{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://sablan.house.gov/week-congress-december-8-2017", "THIS WEEK IN  CONGRESS - December 8, 2017", "2017-12-11", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "MP", "Gregorio Sablan", "S001177", "sablan.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "In this issue:\n____________________________________________________________________________\n Trump FCC attacks net neutrality \nWe all know the frustration of waiting for a webpage to load or a video to buffer because of a slow internet connection. That is why I worked to convince Netflix to provide streaming service to our islands just like on the mainland. And that is why I am strongly opposed to the Trump Federal Communications Commission plan that will allow internet service providers to intentionally slow down content they do not want you to see or make it more expensive. The Obama administration put in place \u201cnet neutrality\u201d rules that assured a free and open internet. So, no matter how you wanted to use the internet\u2014for classroom learning applications, telemedicine, online shopping, or e-mail\u2014you got the same level of service. The Trump FCC votes on December 14 to end net neutrality. I signed onto a letter to the FCC asking for the vote to be delayed and for more time for Americans to weigh in with their opinion on this issue.\n Working for island family values \nCaring for family\u2014especially our elders\u2014is a hallmark of island culture. Millions of our fellow Americans feel the same way and face difficult choices between going to work and caring for loved ones. That is why I am backing three important pieces of legislation. Together, the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act, Healthy Families Act, and Schedules That Work Act mean that workers will not lose their job when called to care for a loved one. Meanwhile, 8 state legislatures and 32 local governments have not waited for the federal government to act; they have already taken the initiative to enact laws providing these protections for working families. But now, there is a corporate-backed move to use federal legislation to go around these local laws. As Ranking Member on the Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee, I spoke out against overriding local self-government like this at a hearing on Wednesday. And I will keep working for legislation that reflects our island culture and family values.\n Ahead: NMBAC in Washington \nNext week, the Northern Marianas Business Alliance Corporation is in Washington to talk about island workforce issues. We are scheduled to meet on Monday. I am looking forward to briefing NMBAC on progress the bicameral, bipartisan congressional working group is making to ensure we have sufficient labor to keep the Marianas economy going strong and to ensure that more and more local, U.S. workers join the labor force. It is not easy to find policies that are acceptable across a wide range of ideologies and also have a chance of passage by the House and the Senate in the coming year. But the same group worked successfully on passage of my bill, H.R. 339, the Northern Mariana Islands Economic Expansion Act, which the President signed into law in August. So I am optimistic that we can also be successful putting together a long-term solution for our labor needs.\n FY18: more days of indecision \nSixty-eight days into fiscal year 2018, leadership is kicking the can down the road on making the necessary spending decisions \u2013 for the second time. Thursday\u2019s votes in the House and the Senate keep the government open until December 22. In caucus, in committee, in conversation with Members on both sides of the aisle, I continue to press for action on what I see as our most urgent national priorities:\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Parity between defense spending and the domestic budget, where almost all the funding for the Marianas comes from,\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Funding for veterans and the fight against opioids,\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Renewal of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Community Health Center spending, and\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Passage of the DREAM Act.\nLet us hope the extra days until December 22 are enough to reach agreement, so we will not have to kick the can into January.\nOPPORTUNITIES\u00a0\n Grants: \n Jobs: \n Public Comments: \nLEGISLATIVE HIGHLIGHTS\u00a0\n THIS WEEK \n On the Floor \n H.J.Res. 123 \u2013 The Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 (Passed, 235-193)\n\tH.R. 477 \u2013 Small Business Mergers, Acquisitions, Sales, and Brokerage Simplification Act of 2017 (Passed, 426-0)\n\tH.R. 38 \u2013 Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 (Passed, 231-198)\n\tH.R. 3317 \u2013 SAFE Act (Passed, 409-0)\n\tH.R. 1164 \u2013 Taylor Force Act (Agreed to by voice vote)\n\tS. 1266 \u2013 Enhancing Veteran Care Act (Passed, 423-0)\n\tH.R. 3731 \u2013 Secret Service Recruitment and Retention Act of 2017 (Passed, 407-4)\n\tH.R. 2658 \u2013 Venezuela Humanitarian Assistance and Defense of Democratic Governance Act (Passed, 388-29)\n\tH.Res. 259 \u2013 Expressing concern and condemnation over the political, economic, social, and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela (Passed, 419-8)\n\tH.Con.Res. 90 \u2013 Condemning ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya and calling for an end to the attacks in and an immediate restoration of humanitarian access to the state of Rakhine in Burma (Passed, 423-3)\u00a0\n  Legislation I Cosponsored \n H.R.947\u00a0\u2013 FAMILY Act\n\tH.R.1516\u00a0\u2013 Healthy Families Act\n\tH.R.2942\u00a0\u2013 Schedules That Work Act\n\tH.R.4527\u00a0\u2013 Stop HATE Act of 2017\n\tH.R.4548\u00a0\u2013 To amend the National Labor Relations Act to strengthen protections for employees to exercise their rights to organize and collectively bargain for improved wages, hours, or other terms and conditions of employment, to sanction violations of such rights and assure meaningful remedies, to establish a process by which employers and employees conclude initial collective bargaining agreements, and for other purposes\n  NEXT WEEK \n On the Floor \n H.R. 2396\u00a0\u2013 Privacy Notification Technical Clarification Act\n\tH.R. 4015\u00a0\u2013 Corporate Governance Reform and Transparency Act of 2017\n\tH.R. 4324 \u2013 Strengthening Oversight of Iran\u2019s Access to Finance Act\n\tH.R. 1638 \u2013 Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act\n\tH.R. 1730 \u2013 Combating Anti-Semitism Act of 2017\n\tH.R. 3093 \u2013 Investor Clarity and Bank Parity Act\n  Committee Hearings \nTuesday, December 12\n Committee on Education and the Workforce Markup on H.R. 4508, Promoting Real Opportunity, Success, and Prosperity through Education Reform (PROSPER) Act\n Wednesday, December 13\n Committee on Natural Resources Legislative Markup\n\tSubcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Oversight Hearing on \"Pre-Discharge Claims Programs: Are VA and DOD Effectively Serving Separating Military Personnel?\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://sablan.house.gov/week-congress-december-8-2017"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.966331921517849, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}