Just as last week marked the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the US House of Representatives is expected to take up the following bills:

• Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2011
• Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2011
• Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act of 2010 (Oil Spill Legislation)

The House will possibly consider a jobs bill. Information will be forthcoming if this bill does come to the floor, according to a statement released last week by Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-Calif.). 

"The Americans with Disabilities Act guaranteed at long last equal justice under the law for our family, friends, and neighbors with disabilities," Capps said. "It is one of the great pieces of civil rights legislation passed in this country’s history. It forbids discrimination against those with disabilities, and affirms that our society has the obligation to provide for the full participation of all its members."

1. The Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill funds Department of Defense related construction and the day-to-day operation of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
   
   Capps has secured $1.64 million for the installation of a solar electric power system at the Army National Guard’s Ventura Armory in the Mil/Con Appropriations Bill. 
   
   Capps' summary of the project:
   The $1.64 million approved in the House bill would be used to design and install a renewable energy photovoltaic (PV) solar electric power system connected to the public grid. When operating to full capacity, this system will significantly reduce the facility's power demand.
2. The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill funds the Department of Transportation, the Department of Housing and Urbana Development, and related agencies including the National Transportation Safety Board.
   
   Capps has secured funding for the widening of the Carpinteria Creek Bridge on Highway 101 in the Transportation Appropriations bill. The project was a top priority of the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments.
   
   Capps' summary of the Project:
   This project would replace the US 101 bridge over Carpinteria Creek in the city of Carpinteria, in southern Santa Barbara County, with a bridge that is elevated above 100-year flood levels on flood maps recently released by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
   
   The profile of US 101 to the north and south of the bridge would also have to be raised to conform to the new elevated bridge and the bridge would accommodate two new High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes plus the four lanes currently on US 101.
3. The Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act of 2010.
   
   The CLEAR Act is a comprehensive energy reform bill that will increase safety, help restore the Gulf Coast, crackdown on ethical lapses, require businesses to be responsible for their actions, and close royalty loopholes to ensure the American people receive their fair share for the extraction of public resources, according to Capps. The CLEAR Act directly responds to the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster while also looking forward and attempting to prevent the next catastrophe.
   
   The stronger safety standards would affect oil rigs across the country, including those in the Santa Barbara Channel, Capps concluded.