It’s been a while since I posted a blog entry. I had been decrying what had been happening in the GOP-led House: the prominence of legislation that serves as political messaging rather than having serious legislative intent to become law. You see, if you want a bill to become law, you really have to work

With the passing of Justice Antonin Scalia, the United States Supreme Court loses one of its sharpest conservative minds, opening up a potential swing seat. Filling Justice Scalia’s seat with a more liberal-leaning justice would change the direction of the Court and possibly result in different outcomes for cases that involve challenges to environmental laws,

Background Most people understand that our government needs to be more efficient and effective. The Tea Party grew feverishly in 2009 because of concerns over high taxes and government spending, helping to win a majority in the House of Representatives and many state legislatures in the 2010 elections. I know there are problems with our

The debate around the agreement between the United States, its allies, and Iran to curtail the Iranian nuclear weapons program has illustrated a disturbing, partisan trend in American politics today. Since President Obama first announced the agreement, we have seen Republicans in Congress declare their opposition to it in lock step, with not a single

This week we considered three major bills on the House floor, all three of which are Republican message bills, and I had several significant committee hearings. I will discuss the bills first. 1. H.R. 1734, “Improving Coal Combustion Residuals Regulation Act of 2015”. My friend David McKinley, a Republican from West Virginia brought it to

GOP Water Bill Does Nothing to Solve California’s Drought This week the only major piece of legislation before the House was H.R. 2898, this year’s version of the infamous water grab brought to us by Republican Congressman David Valadao. The bill would override the state’s ability to carefully allocate the precious water supply and simply

A very hot and humid week in Washington was met with some very interesting legislation on the House floor and in two subcommittee hearings I attended. EPA/Interior Approps bill The real focus of the week was H.R. 2822: “Department of Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016,” which had more than 50 amendments. During

This week was decidedly mixed in terms of partisanship and policy. On the one hand, the House easily passed H.R. 2576 the Toxic Chemical Control Act, and other bipartisan acts. I was proud of passing TSCA because it was badly needed and because it represented a significant degree of compromise. Full Energy and Commerce Committee

Partisan Legislation These two weeks produced partisan bills that would be vetoed if they ever pass the Senate. I will get to some very good news later, but first I will discuss the partisan legislation we were treated to. The sequester, which has been in place for 3 years, puts strict appropriations limits for federal

Background The Energy and Commerce Committee (E&C) over  May 3 – May 9 embarked on a Congressional Delegation (CODEL) to the European Cities of Lisbon, Portugal; Brussels, Belgium; and Kiev (also spelled Kyiv), Ukraine.  The purpose of the CODEL was to allow members of E&C to get a close-up understanding of the energy situation in