NATIONAL NEWS: CELEBRATING LEADER JEFFRIES
The political process is rough and tumble by definition, and being grounded in faith in a Higher Power has proven helpful in navigating the difficult terrain.” —Congressman Hakeem Jeffries “
back into society. In order to strengthen and preserve family relationships, the bill requires the Bureau of Prisons to house incarcerated individuals within 500 driving miles of their relatives and permits the transfer of lower-risk inmates to home confinement. In ad- dition, the FIRST STEP Act bans the immoral practice of shackling women throughout the duration of their preg- nancy, during childbirth and for three months postpartum. Rep. Jeffries also played a key role in the House passage of the historic Mu- sic Modernization Act (MMA) (H.R. 5447, Public Law No. 115-264), which became law in 2018. Heralded as a sweeping update to our copyright laws, the MMA will improve the licensing process so that songwriters, artists and musicians can continue to share their creativity with the world. Because of the MMA, songwriters are more likely to get paid a fair price for their work, and digital music providers like Spo- tify and Pandora will be able to operate more efficiently. In an era of crisis and dysfunction in Washington, the power of music brought Democrats and Re- publicans in Congress together to col- laborate on groundbreaking legislation, ushering our music copyright system into the 21 st Century. In April of 2018, the President signed the Rep. Jeffries-authored Keep America’s Refuges Operational Act (H.R. 3979, Public Law No. 115-1689) into law. Each year, 47 million Ameri- cans visit wildlife refuges, generating almost $2 billion in local economic activity. This law will keep America’s refuges operational by supporting the volunteers who dedicate thousands of hours to maintain our public lands. Pas- sage of this bill was part of a bipartisan, bicameral effort to ensure Americans
can visit, explore and study wildlife and experience our nation’s vast natural beauty for generations to come. Several other pieces of Rep. Jef- fries-authored legislation passed the House of Representatives in the 115 th Congress, including bills to investigate the public health impact of synthetic drug use by teenagers (H.R. 449, Pub- lic Law No. 115-271) and updating federal regulations to remove racially offensive terminology from use (H.R. 995). Rep. Jeffries’ H.R. 3229 (Public Law No. 95-521), which helps protect judicial officers from threats, harm and harassment by those who would seek to compromise the integrity of our judicial branch, also passed the House in 2017, and was signed into law in March 2018. Additionally, Rep. Jeffries authored H.R. 3370 (Public Law No. 95-921), the Fry Scholarship Enhancement Act, which became law as part of the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational As- sistance Act of 2017. It will expand the availability of education benefits to the children and spouses of service mem- bers killed in the line of duty. In the 114 th Congress, Rep. Jeffries teamed up with Congressman Peter King to pass the Slain Officer Fam- ily Support Act of 2015 (H.R. 1508, Public Law No. 113-227), which Presi- dent Obama signed into law. That law extended the tax deadline so that indi- viduals making charitable donations to organizations supporting the families of assassinated New York Police Depart- ment (NYPD) Detectives Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, could apply such tax deductions to the prior year’s tax return. In the 113 th Congress, Rep. Jeffries successfully passed H.R. 5108 (Public Law No. 113-227), legislation that es- tablished the Law School Clinic Cer-
tification Program of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) into law. This program had been operat- ing in a pilot capacity since 2008 and enabled students at participating law schools to gain experience in patent and trademark law while providing legal assistance to inventors, tech entrepre- neurs and small businesses. The bipar- tisan bill, which was signed by Presi- dent Obama, expanded the program by removing its “pilot” status, making it available to all accredited law schools in the country that meet the program’s eligibility requirements. Rep. Jeffries has been actively in- volved in the passage of a number of other key pieces of legislation, includ- ing the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 (H.R. 152), a bill that pro- vides billions of dollars in Superstorm Sandy recovery to the Eighth District and other affected areas. The Congress- man also sponsored — and passed as part of the National Defense Autho- rization package — the Prison Ship Martyrs’ Monument Preservation Act, which directs the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to study the feasibility of desig- nating the Prison Ship Martyrs’ mauso- leum in Brooklyn as a national monu- ment. Consisting of a 100-foot-wide granite staircase and a central Doric column 149 feet in height, the monu- ment in Fort Greene Park houses the remains of 11,500 Revolutionary War soldiers who were kept as prisoners of war by the British. While he remains committed to working diligently in Washington on behalf of New York’s Eighth Congres- sional District, Rep. Jeffries also works tirelessly to keep in close contact with constituents. In January, the Congress- man begins each year with annual re- marks to the district. During the spring
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PUBLISHING ACHIEVEMENT IN EVERY FIELD OF HUMAN ENDEAVOR
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