Preventing
Off-Coast Seismic Testing
On April 30, Senator
Nelson introduced S. 1171, the Seismic Moratorium Act, which would ban oil and
gas-related seismic activities off the coasts of Florida. Eighteen cities in
Florida have passed resolutions opposing seismic testing. Scientists have expressed
concern about the potential impact of seismic air gun blasts on whales, fish,
turtles, and other marine life. Senator Nelson wrote to Interior Secretary
Jewell last year emphasizing his opposition to seismic activities off the coast
of Florida and its incompatibility with the State’s tourism and fishing
industries, as well as its possible interference with military base operations,
and space launches.
Addressing
Physician Shortages
On April 30, Senator
Nelson, along with Senators Reid and Schumer, reintroduced the Resident
Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2015 (S. 1148), which would expand the
number of Federally supported physician residency slots by 3,000 per year for
five years, totaling 15,000 new slots. Of these 3,000, half would go to primary
care, and half would go to shortage specialties. This legislation is supported
by the Florida Hospital Association and by the American Association of Medical
Colleges, which recently predicted a shortage of up to 90,000 physicians by
2025.
Protecting
Whistleblowers in the Auto Industry
On April 28, the
Senate unanimously passed S. 304, the Motor Vehicle Safety Whistleblower Act,
introduced by Chairman Thune and Ranking Member Nelson of the Commerce
Committee. The bipartisan legislation would create financial incentives for
employees in the automobile industry to report to the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration dangerous defects or other safety issues that go unheeded
by companies.
Ensuring
Safe Rental Cars
On April 30, Senator
Nelson joined Senators Schumer, Boxer, and McCaskill to reintroduce the Raechel
and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act of 2015. The bill would prohibit rental
car companies and auto dealers from renting cars under recall before they are
fixed. Under current law, companies are not required to do so. The legislation
has the support of all major rental car companies, General Motors, and auto
safety advocates.
The
Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act of 2015
On April 27, Senator
Nelson became a co-sponsor of S. 665, the Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National
Blue Alert Act of 2015, a bi-partisan bill which directs the Attorney General
to establish a nationwide alert system to apprehend suspects who have killed,
seriously injured, or threatened to kill or seriously injure law enforcement
officers. Blue Alerts may also be issued when a suspect is wanted in connection
with a missing law enforcement officer. On April 30, the Senate unanimously
passed the Blue Alert Act, which is named in honor of two New York City police
officers killed on December 20, 2014, in the line of duty.
Calling for Faster Replacement of Defective Takata Airbag Inflators
On April 27, in a
speech on the Senate floor, Senator Nelson shared new numbers of deaths and
injuries allegedly caused by rupturing Takata airbags. As of the end of January
2015, the number of alleged deaths reported by Takata rose from five to six,
and the number of alleged injuries rose from 64 to 105. The number of alleged
injuries reported in Florida – the state with the most incidents – rose from 18
to 35. In the speech Senator Nelson called on Takata to determine the root
cause of the airbag explosions and to speed up production of safe replacement
inflators.
Requesting
Answers from Credit Reporting Agencies
On April 28, Senator
Nelson and Senator Blumenthal wrote to Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion – the
three major credit reporting agencies (CRAs) – to ask for more information
about their practices and how they ensure accurate credit reports. Senators
Nelson and Blumenthal inquired about compliance under the Fair Credit Reporting
Act, FICO’s new scoring system for consumers who lack credit history, and about
potential consumer protection concerns for the financially vulnerable.
Identifying
Sponsors of Political Advertisements
On April 30, Senator
Nelson sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom
Wheeler seeking an update to the agency’s sponsorship identification rules for
commercial and political advertisements. Senator Nelson also announced his
intention to introduce legislation requiring the FCC to complete a rulemaking
to update these disclosure rules. This legislation will build on the Senator’s
record of support for campaign finance reform and greater transparency in the
sponsorship of political advertisements. The bill will direct the FCC to bring
sponsorship identification rules up to date to better align with current
technology and advertising practices and to ensure viewers know who is
sponsoring specific commercial and political advertisements.
Supporting
the U.S. Coast Guard
On April 28, Senator
Nelson made known his full support for the U.S. Coast Guard’s role in
preserving national security while speaking at a Subcommittee hearing of the
Senate Commerce Committee. While at the hearing to examine the resources and
priorities of the Coast Guard, Senator Nelson highlighted the recapitalization
of the Coast Guard’s aging fleet as a top priority to effectively combat drug
smuggling in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and Eastern Pacific. At the
hearing, the Senator emphasized that its command and control structure is
essential to the successful execution of its mission.
Learning
from Deepwater Horizon
On April 29, five
years after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Senator
Nelson spoke at a Commerce Committee hearing highlighting current improvements
and challenges in prevention and response to off-shore oil spill disasters. At
the hearing, witnesses testified that oil spill research, preparedness,
prevention and response has improved since Deepwater Horizon and noted the
importance of a continuing connection between scientists and oil spill planners
and responders. On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, killing
11 crewmembers and leaking 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf over a
period of 87 days. #SenatorBillNelson
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