RSS
“Our military forces serving overseas protect our rights, and today we have helped to protect theirs.”
~ Senator Nelson on the passage of the Military and Overseas Voting Act this week ~
NELSON NAMED CHAIRMAN OF STRATEGIC FORCES SUBCOMMITTEE
October 22, 2009 – Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson announced today that he has been named the new chairman of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, which has oversight responsibilities that include the nation’s nuclear and strategic forces, and military space, intelligence and cyber warfare programs. The subcommittee also has oversight of U.S. Strategic Command near Omaha.
“I have very much enjoyed working to address the needs of our military service men and women, and their families, over the last several years as chairman of the Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee. I am equally excited with this new role. America faces new national security opportunities and challenges in the 21st Century, and our plate will be full on the strategic forces subcommittee. Among issues I expect we’ll tackle are a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with Russia, missile defense, and ensuring our nuclear and strategic forces are prepared to meet emerging or continuing threats to our nation’s safety and security.”
Nelson was named chairman of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee as a result of the recent appointment to the Armed Services Committee of Sen. George LeMieux, R-Fla., and Sen. Paul Kirk Jr., D-Mass. Nelson stepped down as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel to accept the strategic forces chairmanship.
The strategic forces subcommittee’s responsibilities include: nuclear and strategic forces, ballistic missile defense; intelligence programs, space programs, information warfare programs; and Department of Energy defense-related nuclear and environmental programs.
The committee has oversight of a number of budgets including: procurement and research and development for Defense Department nuclear and strategic forces, missile defense and space systems; Department of Energy Defense Programs; and intelligence activities such as the National Intelligence Program and the Military Intelligence Program.
The subcommittee has oversight of these commands, agencies and activities: U.S. Strategic Command: military space commands; Missile Defense Agency; National Reconnaissance Office, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency; and Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.
U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska has several missions key to national defense. They include: to deter attacks on vital U.S. interests, to ensure U.S. freedom of action in space and cyberspace, to provide nuclear information to the military, to synchronize global missile defense plans and operations and to combat the use of weapons of mass destruction.
NELSON: DEFENSE BILL INCLUDES AFGHANISTAN BENCHMARKS, HELP FOR MILITARY VOTERS, OPERATION AIRLIFT
October 22, 2009 – Today, Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson applauded the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 by the full Senate, which addresses key personnel concerns and his call for benchmarks to assess progress in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Nelson voted for the legislation, which passed the Senate this evening.
“As Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee I’m pleased to see this bill pass because it fixes several problems that we investigated in subcommittee hearings,” said Nelson. “It fixes problems in the voting process for overseas troops; it includes a continued call for additional measures of progress to help assess the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan; and it keeps reservists and guard members from being stranded on base and away from family due to training cancellation.”
Two particular measures introduced by Nelson earlier this year, TRICARE Gray and Operation Airlift, were included in the legislation. The budget-neutral TRICARE gray measure ensures nearly 225,226 eligible retirees nationwide have the opportunity to purchase coverage under the military’s TRICARE health care program.
Operation Airlift, Nelson’s other stand-alone legislation, arose in response to complications Nebraska service members experienced in December 2007 when 48 members of the 110th Medical Battalion based in Lincoln became stranded at Fort Lewis, Washington, when training was suspended and the base was shut down for the holidays. The defense bill prohibits the military from scheduling mobilization and pre-mobilization training for guard and reserve units if it is anticipated that the training will be suspended unless the Secretary determines that it is in the interest of the national security of the United States and waives the restriction. This would address the problem brought to Senator Nelson's attention and keep mobilized reserve and guard units from being stranded on base during long training breaks.
The legislation also includes Nelson-sponsored language to solve obstacles faced by military and overseas voters. The provision harnesses technology to speed up the voting process by allowing registration and ballot requests to be sent electronically, ensures that military and overseas voters have time to vote by requiring ballots to be sent out 45 days before the election, allows blank ballots to be sent electronically, and provides some flexibility to states who cannot meet the 45-day deadline, as long as they come up with an alternative plan to ensure time to vote. The legislation also requires the Department of Defense to play a more significant role in facilitating voter registration and in collecting and returning voted ballots in cooperation with the Postal Service.
“Voting is a fundamental American right,” said Nelson. “This is a bipartisan provision that solves a persistent problem that has dogged our troops and overseas voters for years. Our military forces serving overseas protect our rights, and today we have helped to protect theirs.”
The bill, among its many benefits to military members and their families, authorizes a 3.4 percent across-the-board pay raise, 0.5 percent above the budget request. It also increased the overall size of the force. The bill also does the following:
• Requires the Secretary of Defense to develop and implement a plan by September 30, 2013 to increase the number of military and civilian behavioral health personnel, and to consider the feasibility of additional officer and enlisted specialties as behavioral health counselors.
• To begin to address the capability gaps identified in mental health care, the bill authorizes the service secretaries to add up to 25 officers each year as students at accredited schools of psychology for training leading to the degree of Doctor of Psychology in clinical psychology.
• Requires person-to-person mental health assessments at designated intervals for service members deployed in connection with contingency operations.
• Requires the Secretary of Defense to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the impacts of military deployment on dependent children of service members, and a review of the mental health care and counseling services available to military children.
• Expresses the Sense of the Senate on various aspects of State implementation of the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children and encourages all remaining states to enact the measure.
In addition to measures with regard to personnel, Senator Nelson continued to advocate for measures of progress for the new strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which were incorporated into the final bill.
“The American people and the men and women serving in Afghanistan and Pakistan deserve to have a set of objective measures for the U.S. strategy in that region, so we can ensure it is the best strategy to achieve stability and success,” said Nelson.
NELSON APPLAUDS TAIWAN’S DECISION TO DROP RESTRICTIONS ON U.S. BONE-IN BEEF
October 23, 2009 – Working to open overseas markets to Nebraska beef producers, Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson applauded yesterday’s signing of a new US-Taiwan Beef Protocol that permits sale of US bone-in beef under 30 months old to Taiwan for the first time since 2003. Nelson received the news in a call from the Representative of Taiwan to the U.S. yesterday.
“This announcement is great news for Nebraska’s beef producers,” said Nelson. “The relaxing of trade restrictions will allow beef producers to expand their presence in a lucrative overseas market. The government of Taiwan’s decision to drop its ban on 30 month bone-in beef is a welcome next step as we work to eliminate restrictions on beef over 30 months in negotiations to come.”
Nelson has been a strong advocate for the ending of Taiwan’s trade restrictions on U.S. beef. Most recently, Nelson met with the Representative of Taiwan to the U.S., Jason Yuan, in both July and September of this year to discuss opening up Taiwan’s market to Nebraska producers.
In 2003, Taiwan banned the import of all U.S. beef products after the first U.S. case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was detected. In April 2005, Taiwan partially lifted the ban to allow imports of boneless beef from cattle under 30 months old, but reinstated it only two months later after the U.S. found a new BSE case. The following year, Taiwan relaxed the ban again, allowing boneless beef from cattle under 30 months old, but produced by certified slaughterhouses.
Despite these restrictions, U.S. beef imports have been increasing over the years. In 2008, import of U.S. beef to Taiwan amounted to a record $136 million despite the restrictions on bone-in beef. At present, the U.S. supplies around 32 percent of Taiwan’s beef, which will likely increase with the acceptance of the new protocol.
SENATORS ANNOUNCE EXPECTED VOTE TO APPROVE BIPARTISAN MILITARY VOTING BILL LATER TODAY
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) announced Thursday that the full Senate is nearing final passage of bipartisan legislation to make it easier for U.S. troops to cast ballots from overseas. The measure—co-sponsored by Senate Rules Committee Ranking Member Robert Bennett (R-UT), Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and 54 other senators—is attached to the Department of Defense authorization bill, which is likely to come up for a final vote in the Senate later today.
“It is the least we can do for our troops to make sure their votes get counted when they are serving overseas,” said Schumer. “This bill will remove the barriers that too often conspire to disenfranchise our military men and women. Thanks to this quick passage by the Senate, it will take effect in time for next year’s federal elections.”
“It’s time we address the issues that have kept military and overseas absentee ballots from being counted,” said Chambliss. “Our military men and women serving overseas at very least deserve to participate in the electoral process.”
“Every day, our men and women in uniform put themselves in harm’s way for our freedoms. Those freedoms aren’t free. They must be renewed with every election. And we must ensure that our men and women in uniform can renew those freedoms with their votes. I firmly believe our bipartisan Military and Overseas Voting Enforcement Act will make a huge impact in empowering our military and overseas voters to have their votes counted, no matter where they find themselves on Election Day,” said Nelson.
“And from my standpoint, personally, it makes a great deal of personal sense to me to do it this way, because in my first primary I won by 42 votes in a statewide race,” Nelson said at a press conference with Schumer and Chambliss. “So I know that every vote counts and every vote needs to be counted. With this bill we can assure our men and women overseas that their votes not only count, but will be counted.”
The measure expected to pass today is based on the Military and Overseas Voters Empowerment Act (“MOVE Act”). That bill was introduced after a Rules Committee survey last May showed that as many as one in four ballots cast by military voters went uncounted in last year’s presidential election.
The bill would fix several of the flaws responsible for such widespread disenfranchisement. Among other provisions, it requires that all states provide military voters with ballots no later than 45 days prior to the election, so that they have adequate time to complete and return them. The bill would requires states to provide ballots electronically. Additionally, it beefs up the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) at the Department of Defense, which is the main source of election-related information and assistance for many members of the military.
The legislation would also bar states from rejecting military ballots for lack of a “Notary” signature—a feat difficult to achieve in the bases of Iraq and Afghanistan.
In May, the Senate Rules Committee released a study showing that as many as 25% of troops stationed overseas went uncounted in 2008. Schumer said the estimate was based on figures provided to the committee by election officials in seven of the states with the highest number of deployed troops. In 2008, military personnel and some civilians hailing from these states requested 441,000 ballots in order to vote from overseas locations, as allowed by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). Of those, 98,633 were never received back by the election officials in the U.S. and so were declared “lost” ballots. Another 13,504 were received but rejected for various reasons including a missing signature or failure to notarize, as is required in some states. When combined, these two categories amount to 112,137 voters in those seven states—or 25.42% of the 441,000 who requested ballots—being disenfranchised, the study found.
The impediments include: difficulties in registering to vote from overseas; not receiving ballots early enough; and obstacles to returning the ballots in time to be counted. The bill addresses these and other problems by:
• Guaranteeing that military and overseas ballots will be counted if sent by Election Day;
• Ensuring that states send out ballots a minimum of 45 days in advance of the election so military and overseas voters will receive them in time
• Improving awareness and use of a failsafe ballot that voters can use if their ballots are lost in the mail;
• Prohibiting states from rejecting a marked absentee ballot solely on the basis of a missing notary signature, paper size, and other restrictions
• Giving more resources to the Department of Defense Voting Assistance Offices who provide voting information and support to service men and women and their families;
• Establishing standards for record-keeping on military and overseas voting statistics; and
• Encouraging greater enforcement of the military and overseas voting statutes.
NELSON: $7.2 MILLION IN LOAN GUARANTEES FOR RURAL NEBRASKA BUSINESSES
October 21, 2009 – Today, Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson welcomed an announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that Nebraska will receive $7.2 million to support loans for rural businesses in the state. The funding is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
“These stimulus funds will offer a lifeline to rural businesses in this difficult economic climate,” said Senator Nelson. “Rural businesses have an outsized impact in the rural communities they serve. These funds will support rural communities in Nebraska by creating and retaining much-needed jobs.”
Nebraska will receive loan guarantees for a $7 million loan supplied through Union Bank and Trust in Lincoln, and a $290,000 loan supplied through Cornerstone Bank in Stromsburg. The funds are part of USDA Rural Development’s Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program which supplies funding to assist rural businesses and business development. For example, the loan for Stromsburg will keep a local grocery store open by supporting the purchase of the store from the current owner, who is retiring.
According to USDA, eligible Business and Industry Loan Program applicants include private businesses, cooperative organizations, corporations, partnerships, non-profit groups, federally recognized Indian tribes, public bodies and individuals. The funds are targeted to create and retain quality jobs and serve difficult-to-reach populations and areas hardest hit by the current economic downturn. A full explanation of the program can be found at www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/busp/b&i_gar.htm.
Senator Nelson played a key role in the passage of the $787 billion stimulus bill. He worked with a bipartisan group of nearly 20 Senators to better focus The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on tax cuts for the middle class and job creation for millions of Americans. Senator Nelson led the group through the initial bill line by line, dollar by dollar, to reduce spending and cut out $108 billion of inefficient or less-stimulative spending. The bipartisan group helped the improved bill win congressional approval. President Obama signed it into law February 17, 2009.
Senator Nelson is posting information about the release of stimulus finds on his website as it becomes available. Visit http://bennelson.senate.gov/feature_4.cfm for more information.
###
Search: National Security, National Guard, Troops and Veterans, Rural Affairs, Agriculture, Farmers and Ranchers, Trade, Newsletter