About this episode
Part 3 of the continuing resolution followed by a history of Trailblazer and ThinThread, the NSA's spying programs. *Forward to 28:20 to hear the Trailblazer vs. Thinthread (NSA spying) story* Executive Producer: Kevin H.R. 933: Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013 B= Billion M= Million DIVISION E: VETERANS Title I—Department of Defense Construction (TOTAL: $10.6 B) $1.7 B: Army construction available until 2017 for "acquisition, construction, installation, and equipment of temporary or permanent public works, military installations, facilities, and real property… and host nation support" $1.5 B: Navy & Marine construction available until 2017 $323 M: Air Force construction available until 2017 $3.5 B: Defense-wide construction available until 2017 Includes $27 M for a new NATO headquarters $614 M: Army National Guard construction available until 2017 $42 M: Air National Guard construction available until 2017 $306 M: Army Reserve construction available until 2017 $50 M: Navy Reserve construction available until 2017 $11 M: Air Force Reserve construction available until 2017 $254 M: NATO construction of military facilities and installations available indefinitely $535 M: Army family housing, available until 2017 See Section 8058 (DoD Division) $480 M: Navy & Marines housing, available until 2017 $582 M: Air Force housing, available until 2017 $54 M: Defense-wide housing, available until 2017 $151 M: For chemical destruction, available until 2017 $536 M: Base closures, available indefinitely Section 101 No cost-plus contracts over $25,000 except in Alaska Section 105 No money can be used to buy land for more than it's worth except When it's negotiated by the Attorney General The value is less than $25,000 Defense Secretary says it's cool Section 109 No money can be used to pay property taxes in foreign nations Section 111 No money can be used for contracts over $500,000 for projects in Japan, a NATO member country, or a country bordering the Arabian Sea unless the contract goes to a US company or a partnership including US companies Section 126 No money can be used to expand the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site in Colorado Title II—Department of Veterans Affairs (TOTAL VETERANS BENEFITS: $127.5 B) $60.5 B: Veteran's benefits $12 B: Readjustment benefits $55 B: Veteran's medical care $2 B: Overseas Veterans Benefits Administration employee mail $3 B + reimbursements: IT upgrades Title III—Related agencies Title IV—Overseas contingency operations Title V—General provisions Section 503 No money can be used by the executive branch for any media productions designed to support or defeat Congressional legislation, except for media for a presentation to Congress itself. Section 509 No porn allowed. Section 511 No transfers out of Guantanamo Bay. Section 512 No first class travel for the executive branch. Section 513 Can't use illegal immigrants for construction work. Section 514 Can't contract with a corporation that's been convicted of a felony unless "agency" says it's cool Section 515 Can't contract with a corporation with unpaid taxes unless agency say's it's cool DIVISION F—ENERGY, FINANCIAL SERVICES, ENVIRONMENT, QUALITY OF LIFE, CONGRESS, FOREIGN AFFAIRS, HOUSING & TRANSPORTATION Title I—General Provisions Keeping the 2012 appropriations for the following departments (public law 112-74) Department of the Interior Department of Energy Department of Treasury District of Columbia Environmental Protection Agency Department of Labor Department of Health and Human Services Department of Education Legislative Branch Department of State Department of Transportation Department of Housing and Urban Development Section 1104 None of these departments can start or resume a project that wasn't authorized during 2012 Section 1109 Extra money for: $40 M: Disabled coal miners $106 B: Medicaid grants to states $1 B: Child support enforcement $2 B: Foster care $19 B: Social Security Title II—Energy and Water Development Section 1203 1.8 B: Renewable energy and energy efficiency Section 1205 $7.5 B: Nuclear weapons activities Section 1206 Extra $110 M for "domestic uranium enrichment, research, development, and demonstration." Title III—Financial Services and General Government Title IV—Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Section 1401 Decrease Bureau of Land Management from $962 M to $951 M $0 for BLM construction $2.2 B: National Park Service $726 M: Wildland fire management Section 1405: Environmental Protection Agency (Total: $8 B) $785 M: Science and Technology $2.6 B: Environment Programs and Management $1.1 B: Hazardous Substance Superfund (lowered by $40 M) $3.5 B: State and Tribal Assistance Grants Section 1408 $1.5 B: Forest Service $2 B: Forest Service Wildland fire management Section 1412 Defunds the Presidio Trust fund, which helped turn a military installation into a part in San Francisco Section 1416 (Amendment 29 by James Inhofe… agreed to by unanimous consent) Prohibits EPA from enforcing an oil spill rule on farms for the next 6 months Farm means "a facility on a tract of land devoted to the production of crops or raising of animals, including fish, which produced and sold, or normally would have produced and sold, $1,000 or more of agricultural products during a year." Compliance deadline is May 10, 2013 "Facilities' includes oil transportation pipelines. The rule forces facilities (NOT OIL COMPANIES) to: The oil spill prevention plan which EPA is prohibited from enforcing would have had to include: Quantity and type of oil that could be spilled Map of areas that would be affected by a spill Written commitment of manpower, equipment, and materials required to control and remove spilled oil Emergency response plan Get the plan certified by an engineer Put up containment and diversionary structures Report spills over 1,000 barrels Report multiple spills over 42 barrels that happened in the same 12 month period, including the cause of the failure Title V—Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Section 1502 $3.1 B: Unemployment insurance Section 1510 $2.3 B: Child Care block grant Section 1511 $33.5 M: Head Start Title VI—Legislative Branch Section 1601 $193,400 to Irene Hirano, widow of Senator Daniel K. Inouye Section 1605 $61 M: Fix the Capitol Dome Title VII—Department of State, Foreign Oper-ations, and Related Programs Section 1701 $2 B: International peacekeeping activities Section 1703 $3.1 B: International security assistance Section 1707 $1.2 B: Embassy security upgrades Title VIII—Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Section 1805 $2 B: Homeless grants DIVISION G—OTHER MATTERS Section 3001: Additional cuts Division A: 2.513% sequester cut Division B: 1.877% sequester cut Section 3002 Sequester lives Monsanto Protection Act Section 735 of Division A (Department of Agriculture) Section 411 of the Plant Protection Act prohibits regulated plant "pests", like weeds, that are somehow considered harmful if allowed to be freely grown in the United States. Anyone is allowed to petition to have a plant removed from the regulated list. If the Secretary of Agriculture chooses to regulate a plant that was previously unregulated, this bill says the Secretary "shall" "immediately grant temporary permits" which will authorize the movement, introduction, continued cultivation, or commercialization, while the petition is evaluated. Section 735 was slipped into the bill by Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri who has been given lots of money by Monsanto and other agribusiness giants. Exxon-Mobil Pipeline Spill in Mayflower Arkansas A pipeline capable of carrying 90,000 barrels of tar-sands oil per day burst near Mayflower, Arkansas, forcing the evacuation of 22 homes. FYI: The proposed Keystone XL pipeline would carry 800,000 barrels of tar-sands oil from Canada to the Texas coast. Trailblazer vs. ThinThread Read this article by Tom Sherrock of The Nation... or listen to the podcast :) Video of former AT&T engineer turned whistleblower Mark Klein on Countdown with Keith Olbermann Video of former Deputy Attorney General James Comey testifying to the Senate in 2007 regarding the Bush Administration's attempt reauthorize their illegal spying program.