Education

• Educational Training
  • With a vote of 416-0 the House of Representative approved the Green Energy Education Act of 2007 (H.R. 1716) in June of 2007. The bill will allow the Secretary of Energy to contribute research and development funds to the National Science Foundation for the purpose of supporting graduate education that is related to energy technology. It also authorizes the Secretary to provide funds for the improvement of undergraduate and graduate engineering and architecture curriculum on the design and construction of "high performance buildings." Representative Arcuri voted for this bill. H.R. 1716 was ultimately integrated into the America COMPETES Act (H.R. 2272) which is now law, but was not fully funded in the budget.
• Educational Funding
  • Representative Arcuri voted for the 10,000 Teachers, 10 Million Minds Science and Math Scholarship Act (H.R. 362). The legislation will require the National Science Foundation to increase its funding of the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program with the goal of increasing the number of math and science teachers by up to 10,000 per year. The Noyce program provides scholarships to math, science, technology, and engineering students who commit to becoming teachers upon graduation. The legislation passed with a vote of 389-22.
• Teaching Evolution/Intelligent Design
  • Nothing posted to date

Energy

• Fuel Economy Standards
  • See discussion of CLEAN Energy Act under Renewable Energy section.
• Nuclear Power
  • Nothing posted to date
• Renewable Energy
  • In January of 2007, the House of Representatives passed the CLEAN Energy Act of 2007 (H.R. 6). This legislation is intended to address a royalties oversight that occurred when the Department of the Interior issued leases for off-shore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from 1998 to 1999. The bill would also deny income tax deductions for oil and gas companies. Revenues generated from these provisions would be used for the development of alternative fuels and renewable energy sources. Opponents of the bill claimed that the legislation would raise costs for the domestic production of oil and could increase foreign oil imports. Representative Arcuri voted for this legislation, which passed with a vote of 264-163.
    
    During consideration of H.R. 6 in June of 2007, the Senate changed the focus of the legislation into developing a more comprehensive energy bill that focused on the development of renewable fuels, energy conservation, and increased Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. In the face of a veto threat from President Bush, the House passed the Senate version of H.R. 6 with amendments by a vote of 235-181 on December 6, 2007. Representative Arcuri voted for this bill. The final Senate rendering of the bill, which passed with a vote of 86-8, still included language raising CAFE standards to 35 mpg by 2020. The final version of the bill passed in the House with a vote of 314-100 and was signed into law by President Bush on December 19, 2007.
  • In August 2007, Representative Arcuri voted for the final passage of the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2007 (H.R. 3221). The legislation would provide tax incentives to promote the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency, including guaranteeing up to $1 billion in loans for the development of biorefineries and biofuel production facilities. The measure also would repeal tax deductions to income attributed to the domestic production of oil and natural gas. It passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 241-172 and was sent to the Senate.
    
    A controversial amendment to the bill was H. Amdt. 748 sponsored by Representative Udall. This amendment would require retail electric suppliers to provide 15% of their electricity through a renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS) by 2020. Representative Arcuri voted for the amendment, which was adopted with a vote of 220 to 190.

Press Releases on Energy

• On February 9, 2007, Congressman Michael Arcuri issued a press release announcing his support for H.R. 547, the Advanced Fuels Infrastructure Research and Development Act, which will foster the development of markets for biofuels and Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel fuel through research and development.
• On February 18, 2007, Congressman Michael Arcuri issued a press release announcing his support H.R. 5351, the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act, which would provide tax incentives for the production of renewable energy and energy conservation.
• On March 13, 2007, Congressman Michael Arcuri issued a press release announcing his support for H.R. 1300, the Program for Real Energy Security (PROGRESS), which creates a national initiative for alternative energy production and increased energy efficiency by reducing reliance on foreign oil, improving vehicle technology and efficiency, increasing the distribution of alternative fuels, bolstering rail infrastructure, and expanding access to public transit.
• On May 23, 2007, Congressman Michael Arcuri issued a press release announcing his support for H.R. 1252, the Energy Price Gouging Prevention Act which prosecutes and penalizes those that inflate the price of oil, and H.R. 2264, the No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act of 2007, which amends the Sherman Act to make oil-producing and exporting cartels illegal.
• On June 20, 2007, Congressman Michael Arcuri issued a press release announcing his support for H.R. 2641, the 2008 Energy and Water Appropriations bill which includes funding for expanded cellulosic ethanol and biofuels production.
• On December 17, 2007, Congressman Michael Arcuri issued a press release announcing his support for H.R. 6, the Energy Independence and Security Act, which increases Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, fosters American-produced biofuels like cellulosic ethanol, and strengthens energy efficiency for a wide range of products, appliances, and building codes.
• On April 28, 2008, Congressman Michael Arcuri issued a press release announcing his support for H.R. 5473, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Fill Suspension and Consumer Protection Act of 2008, which would halt all shipments to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) until the average price of crude oil falls below $50 a barrel.

Environment

Press Releases on the Environment

• On March 8, 2007, Congressman Michael Arcuri issued a press release announcing his support to two water-related bills: H.R. 700 Healthy Communities Water Supply Act of 2007, which extends the pilot program for alternative water source projects and H.R. 569, the Water Quality Investment Act of 2007, which authorizes appropriations for sewer overflow control grants.
• On March 9, 2007, Congressman Michael Arcuri issued a press release announcing his support for H.R. 720, Water Quality Financing Act of 2007 which provides funding for state water pollution control revolving funds.
• On March 18, 2008, Congressman Michael Arcuri issued a press release announcing his support to maintain funding for three programs critical to the United States’ fight against acid rain: Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNET), Temporary Integrated Monitoring of Ecosystems (TIME), and Long-Term Monitoring (LTM).
• On April 22, 2008, Congressman Arcuri released this press release on his celebration of earth day and views on future initiatives. Link to Press Release
• On May 14, 2007, Congressman Michael Arcuri issued a press release announcing $200,000 in federal funds for brownfield cleanups in Geneva.
• On June 11, 2007, Congressman Michael Arcuri issued a press release announcing his support for H.R. 1709, the Pollinator Protection Act which provides funding for the study of Colony Collapse Disorder and combat the unusual decline of honeybees.
• On November 6, 2007, Congressman Michael Arcuri issued a press release announcing his vote to override the President's veto of H.R. 1495, Water Resources Development Act of 2007 which provides for the conservation and development of water and related resources.

Climate Change

• Nothing posted to date

Health

• Healthcare
  • In April of 2007, the House of Representatives passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2007 (H.R. 493) with a vote of 420-3. Representative Arcuri voted for this bill. If enacted, GINA will prevent health insurance companies from adjusting premiums on the basis of genetic information and forbid requiring individuals to undergo genetic tests. The bill will also prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of genetic information. This legislation was passed by the Senate in a vote of 95-0. The House passed the Senate amended version of the bill on May 1, 2008, by a vote of 415-1. Rep Ron Paul was the only representative to vote against the bill. President Bush signed GINA into law on May 21, 2008.
• Embryonic Stem Cell Research
  • In April of 2007, Congress passed the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007 (S. 5), which would have overturned President Bush's ban on the use of federal funding for research on embryonic stem cell lines created after August 9, 2001. Representative Arcuri voted for the legislation. The bill passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 247-176 and the Senate with a vote of 63-34. President Bush vetoed both this legislation and an identical bill that was passed by Congress in 2006.
• Non-Embryonic Stem Cell Research
  • In December 2005, Congress passed the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005 (H.R. 2520), which President Bush signed on December 20, 2005. The law "creates a new Federal program to collect and store cord blood, and expands the current bone marrow registry program to also include cord blood." Representative Arcuri was not in office and did not vote for this bill. The legislation passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 431-1 and passed the Senate by unanimous consent.
  • On September 25, 2007, the House passed the final version of the “Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act” (H.R. 976) with a vote of 265-169. This bill would have increased funding for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) by $50 billion dollars over five years. Opponents saw the bill as too costly and were critical of the funding methods for the program, including a cigarette tax increase (read the floor debate). Representative Arcuri voted for this legislation.
  • On October 3, 2007, President Bush vetoed H.R. 976, citing that the bill moved too many children towards federally funded healthcare. The House attempted to override the President’s veto, but the measure failed to pass with a vote count of 273-156. Representative Arcuri voted for the veto override. On December 29, 2007, President Bush signed the Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (S. 2499) which extends funding for SCHIP through March of 2009, but does not significantly increase the program.
  • On January 23, 2008, the House once again failed with a vote of 260-152 to pass H.R. 3963 to override President Bush’s veto of SCHIP. Representative Arcuri voted for this legislation.

Press Releases on Health

• On January 11, 2007, Congressman Michael Arcuri issued a press release announcing his vote of support for H.R. 3, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007, which increases the number of lines of stem cells that are eligible to be used in federally-funded research.

Innovation

• On August 9, 2007, President Bush signed the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science (COMPETES) Act (H.R. 2272) into law. The law authorizes the doubling of funding for the National Science Foundation over the next seven years, increased funding for the National Institute of Standards and Technology and competitive grants for teachers and schools with the goal of strengthening the quality of education in science, math, and critical foreign languages. The bill was passed with unanimous consent in the Senate and was agreed to by a vote of 367-57 by the House after being reconciled in a conference committee. Representative Arcuri voted for this legislation. The America COMPETES Act was not fully funded in 2008.

Research and Research Management

• Funding
  • In May of 2007, Representative Arcuri voted for the final passage of the National Science Foundation Funding Authorization Act of 2007 (H.R. 1867), which authorizes appropriations for the National Science Foundation for the fiscal years 2008, 2009 and 2010. The final vote count was 399 to 17.
    
    During debate on this legislation, H. Amdt. 128 was offered by Rep. Honda that will allow the NSF to support the creation of K-12 curriculum focused on global warming, climate change, and actions people can take to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Rep. Sullivan of Oklahoma offered a secondary amendment, H. Amdt. 129, that would have required the education materials referenced in Rep. Honda’s amendment to "reflect the diversity of scientific opinion, including the diversity of opinion regarding the impact of human activities on climate change." Congressional Democrats criticized the Sullivan amendment as seeming "to suggest that there is an equal weight of evidence against that perspective [that humans are causing climate change] as there is in favor of it" (read the full debate). The Sullivan amendment failed by a vote of 166 to 250. The Honda Amendment passed by a vote of 252 to 165.
    
    Representative Arcuri voted against the Sullivan amendment and voted for the Honda Amendment.