Wednesday, April 16, 2003

House passes child custody, anti-gun-suits bills

By MAC COLLINS
Congressman

Child Custody Protection Act

On Thursday, the Child Custody Protection Act (H.R. 1755) was introduced for consideration in the House of Representatives. I was proud to offer my support as an original cosponsor of this legislation which would protect the rights of parents under state parental notification and consent laws.

This important legislation would hold accountable those individuals who disregard state parental consent laws by taking someone else's child across state lines to obtain an abortion. Over 20 states, including Georgia, have passed laws requiring parental consent or notification before a minor girl can obtain an abortion.

I strongly support these laws which recognize that parents should be consented when their children are considering any serious medical procedure, including an abortion. The Child Custody Protection Act would further protect the parent-child relationship and punish those who would seek to undermine parental rights and break the law.

Protecting our children

On Thursday, with my strong support, the House of Representatives passed the Prosecuting Remedies and Tools Against the Exploitation of Children Today Act of 2003 (S. 151).

The PROTECT Act is the conference report which was agreed to by members of the House-Senate conference committee convened to reconcile the differences in the versions passed by each house earlier this year. It includes important provisions from the Child Abduction Prevention Act (H.R. 1104), which I strongly supported.

Like H.R. 1104, S. 151 will help protect our children from potential kidnappers and sex offenders. Specifically, the bill would ensure that those who commit serious crimes against our children cannot escape prosecution by extending the statute of limitations on child abductions and sex crimes to the life of the victim.

It would also include measures that would give judges the discretion to require lifetime supervision of released sex offenders.

In addition, like H.R. 1104, the conference report would reauthorize and double the authorization for the annual grant to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Finally, the bill would support the Department of Justice's effort to establish a national AMBER alert network to facilitate the quick recovery of abducted children.

Truett Cathy testifies

On April 8, I was pleased to welcome Truett Cathy, the founder and chairman of Chik-fil-A, to Washington, D.C., to testify before the Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Human Resources.

Mr. Cathy came to Washington to testify about the work of WinShape Homes and the effects that the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA) has had on some of the foster children who call WinShape their home.

Mr. Cathy started WinShape Homes to provide a loving, nurturing home for those children who are victims of circumstances and need a stable, secure family environment in which to grow and mature. Since 1987, WinShape Homes have served over 250 children. Currently, there are 134 children in WinShape's 14 homes. While WinShape Homes cannot adopt the children in their care, these homes function as loving and stable families for these children.

One of the significant successes of ASFA has been the incentives that it has included to move more children toward adoption. While ASFA has been largely successful, there are provisions that may need improvement. Mr. Cathy provided testimony outlining recommended changes and improvements based upon his vast experience with caring for children.

Modernizing energy policy

On Friday, the House passed the Energy Policy Act of 2003 (H.R. 6) by a vote of 247-175 with my strong support. H.R. 6 will help America meet its energy needs by modernizing the electricity, fuel and power generation that keep our homes, businesses and cars running strong.

The bill contains a balance of measures which will help conserve energy and increase production to reduce dependence on foreign oil, promote a cleaner environment with renewable energy and alternative fueled vehicles, and improve efficiency standards on electric products, producing huge savings on monthly energy costs.

With an eye toward a more energy efficient future and a cleaner environment, the bill launches a state-of-the-art program to enable hydrogen fuel cell cars to compete in the market by 2020.

We need to do everything in our power to strengthen our energy security by increasing domestic energy supplies and reducing our dependence on foreign oil. The Energy Policy Act includes a provision which will allow oil and gas exploration in 2,000 out of the total 19 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

U.S. dependence on foreign oil has risen dramatically. This not only impacts the economic bottom line for American families, but could also pose a serious threat to our national security in times of crisis.

Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey estimate that very limited drilling in ANWR could yield up to 16 billion barrels of oil, an amount roughly equal to 30 years of oil imports from Saudi Arabia.

The Energy Policy Act will also preserve certain state's authority, including Georgia, to regulate retail electricity systems which favor buyers of electricity who have been guaranteed reliable suppliers of power at fixed prices, an issue of particular concern to Middle Georgia consumers.

Also included in the bill were several provisions I included based upon conversations with residents of Georgia. These provisions included: repeal of the 4.3 cents per gallon fuel tax for rail and barge industries, change in tax depreciation for natural gas pipelines, tax incentives for electric vehicles, and clarification of IRS rules regulating municipal bond transactions for prepaid gas supply contracts.

H.R. 6 has been referred to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for further consideration.

Defending 2nd Amendment

On Wednesday, with my strong support, the House of Representatives passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (H.R. 1036) in a 285 to 140 vote.

In recent years, opponents of the Second Amendment have sought to undermine our Constitutional rights through an increasing number of lawsuits filed with the intention of driving the firearms industry out of business.

Specifically, these individuals file suit and attempt to hold manufacturers and dealers liable for the criminal acts of others. These lawsuits have been filed in multiple states and demand a broad and varying range of remedies relating to product design and marketing, including new consumer regulatory authority. If granted, these demands would create major restrictions on interstate commerce in firearms and ammunition.

While these lawsuits have been consistently thrown out of court, firearms and ammunition manufacturers and dealers still have to respond to each suit and incur legal costs. In the best case scenario, these costs are ultimately passed on to customers in the form of higher prices; in the worst case, these manufacturers and dealers will be forced out of business.

To bring an end to these frivolous lawsuits, the bill would require the Commerce Secretary to create a list of manufacturers and sellers of firearms or ammunition engaged in interstate or foreign commerce. As long as they are compliant with the law, those on this list would be protected from frivolous lawsuits based on criminal or unlawful use of their products by others. I was proud to cosponsor the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

Reforming our tax code

On Thursday, the House passed the Sense of the Congress that the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 Should be Fundamentally Reformed to be Fairer, Simpler, and Less Costly and to encourage Economic Growth, Individual Liberty and Investment in American jobs (H.Con.Res. 141) under a suspension of the rules.

H.Con.Res. 141 encourages a national debate on fundamental reform of the Internal Revenue Code. In 2001 the Internal Revenue Service spent $8.9 billion to administer the current system while American taxpayers spent an estimated $135 billion and 3 billion hours, more than a full day for each return, to comply. Our current tax code is needlessly complex and cumbersome for the American family. It is for this reason that I support both, H.Con.Res. 141 and H.R. 25, a bill to replace the current tax code with a national sales tax.