January 17, 2005

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

CONGRESS EXTENDS PATRIOT ACT

FOR 5 WEEKS TO FURTHER NEGOTIATIONS

On December 16, united Senate Democrats and four Republicans, concerned that the bill would not do enough to protect civil liberties, were able to successfully filibuster the Patriot Act reauthorization conference report (H Rept 109-333). Five days later, on Wednesday, December 21, 2005, after failed attempts at deals and compromises to pass the bill, Senate Republican leaders backed off a threat to let the Patriot Act expire and agreed to a six-month extension of the law. The House of Representatives rejected the six month extension on December 22, and instead passed a 5 week extension of the law, to which the Senate agreed and President Bush signed.

Congress has until February 3 to reach an agreement on several provisions. The conference report would make 14 of the 16 expiring provisions permanent, while extending the remaining 2 – the FBI’s ability to seize business records and to use “roving wire-taps” to monitor more than one device – until 2009. Opponents of legislation argue that these last two provisions do not go far enough to protect civil liberties and they allow the government too much leeway in conducting secret searches and in obtaining personal information.

Senate Democratic leadership hopes to come up with a law that will appease those looking for stronger civil rights protections. However, the majority of the Senate and House Republican leaders have expressed little interest in making further changes to the report.

Combat Meth Act Language Included in Conference Report

The conference report also contains the language of the Combat Meth Act, S. 103, which was introduced by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Jim Talent (R-MO) in January of 2005. Senators Feinstein and Talent feel that keeping the anti-meth language in the conference report, which they are confident will be accepted at the end of the five weeks, is the best way to get this important legislation passed. NAPO will keep you informed on what actions, if any, the Senators decide to take concerning the Combat Meth Act language.

DEFICIT REDUCTION BILL PASSES WITH

PUBLIC SAFETY DIGITAL SPECTRUM INCLUDED

On Wednesday, December 21, 2005, the Senate narrowly passed the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, S. 1932, by a vote of 51-50, with Vice President Dick Cheney casting the deciding vote. The House will take action on the bill when it reconvenes January 31. The $39.7 billion budget savings legislation includes language under Title III, Subtitle D, which

automatically allocates 24 MHz of prime spectrum nationally to first responders. This digital spectrum will be used in order to enhance the interoperability of first responder communications systems, as was the original intent of Congress in the Telecommunications Act of 1997. The rest of the frequencies freed-up by broadcasters will be auctioned off after the February 17, 2009, deadline for the national transition to digital television, with most of the $10 million in projected profits going toward deficit reduction.

In addition to turning over part of the spectrum to first responders, the bill allocates $1 billion of the projected revenues for state and local grants to improve the interoperability of first responder communications systems. This grant program is to be used by public

safety agencies to assist them in the acquisition of, deployment of, or training for the use of interoperable communications systems that utilize, or enable interoperability with communications systems that can utilize the public safety spectrum for radio communications.

The push to free up parts of the broadcast spectrum gained strength after Hurricane Katrina highlighted weaknesses in emergency communications systems that prevented first responders from being able to talk with one another. This is a problem that also hindered first responder efforts after the September 11 terrorist attacks. NAPO strongly agrees that first responders need better communications systems so that when they are called upon to assist in a disaster, they have the tools necessary to protect our nation’s communities and themselves. We are looking forward to the final passage of this legislation at the end of the month.

VACCINE LIABILITY PROTECTION ADDED

TO BUDGET RECONCILIATION

Funding for a pandemic flu preparedness plan was included in the fiscal 2006 Defense appropriations bill (H.R. 2863), but at a fraction of the $7.1 billion the President requested. H.R. 2863 appropriates $3.8 billion for flu preparedness, to fund efforts such as detecting influenza outbreaks globally and stockpiling vaccines and antiviral drugs.

Republican disappointment with the smaller funding amount was abated when Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) was able to get language included in the bill to shield drug and vaccine manufacturers from lawsuits for products designated by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) for use to treat or prevent disease outbreaks or bioterrorism. NAPO believes that such broad protections are wrong without providing any system for compensating people injured by the countermeasures and in November we let the conferees for the appropriations report know where we stand.

As NAPO witnessed in 2002, during the effort to vaccinate first responders against smallpox, the nation experienced a situation in which some of the individuals who accepted vaccines in the public interest risked previously unpredicted adverse medical consequences. In this instance, Congress ultimately recognized a public obligation to provide compensation to persons who suffered adverse effects from the vaccines.

The same justification for a first responder compensation program exists for future prevention measures against serious disease outbreaks, whether they occur naturally or as a result of a biological terrorist attack. For many first responders it is not a voluntary act to accept new or experimental vaccines. Rather it is required by their agency as a condition of their employment. NAPO recognizes this fact, and, in fairness, feels the Congress should also recognize this fact and compensate those public safety officers or the survivors of such public safety officers who suffer injury in preparing themselves to protect the rest of us. NAPO will continue to fight to move Congress to add a system for such compensations.

HOUSE PASSES H.E.L.P.S. RETIREES ACT AS PART OF PENSION BILL

On November 9, 2005 the House Ways and Means Committee approved the HELPS Retirees Act of 2005, H.R. 2177, as part of an overall pension reform bill, H.R. 2830. The health care bill was incorporated into Chairman Thomas’ bill, the Pension Protection Act of 2005, as Title X, Sec. 1003. On December 15, the House passed H.R. 2830 with the HELPS Retirees language intact.

Many law enforcement retirees lose their employer-provided health insurance and are years away from being Medicare-eligible, which forces them to spend their retirement money on health insurance premiums. The HELPS Retirees Act of 2005, which was introduced by Representatives Chris Chocola (R-IN) and Richard Neal (D-MA) back in May of this year, would allow retired public safety officers to use up to $5,000 annually from their pension funds, including defined benefit plans and defined contribution plans, to pay for qualified health insurance premiums without taxing these distributions. This bill would help preserve the retirement security and the health of those public servants who selflessly serve and protect our communities.

In addition, Sec. 905 of H.R. 2830 eliminates the ten percent early distribution penalty on a government defined benefit plan (DROP) for public safety officers prior to the age of 55. Under current law, if public safety officers who retire before 55 years of age take a lump sum distribution from a DROP plan, they are subjected to the ten percent early distribution penalty.

On November 16, 2005, the Senate passed its own pension reform legislation, the Pension Reform Act, S. 1783. The Senate bill does not contain provisions similar to these in the House-passed bill that assist retired public safety officers. The conference committee negotiations between the House and Senate versions are expected to begin in February. NAPO has been a supporter of the HELPS Retirees Act since the beginning and we are continuing to fight for it to remain as part of the final conference report of the Pension Protection Act of 2005.