The Serrano Report, Volume XI, #15

On Capitol Hill

Serrano Fights for Democratic Priorities During Financial Services Appropriations Markup

On Wednesday, the House Appropriations Committee marked up the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2015.  Serrano, the lead Democrat on the subcommittee that drafted the bill, led the opposition to the legislation and offered several amendments to improve the bill.

“This bill inadequately funds a number of agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Election Assistance Commission, and the Internal Revenue Service,” said Serrano. “But the biggest impediment to compromise on this bill are the large number of partisan riders that continue to be attached to this bill.  Adding riders preventing the implementation of the Affordable Care Act or limiting the IRS’s ability to reform itself may sound good to the Republican caucus, but to most Americans, this is exactly what makes them cynical about their federal government.  Rather than attempting to work together, the other side has chosen to pack this legislation with a laundry list of partisan priorities.  This is irresponsible governing at best.”  

Serrano offered an amendment to increase funding of the SEC, saying that we need strong a strong cop on the beat “to protect people on Main Street from abuses on Wall Street.”  The amendment was rejected by Republicans on a party-line vote.  Serrano also offered an amendment on the Postal Service’s six day delivery standard (see below).  Other Democrats also attempted to improve the bill, but their efforts were rejected as well.

The bill now moves on to the full House of Representatives for their consideration.

Serrano Passes Amendment Restoring Six Day Delivery Requirement

On Wednesday, Congressman Serrano succeeded in restoring language to the Fiscal Year 2015 Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill requiring the United States Postal Service to maintain six day delivery.  The bipartisan amendment, which Congressman Serrano sponsored with Congressman Tom Latham (R-IA), passed and was added to the legislation.

“This is an important victory for the millions of Americans who depend upon six day delivery to receive vital services in a timely manner," said Congressman José E. Serrano.  "The six day delivery requirement has been in appropriations legislation since 1983, and removing it now would have allowed the USPS to make life more difficult for these many small businesses and individuals.

"Eliminating Saturday mail delivery would be penny wise and pound foolish.  There is no indication that getting rid of 6 day delivery will somehow allow the Postal Service to return to sustainability.  In fact, previous estimates indicate that getting rid of  six day delivery would actually result in a loss of revenue that outweighs projected savings.

"That is why Congressman Latham and I introduced this amendment.  I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for supporting it."

The amendment passed by voice vote.  The bill now moves to the full House of Representatives for their consideration.

Serrano Welcomes Congressional Art Competition Winner to D.C.

On Thursday, Congressman Serrano welcomed the 15th Congressional District’s winner for the 33nd Annual Congressional Art Competition, Shailene Segura.   Since 1982, Members of Congress have held this national annual art competition to allow high school students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories to showcase their artistic ability.  All winning pieces will be on display in an eleven month exhibit in the Cannon Tunnel that leads to the U.S. Capitol.  Winners are recognized both in their district and at an annual awards ceremony in Washington, DC.  Shailene is a rising junior at Millennium Art Academy, and her acrylic painting is entitled “Confined or Free.”

Congressman Serrano with Shailene Segura, Art Competition winner

Serrano Cosponsors Voting Rights Amendment Act

On Wednesday, Congressman José E. Serrano marked the one year anniversary of the Supreme Court's Shelby v. Holder decision by signing on as a cosponsor to the Voting Rights Amendment Act (H.R. 3799) and calling for immediate action on the legislation. The decision last year struck down Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), which provided the coverage formula for the preclearance requirements of the VRA.

“One year ago today, the Supreme Court gravely erred in striking down an important section of the Voting Rights Act, and it is time for Congress to take action to protect millions of voters,” said Congressman Serrano. “For almost half a century, the Voting Rights Act has been instrumental in protecting the voting rights of minority voters facing discrimination at the polls. In the absence of the full protection of the law, many states have attempted to create significant barriers to voting that will harm minority voters. The Voting Rights Amendment Act will reinstate a preclearance coverage formula that will protect voters, and will give the Department of Justice the full set of tools to prevent discrimination in state and local voting laws, election requirements, and redistricting efforts.

“As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act, as well as the historic ‘Freedom Summer,’ it would be remiss for this Congress to ignore the need to reinstate this important section of Voting Rights Act.”

Grant Announcement

Resident Opportunity and Self Sufficiency (ROSS) Service Coordinators Program Grant

Deadline: August 18, 2014. 

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has made funding available for groups to hire and maintain service coordinators who will assess the needs of residents of conventional Public Housing or Indian housing and coordinate supportive services and other activities designed to help such residents attain economic and housing self-sufficiency. This program works to promote the development of local strategies to coordinate the use of assistance under the Public Housing program with public and private resources, for supportive services and resident empowerment activities.  Public housing agencies (PHAs), tribes/Tribally-designated housing entities (TDHEs), Resident Associations (RAs), and tax-exempt nonprofit organizations (including grassroots, faith-based and other community-based organizations) are encouraged to apply.

Please follow this link for the full grant announcement: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/administration/grants/fundsavail.  For more information about other federal grants please visit http://www.grants.gov.