Capitol View V O L U M E 4 , N U M B E R 3 J U L Y 2 0 0 6 - - PDF document

Capitol View

V O L U M E 4 , N U M B E R 3 J U L Y 2 0 0 6 V A L U E A D D E D , V A L U E S D R I V E N.

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SUMMER AGENDA The Congress returned to work after its July 4 Recess with only a month of legislative activity before the month-long Recess scheduled to begin on August 7. This leaves only about seven weeks available for business before Congress leaves for the Mid-term election season. The House has passed all but one of its FY2007 Appropriations bills but still needs to consider the Labor, Health, Human Services and Education bill (H.R.5647). The Senate began consideration of its 11 Appropriation Bills with the bill to fund the Department

• f Homeland Security (H.R.5441) first on the agenda. On July 13 the Senate unanimously passed the $32.8

billion bill. It may soon turn to consideration of the Energy and Water Appropriation (H.R.5427), as well as funding for the Department of State (H.R.5522) or the Department of the Interior (H.R.5386). The Senate Majority Leader has also indicated he plans to bring up legislation during the week of July 17 concerning stem cell research. One bill, the Fetus Farm Prohibition Act (S.3504) sponsored by Senators Santorum (R-PA) and Brownback (R-KS) would make it illegal to perform research on embryos from fetuses specifically gestated for research purposes. Debate will also include the Alternative Pluripatent Stem Cell Therapies Enhancement Act (S.2754) introduced by Senators Specter (R-PA) and Santorum which would encourage research into ways to obtain stem cells with the same properties as embryonic cells without destroying embryos. The Senate will also likely consider a stem cell measure, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (H.R.810) which passed the House on May 24 of last year by a vote of 238-194. This bill would allow Federal funding for research on stem cells taken from surplus embryos at in vitro fertilization

• clinics. Senate supporters of H.R.810 believe they have enough votes to pass this bill, but President Bush has

threatened to veto it. On July 11 the House considered and passed a bill to prohibit the use of certain financial arrangements for supporting illegal Internet gambling, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (H.R.4411), by a vote of 317-93, and on July 12 it passed the Credit Rating Agency Duopoly Relief Act (H.R.2990) which reforms the system for overseeing credit agencies by 255-166. It also debated and approved, by a vote of 390- 33, legislation (H.R.9) to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act first passed in 1965. The Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Arlen Specter, would like the Senate to pass its reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act before the August Recess. Speaker Hastert intends to debate and vote on a series of bills which he labels the "American Values Agenda." In addition to H.R.4411, this agenda includes the Pledge Protection Act (H.R.2389) which would remove jurisdiction from Federal Courts to take cases concerning the Pledge of Allegiance, the Unborn Child Pain Protection Act (H.R.356) to require abortion providers to inform women seeking late term abortions that the fetus feels pain, and the Human Cloning Prohibition Act (H.R.1357) to ban human cloning.

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One of the most important and contentious issues the Congress is trying to resolve is the final version of immigration legislation. The House passed its Border Protection, Antiterrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act (H.R.4437) on December 16, 2005 by a vote of 239-182. It was primarily devoted to increasing border security and enhancing enforcement of existing immigration laws. After many days of heated Floor debate, on May 25 the Senate adopted the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act (S.2611) by a vote of 62-36. The Senate version of immigration legislation addresses not only enforcement issues but also institutes a new guest worker program, allows undocumented aliens to become legal residents if they meet certain conditions, and provides a path for citizenship for immigrants who fulfill specific standards. The very different approaches in addressing the highly contentious problem of illegal immigration embodied in these two bills presages a difficult Senate-House Conference to resolve the differences. Several House leaders, including the author of the House bill and Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), have insisted that the House will not accept any guest worker or path to citizenship provisions at the Conference. On June 20, Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) announced that House Committees would undertake a series of field hearings during the July and August Congressional recesses on the Senate- passed bill to gauge public sentiment on that bill's approach to immigration reform. This plan ensures that the Conference will not actually begin, if at all, until September. However, informal talks between likely Senate and House conferees have already begun. The Speaker has also indicated his first priority is to secure the border rather than engage in extensive reform of existing immigration laws. A recent Supreme Court decision has presented Congress with a problem which may require the enactment of legislation to deal with enemy combatants held since the attacks on September 11. On June 29, the Court held in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld that Commissions established by the President to try enemy combatants for crimes were not properly constituted because they were not authorized by Congress and did not follow international law. Both the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee have held hearings on proposals under which Congress would establish procedures to criminally prosecute combatants. It is not clear if Congress will be able to act before it leaves for the election season. As usual, the Senate has taken time to mark some historical milestones. On July 12 it adopted S.Con.Res.96 commemorating the 50th anniversary of the adoption of "In God We Trust" as the national motto. On June 13 Democratic and Republican Senators came to the Floor to note the date as the 17,327th day that Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) has served in the Senate, becoming the longest serving Senator in the history

• f that body. Added to the six years that he served in the House, this record means that Senator Byrd has been

in the Congress fully one quarter of the time the institution has been in existence.

Kevin Faley is the Editor of Capitol View and a partner in Venable's Legislative Practice Group. Mr. Faley can be reached at 202-344-4706 or at kofaley@venable.com.

A VENABLE VICTORY Venable’s Legislative Group recently won a tremendous victory on behalf of its clients in the broadcast

• industry. On June 15th, President Bush signed the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2005 (P.L.109-235)

into law. The bill, which increases the fines against radio and TV broadcasters who violate federal decency standards, was the culmination of a two and a half year legislative struggle in which the Legislative Group was

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a major player. Venable’s strategic advocacy effort on behalf of clients the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) played a key role in preventing a far more draconian version of the bill from becoming law. The end result was a manageable outcome for our clients and a victory for free expression and the First Amendment. Legislation targeting the broadcast industry was first introduced in both Houses of Congress in response to public outcry over Janet Jackson’s infamous “wardrobe malfunction” during the Super Bowl halftime show in 2004. The intense pressure on members of Congress resulting from that incident meant that fine increases for anything deemed “indecent” were inevitable. The real battle was over two particularly onerous provisions found in both the original House and Senate versions of the bill. Both bills initially called for a 5000% increase for fines levied against individual performers and announcers (from $11,000 to $500,000) as well as a “three strikes” station license revocation clause. Considering that the median annual salary for on-air radio talent is under $40,000, such a dramatic increase in individual fines based on a vague indecency standard was potentially devastating for members of AFTRA and SAG. House members pushing the bill had focused their attention on wealthy performers such as Janet Jackson without giving adequate consideration to the fact that a single $500,000 fine, even for an inadvertent indecency violation, would immediately result in personal bankruptcy for the average on-air radio

• talent. Moreover, given the fact that the Federal Communications Commission has never fined an individual

performer, the legislation was a striking departure from longstanding FCC policy. The equally dangerous “three strikes” clause had virtually limitless consequences for broadcasters trying to navigate a constantly shifting landscape. Both provisions also had serious implications for First Amendment freedom of speech. Facing an uphill battle, members of Venable’s Legislative Group put together an effective coalition comprised of members of the entertainment industry and broadcast interests that succeeded in having this language stripped from the bill. Venable attorneys created and led the coalition, working closely with Clear Channel Communications and other allies to plan visits to Congressional offices, Committee testimony, member action alerts, and phone calls that successfully persuaded the drafters to scale back the legislation. They also played a critical role in numerous meetings with countless Congressional staffers to effectively articulate the consequences for individual performers. The complex and high-profile effort included celebrities like Alan Rosenberg, Fran Drescher, Joey Pantoliano and Tony Goldwin. It also resulted in Venable’s Legislative Group being specifically mentioned in nearly twenty publications, including the Financial Times, Hollywood Reporter, Congressional Quarterly, Variety, Roll Call, and the Los Angeles Times. In the end, Congress passed a limited bill that only targets the pocketbooks of broadcasters with the capacity to absorb the increased fines. This is a significant achievement for Venable’s Legislative Group and its clients and a clear example of how strategic advocacy can deliver big results for clients. Erik Huey is Of Counsel in Venable's Legislative Practice Group. He, with the assistance of Legislative Advisor, Rick Hegg, led the Group's efforts regarding the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act. Erik can be reached at 202-344-4655, and Rick can be reached at 202-344-4417.

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VENABLE IN THE NEWS In early June Robert Garcia, a Senior Advisor in Venable's Legislative Practice Group, served as an Official Observer of Peru's Presidential election on behalf of the Organization of American States. Before coming to Venable, Bob was elected to seven terms in Congress representing a district in New York City. Our partner Tom Quinn was named one of Washington's "top lobbyists" in the May edition of The Hill newspaper. _________________________________________________________________ Capitol View is published by the Legislative Practice Group of the law firm Venable LLP, 575 7th Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004-1601. Internet address: http://www.venable.com. It is not intended to provide legal advice or opinion. Such advice may only be given when related to specific fact situations. Editor: Kevin O. Faley Associate Editor: Barbara Reres Questions and comments concerning materials in the newsletter should be directed to Kevin Faley at kofaley@venable.com. Please direct address changes to Barbara Reres at breres@venable.com.