Boozman, Cramer, Capito and colleagues file bicameral amicus brief to overturn FHWA’s unlawful rmissions rule

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-AR), Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Committee on Environment and Public Works Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) led 27 of their colleagues in filing a bicameral amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit opposing a final rule from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) that requires state departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations to measure greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on the highway system and set declining targets for those GHG emissions. The brief requests that the Court uphold the April 2024, U.S. District Court decision finding that Congress did not grant the FHWA the authority to issue the rule.

The brief argues Congress explicitly debated providing the FHWA the necessary authority to issue this rule, but decided against doing so in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The FHWA then intentionally misconstrued congressional intent and used unrelated statutory authorities to attempt to justify issuing its GHG performance measure rule. The lawmakers also contend the rulemaking is inconsistent with recent Supreme Court decisions paring back executive branch overreach, and that FHWA is ignoring principles of federalism at the expense of state governments to further its own policy agenda.

“Congress considered, and ultimately rejected, providing [FHWA] with the authority to issue a GHG performance measure regulation, but [FHWA] contorted ancillary existing authorities to impose one anyway,” the members argued. “In doing so, [FHWA] impermissibly usurped the Legislative Branch’s authority and promulgated the GHG performance measure without statutory authority delegated by Congress.” 

“Put simply, when [FHWA] established a GHG performance measure regulation, it exceeded the powers Congress authorized. And it did so both at the expense of separation of powers and in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act,” the members continued. 

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Mike Braun (R-IN), Katie Britt (R-AL), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Steve Daines (R-MT), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John Hoeven (R-ND), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rick Scott (R-FL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), John Thune (R-SD), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) – as well as U.S. Representatives Sam Graves (R-MO-06), Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Rick Crawford (R-AR-01), Chairman of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee – also cosigned the brief. 

Full text of the amicus brief is available here.

Background:

Shortly after the rule was finalized, 21 state attorneys general, including Arkansas, filed litigation challenging the regulation. The U.S. District Court found the Biden administration rule to be illegal, but FHWA appealed the decision to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and it remains under further consideration. 

In April of this year, the U.S. Senate approved a Congressional Review Act (CRA) joint resolution of disapproval overturning the rule by a vote of 53-47. The bipartisan measure was led by Cramer and cosponsored by Boozman, Ranking Member Capito and dozens of their colleagues.

Cotton, Colleagues to Garland: Investigate schools with ties to Chinese communists

Washington, D.C. — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), along with seven of his colleagues, today sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland to urge him to investigate cases of American institutions of higher education having ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In addition to investigating the current cases, the senators asked AG Garland for written responses on how the Department of Justice is working to mitigate the threat the CCP poses to the U.S. education system.

Senators Pete Ricketts (R-Nebraska), Rick Scott (R-Florida), Eric Schmitt (R-Missouri), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), and Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) co-signed the letter.

In part, the senators wrote:

“Undisclosed and unmonitored financial relationships between U.S. academia and the CCP are glaring national security risks. Such relationships leave the U.S. vulnerable to intellectual property theft, improper influence, and even espionage. It is imperative that DOJ take additional steps to swiftly address this concern.”

Full text of the letter may be found here and below.

August 5, 2024 

The Honorable Merrick Garland
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20530

Dear Attorney General Garland,

We write regarding reports that American institutions of higher education (IHEs) are failing to disclose financial ties with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Efforts to conceal CCP attempts to influence American students and steal intellectual property threaten our national security.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has disclosed multiple cases where U.S. universities collaborated illegally with the CCP. On July 16, 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Maryland announced that the University of Maryland paid $500,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by failing to disclose funding from Chinese companies, including Alibaba. On October 2, 2023, the same office announced that Stanford University paid $1.9 million to resolve allegations related to faculty’s ties with the CCP. In both cases, the universities knowingly defrauded federal agencies critical to national security.

Undisclosed and unmonitored financial relationships between U.S. academia and the CCP are glaring national security risks. Such relationships leave the U.S. vulnerable to intellectual property theft, improper influence, and even espionage. It is imperative that DOJ take additional steps to swiftly address this concern.

For those reason, please answer the following questions by September 2, 2024.

1. Has the frequency of IHEs committing False Claims Act violations as result of failing to disclose funding from CCP-affiliated entities increased since January 1, 2020?

2. What is the current assessment of the threats posed to American students and federal research initiatives by CCP involvement?

3. What steps does the DOJ take to mitigate CCP attempts to influence the U.S. education system?

4. How does the DOJ work with the rest of the interagency, including the Department of Defense, to evaluate and mitigate these threats?

Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

U.S. Congressman French Hill urges Federal Reserve to make payments easier for American families and small businesses

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Rep. French Hill (AR-02) led a bipartisan, bicameral letter to Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell with Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Rep. Young Kim (R-CA), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and Rep. Nikema Williams (D-GA) about modernizing our nation’s existing payments infrastructure by expanding the operating days and hours of interbank settlement services to support operations over weekends and holidays, and ultimately 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

In their letter to Chair Powell, the lawmakers write:

Dear Chair Powell, 

We write to you about modernizing our nation’s existing payments infrastructure by expanding the operating days and hours of interbank settlement services to support operations over weekends and holidays, and ultimately 24x7x365.

We were pleased to see the Federal Reserve Board announce last month that it is taking steps to expand the operating days and hours of the National Settlement Service (NSS) and Fedwire Funds Service (Fedwire) to 22x7x365 in 2027.

The Federal Reserve’s 2015 report titled Strategies for Improving the U.S. Payment System acknowledged that this expansion “has the potential to empower private-sector innovation around solutions for making payments faster, safer, and more efficient” for consumers and businesses. In the last nine years since the publishing of this report, the Federal Reserve has made progress on several key priorities. Since the report’s publication, we have seen multiple expansions in the operating days and hours of interbank settlement services to accommodate faster and more efficient interbank payments.

The ACH Network currently processes and clears payments 23¼ hours every banking day, but private-sector ACH operators can only conduct interbank settlement when the wholesale payment services are open and available. Expanding the operating days and hours of the NSS and Fedwire will further allow the ACH Network to settle payments during additional days and times of the week, and it will enable the continued adoption of real-time payments.

This would benefit workers and consumers by enabling people to receive funds for payroll Direct Deposits on weekends and holidays, which is especially important for gig workers and those working shifts. It would also allow Americans to transfer money between accounts at night and on weekends and holidays, something they currently cannot do. Enabling ACH payments to settle on weekends and holidays through expanded days and hours can help consumers manage their own cash flow, pay their bills on time, and avoid late fees, as well as reduce the overall cost of payments to consumers. Expanding the days and hours of interbank settlement services would also especially benefit small businesses by allowing for quicker access to funds from card sales instead of having to wait for the next banking day.

As the Federal Reserve’s own staff memo to the Board of Governors states, expanding the operating hours would “improve the nation’s payment and settlement infrastructure … [and] support the safety and efficiency of the U.S. payments system.” Doing so would also bring other benefits such as “improving the credit risk and operational efficiency of … retail payment arrangements, spurring innovation in new or enhanced private-sector payment solutions, and supporting more efficient cross-border payment flows, among others.”

We believe it is important for the Federal Reserve to prioritize its work and act swiftly to expand the operating days and hours of the NSS and Fedwire. Please respond to the following questions by July 31, 2024:

• How did the Federal Reserve Board reach its decision to propose expanding the operating hours no sooner than 2027? Please describe the rationale in detail, including why the Board proposed a two-year delay following the implementation of the ISO 20022 message format for Fedwire in March 2025, and whether any other time periods were considered.

• What factors would the Federal Reserve consider as it potentially expands the operating hours sooner than 2027?

• How is the Federal Reserve thinking about an expansion of operating hours to the full 24x7x365 versus 22x7x365? What kind of feedback will the Federal Reserve consider regarding the constraints, preferences, and demand related to full 24x7 operating hours?

• What technological, operational, infrastructure, staffing, resource, risk, and other factors are the Federal Reserve analyzing as it considers expanding the operating days and hours of its wholesale payment services? Please expand on the “operational and technical changes” that expanded hours would impose on the Reserve Banks and participants.

Cotton, Colleagues introduce bill to repeal tax on certain firearm purchases

Washington, D.C. — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today introduced the Repealing Illegal Freedom and Liberty Excises (RIFLE) Act, legislation that would remove a burdensome tax imposed on firearms regulated under the National Firearms Act.

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Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), Steve Daines (R-Montana), Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming), Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma), Pete Ricketts (R-Nebraska), Marco Rubio (R-Florida), and Rick Scott (R-Florida) are co-sponsors of the legislation. Congresswoman Ashley Hinson (Iowa-02) introduced companion legislation in the House.

“Law-abiding Americans who exercise their Second Amendment rights should not be subject to unnecessary taxes and restrictions preventing them from doing so. Passed into law in 1934, the National Firearms Act needs to be amended. Our legislation will remove the red tape that places an undue financial burden on would-be gun owners,” said Senator Cotton.

“The federal government should not be placing financial barriers on the inalienable rights of Americans. This unconstitutional tax on certain firearm purchases is a direct violation of the Second Amendment and must be repealed. As the Biden Administration and Democrats push proposals that unfairly target law-abiding gun owners, I will continue to stand up for Iowans’ right to keep and bear arms,” said Congresswoman Hinson.

Text of the legislation may be found here.

Background:

• The 1934 National Firearms Act (NFA) regulates short-barreled shotguns and rifles, fully automatic firearms, suppressors, and a catchall category of explosives. In addition to background checks and registration, NFA regulated items have a $200 tax.

• The ATF has acknowledged the tax was intended “to curtail, if not prohibit, transactions” of firearms. The $200 tax, unchanged since 1934, is equivalent to $4,648 in today’s dollars.

• Since 2018, ownership of NFA regulated items have grown by more than 250% as more sportsmen, shooters and firearm enthusiasts exercise their Second Amendment right.

• The RIFLE Act does not modify the current checks and registration; it solely removes the federally mandated financial burden on law-abiding gun owners.

• The legislation is endorsed by the National Rifle Association and the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

Boozman, Cotton introduce bill to report illegal immigrant attempts to purchase firearm

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) joined Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) to introduce legislation that would require the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and relevant local law enforcement when an illegal immigrant tries to purchase a gun.

“Alerting the proper authorities when illegal immigrants seek to obtain firearms is commonsense. I’m proud to join Senator Cotton and our colleagues on this legislation to help protect our communities,” Boozman said. 

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“Those who come into America illegally should be detained and deported. They certainly shouldn’t be able to purchase a firearm. Our bill is necessary to ensure the proper authorities are notified when an illegal immigrant attempts to buy a gun,” Cotton said. 

“The National Instant Criminal Background Check system is an important tool to ensure firearms stay out of the wrong hands, which is why I co-introduced the Fix NICS Act. It is already against the law for an illegal immigrant to purchase a firearm, and this legislation would notify the appropriate authorities when an illegal immigrant tries to break the law,” said Tillis.

“Our local law enforcement and immigration officials should have the tools to know if folks are in our country illegally. Instead of taking every opportunity to crack down on lawful FFLs just trying to earn a living, the Biden administration should capitalize on their dutiful work by using their resources to prevent unlawful actions by illegal immigrants. In the face of the border crisis of its own making, President Biden’s priorities again are out of touch. This bill will help officials do their job and keep our communities safe,” said Ernst.  

“I have no confidence in this administration’s willingness or ability to prevent illegal aliens from unlawfully entering our country, let alone in preventing them from illegally obtaining a firearm,” said Lummis. “If this administration refuses to enforce our existing immigration laws, we must empower law enforcement and immigration officials to hold them accountable and take appropriate action to keep our communities safe.” 

Bill text may be found here.

Background: 

• When a person tries to buy a firearm from a store, the firearm seller, known as a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL), contacts the NICS to conduct a background check. That background check verifies the buyer is not ineligible to purchase or own a firearm.

• The FBI maintains a record of prohibited persons which currently includes the names of 14.8 million illegal immigrants. NICS is not, however, required to notify immigration authorities if an applicant is in the country illegally.

• Since November 30, 1998, NICS has issued denials for 49,411 attempted firearm purchases by illegal immigrants.