ICE, airports and more were on the agenda last week as U.S. lawmakers voted through dozens of bills.
Highlights of last week’s U.S. congressional activities include:
Thin ICE
The Senate and House fought Friday over a Department of Homeland Security budget bill attempting to resolve the ongoing congressional standoff regarding the budget for DHS. The bill would provide funding for DHS’ operations, including retroactive pay for workers — such as TSA agents — who have gone without pay during the month-long funding lapse.
What the bill might not include is any funding for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement: the Senate voted unanimously Friday to slash all ICE-related items from the bill.
The House, meanwhile, voted to reject the Senate version of the measure, instead proposing its own version that would include short-term funding for ICE at current levels. The House voted 213-203 in support of that version — Hawai‘i Reps. Jill Tokuda and Ed Case voted against — but Senate leadership has indicated that it will never pass the House version of the bill.
One day before, the House voted on Thursday to pass the Pay Our Homeland Defenders Act, another DHS budget measure.
Included in the measure is a $10 billion appropriation for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with a range of requirements for ICE to provide regular reports to Congress about the use of those funds.
Nonetheless, the vote on the bill was split down party lines, with all but four Democrats voting for it, and no Republicans voting against it. It ultimately passed 218-206, with Tokuda and Case in opposition, and next goes before the Senate.
Airports
On Wednesday, the House voted unanimously to pass several aviation-related measures. These included:
• The Airmen Certificate Accessibility Act, allowing pilots to use digital copies of certain certificates for Federal Aviation Administration checks.
• The Supersonic Aviation Modernization Act, which allows civil aircraft to exceed the speed of sound over U.S. land so long as the sonic boom does not reach the ground.
• The ACPAC Modernization Act expands the membership of the Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee, which advises the Department of Transportation.
• The Aviation Supply Chain Safety and Security Digitization Act orders a study about whether digital documentation can help combat counterfeit parts and falsified documentation within the aviation supply chain.
• The Airport Regulatory Relief Act allows smaller-scale airports to use state highway standards for airfield pavements under less stringent circumstances than current laws.
• The Recreational Drone Empowerment Act allows recreational drones to operate within the FAA’s “Class E” airspace, the most common airspace designation, where recreational drones are currently prohibited.
• The Wildfire Aerial Response Safety Act requires the FAA to study whether drones have negatively impacted wildfire suppression operations and whether the FAA should employ counter-drone systems to prevent drone interference during wildfire control activities.
Mixed plate
• The Defending American Property Abroad Act authorizes the president to block the entry of a vessel into the U.S. if it had previously passed through a port “within the territory of a Western Hemisphere country that has in effect a free trade agreement with the U.S.” where said country has nationalized or expropriated a port.
The bill is specifically a reaction to a 2023 move by the Mexican government to seize a port owned by American company Vulcan Materials after decreeing the land it was on to be part of a protected natural reserve.
The House voted 247-164 in support of the bill Friday, with Case and Tokuda in opposition. It next goes before the Senate.
• The Make the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful Act establishes a commission within the U.S. Executive Branch to make recommendations regarding immigration enforcement within Washington, D.C. The bill follows upon an executive order by President Donald Trump one year ago calling for a similar commission. It passed the House 218-206, with Case and Tokuda not among the five Democrats to vote in favor of the bill.
• The Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act expands a marine mammal rescue grant program to include grants to rescue and care for sea turtles. It passed the Senate unanimously last Monday.
• The Wastewater Infrastructure Pollution Prevention and Environmental Safety Act, or WIPPES Act, requires manufacturers of baby wipes and similar products to clearly and conspicuously label the products with the phrase “Do Not Flush.” It passed the Senate unanimously last Monday.
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