Progress Illinois

If we needed any more evidence that the Republicans plan on beating the pro-drilling drum all the way to Election Day, here it is.

The Courier News reported yesterday on the National Republican Congressional Committee's (NRCC) efforts to paint 14th District Rep. Bill Foster as "obstructionist" for voting to adjourn the House for August recess:

"Where's Bill Foster?" read the title of a recent NRCC e-mail blast to the media.

In it, the committee -- which spent close to $1.3 million in support of Oberweis leading into March's contest -- targets Foster for voting to recess instead of staying in Washington to debate energy policy. Last week, the NRCC released an "energy report card" that painted Foster as unwilling to get behind solutions to energy issues.

"Bill Foster has used his brief stint in office to define himself as an out-of-touch obstructionist, but this report card paints an alarming picture of a member of Congress who will do anything he can to side with Democrat leadership instead of the people of Illinois," NRCC spokesman Ken Spain stated in one release

The fact that the Republicans are targeting Foster in this fashion shows that they plan on using the August recess to attack any and all Democrats. After all, Foster is not exactly anti-drilling. He recently joined a bipartisan group of House members in supporting a bill that would expand offshore drilling and use some of the revenue from those new leases to fund the development of renewable and alternative energy sources.

Is Foster's chosen bill the right answer for Democrats? Not in my opinion. But he also can't be accused of "sid[ing] with the Democratic leadership."

This morning, the House passed The FISA Amendment Act of 2008 by a vote of 293-129. Authored by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, it was billed as a bipartisan compromise. The Media Consortium's Brian Beutler writes that while it certainly did garner support from both sides of the aisle, calling it a compromise "is a total farce." Salon's Glenn Greenwald agrees. Mark Agrast at the Center for American Progress has more:

Nevertheless, despite these welcome improvements, the bill fails at the most fundamental level to restore the independent judicial check on executive power that the Bush administration has done so much to undermine. Now, instead of determining whether probable cause exists for the issuance of a surveillance order, the FISA Court will be reduced to reviewing the adequacy of the surveillance procedures established by the Bush administration. Instead of evaluating the sufficiency of the assurances that were given to telecommunications companies to obtain their cooperation, the federal district courts in which the lawsuits against the companies have been filed will be authorized to do little more than determine whether such assurances were in fact provided.

Unfortunately, four members of Illinois' Democratic congressional delegation voted in favor of the measure -- Melissa Bean (8th), Rahm Emanuel (5th), Dan Lipinski (3rd), and Luis Gutierrez (4th).

But praise is in order for Democrats Phil Hare (17th), Jesse Jackson Jr. (2nd), Jan Schakowsky (9th), Danny Davis (7th), Jerry Costello (12th), and newcomer Bill Foster (14th), all of whom voted to ensure the civil liberties of Illinoisans.

Last night's House vote on the war supplemental bill will frustrate some progressives. Broken into two amendments, the first focused on the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, which Congress agreed to fund to the tune of nearly $162 billion through the first part of FY 2009. The second half of the bill dealt with domestic spending and progressive House leaders were forced to make some concessions on that front as well. Members of the Blue Dog coalition forced Democratic leaders to offset the cost of increased veterans' benefits but balked at an actual proposal to do so -- a tax increase on individuals with incomes above $500,000 a year or couples making over $1 million -- leaving unresolved the question of how those education benefits will be funded. And while Dems pushed through a 13-week extension of unemployment benefits, they were forced to retain a requirement that beneficiaries work at least 20 weeks to be eligible for benefits, thanks to dishonest arguments put forth by GOP opponents.

But not all was lost. As part of the second amendment, $400 million was devoted to science research, potentially staving off at least some layoffs at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and Argonne National Lavorator in Batavia, IL. Rep. Bill Foster was a major supporter of the measure and said he has received assurances from the White House that it will not be vetoed by Bush:

"The scientific community was hit hard by the funding cuts that were included in the omnibus bill last year," Foster said in a statement. "As a result, scientific research in general and Fermi in particular have suffered tremendously."

Treated more or less as a novelty during his successful campaign for Congress, Bill Foster's background as a particle physicist is playing an increasingly important role in his representation of the 14th District. Specifically, Foster's scientific background has strengthened Democratic efforts to drum up federal support for Batavia-based Fermilab, one of the Department of Energy's national science laboratories.

The Daily Herald recognized his support of the facility in an editorial over the weekend:

Foster joined other Illinois members of Congress and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin two weeks ago in proclaiming the U.S. Senate had approved $250 million in funding for energy, helping to assure Fermilab in Batavia could continue its research and retain staffing that was threatened by budget cuts late last year. Now Foster will push the concept among his colleagues in the House in hopes of approving the bill, which earmarks $100 million for the Department of Energy's Office of Science and another $150 million to the National Science Foundation.

Foster himself worked at Fermilab before entering politics. Not only has he championed the lab in the halls of Congress, he also recently spoke with physicists in Batavia, pushing them to more clearly communicate the "health, security, and economic" importance of their projects to lawmakers in Washington.

Beyond the general promise that scientific advancement holds for the entire country, Fermilab is a pressing issue in the 14th District. The lab is planning to lay off some of its 1,900-person workforce due to recent budget cuts.

The Hill's Mike Soraghan highlights an interesting fissure between Democratic allies in the Illinois congressional delegation. On the one hand, there's Rep. Bill Foster, who sponsored a bill preventing anyone convicted of a sex offense, mortgage fraud, or drug-dealing in the last five years from buying foreclosed homes that the government acquired as part of its $15 billion federal grant and loan bailout program. This concern over ex-convicts was first trumpeted by Republicans during initial congressional debate and Foster took it upon himself to push the specific provision.

But Danny Davis, a long-time advocate of prisoner re-entry and the chief sponsor of the recently-signed Second Chance Act, was none too pleased. He immediately drafted and circulated a “Dear Colleague” letter criticizing Foster's approach, reminding his congressional allies that "access to housing can be a key factor for formerly incarcerated parents to make positive changes and rebuild their lives." The Washington-based prison reform organization The Sentencing Project joined Davis' call to dismiss Foster's punitive bill:

“Men and women transitioning to life after incarceration are already disproportionately likely to become homeless,” wrote Sentencing Project Executive Director Mark Mauer. “Creating additional obstacles to housing will only worsen this condition.”

On May 13, House leaders pulled the bill before it came up for consideration and Foster’s spokeswoman suggests he has no interest in altering it, leaving it in Congressional limbo. More broadly, the episode serves as a helpful reminder to Illinois progressives: while Foster's win is valuable, especially because he's been on the right side of a lot of fights thus far, he's still a moderate Democrat in a conservative district and will need to be pushed by progressive activists to take decisive stands on issues that aren't in his wheelhouse.

Rep. Bill Foster has sponsored new legislation to save the families of active military personnel from added financial hardship. The project is based on the "Illinois Military Family Relief Fund," a successful aid program started in the Prairie State that distributes money to financially strapped families whose breadwinner is stationed overseas. The Illinois program is funded by voluntary contributions from taxpayers on their state tax returns. Foster's plan would offer all Americans a similar option on their federal returns. The money would be distributed by the U.S. Defense Department. The Associated Press reports that the Illinois model has been instrumental in giving military personnel and their families at home financial peace of mind:

The Illinois Military Family Relief Fund provides grants every six months to applicant families whose breadwinner is serving in uniform and face financial hardship, with allocations ranging from $1,000 to $4,000 per year depending on need, officials said.

To date, the fund has distributed $6.2 million to more than 11,000 military families across the state.

If Foster's National Military Family Relief Fund gains momentum it could be implemented as early as next year.

Rep. Bill Foster continued his string of valuable votes yesterday. First, he supported a narrowly-passed bill calling for Iraq withdrawal timelines, more accountability for military contractors, and an end to interrogation techniques that amount to torture. He additionally backed the revamped GI Bill, a great piece of legislation initially decried by his Blue Dog caucus as "fiscally irresponsible." To pay for the benefits, party leaders added a half-percent tax surcharge on individuals earning over $500,000 and couples earning over $1 million a year, which convinced almost all of the Blue Dogs to sign on. The legislation passed 256-166, with 32 Republicans voting yes and only five Democrats voting no (Rep. Melissa Bean among them).

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Since arriving on Capitol Hill in March, Bill Foster has been keeping busy. On his first day in office, he cast the deciding procedural vote on an bill championed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to create an independent, outside panel to investigate ethics complaints against House members. Since then, as The Beacon News reports, he's turned his attention to the deceptive and exploitative techniques of predatory lenders and credit card companies.

Such regulation is vitally important, especially in times of economic downturn. As Mose reported last month, predatory lending is a growing industry that nudges unknowing low-income borrowers into cycles of debt through loans strapped with exorbitant interest rates. Credit card companies aren't much better: after the industry was throughly deregulated in the late 1970s, banks bilked cash from clients through confusing and punitive measures while simultaneously lobbying Congress to implement bankruptcy reforms that made it even more difficult for working households to crawl out from under their debts.

Using his role on the House Financial Services Committee, Foster is now doing his part to push back, advocating legislation that would standardize credit card service contracts:

"There are a lot of 'gotchas' like double-cycle billing buried in the fine print that nobody ever gets the chance to read," he said. "I don't want to have the situation where credit card companies are competing with each other over who has the cleverest fine print.

"There's a lot to be done to protect credit card consumers."

He also intends to write a bill regulating payday loan businesses, arguing that they represent "an end run around the usury laws. They're siphoning money from communities that can least afford it."

(Image used under a Creative Commons license from Flickr user taberandrew.)

As the cost of a gallon of gas approaches $4.00, Rep. Bill Foster has come out in support of a measure to cut costs at the pump over the summer.

Foster announced on Friday that he is co-sponsoring House Resolution 5473, which would halt the delivery of oil to the U.S strategic oil reserve for the rest of the year. According to the Democratic Caucus, the Bush administration is "currently buying 70,000 barrels of oil per day at current prices" to put into reserve. If that oil was allowed into the market, it would increase supply and lower the cost of a gallon of gas by as much as 25 cents, said Foster. The Beacon News has more details:

Supplying the reserves could resume sooner if oil drops below $50 per barrel, he said. But that price hit another all-time high Friday, topping $116 a barrel.

Foster is among at least 25 cosponsors on the legislation, which is sitting in a House subcommittee. He called it a "short-term fix," pointing to more efficient vehicles as the ultimate goal.

Illinois Reps. Rahm Emanuel and Jan Schakowsky are also among the bill's co-sponsors.

Proponents say that greater availability of oil would not only drive down the cost of gasoline, but also take a bite out of exploding food costs that are linked to oil prices. The U.S. Strategic Reserve is currently filled to 96 percent capacity. If the bill passed, it would not be the fist time the government stopped contributing to the reserve. In 2006, the Bush administration suspended deposits to drive down the cost of fuel. Keep in mind that back then the price of oil was about $75-per-barrel.

You can hear Rep. Bill Foster delivering the Democrats' Saturday radio address here.