148: Trump’s First Laws Congressional Dish

We have the first wave of the Trump laws! In this episode, highlights of the most impactful laws from the first three months of the 115th Congress, which include favors to the fossil fuel industry, gun industry, telecommunications industry, and defense contractors. In addition, learn about a law (that’s flown completely under the radar) that fundamentally changes how NASA operates. Please support Congressional Dish: to contribute using credit card, debit card, PayPal, or Bitcoin to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon Mail Contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North #4576 Crestview, FL 32536 Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes Bills Outline General James Mattis from the law that prohibits anyone from serving as Defense Secretary within seven years of leaving military service (Mattis had retired less than four years before his appointment). Gives the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to get federal agency records for audits and investigations Requires agency heads to - not just their actions - that the agency will take when given recommendations by the GAO and requires the reports to be given to more Congressional committees Makes it easier for the GAO to Gives the GAO an requiring companies listed in the stock market to publicly report payments by the fossil fuel and mineral industries to the US or foreign governments if the payments are over $100,000 in a year. a Department of Interior regulation known as the which aimed to reduce pollution from coal mining by blocking mining within 100 feet of streams and requiring coal mining companies to restore the land their use to it's pre-mining condition. a that never went into effect that would have prohibited who receive disability checks for mental illness from buying guns. the NASA administrator to create a plan to use current and former NASA employees to engage with K-12 female students to encourage them to pursue careers in aerospace. The plan must be submitted in 90 days. the National Science Foundation to recruit women to work in commercial science and engineering - $19.5 billion for NASA operations for 2017 Declares that it will be US policy that Sense of Congress: should be the primary means of transporting US astronauts to and from the International Space Station and reliance upon Russian transportation should be ended as soon as possible. Commercial providers of NASA services will have to provide "evidence-based support for their costs and schedules" only to "transition in a step-wise approach from the current regime that relies heavily on NASA sponsorship to a regime where NASA could be one of many customers of a low-Earth orbit non-governmental human space flight enterprise." The first report on progress will be Contracts between NASA and private providers are from lawsuits for "death, bodily injury, or loss of or damage to property resulting from launch services and reentry services carried out under the contract" for any amount over what their insurance covers. The immunity exclude claims resulting from willful misconduct by the private provider , which include "to enable a capability to extend human presence, including potential human habitation on another celestial body and a thriving space economy in the 21st Century." There will be a specific focus on provisions of law that required the government specifically to have the ability to restart the Space Shuttle program, if needed. the NASA Administrator to conduct long-term medical monitoring and treatment of astronauts with no out-of-pocket costs for the astronauts . a that would give the public a larger and earlier role in management plans for public land. The public would have been able to submit data & other information. The public also would have been given information as the plans were developed, allowing the public to comment during the planning process ins