![](media/image1.jpeg){width="6.489583333333333in"
height="1.15625in"}**Legislative
Bulletin...........................................April 23, 2007**

> **Contents:**

**H.Res. 179 ---** Expressing support for a National Foster Parents Day

> **H.R. 625 ---** To designate the facility of the United States Postal
> Service located at 4230 Maine Avenue in Baldwin Park, California, as
> the "Atanacio Haro-Marin Post Office"
>
> **H.R. 1434 ---** To designate the facility of the United States
> Postal Service located at 896 Pittsburgh Street in Springdale,
> Pennsylvania, as the "Rachel Carson Post Office Building"
>
> **H.R. 1402 ---** To designate the facility of the United States
> Postal Service located at 320 South Lecanto Highway in Lecanto,
> Florida, as the "Sergeant Dennis J. Flanagan Lecanto Post Office
> Building"
>
> **H.Res. 289 ---** Expressing the sense of the House of
> Representatives with respect to raising awareness and encouraging
> prevention of sexual assault in the United States and supporting the
> goals and ideals of National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention
> Month
>
> **H.Res. 119** --- Supporting the mission and goals of National Crime
> Victims' Rights Week in order to increase public awareness of the
> rights, needs, and concerns of victims and survivors of crime in the
> United States during such week and throughout the year
>
> **S. 521 ---** A bill to designate the Federal building and United
> States courthouse and customhouse located at 515 West First Street in
> Duluth, Minnesota, as the "Gerald W. Heaney Federal Building and
> United States Courthouse and Customhouse"

**H.Res. 179 --- Expressing support for a National Foster Parents Day
*(Boyda, D-KS)***

**[Order of Business]{.underline}:** H.Res. 179 is scheduled to be
considered on Monday, April 23, 2007, under a motion to suspend the
rules and pass the resolution.

**[Summary]{.underline}**: H.Res.179 would resolve that:

-   "a National Foster Parents Day should be established to recognize
    the contributions of foster parents across the Nation; and

-   "the President should issue a proclamation calling on the people of
    the United States and interested groups to conduct appropriate
    ceremonies, activities, and programs to demonstrate support for
    foster parents across the Nation."

The bill lists the following findings:

-   "the family, serving as the primary source of love, identity,
    self-esteem, and support, is the very foundation of our communities,
    and our United States;

-   "foster families, who open their homes and hearts to children whose
    families are in crisis, play a vital role in helping children heal
    and reconnect and in launching those children into successful
    adulthood;

-   "over 500,000 youth are in foster care with at least 380,000 in a
    family-home setting;

-   "numerous individuals and public and private organizations work to
    increase public awareness of the needs of children in foster care
    and leaving foster care as well as of the enduring and valuable
    contributions of foster parents; and

-   "those families who are able to serve a role as foster parents
    should be wholeheartedly encouraged to do so."

**[Committee Action]{.underline}**: H.Res.179 was introduced on February
16, 2007, and referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform, which marked-up the resolution and reported it by voice vote on
March 29, 2007.

**[Cost to Taxpayers]{.underline}**: The resolution authorizes no
expenditure.

**[Does the Bill Expand the Size and Scope of the Federal
Government?]{.underline}** No.

**[Does the Bill Contain Any New State-Government, Local-Government, or
Private-Sector Mandates?]{.underline}** No.

**[RSC Staff Contact]{.underline}**: Andy Koenig;
<andy.koenig@mail.house.gov>; 202-226-9717.

**H.R. 625 --- To designate the facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 4230 Maine Avenue in Baldwin Park, California, as the
"Atanacio Haro-Marin Post Office" *(Solis, D-CA)***

**[Order of Business]{.underline}:** H.R 625 is scheduled to be
considered on Monday, April 23, 2007, under a motion to suspend the
rules and pass the bill.

**[Summary]{.underline}**: H.R. 625 would designate the facility of the
United States Postal Service located at 4230 Maine Avenue in Baldwin
Park, California, as the "Atanacio Haro-Marin Post Office."

**[Additional Information]{.underline}**: Atanacio Haro-Marin was killed
at a checkpoint near Balad, Iraq, on June 3, 2003.

According to the Associated Press, Marin was born in Momax, Mexico,
where he lived until moving to Los Angeles at age two. Marin later moved
with his family to suburban Baldwin Park and attended Sierra Vista High
School. Upon graduation, he joined the Army National Guard. Following
his first tour of duty in the National Guard, Marin transferred to the
Army where he intended to make a career. On June 3, 2003, Marin was at a
checkpoint just south of Balad, Iraq, when he was ambushed and attacked
with rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire. He was killed by a ricochet
bullet.

**[Committee Action]{.underline}**: H.R. 625 was introduced on January
22, 2007, and referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform, which marked-up the bill and reported it by voice vote on March
29, 2007.

**[Cost to Taxpayers]{.underline}**: A CBO score of H.R. 625 is
unavailable, but the only costs associated with a post office renaming
are those for sign and map changes, none of which significantly affect
the federal budget.

**[Does the Bill Expand the Size and Scope of the Federal
Government?]{.underline}** No.

**[Does the Bill Contain Any New State-Government, Local-Government, or
Private-Sector Mandates?]{.underline}** No.

**[Constitutional Authority]{.underline}**: Although no committee report
citing constitutional authority is available, Article I, Section 8,
Clause 7 of the Constitution grants Congress the authority to establish
Post Offices and post roads.

**[RSC Staff Contact]{.underline}**: Andy Koenig;
<andy.koenig@mail.house.gov>; 202-226-9717.

**H.R. 1434 --- To designate the facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 896 Pittsburgh Street in Springdale, Pennsylvania, as
the "Rachel Carson Post Office Building" *(Altmire, D-PA)***

**[Order of Business]{.underline}:** H.R 1434 is scheduled to be
considered on Monday, April 23, 2007, under a motion to suspend the
rules and pass the bill.

**[Summary]{.underline}**: H.R. 1434 would designate the facility of the
United States Postal Service located at 896 Pittsburgh Street in
Springdale, Pennsylvania, as the "Rachel Carson Post Office Building"

**[Additional Information]{.underline}**: According to the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), Rachel Carson was an environmental activist who
famously argued for the ban of the pesticide
dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT). In her 1963 book, *Silent
Spring,* Carson argued that the use of DDT was causing damage to the
environment, specifically birds, and could pose a threat to humans. The
same year she testified about the subject before President Kennedy's
Science Advisory Committee. Following the success of *Silent Spring* and
the ensuing media campaign, the EPA banned the use of DDT in 1972.

**[Possible Conservative Concerns]{.underline}**: Some conservatives may
be concerned that the evidenced used by Carson to show a link between
DDT and environmental damage has been questioned by other scientists.
Further, the use of DDT in places like Africa could kill mosquitoes that
carry disease and potentially save millions of people that die of
malaria.

For more information on Carson, DDT, and malaria see these sites:

[[http://www.cei.org/gencon/005,01338.cfm]{.underline}](http://www.cei.org/gencon/005,01338.cfm)

[[http://www.cei.org/gencon/019,05639.cfm]{.underline}](http://www.cei.org/gencon/019,05639.cfm)

**[Committee Action]{.underline}**: H.R. 1434 was introduced on March 9,
2007, and referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,
which marked-up the bill and reported it by voice vote on March 29,
2007.

**[Cost to Taxpayers]{.underline}**: A CBO score of H.R. 1434 is
unavailable, but the only costs associated with a post office renaming
are those for sign and map changes, none of which significantly affect
the federal budget.

**[Does the Bill Expand the Size and Scope of the Federal
Government?]{.underline}** No.

**[Does the Bill Contain Any New State-Government, Local-Government, or
Private-Sector Mandates?]{.underline}** No.

**[Constitutional Authority]{.underline}**: Although no committee report
citing constitutional authority is available, Article I, Section 8,
Clause 7 of the Constitution grants Congress the authority to establish
Post Offices and post roads.

**[RSC Staff Contact]{.underline}**: Andy Koenig;
<andy.koenig@mail.house.gov>; 202-226-9717.

**H.R. 1402 --- To designate the facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 320 South Lecanto Highway in Lecanto, Florida, as the
"Sergeant Dennis J. Flanagan Lecanto Post Office Building"**

**(Brown-Waite, R-FL)**

**[Order of Business]{.underline}:** H.R 1402 is scheduled to be
considered on Monday, April 23, 2007, under a motion to suspend the
rules and pass the bill.

**[Summary]{.underline}**: H.R. 1402 would designate the facility of the
United States Postal Service located at 320 South Lecanto Highway in
Lecanto, Florida, as the "Sergeant Dennis J. Flanagan Lecanto Post
Office Building."

**[Additional Information]{.underline}**: Sergeant Dennis J. Flanagan
was killed when a roadside bomb penetrated his armored vehicle on
January 31, 2006, in Al Huwijah, Iraq.

According to his local newspaper, Sergeant Dennis J. Flanagan was born
in Rhode Island, but grew up in Inverness, Florida. Upon his graduation
from Lecanto High School in 2001, Flanagan enrolled at Central Florida
Community College and briefly attended classes. Following the events of
September 11, 2001, Flanagan joined the Army and went on to serve in the
327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team in the 101st Airborne
Division. On January 20, 2006, Flanagan and three other soldiers were
killed by a roadside bomb. Flanagan was buried in Arlington National
Cemetery on January 31, 2006.

**[Committee Action]{.underline}**: H.R. 1402 was introduced on March 8,
2007, and referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,
which marked-up the bill and reported it by voice vote on March 29,
2007.

**[Cost to Taxpayers]{.underline}**: A CBO score of H.R. 1402 is
unavailable, but the only costs associated with a post office renaming
are those for sign and map changes, none of which significantly affect
the federal budget.

**[Does the Bill Expand the Size and Scope of the Federal
Government?]{.underline}** No.

**[Does the Bill Contain Any New State-Government, Local-Government, or
Private-Sector Mandates?]{.underline}** No.

**[Constitutional Authority]{.underline}**: Although no committee report
citing constitutional authority is available, Article I, Section 8,
Clause 7 of the Constitution grants Congress the authority to establish
Post Offices and post roads.

**[RSC Staff Contact]{.underline}**: Andy Koenig;
<andy.koenig@mail.house.gov>; 202-226-9717.

**H.Res. 289 --- Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives
with respect to raising awareness and encouraging prevention of sexual
assault in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of
National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month**

***(Moran, D-VA)***

**[Order of Business]{.underline}:** H.Res. 249 is scheduled to be
considered on Monday, April 23, 2007, under a motion to suspend the
rules and pass the resolution.

**[Summary]{.underline}**: H.Res.249 would resolve that:

-   "National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month provides a
    special opportunity to educate the people of the United States about
    sexual violence and to encourage the prevention of sexual assault,
    the improved treatment of its survivors, and the prosecution of its
    perpetrators;

-   "it is appropriate to properly acknowledge the more than 20,000,000
    men and women who have survived sexual assault in the United States
    and salute the efforts of survivors, volunteers, and professionals
    who combat sexual assault;

-   "national and community organizations and private sector supporters
    should be recognized and applauded for their work in promoting
    awareness about sexual assault, providing information and treatment
    to its survivors, and increasing the number of successful
    prosecutions of its perpetrators;

-   "public safety, law enforcement, and health professionals should be
    recognized and applauded for their hard work and innovative
    strategies to increase the percentage of sexual assault cases that
    result in the prosecution and incarceration of the offenders;

-   "the House of Representatives strongly recommends national and
    community organizations, businesses in the private sector, colleges
    and universities, and the media to promote, through National Sexual
    Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, awareness of sexual violence
    and strategies to decrease the incidence of sexual assault; and

-   "the House of Representatives supports the goals and ideals of
    National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month"

The resolution lists several findings, including:

-   "on average, a person is sexually assaulted in the United States
    every two-and-a-half minutes;

-   "the Department of Justice reports that 191,670 people in the United
    States were sexually assaulted in 2005;

-   "1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men have been victims of rape or attempted
    rape;

-   "children and young adults are most at risk, as 44 percent of sexual
    assault victims are under the age of 18, and 80 percent are under
    the age of 30;

-   "sexual assault affects women, men, and children of all racial,
    social, religious, age, ethnic, and economic groups in the United
    States;

-   "only 41 percent of sexual assault victims pursue prosecution by
    reporting their attack to law enforcement agencies;

-   "two-thirds of sexual crimes are committed by persons who are not
    strangers to the victims;

-   "sexual assault survivors suffer emotional scars long after the
    physical scars have healed; and

-   "because of recent advances in DNA technology, law enforcement
    agencies have the potential to identify the rapists in tens of
    thousands of unsolved rape cases."

**[Committee Action]{.underline}**: H.Res. 289 was introduced on March
29, 2007, and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, which took no
official action.

**[Cost to Taxpayers]{.underline}**: The resolution authorizes no
expenditure.

**[Does the Bill Expand the Size and Scope of the Federal
Government?]{.underline}** No.

**[Does the Bill Contain Any New State-Government, Local-Government, or
Private-Sector Mandates?]{.underline}** No.

**[RSC Staff Contact]{.underline}**: Andy Koenig;
<andy.koenig@mail.house.gov>; 202-226-9717.

**H.Res. 119 --- Supporting the mission and goals of National Crime
Victims' Rights Week in order to increase public awareness of the
rights, needs, and concerns of victims and survivors of crime in the
United States during such week and throughout the year *(Costa, D-CA)***

**[Order of Business]{.underline}:** H.Res. 119 is scheduled to be
considered on Monday, April 23, 2007, under a motion to suspend the
rules and pass the resolution.

**[Summary]{.underline}**: H.Res.119 would resolve that the House of
Representatives:

-   "supports the mission and goals of the 2007 National Crime Victims'
    Rights Week in order to increase public awareness of the impact of
    crime on victims and survivors of crime, and of the rights and needs
    of such victims and survivors; and

-   "directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to transmit an
    enrolled copy of this resolution to the Office for Victims of Crime
    in the Department of Justice."

The resolution lists several findings, including:

-   "currently in the United States, there are millions of victims and
    survivors of crime whose physical, financial, emotional, and
    spiritual needs are entitled to the attention and support of
    individuals and communities across the United States;

-   "since 1984, the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) has collected \$8
    billion in fines, fees, and assessments on individuals convicted of
    Federal crimes to support crime victim compensation and victim
    assistance programs nationwide;

-   "there are over 10,000 system-based and community-based victim
    assistance programs that provide greatly needed interventions,
    support, and justice system advocacy to crime victims and survivors,
    including 4,400 programs that receive VOCA funding;

-   "in 2007, the week of April 22 through April 28, is dedicated as the
    national observance during which crime victims\' and survivors\'
    rights, needs, and services will be recognized; and

-   "during the 2007 National Crime Victims' Rights Week, the
    Congressional Victim's Rights Caucus will honor a victim or survivor
    of crime, a victim service provider, and an allied professional and
    innovators in public policy development whose efforts on behalf of
    crime victims and survivors are visionary and exemplary."

**[Committee Action]{.underline}**: H.Res. 119 was introduced on January
31, 2007, and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. On March 1,
1007, the resolution was referred to the Subcommittee on Crime,
Terrorism, and Homeland Security, which took no official action.

**[Cost to Taxpayers]{.underline}**: The resolution authorizes no
expenditure.

**[Does the Bill Expand the Size and Scope of the Federal
Government?]{.underline}** No.

**[Does the Bill Contain Any New State-Government, Local-Government, or
Private-Sector Mandates?]{.underline}** No.

**[RSC Staff Contact]{.underline}**: Andy Koenig;
<andy.koenig@mail.house.gov>; 202-226-9717.

**S. 521 --- A bill to designate the Federal building and United States
courthouse and customhouse located at 515 West First Street in Duluth,
Minnesota, as the "Gerald W. Heaney Federal Building and United States
Courthouse and Customhouse" *(Klobuchar, D-MN)***

**[Order of Business]{.underline}**: The bill is scheduled for
consideration on Monday, April 23, 2007, under a motion to suspend the
rules and pass the bill.

**[Summary]{.underline}**: S. 521 would designate the Federal building
and United States courthouse and customhouse located at 515 West First
Street in Duluth, Minnesota, as the "Gerald W. Heaney Federal Building
and United States Courthouse and Customhouse."

**[Addition Information]{.underline}**: According to the Federal
Judicial Center, Gerald William Heaney graduated from the University of
Minnesota Law School in 1941. After serving in World War II, Heaney
settled with his family in Duluth, Minnesota, and began work in private
practice. In 1966 Heaney was appointed to the United States Court of
Appeals for the Eighth Circuit by President Johnson. Judge Heaney served
in the Eight Circuit for 40 years until his retirement on August 31,
2006.

**[Committee Action]{.underline}**: S. 521 was received from the Senate
on April 16, 2007.

**[Cost to Taxpayers]{.underline}**: A CBO score of S. 521 is
unavailable, but the only costs associated with a post office renaming
are those for sign and map changes, none of which significantly affect
the federal budget.

[**Does the Bill Expand the Size and Scope of
Government**?]{.underline}: No.

**[Does the Bill Contain Any New State-Government, Local-Government or
Private-Sector Mandates?]{.underline}** No.

**[Constitutional Authority]{.underline}**: Although no committee report
citing constitutional authority is available, Article I, Section 8,
Clause 7 of the Constitution grants Congress the authority to establish
Post Offices and post roads.

**[RSC Staff Contact]{.underline}**: Andy Koenig;
<andy.koenig@mail.house.gov>; 202-226-9717.

\###