[StBernard] Washington Report from Rep. Richard H. Baker

[Westley Annis]

September 29, 2006

Thank you for signing up for Congressman Baker's newsletter. Below are issue updates that you may find interesting. As always, please visit his website at http://www.baker.house.gov <http://www.baker.house.gov/>  for the most up-to-date news and information on what Congressman Baker is working on in the Sixth Congressional District of Louisiana.

Baker Announces $4.65 million in Department of Defense Appropriations

The House of Representatives passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2007 on September 26, 2006, which included provisions added by Congressman Baker for $4.65 million for several research projects in Baton Rouge. Specifically, this legislation includes the following projects:

		Pennington Biomedical Research Center will receive $1.65 million to study "personnel readiness and war-fighting performance," and another $1 million for "weight measures and standards for military personnel”;

		Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, which is participating with several other hospitals in the Gulf Coast region to enhance health care in rural and urban areas, will get $1 million to improve preparation for care in natural disasters; and 

		$1 million for Baton Rouge-based Innovative Emergency Management to participate in research on capabilities for detecting Improvised Explosive Devices.

Congressman Baker is committed to building up the technology and research economy of Baton Rouge, and will continue to fight for important federal funding for south Louisiana.

Homeland Security Appropriations Bill Includes Funding for Border Security Initiatives

Congressman Baker is pleased by the inclusion of increased funding for border security and immigration reform in H.R. 5441, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2007. This legislation provides $21.3 billion for border protection, immigration enforcement, and related activities, $2.1 billion over the fiscal year 2006 level. Among other provisions, H.R. 5441 includes:

		$2.27 billion for border patrol, adding 1,500 new Border Patrol agents, for a total of 14,800;

		$1.2 billion for border fencing, vehicle barriers, technology and infrastructure;

		$4.2 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE);

		$1.38 billion for ICE custody operations, adding 6,700 detention beds, for a total of 27,500;

		$28.2 million to assist state and local efforts to enforce immigration law; and,

		$238 million for transportation and removal of undocumented aliens.

H.R. 5441 also includes $5.2 billion for the Secure Border Initiative, providing DHS with the appropriate mix of technology, personnel, and infrastructure to prevent terrorists and other criminals from exploiting our borders and immigration system.

Congress Adopts Baker Disaster Housing Reforms

Congress adopted legislation to revamp and reorganize the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which includes major reforms sponsored by Congressman Baker. Earlier this year, the House Financial Services Committee voted to pass Baker’s legislation, H.R. 5393, the “Natural Disaster Housing Reform Act,” unanimously, setting the stage for today’s vote.

Today’s agreement will result in a coordinated federal response to provide short- and long-term housing assistance to victims of natural disasters. FEMA will be required to use cost-effective and efficient disaster housing options, including apartments and houses in the inventory of federal, state and local government agencies. The agreement also allows for the repair of other rental units to prepare them for occupation by disaster victims. Finally, the agreement includes permanent authority for FEMA to use “Katrina Cottages” as a housing option for disaster victims.

The reforms championed by Congressman Baker and adopted by the Congress will bring unprecedented coordination and flexibility to the nation’s natural disaster response systems and will ultimately save billions of taxpayer dollars while ensuring disaster victims receive the help they need in an efficient and compassionate manner.

To read more, please click here <http://www.baker.house.gov/html/news_item.cfm?id=598> . 

Senate Passes Congressman Baker’s Bill to Create Atchafalaya National Heritage Area   

The U.S. Senate today passed legislation authored by Congressman Baker to establish Louisiana ’s Atchafalaya Trace as a National Heritage Area. The bill, which passed the House on July 24, authorizes as much $10 million over fifteen years for preservation, conservation, education, and cultural efforts for this high-priority area of the state.  It also includes amendments by Congressman Baker that expand the area to include Ascension Parish and provide for an unprecedented waiver of the state funding match. The bill now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law. Please click here <http://www.baker.house.gov/html/news_item.cfm?id=599>  for more information on what this legislation means for Louisiana . 

Congressman Baker Champions $22 million for LSU

The House and Senate have agreed upon a fiscal year 2007 Homeland Security Appropriations bill that will grant the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium $145,000,000, of which Louisiana State University (LSU) will receive $22 million. Congressman Baker was pleased to secure this funding, which reflects LSU’s continuing excellence as a leader in this field.  The new funding will bring the total to $130 million that LSU has received since 1999 for its domestic preparedness work.

LSU is a member of a consortium (including LSU, New Mexico Tech, Texas A&M, and the Nevada Test Site at the Department of Energy) that is preparing first responders for events caused by weapons of mass destruction. This program is run under the auspices of the Department of Justice and it will continue to train the two million-plus first responders in the United States and significantly add to the infrastructure protection of this country.

House of Representatives Passes Veterans Identity and Credit Security Act 

 This week, with Congressman Baker’s support, the House passed H.R. 5835, the “Veterans Identity and Credit Security Act of 2006.”  This legislation works to correct the theft of millions of veterans' personnel information in May. These changes will provide the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) a definite course of action to follow should a data breach occur in the future.  H.R. 5835 allows remediation of identity theft for a veteran or other individuals whose personal information is compromised by VA. This also includes credit protection services and fraud resolution services upon the request of the individual. 

H.R. 5835 also creates a new Under Secretary of Information Services, who will also bear the responsibilities as VA’s chief information officer. Three new deputy under secretaries for security, operations and management, and policy and planning would report to the new under secretary.  H.R. 5835 now moves to the U.S. Senate for consideration.