U.S. House schedule for Thursday, February 27, 2014

From House Leader Eric Cantor's office....

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27TH
On Thursday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for morning hour and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business. First votes expected: 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. Last votes expected: 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.

One Minute Speeches

Complete Consideration of H.R. 2804 - All Economic Regulations Are Transparent Act of 2014, Rules Committee Print (Structured Rule, One Hour of Debate) (Sponsored by Rep. George Holding / Judiciary Committee / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

The Rule provides for no further general debate and makes in order the following remaining amendments:

Rep. Gerry Connolly Amendment (10 minutes of debate)
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee Amendment (10 minutes of debate)
Rep. Hank Johnson Amendment (10 minutes of debate)
Reps. Miller / Courtney Amendment #11 (10 minutes of debate)
Reps. Miller / Courtney Amendment #13 (10 minutes of debate)

Postponed Amendment Vote:

Rep. Keith Rothfus Amendment 

H.R. 3193 - Consumer Financial Protection and Soundness Improvement Act of 2013, Rules Committee Print (Structured Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Sean Duffy / Financial Services Committee)

The Rule provides for one hour of general debate and makes in order the following amendments:

Rep. Scott Rigell Amendment (10 minutes of debate)
Reps. Stivers / Walz Amendment (10 minutes of debate)
Rep. Ron DeSantis Amendment (10 minutes of debate)
Rep. Gwen Moore Amendment (10 minutes of debate)

H.Res. 492 - Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 899) to provide for additional safeguards with respect to imposing Federal mandates, and for other purposes (Special Rule, One Hour of Debate) (Sponsored by Rep. Virginia Foxx / Rules Committee)

Special Order Speeches

COMMITTEE ACTIVITY OF THE DAY
Oversight & Government Reform Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Job Creation and Regulatory Affairs hearing on the “The Administration’s Proposed Restrictions on Political Speech: Doubling Down on IRS Targeting” (Thursday, February 27th, at 9:30 a.m.)

Printable PDF

Forbes, Wittman, Rigell: 'Sequester impact on military a disgrace'

By Reps. Randy Forbes, Rob Wittman, and Scott Rigell
The Daily Press

If you were told that your son or daughter was going to fly on an airplane that had only 70 percent of its required maintenance, or whose pilot had trained for less hours than optimally required to maintain proficiency, would you allow him or her to get on the plane? Of course not. Yet thanks to sequestration, the U.S. military is facing a situation where our sons and daughters are being asked to do more with less training, less maintenance, and less modern platforms. Today, the military is experiencing the greatest readiness crisis since the Vietnam War. Should the president and Congress fail to find a solution to our nation's budget woes, readiness will likely degrade even further. Forced to find immediate savings, the services have curtailed training and deferred maintenance in ways that threaten to damage our national security for decades.

Sequestration's roughly $500 billion in defense cuts over the next decade have come on top of the administration's already substantial reductions to national defense spending. Accordingly, the services have chosen to absorb the majority of these cuts by reducing their near-term readiness, which generally means less training for the men and women wearing our nation's uniform.

For Army and Marine units, other than those scheduled for deployment to Afghanistan, this means substantially less time firing live ammunition and fewer opportunities to train with the vehicles they may eventually take into combat.

Read the rest of this article here.

Two Virginians among richest members of Congress

Roll Call's annual list of the 50 richest members of Congress includes two Virginians -- U.S. Senator Mark Warner and Congressman Scott Rigell.

Warner, a Democrat worth $96.3 million, was ranked #3 behind #1 Rep. Darrell Issa ($355 million), a Republican from California, and #2 Rep. Michael McCaul ($114 million), a Republican from Texas. Rigell was ranked #28 with $12.6 million.

The list includes 29 Republicans and 21 Democrats. Roll Call provided brief bios including the source of their wealth ... makes for an interesting read.

Gov. McDonnell congratulates Majority Leader Eric Cantor

~Cantor is First Majority Leader from Virginia~

RICHMOND- Governor Bob McDonnell issued the following statement congratulating Congressman Eric Cantor (VA-7th) on being sworn in as the first Majority Leader from Virginia.

“Congratulations to my good friend, and long-time colleague, Majority Leader Cantor, on this historic day as he is sworn in as the first majority leader from the Commonwealth.

Having served with Eric for nearly a decade in the General Assembly, I can personally attest to his ability to lead and do what’s best for our country. Over the years, Eric has been a champion for the free market, keeping taxes and regulations low, and ensuring his constituents remain safe and secure.

I have no doubt that he will tackle the tough issues that face our country head on so that we all may leave our children and grandchildren with a better Virginia, and America, than we inherited. I speak for all of the citizens of the Commonwealth as I congratulate the Gentleman from Virginia, the new Majority Leader, Eric Cantor.”

Congratulations to Majority Leader Cantor and the Republican Congressional delegation ... Rep. Bob McDonnell, Rep. Morgan Griffith, Rep. Robert Hurt, Rep. Scott Rigell, Rep. Rob Wittman, Rep. Randy Forbes, and Rep. Frank Wolf.