{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://sablan.house.gov/week-congress-november-15-2019", "THIS WEEK IN CONGRESS - November 15, 2019", "2019-11-18", "2019", "2019-11", "Democrat", "House", "MP", "Gregorio Sablan", "S001177", "sablan.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "In this issue: \n Women vets get new attention \nWomen veterans would get improved access to healthcare through theDeborah Sampson Actthe House passed on Tuesday. The Act was one of nine approved bills aimed at better service for vets. The Sampson Act requires there to be at least one designated women's health provider in each VA facility nationwide, will retrofit existing facilities to improve privacy for women, and expand access to newborn care. We also passed theProtect the GI Bill Act, which restores education benefits veterans lost in recent for-profit school closures. The bill also gives the Veterans Administration new regulatory tools to keep schools that violate the terms of their GI Bill funding accountable. Read more about each of the nine billshere.\n House okays Marianas export aid \nThe Marianas and other U.S. insular areas get our own, dedicated office to assist exporters through theOffice of Territorial Exporting Act. I cosponsored the bill and worked to include it in thereauthorization of the Export-Import Bank, which the House approved Friday for another ten years. The new Office would promote goods and services from the U.S. insular areas, conduct outreach and education, and put more of the loans, guarantees, and insurance provided by the Bank to work benefiting our islands. Without Senate action the Export-Import Bank's authorization expires on November 21, 2019.\n WESPAC fund flagged for audit \nThe Western Pacific Sustainable Fisheries Fund, which is managed by the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Wespac) and is supposed to help support marine conservation efforts in the Northern Marianas, Hawaii, Guam, and American Samoa, has beenidentified for auditby the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General.For years, I have criticized Wespacfor its lack of transparency regarding the Fund, apparent conflicts of interests, questionable lobbying practices, and actions detrimental to environmental protections. In August, I wrote the DOC Inspector Generalrequesting the auditalong with Natural Resources Committee Chair Ral Grijalva, Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Subcommittee Chair Jared Huffman, and Rep. Ed Case of Hawaii. We asked for a comprehensive accounting of the millions of dollars in grants funds managed by Wespac since 2012, a review of Wespac's internal controls to prevent conflicts of interests, and a determination of whether the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provides proper oversight of the Fund.\n Tackling illegal fishing \nForeign vessels have been caught fishing illegally within the exclusive economic zone surrounding the Northern Marianas, undermining economic opportunities for legitimate fishermen and putting our fish stocks at risk. The problem of Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing is a form of transnational organized crime that occurs around the globe, often includes labor abuses and human trafficking, and costs countries that play by the rules tens of billions of dollars. TheSubcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlifeheld a hearing a hearing on the topic Thursday to discuss the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration'sbiennial report on IUU fishingmandated by Congress. I questioned NOAA's Acting Director of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection on their seeming inability to negatively certify and sanction countries in clear violation of international laws. It is clear legislation should be strengthened and enforcement should be improved to effectively combat and control IUU fishing.\n High marks for animal protections \nThe Humane Society Legislative Fund released their2019 Humane Scorecard previewTuesday and again listed me as one of the top House Members working on animal protection issues. The Scorecard highlighted my work to end the shark fin trade with my bill,H.R. 737, the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act. Modeled after Northern Marianas law, the bill makes it illegal to possess, buy, or sell shark fins in the United States. Guam, American Samoa, and 12 states also have similar bans in place. Closing the U.S. market for shark fins will reduce demand and spare the millions of sharks killed each year simply for their fins. The bill now has 287 cosponsors and I am working with House leadership to get the bill to the Floor soon. Thanks to the Humane Society Legislative Fund for recognizing my work on this critical legislation.\n Bipartisan focus on apprenticeship \nTo mark the 5th annual National Apprenticeship Week the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Investment, of which I am a member, hosted a bipartisan roundtable on Thursday. Leading apprenticeship experts explained that apprenticeships are a proven workforce development tool that needs to be more widely available to students, employers, intermediaries, and education providers. The roundtable prepares us to reauthorize the National Apprenticeship Act, which should be an opportunity to strengthen the pre-apprenticeship pipeline and expand access to assistance for the Marianas.\n Staff selected for Staff Up \nLegislative Assistant Christopher DeVore of your congressional office is one of 16 staff of the U.S. Congress selected to participate in the prestigiousStaff Up Congress Legislative Academy. The bicameral and bipartisan leadership program is designed to deepen knowledge of strategies and tactics necessary to advance legislation and careers in Congress. Staff Up also holds programs in Senior Management and Communications for up and coming congressional leaders. Congratulations, Chris.\n OPPORTUNITIES \nPublic Comments\nGrants\nJobs\n LEGISLATIVE HIGHLIGHTS \nTHISWEEK\n H.R. 4625- Protect the GI Bill Act (passed by voice vote)\n\tH.R. 4477 Reducing High Risk to Veterans And Veterans Service Act (passed by voice vote)\n\tH.R. 3537 Veteran Entrepreneurship Training Act of 2019 (passed, 424-1)\n NEXT WEEK\n H.R. 3702- Reforming the Disaster Recovery Act of 2019\n\tH.R. 5084- Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act of 2019", 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-november-15-2019"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7346617057919502, "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"}