This Week in Congress

The big event of the week is the Senate vote on S.140, the legation extending Section 702 of the FISA Act. Senator Rand Paul is filibustering the act and Campaign for Liberty urges all members to call their Senators and tell them to Stand with Rand and oppose extending Section  702.

Here is the roll-call for last week’s vote on the USA Rights Act and here is the roll-call for passage of S.139.

Here is a good piece on the bill by Sharon Bradford Franklin, the former Executive Director of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (2013-2017).

The House and Senate are also working on a budget deal and must pass something by Friday or the government will shut down (YEA). However they are likely to just kick the can down the road till March.

The House will also consider H.R. 4712, which makes it a federal crime to fail to take all the necessary steps to keep a child alive who survives an abortion.

The House will also consider H.R. 3326 which withholds federal funds from the World Bank unless they address corruption and inefficacy in their operations. A better idea is just stop funding the world bank.

The House will also consider a number of bills under suspension, including:

1. H.R. 4258– Requires local housing agencies to develop strategies to help families in public housing achieve economic self-sufficiency.

2. H.R. 770– Authorizes minting of “innovation coins” commemorating an innovator in each state and the District of Columbia.

3. H.R. 4318– Reduces tariffs on various products including cocoa powder, mustard seed oil, minced pimentos, stuffed green olives, and regular pimentos (yes the government distinguished between the two).

4. H.R. 3445– Requires the state department to establish a web site for the African Growth and Development Act and take other actions to make it easier for African countries to get taxpayer money.

5. H.R. 3776– Supports cyber diplomacy to promote open Internet and human rights. Am I the only one who sees the irony of Congress considering this bill the same week they are voting to extend warrantless surveillance of our  internet usage?