THIS WEEK IN THE SENATE
The Senate will take procedural votes in an attempt to begin debate on two immigration bills (1) Kate’s Law, which would boost mandatory minimum prison sentences for certain immigrants who repeatedly enter the country illegally; and (2) legislation that would cut certain federal funding sources to ‘sanctuary cities’ that prohibit local law enforcement officers from cooperating with federal immigration officials.
The Senate is also expected to vote on legislation to establish labeling standards for food made with genetically modified organisms.
ROUNDUP REPORT
Holding DHS Accountable on Border and Immigration Issues: In a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Flake sought answers from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson on several border and immigration-related issues impacting Arizona. Flake pressed DHS on U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s inability to meet congressionally-mandated staffing levels at ports of entry (despite the passage of hiring initiatives such as Sen. Flake’s Border Jobs for Veterans Act), the number of criminal aliens released by DHS only to be rearrested for other crimes, and reports that South American immigrants apprehended illegally crossing the U.S-Mexico border are simply being released at U.S. bus stations. Read the full story here.
- Key Takeaway: “The numbers are staggering. For those criminal aliens released from detention there was a 35 percent re-arrest rate and a 41 percent in absentia rate…This is certainly unacceptable. A 35 percent re-arrest rate and a 41 percent in absentia rate, yet we are continuing to let these people go?” – Sen. Flake to DHS Sec. Johnson
Big Labor’s Big Obstacle: A federal court ruled to temporarily halt the implementation of the administration’s “persuader rule” which benefits Big Labor by arbitrarily placing costly and onerous mandates on small businesses that consult with attorneys or labor relations experts during union organizing drives. The biased rule would exempt labor unions from those mandates. Prior to the court’s decision, Sen. Flake introduced legislation to permanently halt the persuader rule. Read the full story here.
- Key Takeaway: “Rather than continue to waste taxpayer dollars defending the flawed ‘persuader rule’ on behalf of Big Labor, DOL ought to take its cue from the courts and abandon this attempt to tilt organizing efforts in favor of unions,” said Flake.
We Need a (Fiscal) Hero: The Campaign to Fix the Debt has presented Sen. Flake with its “Fiscal Hero” award to recognize his ongoing efforts to rein in the nation’s $19 trillion national debt. Read the full story here.
- Key Takeaway: “The Members we are recognizing as Fiscal Heroes have worked through a variety of channels to draw attention and find solutions to the nation’s fiscal challenges,” said Maya MacGuineas, Head of the Campaign to Fix the Debt. “Many lawmakers have chosen to bury their heads when it comes to these issues, and we want to recognize those who have been willing to show more courage and leadership.”
FCC’s Double-Standard: Multichannel News is reporting that Sen. Flake wants the FCC to explain why the agency denied his request to give the public more time to submit comments on its controversial broadband privacy rule, only to subsequently grant itself more time to respond those comments. Read the full story here.
- Key Takeaway: “Given the FCC's apparent change of heart, at least a few days’ worth, Flake wanted answers to some questions, including whether the FCC received any formal or informal requests to extend the comment period, and that ‘since the Wireline Competition Bureau previously asserted that it is 'the policy of the Commission that extensions of time shall not be routinely granted,' whether that was still the policy, and if so, why the situation was now not routine.”
Wolf at the Committee’s Door: Sen. Flake and Sen. McCain are requesting that the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hold a hearing on their bill to require the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to revise its three-decade-old recovery plan for the Mexican gray wolf in Arizona and New Mexico. That bill – which takes into the account the concerns of land owners and local officials – would also require that the USFWS work with state and local entities to ensure they have input in the drafting of that new recovery plan. Read the request here.
- Key Takeaway: "The recovery of this species affects property owners, ranchers, recreationists, and other stakeholders near its range. More information is needed on the impacts to these individuals, evaluation of the Service's current efforts to recover the wolf in Mexico, and details of an updated recovery plan," wrote Sen. Flake and Sen. McCain.
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