress faced several tough issues including highway funding and trade, and one representative is resurrecting a decades-old award.

The following is a breakdown of the week for Arkansas’ Congressional delegation:

‘GOLDEN FLEECE’ AWARD MAKING A COMEBACK
An award created four decades ago to show wasteful spending in government will shine the light on current examples of government waste, Rep. French Hill, R-Little Rock, said Wednesday. Hill said on the House floor he plans to re-establish the Golden Fleece Award, first created in 1975 by then-Sen. William Proxmire, D-Wisc.

“At a time when our nation is currently over $18 trillion in debt, we must carefully scrutinize our government programs to ensure that we are funding essential programs and projects while eliminating frivolous and wasteful spending,” Hill said. “Every day in the news, Americans hear of government waste, fraud, and abuse, and regulations that are hindering our small business and costing American taxpayers billions of dollars that could be better spent creating jobs and boosting our economy.”

The award will highlight some of the “most egregious examples of government waste of hardworking taxpayers’ dollars” and “shed new light on some of the rampant, unnecessary spending” by the federal government, Hill said.

Proxmire gave out the award on a monthly basis for 13 years, with the award becoming a mainstay in the Senate, Hill said.

“The Golden Fleece Award became a staple in the U.S. Senate during this time, and Senator Robert Byrd once stated that the awards were ‘as much a part of the Senate as quorum calls and filibusters,’ Hill said. “The Golden Fleece Award will once again serve as an important reminder to taxpayers about the need to provide necessary reforms to our federal spending.”

Hill said he plans to use social media and the Internet to hear from constituents on the issue.

Information on wasteful federal spending can be emailed to [email protected], online at Hill.house.gov/GoldenFleece or on Twitter at #GoldenFleeceOversight.

PRESIDENTIAL TRADE AUTHORITY
Congress is considering whether to grant the president six years of “trade promotion authority,” which would enable him to to submit trade deals for Congress for a yes or no vote with no amendments added.

The authority is an important step in allowing President Obama to complete work on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation free trade agreement that also would involve Canada, Mexico, Japan, Australia, Vietnam and other countries.

What does Arkansas’ congressional delegation think about it? Sen. John Boozman’s spokesman, Patrick Creamer, said the senator intends to vote for trade promotion authority. Sen. Tom Cotton issued a supportive statement saying “Trade Promotion Authority is a valuable economic tool, but it is important for Congress to retain oversight of the administration’s negotiations.”

Rep. Rick Crawford said through a statement from his office, “TPA is an essential tool for enabling the executive branch to negotiate and ink trade agreements that open new markets for American products. However, I don’t believe that TPA should have no strings attached – Congress must set the trade objectives and have final say over TPA passage to ensure that the administration negotiates in good faith on behalf of American workers. Our goal should be to advance TPA legislation that ensures any trade agreement will promote American prosperity in the form of increased exports and the creation of U.S. jobs.”

Rep. French Hill expressed support for reauthorizing trade promotion authority during a recent radio interview with KARN. “That’s what we do these trades for … is to promote American manufacturing, American exports. … This gives us a chance to boost ourselves economically while diversifying trade in Asia.”

Rep. Steve Womack’s spokesperson, Claire Burghoff, wrote in an email, “Congressman Womack is generally supportive of fair free trade agreements and expanding economic interests abroad so long as safeguards and congressional oversight are in place. He believes that TPA will create new opportunities for U.S. small business and new jobs for Americans and is encouraged by Chairman (Paul) Ryan’s work to ensure Congress maintains an on-off switch.”

Rep. Bruce Westerman’s press secretary, Ryan Saylor, wrote in an email, “Congressman Westerman will be listening to constituents during the next week as he travels the district before making a final decision on trade promotion authority.”

HIGHWAY FUNDING BILL APPROVED
The House this week approved a two-month extension to the federal highway spending bill, with a future debate on the issue expected.

The House voted 387-35 Tuesday to approve the extension, which would run through July 31, 2015. The current bill is set to end May 31 if nothing is done. Nearly three-quarters of the highway spending in Arkansas is based on federal funding. With questions over when funding would be extended, state highway officials have been extremely cautious with new projects.

Nearly $280 million in projects have been cancelled so far this year in the Natural State.

The Senate also approved the short-term spending bill, but with plenty of caution from Senators, including Tom Cotton.

“[T]his patch does little to actually resolve the serious infrastructure funding issues we face. Arkansans deserve the certainty of a long-term highway bill and I am committed to finding a fiscally responsible way to fund our infrastructure without raising taxes or cutting other programs,” he said.

COOL RULING CREATES ANGST AMONG DELEGATION
A ruling Monday by the World Trade Organization against a product labeling regulation in the United States renewed calls for changes from the state’s congressional delegation.

The WTO ruled against the United States “Country of Origin Labeling,” or COOL, policy. The final ruling launches a WTO process to determine the level of retaliatory tariffs Canada and Mexico can impose on the United States, officials said.

The rules were made during the 2002 Farm Bill and amended later during the 2008 Farm Bill, according to a 2013 Congressional Research Service report. The regulation mandates food stores to allow customers to know about the country of origin of certain foods like fruits and vegetables, fish, peanuts and meat like beef, pork and lamb, officials have said.

The policy requires “most retail food stores to inform consumers about the country of origin of fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, shellfish, peanuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, ginseng and ground and muscle cuts of beef, pork, lamb, chicken and goat,” the report noted.

The rules took effect in March 2009, but drew opposition from Mexico and Canada.

CRAWFORD REQUESTS ‘STRONG ENFORCEMENT’ OF TRADE LAWS
Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro sent a letter to Chairman Paul Ryan and Ranking Member Sander Levin of the House Committee on Ways and Means this week urging consideration of legislation granting stronger enforcement remedies for U.S. trade laws.

While the letter acknowledges the positive economic growth TPA (Trade Promotion Authority) and further trade agreements will allow, it also highlights the past transgressions of foreign nations in trade agreements and the need for vigilant protections of American businesses in the face of evasive maneuvers by our trading partners.

Twenty-four other members of Congress signed the letter requesting the judicious application of trade laws to keep American businesses competitive and on a level playing field. The steel industry in particular has suffered in recent years as it faces a flood of imports from countries that heavily subsidize their steel industry.

Crawford said there needs to be more teeth in trade agreements.

“U.S. trade with other countries opens new markets for American products and services around the world, but accountability and enforcement are essential for ensuring that our trade agreements aren’t just free, but fair. In the past we’ve seen that our trade laws aren’t always applied as judiciously as they should be, and my letter strongly requests the protection of American business by creating a level playing field as we move forward in this process,” Crawford said.

VA IMPROVEMENTS MOVE FORWARD
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved provisions this week introduced by Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., to strengthen the United States Department of Veterans Affairs services in the Fiscal Year 2016 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.

Boozman introduced a measure to improve the collection of money from third party insurers. A 2011 Inspector General report estimated that VA was failing to collect as much as $110 million a year from insurers that owe money for non-service connected care.

The measure directs the VA to establish an 18-month pilot program using a private company with a background in non-governmental sector revenue cycle management experience. The program will identify and execute actions to correct current gaps in non-VA care fee collection. Boozman also authored language included in the bill that requires a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report about VA’s pharmacy information technology systems.