May 2011: Troop Pay, Sergeant Peralta, Education Reform and More

THE HOUSE IS BACK IN SESSION THIS WEEK, and on the agenda is the National Defense Authorization Act.  The annual legislation provides authority to the Department of Defense, for activities ranging from the procurement of equipment to troop pay.

As the bill was being drafted by the House Armed Services Committee, I worked with my colleagues to include several provisions in the legislation.  One of these provisions ensures the Defense Department cannot discriminate against non-traditional high school graduates as it recruits.  Read more about it here, as reported by the Associated Press.  
  
TURNING TO THE MT. SOLEDAD VETERANS MEMORIAL, legislation I introduced earlier in the year was also included in the base version of the bill.   The provision creates a foundation in federal law for the protection of war memorials that display symbols of faith.

AN AMENDMENT I AM PREPARING FOR FLOOR DEBATE THIS WEEK directs the Secretary of the Navy to name the next available ship after Marine Corps Sergeant Rafael Peralta.  Peralta was denied the Medal of Honor for jumping on a grenade during combat in Iraq.  My letter to the Secretary of the Navy is available here.   

THERE IS LOTS OF SUPPORT FOR PERALTA, especially in San Diego.  Brigadier General (retired) Bob Cardenas, a longtime resident of San Diego, expressed strong support for the effort: “Sergeant Peralta was a courageous individual who saved the lives of six other brave Marines and should have received the Medal of Honor for what he did.  Naming a ship after him is a well-deserved honor for such a brave and selfless American.”   

When notified of the effort, Sergeant Peralta’s sister, Icela Donald, said: “We are truly thankful and honored.  This is a way to keep my brother’s legacy alive.  After everything we’ve been through, this means so much to the entire family.”

Sergeant Peralta is an American hero.  I’m honored to be leading this effort in the House.  Congressman Allen West (R-FL), a veteran of the Iraq war, and Congressman Brian Bilbray (R-CA) have cosponsored the amendment.  

A RECENT NATIONAL POLL, with 70,020 respondents, registered more than 61,000 votes in favor of naming the next available Navy ship after Peralta.  There’s no doubt, Peralta is worthy of the honor.    

CONCERN FOR TROOP PAY HAS RESURFACED, this time with the U.S. government reaching the debt ceiling.  The Department of Treasury took emergency action to delay any funding imbalance until August, but the Treasury Secretary once again said troop pay could be withheld.   To ensure this does not happen, I introduced bipartisan legislation (H.R. 1551), which is gaining strong support.  Cosponsors of this bill include Congressmen Bob Filner (D-CA) and Larry Kissell (D-NC).  Read more here, as reported by the Military Times.

ANOTHER AMENDMENT I PLAN ON OFFERING to the defense bill up for debate this week creates an opportunity scholarship program within the Department of Defense family advocacy network for special needs students.  Rarely do military families have a say in where they live or the schools their children attend.  In the case of special needs students, options can be extraordinarily limited.  The opportunity scholarship will provide new opportunities for selected parents who feel their child is not getting the necessary attention and instruction.  

MEANWHILE, EDUCATION REFORM IS UNDERWAY.  As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education, I introduced the first in a series of education reform bills that will pass through the House over the coming months.  The bill, H.R. 1891, the Setting Priorities in Education Spending Act, builds on the Fiscal Year 2011 spending bill signed into law by the President and eliminates 43 wasteful, duplicative or inefficient programs.  Add it all up—and the bill creates hundreds-of-millions of dollars in savings up front.    

Many of these programs have been identified by the President for elimination.  Some have been inconsistently funded for years.  Others have been labeled inefficient or overlapping by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office.  Watch my floor statement here.  

THIS WEEK, THE HOUSE EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE COMMITTEE WILL VOTE on my legislation and, with a favorable vote, report the bill to the full House for quick consideration.  In the meantime, I am working on another component of education reform—which I expect to introduce soon.

CUTTING THE BUDGET IS STILL A TOP PRIORITY.  Two-thirds of the federal budget is entitlements.  Budget savings in this area will be achieved throughout the year, as Congress maneuvers through the legislative process.   But cuts to the discretionary budget—the other third—are still needed.  

Enter YouCut, a forum created by House Republicans that recommends new programs to cut each week.  This week, one of my suggestions—terminating the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation—is on the list. 

Eliminating the program would save $60 million, restricting taxpayer dollars for an ambassador slush fund, which has provided $30,466 to document traditional Pygmy music in the Congo and $47,000 to preserve carpet weaving traditions in Kazakhstan.  Let’s cut it.  Vote here.  The program that gets the most votes will then get voted on by the full House next week.