overview of the 112th congress-presentation
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Overview of the 112th Congress and John Kelly, Director, Government Affairs ●Alicia Epstein, Manager, Disability Policy ●Bill Jefferson, Congressional Liaison, House and Senate Armed Services and DoD ●Debbie Ignatz, Manager, State Relations ●Shari Walton, Manager, Government Affairs • Grassroots Advocacy • NISH Legislative Agenda • Overview of the 112 th Congress • State and Local Issues • Introduction 2TRANSCRIPT
Overview of the 112th Congressand
Maximizing Grassroots Advocacy
John Kelly, Director, Government Affairs ● Alicia Epstein, Manager, Disability Policy ● Bill Jefferson, Congressional Liaison, House and Senate Armed Services and DoD ● Debbie Ignatz, Manager, State Relations ● Shari Walton, Manager, Government Affairs
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Agenda
• Introduction
• Overview of the 112th Congress
• NISH Legislative Agenda
• State and Local Issues
• Grassroots Advocacy
• Questions and Answers
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The Government Affairs Team Members
• Nancyellen Gentile, Vice President, Corporate Communications, Marketing and Government Affairs
• John Kelly, Director, Government Affairs• Tony Young, Senior Public Policy Strategist• Debbie Ignatz, Manager, State Relations• Bill Jefferson, Congressional Liaison, House and Senate
Armed Services and DoD• Alicia Epstein, Manager, Disability Policy• Shari Walton, Manager, Government Affairs• David Fields, Legislative Outreach Coordinator• Rachel Kelly, Executive Assistant
Introduction
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The Government Affairs Team
• Serve as an Advocate for Non-Profit Agencies (NPAs) and People with Significant Disabilities• On national and state levels monitor, influence and initiate
legislative, regulatory and other policy actions affecting employment opportunities, services and supports for people with significant disabilities.
• Board-approved Legislative Agenda
• In cooperation with the National Council of Work Centers (NCWC)
• In coordination with the NISH Regional Offices.
Introduction
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• NISH Public Policy Advocates Calls• Monthly forum to share current congressional and regulatory
issues and strategies about communicating more effectively with Members of Congress
• NISH Public Policy Updates• Published on an as needed basis to share breaking public policy
news.
• Other NISH information sources:• CapWiz and NISH Action Alerts• CRP Connection• NISH Workplace
How We Keep You InformedIntroduction
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Overview of the 112th CongressWhat Do They Have in Common?
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Overview of the 112th CongressFreshmen
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Political Landscape
• Split Congress
• Senate: Need 60 votes to pass most legislation• 51 Democrats• 2 Independents (caucus with Democrats), • 47 Republicans• 16 new members (13 Republicans and 3 Democrats)
• House: 218 Votes needed to pass legislation.• 242 Republicans• 193 Democrats• Republicans have 24 more than the 218 needed to pass legislation• 96 new members (87 Republicans and 9 Democrats)
Overview of the 112th Congress
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Political Landscape
• Big Picture Politics
• 2012 election is top of mind
• “Priority 1 is preventing Obama’s reelection.” -Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
• Can Speaker of the House, John Boehner (R-OH), control new Republican Members?
• Health Care Repeal
• Decreased spending (FY 2011 forward) and deficit reduction
• Jobs
Overview of the 112th Congress
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Political Landscape
• 112th Congressional Start – 8 Continuing Resolutions to fund the Federal Government
• House leadership initiated a series of reforms and new rules• “Cut-as-you-go” mechanism requires increases in mandatory
spending to be offset with cuts to existing programs • Tax cut legislation is exempt from the requirement • Overhauled the Congressional Calendar to give Members more
time in their district with their constituents• Cut the budget of the House of Representatives, including
committee budgets• Reduced the number of committee assignments to increase the
focus and attention of Members on committee business
Overview of the 112th Congress
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What to Expect: What History Tells UsView of Congress by the Numbers
2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002
111-2 111-1 110-2 110-1 109-2 109-1 108-2 108-1 107-2
Days in Session
Senate 158 191 184 190 138 159 133 167 149
House 127 159 118 164 101 140 110 133 123
Time in Session hrs
Senate 1075 1421 989 1376 1028 1222 1032 1454 1043
House 879 1247 890 1478 850 1067 879 1015 772
Average Daily Session hrs
Senate 6.8 7.4 5.4 7.2 7.4 7.7 7.8 8.7 7
House 6.9 7.8 7.5 9 8.4 7.6 8 7.6 6.3
Bills Resolution Introduced
Senate 1506 3380 1590 3033 2302 2616 1318 2398 1558
House 3098 5691 3225 6194 2451 5703 2338 4616 2711
TOTAL 4604 9071 4815 9227 4753 8321 3656 7014 4269
Public Laws Enacted
Number 258 125 278 138 248 169 300 198 241
% Introduced 5.6 1.38 5.8 1.5 5.2 2.03 8.21 2.82 5.65
Recorded Votes
Senate 299 397 215 442 279 366 216 459 253
House 1 660 987 688 1186 541 671 544 677 484
TOTAL 959 1384 903 1628 820 1037 760 1136 739
Vetoes
1 0 4 5 1 0 0 0 0
Overridden 0 3 1 01 Includes quorum calls
2 Includes pocket vetoes3 Does not include line-item vetoes
Overview of the 112th Congress
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Disability Policy
• Support innovative programs and policies that maximize meaningful employment opportunities for people with significant disabilities, particularly veterans with disabilities• Legislation
• Reauthorization of Workforce Investment/Rehabilitation Act
• TEAM Act Package
• Repeal of CLASS Act
NISH Legislative Agenda
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• Support legislation that will ensure continued cooperative interaction among worker training and education programs; promote language that supports physical and programmatic accessibility in the WIA/RA; advocate for increased funding and improvements to all worker training and education programs, and; support legislation that protects the employment of persons with significant disabilities who utilize Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. • Legislation
• Fair Pay Act
• Regulatory
• U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance
Employment PolicyNISH Legislative Agenda
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NISH Legislative AgendaBudget & Appropriations
• Promote funding for the AbilityOne Program to ensure that NPAs have the capacity and capability to serve the needs of the disability community
• FY 2012 Budget Debate• The President’s FY 2012 budget plan was rolled out in mid-February
• House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-1st WI) introduced House FY 2012 budget resolution
• Proposed nearly $5.8 trillion in discretionary spending cuts• House voted in mid-April largely along party lines to adopt the budget
resolution• Senate Budget committee working on its resolution plan• Conference activities will be held to iron out differences and provide for a
blueprint for later spending and tax bills
Deficit Reductions• Monitor and respond to Congressional initiatives aimed at
reducing the Federal deficit that might negatively impact disability entitlements or discretionary programs
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NISH Legislative Agenda
• Core goal: job growth for people who are blind or have significant disability; align the law and the AbilityOne Program with today’s federal acquisition environment and disability policy, and; streamline procurement process with more focused oversight
• Legislation
• Policy
• Regulation
Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act Modernization
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Procurement Policy
• Support acquisition and procurement reform initiatives to maximize employment; Prevent enactment of legislation that harms the AbilityOne community and creates more barriers to entry, and; oppose legislative and regulatory efforts that mandate or encourage insourcing contracted functions.
NISH Legislative Agenda
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NISH Legislative Agenda
• Support policies that encourage and enhance AbilityOne small business partnerships and collaboration• Legislation
• U.S. Small Business Administration Authorization
• Small Business Procurement Goals
• Vets First Priority Program
• Regulatory
• Small Business Jobs Bill
• Women-Owned Small Business Program
• Policy
• President’s Small Business Federal Contracting Opportunities Taskforce
Small Business
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NISH Legislative AgendaEntitlements
• Support retention of critical employment supports; such as SSI, SSDI, Medicare and Medicaid Programs to maintain employment for people with significant disabilities
Nonprofit Agency Governance• Advocate legislative and policy initiatives impacting nonprofit
organizations to promote the highest level of AbilityOne Program integrity and continued growth of the Program
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State Relations
• Monitor and support state legislative activity• Support legislative initiatives that grow employment opportunities
at the state level for people with significant disabilities
• Monitor state legislatures for initiatives that impact NPAs• Taxes• Reductions in Medicaid program services• Consolidation and/or elimination of state departments serving
people with disabilities• Minimum wage issues and 14(c)• Preferential purchasing programs
State Legislative Activity
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State RelationsState Use Programs
• Assist states with development and growth of State Use Programs• Existing programs and states without programs • Stakeholders• Legislation• Creation of CNAs• Trainings
• Relationship building • Statewide Associations • Vocational Rehabilitation Community
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Grassroots Advocacy
Short Answer: Every Member of Congress
Who is Important?
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Grassroots Advocacy
• Senate Committees of Key Concern (7)
– Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs (AbilityOne Oversight)
– Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (disability & employment policy oversight)
– Small Business & Entrepreneurship (oversight of competing priority)
– Armed Services
– Appropriations
– Veterans Affairs
– Finance
• House Committees of Key Concern (9)
– Oversight & Government Reform (AbilityOne Oversight)
– Homeland Security
– Education & Labor (disability & employment policy oversight)
– Small Business (oversight of the competing priority)
– Armed Services
– Appropriations (CRP & Committee Funding)
– Energy &Commerce (Medicaid)
– Veterans
– Ways & Means
Key Congressional Committees
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Grassroots Advocacy Who Else is Important?
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What is a Grassroots Network?
Grassroots networks are devoted to increasing political involvement by
organizing a group of people who share similar views on political issues facing their
industry.
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• Recruit and Nurture AbilityOne Congressional Champions• Office Visits• AbilityOne Contract Site Tour• Communication• Use AbilityOne Products and/or Services• Champion Renewal Program
Congressional Champion ProgramGrassroots Advocacy
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AlabamaRep. Jo BonnerRep. Mike Rodgers
AlaskaRep. Don Young
ArizonaRep. Gabrielle GiffordsRep. Raul Grijalva
CaliforniaSen. Dianne FeinsteinRep. Brian P. Bilbray Rep. Susan DavisRep. Bob FilnerRep. Lynn Woolsey
ColoradoRep. Diana DeGette
District of ColumbiaDel. Eleanor Holmes Norton
FloridaSen. Bill Nelson
GeorgiaSen. Saxby ChamblissSen. Johnny IsaksonRep. John BarrowRep. Sanford BishopRep. Paul BrounRep. Phil GingreyRep. Hank JohnsonRep. John LewisRep. Tom PriceRep. David ScottRep. Lynn Westmoreland
Congressional Champions GuamDel. Madeleine Bordallo
HawaiiRep. Mazie Hirono
IllinoisSen. Dick DurbinRep. Danny DavisRep. Janice Schakowski
IndianaRep. Dan BurtonIowa
Sen. Charles GrassleySen. Tom HarkinRep. Leonard Boswell
KansasSen. Jerry Moran Sen. Pat Roberts
KentuckyRep. Harold Rogers
LouisianaSen. Mary LandrieuSen. David VitterRep. Rodney Alexander
MaineSen. Susan Collins
MarylandSen. Benjamin CardinSen. Barbara MikulskiRep. Roscoe BartlettRep. Steny HoyerRep. C.A. “Dutch”
Ruppersberger
MassachusettsRep. Michael CapuanoRep. Barney FrankRep. Stephen LynchRep. Edward MarkeyRep. James McGovernRep. John Tierney
MichiganSen. Carl LevinSen. Debbie StabenowRep. Dave CampRep. Dale KildeeRep. Michael RogersRep. Fred Upton
MinnesotaRep. Betty McCollumRep. Collin Peterson
MississippiSen. Thad CochranRep. Gregg HarperRep. Bennie Thompson
MissouriRep. William Lacy ClayRep. Emanuel CleaverRep. Sam Graves
NevadaSen. John EnsignSen. Harry ReidRep. Shelley BerkleyRep. Dean Heller
New JerseyRep. Robert Andrews
New MexicoSen. Jeff BingamanRep. Martin Heinrich
New YorkRep. Maurice D. HincheyRep. Jerrold NadlerRep. Louise M. SlaughterRep. Edolphus TownsRep. Anthony Weiner
North CarolinaSen. Richard BurrSen. Kay HaganRep. G.K. ButterfieldRep. Howard CobleRep. Virginia FoxxRep. Walter JonesRep. David PriceRep. Melvin Watt
OhioRep. Steve Austria Rep. Steve Chabot Rep. Tim Ryan
PennsylvaniaRep. Tim HoldenRep. Joseph Pitts
Rhode IslandRep. James Langevin
South DakotaSen. Tim JohnsonSen. John Thune
TennesseeRep. Phil Roe
TexasSen. John CornynSen. Kay Bailey HutchisonRep. Mike ConawayRep. Henry CuellarRep. Louie GohmertRep. Charlie GonzalezRep. Kay GrangerRep. Ralph HallRep. Silvestre ReyesRep. Pete SessionsRep. William Thornberry
UtahSen. Orrin HatchRep. Rob BishopRep. Jason Chaffetz Rep. Jim Matheson
VirginiaRep. Gerry E. ConnollyRep. James P. Moran Rep. Robert C. ScottRep. Robert Wittman
WashingtonSen. Maria CantwellSen. Patty MurrayRep. Norman DicksRep. Rick LarsenRep. Jim McDermottRep. Cathy McMorris
Rodgers
WisconsinSen. Herb KohlRep. Gwen MooreRep. F. James
Sensenbrenner Jr.
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Grassroots Advocacy: The Power In CRPs
• 12 Grassroots Advocacy Conferences• More than 180 Grassroots Teams Formed and Trained
• 12 CRP Fly-Ins• More than 1,800 Congressional Visits Conducted
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CapwizTools We Use
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Action AlertsTools We Use
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Member InformationTools We Use
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How Can We Get Stronger?
The difference between involvement and commitment is like ham and eggs. The chicken is involved; the
pig is committed.~ Martina Navratilova
• Build Relationships
• Worksite Visits
• House Calendar Makes it Easier
• Collaborate for Greater Impact
• Champions
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How Can We Be Healthier
A minute's success pays the failure of years.~ Robert Browning
• Opportunities• Protection• Funding Opportunities• Increased Access• Self Advocate Development• You Have a Voice
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How Can We Be Better?
As a general rule, the most successful person in life is the person who has the best information.
~ Benjamin Disraeli
• Public Policy Updates• Public Policy Advocates Calls• Action Alerts• National Sources (Politico, Roll Call)• Local Sources
– Local Papers– State/Local Organizations
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Final Thoughts
There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few that we can solve by ourselves.
~ Lyndon B. Johnson
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Questions?Feel free to contact us!
John KellyDirector, Government Affairs8401 Old Courthouse RdVienna, VA [email protected]
Bill JeffersonCongressional Liaison,House and Senate ArmedServices and DoD8401 Old Courthouse RdVienna, VA [email protected]
Alicia EpsteinManager, Disability Policy8401 Old Courthouse RdVienna, VA 22182571-921-9362(video relay service)[email protected]
Debbie IgnatzManager, State Relations112 Townpark Drive NW Suite 200Kennesaw, GA [email protected]
Shari WaltonManager, Government Affairs8401 Old Courthouse RdVienna, VA [email protected]
Session Evaluation Information
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SESSION TITLE: Congress
SESSION CODE: GA-T1045