A summary of all the bills that passed at least one branch of Congress in February, including six bills destined for a veto and one new law. Please support Congressional Dish: Click here to contribute with PayPal or Bitcoin; click the PayPal "Make it Monthly" checkbox to create a monthly subscription Click here 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! Information Discussed in this Episode Read Jennifer Briney's Reddit Ask Me Anything from March 23, 2015. Check out The Marketers Guide to Reddit AMAs, written by Paul and David DiGiovanni. [caption id="attachment_1731" align="aligncenter" width="266"] This is the tool I used to help my AMA raise to #1 on Reddit's front page[/caption] Follow Paul DiGiovanni and David DiGiovanni, the Reddit Marketers on Twitter Listen to the details of Jen's front-page of Reddit experience on Episode 145 of The Pursuit Podcast [caption id="attachment_1732" align="aligncenter" width="549"] Listen to this episode to find out what it's like to have your first reddit AMA end up at #1 on the front page[/caption] Rep. Alan Nunnelee of Mississippi died of brain cancer at age 56 February Laws H.R. 203: Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act Requires annual independent evaluations of Veteran's Administration mental health programs Requires the Veteran's Administration to create a website for information about their mental health services that needs to be updated at least every 90 days. Creates a three year pilot program to repay psychiatrists' loans ($30,000 a year) if they work for at least two years at the Veteran's Health Administration. Prohibits any additional money to get this done. Written by Democrat Rep. Timothy Walz of Minnesota February Bills S.1: Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act Authorizes TransCanada to construct, operate, and maintain the KeystoneXL pipeline. Deems the environmental impact analysis complete Forces all challenges in court to be heard in Washington D.C. or in the Supreme Court. Orders the Department of Energy to create a website to coordinate Federal assistance for making schools energy efficient Expresses a "sense of the Senate" that Congress should tax bitumen as oil for the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund Requires the General Services Administration to develop commercial leasing provisions that encourage tenants to invest in energy and water efficiency Requires the EPA to develop a voluntary "Tenant Star" program to recognize commercial tenants who achieve high standards of energy efficiency. Makes it illegal for people to tamper with grid-enabled water heaters Passed 62-36 in the Senate, with nine Democrats joining all Republicans. It passed 270-152 in the House, with all but Justin Amash of Michigan voting yes on the Republican side and with 29 Democratic yes votes. Sponsored by Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota, whose top contributing industry is Oil and Gas, which has given him over $330,000 President Obama vetoed the bill and the Senate failed to over-ride that veto by the two-thirds majority they would need to do so. H.R. 596: To repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Repeals the Affordable Care Act, effective 6 months after it would become law. The effects this would have on the budget would not be counted. Would require three House Committees to write replacement bills. There is no deadline. Would be vetoed by the President Written by new Rep. Bradley Byrne of Alabama, whose #1 contributor) in his first election was Blue Cross/Blue Shield, who gave him over $30,000 that we know of. In total, he took over $180,000 from the Insurance and Health industries. H.R. 50 and S. 189: Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act of 2015 Forces the government to consult with the private sector when creating regulations. Would be vetoed by the President Sponsored by R