Letters from my Idaho delegation regarding my questions posed to them
BY NVOIMICHAELHere is the three responses to my letter about the STOCK Act Revision. Please note how they all ignored my specific questions and answered what they wanted me to hear.
Dear Representative or Senator:
I am very disturbed about the 2013 action taken by Congress and the President in regards to the conduction of business in regards to the STOCK Act Revision.
I find this to be a gross violation of integrity and the oaths of office both in what was done and by how it was done. This legislation took only 12 days from the introduction in the Senate, passed on to the House and then signed into law by the president. I have several questions that I expect to be honestly and competently answered within the same 12 days that it took for the passage of this act.
1. Where in the enumerated powers of the Senate or House does it allow this type of business to be done in the cover of darkness and with NO recorded votes and with NO recorded opposition?
2. Is there any provision in the enumerated powers of your office that allows for gaining personal financial rewards based on insider trade information that becomes known in the conduct of business?
3. Why is it that this legislation could be dealt with in such a covert way that you have not been able to pass and implement the constitutionally mandated federal budget? I have not heard you publicly address this or publicly condemn the lack adherence to this mandated law.
4. Please fully explain how you have not violated the trust of the good citizens of the State of Idaho and that of the nation by being a party to this manner of conducting the business of ALL American citizens.
5. You have often stated that you are fully committed to upholding the laws of our land. I would submit you have grossly violated the honest and ethical conduct of business by your acceptance and silence in the manner of this proceeding.
I expect clear and concise answers in a prompt response to my concerns.
Sincerely,
Congressman Mike Simpson
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July 31, 2014
Dear Bowman Family:
I have appreciated your efforts to contact my office in the past, and because it has been such a busy summer, I thought you might appreciate an update on the work I am doing for Idaho and what I have been doing to curb government overreach into the lives of the American people.
As you know, Congress has a strong oversight role to play to ensure that federal agencies are not overreaching their authority and stifling job growth. Countless Idahoans have contacted my office over the years about their frustration with the impact of costly regulations, and I believe that the Administration is using the regulatory process to implement an agenda that is weakening our economy and pushing the federal government further into the lives of citizens.
This is why I am a cosponsor of legislation to bring legal action against the Administration due to frequent refusals to enforce our country’s laws, including failing to enforce Obamacare regulations and immigration laws. I believe this use of his “pen and his phone,” represent a vast overreach of the power of the Executive Branch, an overreach that will have lasting consequences on the balance of powers as laid out by the Founding Fathers. I hoped that the President would unite the country by governing from the center and seeking out bipartisan solutions. Unfortunately, we are more divided than ever.
While working to see that effective accountability is infused into our federal government system, I am also working too see that the priorities of Idaho are met. There have been several developments in Congress recently that will positively impact many Idahoans.
Energy Solutions and the Idaho National Laboratory
As Chairman of the Energy and Water Development Subcommittee on Appropriations, I wrote the FY 2015 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, which passed the House by a vote of 253-170 on July 10th. This important bill provides funding for the functions of the Department of Energy, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation and a number of independent agencies.
Though we made many tough choices to reduce spending in the bill, it increased funding for critical programs at the Idaho National Laboratory, which will have a lasting impact on enhancing the current capabilities of the Lab and building new, unique capabilities that are essential to a vibrant national laboratory in Idaho. This bill sends a strong message that INL’s work as the DOE’s lead nuclear energy laboratory is critical to our nation’s energy security.
The bill also provides $380 million for cleanup activities associated with the Idaho Cleanup Project and the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project co-located on the Idaho desert with Idaho National Laboratory. The funding level of $380 million is an increase of $13 million above the President’s request and allows the significant cleanup activities currently underway to continue. The bill also includes an additional $2 million for the National Spent Fuel Program, putting the unique expertise of INL to work in order to provide solutions for managing the Department of Energy’s inventories of spent nuclear fuel.
While Idaho’s priorities are supported in the bill, it reflects the fiscal crisis by, one again, prioritizing those programs that are most important and cutting spending wherever there is duplication or waste. The Appropriations Committee has led the way by actually cutting spending for the last four years in a row, a feat not accomplished since the 1950’s.
Interior and Environment
In addition, in the past few weeks, the House Appropriations Committee passed the Interior Appropriations bill for FY15. Because of my influence as a member of the Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, this bill continued a number of important provisions that look after western interests and are championed in Idaho. These include provisions improving the grazing permit process, language prohibiting EPA from implementing controversial regulations over U.S. waters, and full funding of wildfire suppression at the 10-year average. The bill also includes my language to delay the decision to list sage-grouse as an endangered species by one year, providing stakeholders with the time they need to develop good management plans.
Budgeting for Wildfires
One of the most significant pieces of legislation I’ve authored this Congress is a bill to fix the way we currently budget for wildfire suppression by treating catastrophic wildfires like other natural disasters. Currently, agencies like the Forest Service must borrow from non-fire accounts when fire suppression costs exceed the budget. “Fire borrowing” was intended to be an extraordinary measure, but as fire seasons have grown more destructive it has become common practice—and has created a devastating cycle that prevents agencies from doing needed hazardous fuels removal or timber harvests, leading to worse fires. Agencies are projecting that the current fire season will cost over half a billion dollars more than currently budgeted, exacerbating an already significant problem.
The bill, H.R. 3992, the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act, would end the disruptive practice of fire borrowing and ensure that the way we budget for fires makes sense. As a result, we will be able to provide adequate funding for both wildfire suppression and land management practices that help to reduce the impacts of catastrophic wildfires in the future. This bill has received national attention and strong bipartisan support, with over 120 cosponsors from both sides of the aisle and a coalition of over 240 organizations lending it support. Passing this legislation will have a significant and long-term impact on both our public lands and on our budget.
I have valued your input as we work together to support not just Idaho’s priorities, but the many issues impacting the nation, including the national debt, immigration, the economy, and our role in foreign conflicts. Even when we disagree, knowing how these issues are impacting Idaho families helps me to make better decisions as legislation to address them comes before Congress. You can be confident that I will continue working to ensure that the government is responsive to the people, rather than forcing on them policies that they don’t support.
Thank you for your willingness to contact my office in the past and for your efforts to share your views on these and other matters. Please continue contacting my office with your thoughts and concerns and I will do my best to address them as your Representative in the United States Congress.
Sincerely,
Mike Simpson
Member of Congress
July 25, 2014
Dear Michael:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the 2013 enactment of technical changes to the Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act. I welcome the opportunity to respond.
I agree with you that our nation’s elected officials need to be publicly accountable. The STOCK Act is an important step toward improved transparency of public officials. Prior to the STOCK Act passage, there was some uncertainty surrounding whether Members of Congress were exempt from insider trading laws. With the passage of the law, there is no doubt that insider trading prohibitions apply to Members of Congress or that they are treated to a different standard.
You may also be interested to know Senate Rule 37 on Conflict of Interests very clearly says:
A Member, officer, or employee of the Senate shall not receive any compensation, nor shall he permit any compensation to accrue his beneficial interest from any source, the receipt or accrual of which would occur by virtue of influence improperly exerted from his position as Member, officer, or employee.
To eliminate any potential ambiguities in the law to enforce insider trading for Members of Congress, the Senate voted 96 to 3, with my support, to pass on February 2, 2012.
Separately, in April 2013, legislation was enacted to correct an unintended consequence of the STOCK Act. Under the law, certain confidential financial information of federal employees in sensitive, national security positions would have been required to be posted online for public searching. Because of the sensitivity of their positions, counter-intelligence officials advised Congress that such public disclosures may compromise national security by facilitating data-mining of personal financial information by foreign espionage operatives. This technical correction, which you mentioned in your correspondence of July 16, 2014, ensures our national security is not compromised by the unwitting disclosure of certain personal information of security operatives. Please note that the STOCK Act remains fully in force for Members of Congress and congressional employees, who must still publicly disclose all required information about covered financial transactions.
This revision could be easily misunderstood, and I appreciate your time in expressing your concerns to me. The change you referenced does not affect the law covering Congress. Public disclosures of all covered financial transactions are still required by Members of Congress.
I remain committed to service of Idahoans in a manner that reflects their values and interests. To this end, I will continue to press for conservative principles in matters coming before the United States Senate.
Again, thank you for contacting me. Please feel free to contact me in the future on this or other matters of interest to you. For more information about the issues before the U.S. Senate as well as news releases, photos, and other items of interest, please visit my Senate website, http://crapo.senate.gov.
Sincerely,
US Senator Mike Crapo
United States Senator
July 18,2014
Mr Michael Bowman
Dear Mr Bowman:
Thank you for taking time to contact me regarding the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK Act). I really appreciate hearing from you.
Insider trading is wrong and illegal. Anyone participating in insider trading should be prosecuted and punished, even those holding public office. When I became governor of Idaho, I made it a point not to own stock to avoid any conflicts. I have continued that practice as a United States Senator.
Last year I voted to pass the STOCK Act, which establishes better transparency to prevent breaches in ethics. The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), after careful review then recommended Congress repeal the requirements for posting on the Internet federal financial disclosure forms (SF-278s) by some officials who must fill out those forms. The NAPA cited unwarranted risk to national security.
The Senate unanimously voted to repeal the Internet posting requirement for most legislative branch employees. The president, vice president, members of congress and certain executive branch officials are not exempt; their SF-278s must be posted.
Again I really value your effort to get in touch with me to share your thoughts, as many Idahoans do. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future on this or other issues.
Very Truly Yours,
James E. Risch
United States Senator
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