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 instead of after. a written by the Department of Defense, the General Services Administration, and NASA that would have made federal contractors prove their compliance with fourteen Federal labor laws, which would then be taken into consideration by agencies when awarding contracts. The contractors would also have to report their wages paid to employees to the agencies and would have limited forced arbitration of employee claims. a that would have pushed states to weigh student achievement via test scores of 95% of their students and graduation rates when determining which schools are "underperforming". The rule also would have required schools to provide parents and the public with more information on their annual report card. a that outlined indicators that states would have to use to judge teacher performance and tied results to some Federal aid funding. a that allowed but limited the drug testing of people receiving unemployment benefits. People could only be tested if they were dismissed for substance abuse related reasons and only if their jobs required carrying a firearm, aviation flight crews, air traffic controllers, commercial drivers, railroad crews, pipeline crews, and commercial maritime crews. a that would have required Internet service providers to obtain our approval if they were going to share our information, and not condition service on an acceptance of data sharing, and to notify us if our data was compromised. Additional Reading Article: by Kelly Mcevers, NPR, March 27, 2017. Article: by Andrew Wagner and Nsikan Akpan, PBS, March 24, 2017. Article: by Dana Goldstein, The New York Times, March 9, 2017. Article: by Chelsea Harvey, The Washington Post, March 8, 2017. Article: by Emma Brown, The Washington Post, March 8, 2017. Congressional Record: , House of Representatives, March 7, 2017. Article: by Ali Vitali, NBC News, February 28, 2017. Article: by Alina Selyukh, NPR, February 24, 2017. Article: by Brad Plumer, Vox, February 16, 2017. Article: by Joseph Morton, Omaha World Herald, February 3, 2017. Article: by Paul Rauber, Sierra, February 1, 2017. Article: by Brad Plumer, Vox, February 1, 2017. Article: by Brad Plumer, Vox, February 1, 2017. Press Release: by Representative Bill Johnson, January 30, 2017. Press Release: , Chairman Bill Huizenga, January 30, 2017. Op-Ed: by Stuart Shapiro, The Hill, April 17, 2015. References U.S. Dept of Labor: Senator Al Franken: OpenSecrets: OpenSecrets: OpenSecrets: OpenSecrets: OpenSecrets: OpenSecrets: OpenSecrets: OpenSecrets: OpenSecrets: Sound Clip Sources Hearing: , House of Representatives, Committee on Science, Space and Technology, February 16, 2017. Video: , Oval Office, March 21, 2017. Cover Art Design by