Members Collect Many Unpaid Tickets
Rep. Bennie Thompson and his chief of staff paid off $860 worth of parking tickets last week after Roll Call brought the outstanding fines to their attention.
Members of Congress have immunity from many routine parking tickets in the District of Columbia, but that doesn’t mean they can’t try to rack up fines.
According to a Roll Call survey of vehicles parked on Capitol Hill and at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, as of mid-March, lawmakers were carrying at least $15,000 in outstanding tickets — ranging from expired meters to speeding camera violations — and potentially thousands of dollars more.
Three-quarters of those tickets, worth about $11,500, were in default at the time of the survey, having gone more than 60 days, and in some cases years, without payment.
Roll Call canvassed Congressional parking facilities, as well as a special Members-only parking lot at the airport, and reviewed about 300 vehicles displaying a House- or Senate-issued Member parking tag.
Information on parking violations was obtained from the District of Columbia’s public ticket database, which is searchable by license plate and includes information on minor violations.
While many vehicles registered a single ticket, valued at as little as $20, a handful of automobiles reported several hundred to thousands of dollars in unpaid tickets.
Roll Call’s inquiry appears to have led some offenders to pay up.
Aides to Reps. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) and Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said the lawmakers repaid their respective tickets after being contacted by Roll Call.
The District’s database showed Weiner received nearly $2,180 in tickets from 2007 to early March, including some instances in which he appears to have incurred multiple violations at the same time, such as failing to display current tags while parked in a taxi stand zone.
“All of the Congressman’s parking tickets have been paid. He is pleased to have helped decrease the D.C. budget deficit,” Weiner spokesman Dave Arnold said.
Thompson spokesman Lanier Avant likewise said the Mississippi lawmaker repaid $610 in outstanding tickets that his vehicle received from 2004 to 2010. During Roll Call’s survey, a second vehicle displaying Thompson’s Member parking permit also returned $250 in parking tickets, which Avant said were his own and were also repaid.
According to the House Administration Committee, Members must pay their own parking tickets and are not permitted to use official funds.
Showing posts with label Congress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Congress. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
McCain proposes to end safeguards on catfish imports
MBJ: Catfish industry ’stunned’ by McCain proposal
WASHNGTON — A proposal by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to repeal a law making all catfish safer for American consumers ignores numerous findings of banned substances in imported catfish products and favors inadequate food safety requirements, according to Catfish Farmers of America.
“It is stunning that Sen. McCain has chosen to protect importers and Vietnamese farmers over the health and safety of American citizens,” said Butch Wilson, newly elected president of the Catfish Farmers of America.
The U.S. Congress voted to move catfish inspections and regulation from the FDA to USDA as part of the 2008 Farm Bill.
A bill proposed by McCain and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) would repeal the 2008 regulation.
In a statement announcing the bill, McCain alleged the “Food and Drug Administration hasn’t reported any safety or health problems with the Vietnamese imports.”
That is wrong, according to the CFA. The FDA has found in imported catfish from Vietnam and other nations potentially dangerous chemicals or drugs that are banned by the United States in farm-raised catfish, according to the FDA.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported last month a major criminal case of mislabeling and hazardous contaminants found in Vietnamese frozen catfish fillets imported by a seafood import company in McCain’s home state of Arizona, the CFA says.
WASHNGTON — A proposal by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to repeal a law making all catfish safer for American consumers ignores numerous findings of banned substances in imported catfish products and favors inadequate food safety requirements, according to Catfish Farmers of America.
“It is stunning that Sen. McCain has chosen to protect importers and Vietnamese farmers over the health and safety of American citizens,” said Butch Wilson, newly elected president of the Catfish Farmers of America.
The U.S. Congress voted to move catfish inspections and regulation from the FDA to USDA as part of the 2008 Farm Bill.
A bill proposed by McCain and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) would repeal the 2008 regulation.
In a statement announcing the bill, McCain alleged the “Food and Drug Administration hasn’t reported any safety or health problems with the Vietnamese imports.”
That is wrong, according to the CFA. The FDA has found in imported catfish from Vietnam and other nations potentially dangerous chemicals or drugs that are banned by the United States in farm-raised catfish, according to the FDA.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported last month a major criminal case of mislabeling and hazardous contaminants found in Vietnamese frozen catfish fillets imported by a seafood import company in McCain’s home state of Arizona, the CFA says.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Republicans Say Higher U.S. Debt Limit Depends on Specific Spending Cuts
Republicans in Congress told President Barack Obama and Democrats they will insist on specific cuts in government spending as a condition of raising the U.S. debt limit.
Any increase must be “accompanied by meaningful action by the president and Congress to cut spending and end the job- killing spending binge,” House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement yesterday after the Obama administration asked Congress to boost the debt ceiling by March 31.
Boehner, of Ohio, and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, of Wisconsin, said a default on government debts isn’t an option. Still, Ryan suggested Republicans may use the debt- ceiling issue as leverage to attach conditions that would force Obama to sign them into law or force a default.
“Republicans are not interested in just a naked debt- ceiling increase,” Ryan said at a Washington forum on economic policy. “Nobody likes brinksmanship, but what we really don’t want is runaway spending.”
Republicans “want to do something that gets us pointed in the right direction,” he said.
In a letter to congressional leaders, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the $14.29 trillion debt limit may be reached as soon as March 31, and “most likely” by May 16. The debt was incurred “during periods when both Republicans and Democrats were in control of different branches of government,” he said.
A default on government obligations by a failure to extend the borrowing authority would have “catastrophic consequences” possibly worse than the 2008 financial crisis, said Geithner. He said Obama is committed to working with both parties to put the U.S. on a “fiscally responsible path.”
Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, told reporters, “Rather than sending out scary letters, what we ought to look at is an opportunity here, on a bipartisan basis, to address spending and debt.”
As part of the Republican focus on spending cuts, the House yesterday voted to reduce its operating budget by 5 percent. The 410-13 vote imposed the reduction on all House committees and the offices of leaders and members. The resolution will save an estimated $35 million from a federal budget that exceeds $3.5 trillion.
Ryan suggested Republicans’ new House majority may seek to use the debt-ceiling matter to force Obama to sign legislation with spending conditions he might otherwise veto. An increase in the government’s borrowing authority “is not an unrelated item,” he said.
Asked whether Republican demands for spending cuts would threaten a government default, Ryan said, “It would be irresponsible if the president brings about a default of the country if he refuses to sign a bill that raises the debt- ceiling limits. That’s his choice.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, told reporters that Republicans are “threatening to shut down the government” over the debt limit, which would cause “an economic crisis.”
Ryan said Republicans are discussing their strategy for boosting the government’s borrowing authority, adding they might opt for either a one or two-year extension.
“There are different ways of doing a debt-ceiling increase that could speak to our strategy,” Ryan said.
Ryan said he holds out “some hope that there’s a shot at some actual, maybe not wholesale, fundamental” changes in the tax code.
Bloomberg
Any increase must be “accompanied by meaningful action by the president and Congress to cut spending and end the job- killing spending binge,” House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement yesterday after the Obama administration asked Congress to boost the debt ceiling by March 31.
Boehner, of Ohio, and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, of Wisconsin, said a default on government debts isn’t an option. Still, Ryan suggested Republicans may use the debt- ceiling issue as leverage to attach conditions that would force Obama to sign them into law or force a default.
“Republicans are not interested in just a naked debt- ceiling increase,” Ryan said at a Washington forum on economic policy. “Nobody likes brinksmanship, but what we really don’t want is runaway spending.”
Republicans “want to do something that gets us pointed in the right direction,” he said.
In a letter to congressional leaders, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the $14.29 trillion debt limit may be reached as soon as March 31, and “most likely” by May 16. The debt was incurred “during periods when both Republicans and Democrats were in control of different branches of government,” he said.
A default on government obligations by a failure to extend the borrowing authority would have “catastrophic consequences” possibly worse than the 2008 financial crisis, said Geithner. He said Obama is committed to working with both parties to put the U.S. on a “fiscally responsible path.”
Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, told reporters, “Rather than sending out scary letters, what we ought to look at is an opportunity here, on a bipartisan basis, to address spending and debt.”
As part of the Republican focus on spending cuts, the House yesterday voted to reduce its operating budget by 5 percent. The 410-13 vote imposed the reduction on all House committees and the offices of leaders and members. The resolution will save an estimated $35 million from a federal budget that exceeds $3.5 trillion.
Ryan suggested Republicans’ new House majority may seek to use the debt-ceiling matter to force Obama to sign legislation with spending conditions he might otherwise veto. An increase in the government’s borrowing authority “is not an unrelated item,” he said.
Asked whether Republican demands for spending cuts would threaten a government default, Ryan said, “It would be irresponsible if the president brings about a default of the country if he refuses to sign a bill that raises the debt- ceiling limits. That’s his choice.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, told reporters that Republicans are “threatening to shut down the government” over the debt limit, which would cause “an economic crisis.”
Ryan said Republicans are discussing their strategy for boosting the government’s borrowing authority, adding they might opt for either a one or two-year extension.
“There are different ways of doing a debt-ceiling increase that could speak to our strategy,” Ryan said.
Ryan said he holds out “some hope that there’s a shot at some actual, maybe not wholesale, fundamental” changes in the tax code.
Bloomberg
Friday, December 17, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Mississippi Delegation in U.S. House landing plum committee assignments
Most of the 22 House Republican freshmen-to-be selected to sit on much-coveted, A-list committees won their races with Tea Party backing.
The House Republican Steering Committee last week added the incoming members to the rosters of four powerful committees: Appropriations, Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce and Financial Services.
Speaker-to-be John Boehner (R-Ohio) and his fellow GOP leaders and representatives on the House Steering Committee ensured that members of the largest GOP freshmen class in 70 years were given spots on influential panels.
Nearly half of the new GOP spots on the House Appropriations Committee were given to incoming members.
The Steering Committee tapped four Tea Party-backed representatives-elect to serve on the powerful spending panel.
GOP Rep.-elect Alan Nunnelee (Miss.) was one of nearly a dozen candidates officially endorsed by former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. GOP Reps.-elect Steve Womack (Ark.) and Kevin Yoder (Kan.) were both endorsed by Freedom Works – the interest group closely tied to the Tea Party movement. Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.), elected in a special election in June 2010 and who won in the fall's regular election, will also serve on the spending panel and is an outspoken proponent for fiscal restraint.
Republicans pledged that they would make significant cuts in spending over the next two years. The GOP Conference for the 112th Congress voted to ban earmark spending last month.
Just under half of the new GOP spots on the Energy and Commerce Committee will go to incoming lawmakers.
Reps.-elect Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), David McKinley (R-W.Va.), Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) and Charlie Bass (R-N.H.) were chosen to sit on the panel that will face a heavy workload in the next Congress as incoming Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) attempts to revamp the new healthcare law and conduct oversight of the EPA.
Bass served in the House from 1995-2007. He won back the seat he held in November.
GOP lawmakers Brian Bilbray (Calif.), Bill Cassidy (La.), Brett Guthrie (Ky.), Gregg Harper (Miss.), Conference Vice-Chairwoman Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (Wash.), Pete Olson (Texas) and GOP Leadership Chairman Greg Walden (Ore.) were also added to the Energy panel.
The House Financial Services Committee, led by incoming Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), will get the largest portion of the incoming freshmen.
Ten of the twelve new GOP spots on the committee went to incoming freshmen. GOP Reps-elect Quico Canseco (Texas), Bob Dold (Ill.), Sean Duffy (Wis.), Michael Grimm (N.Y.), Nan Hayworth (N.Y.), Bill Huizenga (Mich.), Robert Hurt (Va.), Steve Stivers (Ohio), Steve Pearce (N.M.) and Michael Fitzpatrick (Pa.) were selected to sit on the panel with jurisdiction over federal monetary policy and the banking system. Pearce and Fitzpatrick served in the House in prior years.
The GOP Steering Committee will meet this week to decide the committee assignments for the rest of the House panels. They have yet to determine the ratio of Republicans to Democrats on the committees.
Read More
The House Republican Steering Committee last week added the incoming members to the rosters of four powerful committees: Appropriations, Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce and Financial Services.
Speaker-to-be John Boehner (R-Ohio) and his fellow GOP leaders and representatives on the House Steering Committee ensured that members of the largest GOP freshmen class in 70 years were given spots on influential panels.
Nearly half of the new GOP spots on the House Appropriations Committee were given to incoming members.
The Steering Committee tapped four Tea Party-backed representatives-elect to serve on the powerful spending panel.
GOP Rep.-elect Alan Nunnelee (Miss.) was one of nearly a dozen candidates officially endorsed by former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. GOP Reps.-elect Steve Womack (Ark.) and Kevin Yoder (Kan.) were both endorsed by Freedom Works – the interest group closely tied to the Tea Party movement. Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.), elected in a special election in June 2010 and who won in the fall's regular election, will also serve on the spending panel and is an outspoken proponent for fiscal restraint.
Republicans pledged that they would make significant cuts in spending over the next two years. The GOP Conference for the 112th Congress voted to ban earmark spending last month.
Just under half of the new GOP spots on the Energy and Commerce Committee will go to incoming lawmakers.
Reps.-elect Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), David McKinley (R-W.Va.), Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) and Charlie Bass (R-N.H.) were chosen to sit on the panel that will face a heavy workload in the next Congress as incoming Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) attempts to revamp the new healthcare law and conduct oversight of the EPA.
Bass served in the House from 1995-2007. He won back the seat he held in November.
GOP lawmakers Brian Bilbray (Calif.), Bill Cassidy (La.), Brett Guthrie (Ky.), Gregg Harper (Miss.), Conference Vice-Chairwoman Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (Wash.), Pete Olson (Texas) and GOP Leadership Chairman Greg Walden (Ore.) were also added to the Energy panel.
The House Financial Services Committee, led by incoming Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), will get the largest portion of the incoming freshmen.
Ten of the twelve new GOP spots on the committee went to incoming freshmen. GOP Reps-elect Quico Canseco (Texas), Bob Dold (Ill.), Sean Duffy (Wis.), Michael Grimm (N.Y.), Nan Hayworth (N.Y.), Bill Huizenga (Mich.), Robert Hurt (Va.), Steve Stivers (Ohio), Steve Pearce (N.M.) and Michael Fitzpatrick (Pa.) were selected to sit on the panel with jurisdiction over federal monetary policy and the banking system. Pearce and Fitzpatrick served in the House in prior years.
The GOP Steering Committee will meet this week to decide the committee assignments for the rest of the House panels. They have yet to determine the ratio of Republicans to Democrats on the committees.
Read More
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Congress To Abandon Washington Every Three Weeks
House Republicans have released their schedule for next year's session: One week off for every two weeks on.
They'll be working five-day weeks instead of the typical three, and cutting down the honorary votes that happen about every 15 minutes now. This will leave plenty of time to cut the capital gains tax several times next year.
Read More
Lawmakers celebrate decision to place training mission at Key Field Air Guard Station in Meridian
New Aircraft, Personnel Help Ensure Future for Meridian Military Facility
WASHINGTON, D. C. – U.S. Senators Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker, with Congressman Gregg Harper, today celebrated the U.S. Air Force decision to locate a new formal training unit at Key Field Air National Guard Base at Meridian.
The Mississippi lawmakers, as well as Governor Haley Barbour and Meridian Mayor Cheri M. Barry, were informed early Wednesday that Key Field had been selected as the Air Force’s “preferred alternative” to host a C-27J formal training unit (FTU) mission.
The decision will bring two additional C-27J aircraft to Meridian, increasing the planned total to six. An estimated 37 full-time employees and 85 trainees annually will be associated with the FTU, bringing the total personnel associated with the C-27J platform to 142 by 2015 when the mission is fully operational.
“I am convinced that the qualities represented in Key Field, the Mississippi Air National Guard and the people of Meridian were instrumental in leading the Defense Department to this decision. This new training mission is a solid indication that Key Field will be a long-term asset to the Air National Guard and the U.S Air Force as Mississippi continues to contribute to our nation’s security,” Cochran said.
“The Air Force’s decision to base this training mission at Key Field is another strong reminder of the importance of Meridian to our military,” said Wicker. “Mississippi’s long history of supporting our Armed Forces proudly continues through the MC-12 and C-27J operations.”
“Gaining the C-27J training mission is a tribute to the men and women of Key Field and their ability to adapt and succeed at any task or mission they are given,” said Harper. “Key Field was evaluated alongside several impressive bases during the Air Force’s site survey process, and I am confident that the base’s past successes and the friendly nature of the people of Meridian influenced the Department of Defense’s decision.”
“Gaining this additional mission has been a long-standing goal for the state,” Governor Barbour said. “Having the C-27J training mission at Key Field is important to Mississippi, as the state continues to play a crucial role in our national defense.”
“We are thrilled that the 186th Air Refueling Wing has been selected as the location for the Air National Guard’s C-27J Flying Training Unit. The city of Meridian is truly grateful for the diligent effort of Senator Cochran, Senator Wicker and Congressman Harper that went into this project,” Mayor Barry said.
In being named the preferred alternative site, Key Field edged out five other sites considered for the tactical transport aircraft training mission, which involves preparing pilots, loadmasters and maintenance crews for C-27J operations. The decision will be finalized pending an environmental impact analysis.
The decision to land the C-27J training mission at Key Field will build on the number of those aircraft located in Meridian. The training mission will add two C-27J aircraft at Key Field, where the Air Force had already decided to base four other C-27Js starting in early FY2012. The Air Force indicated that the two additional C-27J aircraft will be transferred in the third quarter of FY2014, with initial operational capability achieved in late 2014. The new FTU would be fully operational by the third quarter of FY2015.
The Air Force based its decision on criteria that considered airspace, facilities and infrastructure, as well as mission and training requirements.
The Key Field Air National Guard Station is currently home to the 186th Air Refueling Wing. In its 2005 BRAC Recommendations, the Department of Defense decided that by 2012, it would move the 186th Air Refueling Wing’s KC-135R aircraft to Wisconsin, Tennessee and Maine, leaving Key Field without a clear mission. This decision changes that, giving Meridian responsibility for a crucial mission well into the future.
The C-27J is a twin turbo-prop engine aircraft that provides short take-off and landing capabilities that are best suited for the transport of cargo among intra-theater locales.
WASHINGTON, D. C. – U.S. Senators Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker, with Congressman Gregg Harper, today celebrated the U.S. Air Force decision to locate a new formal training unit at Key Field Air National Guard Base at Meridian.
The Mississippi lawmakers, as well as Governor Haley Barbour and Meridian Mayor Cheri M. Barry, were informed early Wednesday that Key Field had been selected as the Air Force’s “preferred alternative” to host a C-27J formal training unit (FTU) mission.
The decision will bring two additional C-27J aircraft to Meridian, increasing the planned total to six. An estimated 37 full-time employees and 85 trainees annually will be associated with the FTU, bringing the total personnel associated with the C-27J platform to 142 by 2015 when the mission is fully operational.
“I am convinced that the qualities represented in Key Field, the Mississippi Air National Guard and the people of Meridian were instrumental in leading the Defense Department to this decision. This new training mission is a solid indication that Key Field will be a long-term asset to the Air National Guard and the U.S Air Force as Mississippi continues to contribute to our nation’s security,” Cochran said.
“The Air Force’s decision to base this training mission at Key Field is another strong reminder of the importance of Meridian to our military,” said Wicker. “Mississippi’s long history of supporting our Armed Forces proudly continues through the MC-12 and C-27J operations.”
“Gaining the C-27J training mission is a tribute to the men and women of Key Field and their ability to adapt and succeed at any task or mission they are given,” said Harper. “Key Field was evaluated alongside several impressive bases during the Air Force’s site survey process, and I am confident that the base’s past successes and the friendly nature of the people of Meridian influenced the Department of Defense’s decision.”
“Gaining this additional mission has been a long-standing goal for the state,” Governor Barbour said. “Having the C-27J training mission at Key Field is important to Mississippi, as the state continues to play a crucial role in our national defense.”
“We are thrilled that the 186th Air Refueling Wing has been selected as the location for the Air National Guard’s C-27J Flying Training Unit. The city of Meridian is truly grateful for the diligent effort of Senator Cochran, Senator Wicker and Congressman Harper that went into this project,” Mayor Barry said.
In being named the preferred alternative site, Key Field edged out five other sites considered for the tactical transport aircraft training mission, which involves preparing pilots, loadmasters and maintenance crews for C-27J operations. The decision will be finalized pending an environmental impact analysis.
The decision to land the C-27J training mission at Key Field will build on the number of those aircraft located in Meridian. The training mission will add two C-27J aircraft at Key Field, where the Air Force had already decided to base four other C-27Js starting in early FY2012. The Air Force indicated that the two additional C-27J aircraft will be transferred in the third quarter of FY2014, with initial operational capability achieved in late 2014. The new FTU would be fully operational by the third quarter of FY2015.
The Air Force based its decision on criteria that considered airspace, facilities and infrastructure, as well as mission and training requirements.
The Key Field Air National Guard Station is currently home to the 186th Air Refueling Wing. In its 2005 BRAC Recommendations, the Department of Defense decided that by 2012, it would move the 186th Air Refueling Wing’s KC-135R aircraft to Wisconsin, Tennessee and Maine, leaving Key Field without a clear mission. This decision changes that, giving Meridian responsibility for a crucial mission well into the future.
The C-27J is a twin turbo-prop engine aircraft that provides short take-off and landing capabilities that are best suited for the transport of cargo among intra-theater locales.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Steering panel loaded with John Boehner's allies
House Speaker-designate John Boehner has some close allies to help him potentially sway other members on a Republican panel set to pick leaders of key committees in the next Congress.
Several lawmakers close to the Ohio Republican reside on the 34-member House Republican steering committee – including Lynn Westmoreland (Ga.), who gave a speech backing Boehner to be House speaker, according to a list of steering committee members obtained by POLITICO.
Rep. Steve LaTourette is a fellow member of the Ohio delegation, while Reps. Doc Hastings (Wash.) and Tom Latham (Iowa) have long been close personal friends with Boehner as well.
Others well known to be close to Boehner on the Steering Committee include House Republican Conference Vice-Chair Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (Wash.), National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (Texas), House GOP transition team leader Greg Walden (Ore.), Mike Rogers (Mich.), and Gregg Harper (Miss.).
Boehner’s choice in contested races to head the Energy and Commerce, Appropriations and other panels is automatically worth four votes, the most of any other committee member. The next expected House majority leader, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) gets two votes, while all other members get one vote each when considering each committee race, jurisdictional challenges and potential caucus rule changes.
Shimkus, Energy and Commerce ranking member Joe Barton (Texas), Fred Upton (Mich.) and Cliff Stearns (Fla.) will give roughly 10-minute presentations to the steering committee Tuesday to give their arguments to head the energy panel, followed by a question and answer period. The steering committee will convene at 1:30 p.m. in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.
Read more: Politico
Several lawmakers close to the Ohio Republican reside on the 34-member House Republican steering committee – including Lynn Westmoreland (Ga.), who gave a speech backing Boehner to be House speaker, according to a list of steering committee members obtained by POLITICO.
Rep. Steve LaTourette is a fellow member of the Ohio delegation, while Reps. Doc Hastings (Wash.) and Tom Latham (Iowa) have long been close personal friends with Boehner as well.
Others well known to be close to Boehner on the Steering Committee include House Republican Conference Vice-Chair Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (Wash.), National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (Texas), House GOP transition team leader Greg Walden (Ore.), Mike Rogers (Mich.), and Gregg Harper (Miss.).
Boehner’s choice in contested races to head the Energy and Commerce, Appropriations and other panels is automatically worth four votes, the most of any other committee member. The next expected House majority leader, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) gets two votes, while all other members get one vote each when considering each committee race, jurisdictional challenges and potential caucus rule changes.
Shimkus, Energy and Commerce ranking member Joe Barton (Texas), Fred Upton (Mich.) and Cliff Stearns (Fla.) will give roughly 10-minute presentations to the steering committee Tuesday to give their arguments to head the energy panel, followed by a question and answer period. The steering committee will convene at 1:30 p.m. in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.
Read more: Politico
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Laforge: Earmark Moratorium will have NO impact on the federal budget.
Yesterday the Senate Republican conference agreed on a two-year moratorium on earmarks. Republican Leader Mitch McConnell reluctantly changed his position of supporting earmarks, went along with the party’s conservative wing, and embraced the idea of a moratorium, thus ensuring the endorsement of the Republican caucus, and avoiding a bitter and devisive intra-party battle. This is all in reaction to the election and to voter interests in the government, especially the Congress, doing everything possible to reduce spending and get the financial house in order. Congressional Republican leaders feel it is necessary to restore trust in government by the American people.
However, in reality, it is a mere symbolic gesture…a political reaction and a “feel-good” outcome for politicians who believe that they must listen to the American people and do their will on this issue. It will have NO impact on the federal budget. Earmarks are not “new” money. They only direct where the money will be spent. Essentially, they are directives from Congress on how taxpayers’ dollars should be spent, rather than allowing executive branch agencies to make all the decisions. The same amount of dollars will still be on the table and will be spent. The sad difference now is that Congress is abdicating its constitutional responsibility and privilege regarding the power of the purse, and turning over all the decisions to the executive branch. To me, this is very short-sighted. But it is an issue rife with demagoguery and political messaging. Politicians are falling all over themselves trying to outdo their rivals on this issue, so you will note that an unlikely coalition involving the President and congressional Republicans is having a field day with this issue. For many, perception has become reality, and it appears that the moratorium is real, at least for now.
The Senate action by Republicans comes on the heels of similar action by House Republicans earlier this year. It remains to be seen how congressional Democrats in both houses will respond and what they will do next. It is possible that all or some Democrats, and possibly even some Republicans, will continue to request earmarks. Politically I would envision Republicans making any Democratic earmarks a big issue during the next campaign. Hell hath no fury like a reformed earmarker! Only time will tell.
Bill LaForge is an attorney, Washington, D.C. office managing shareholder and Government Relations Practice Group leader with Winstead PC. A Cleveland, Mississippi native, Laforge was chief counsel of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, and culminated his government career as Chief Legislative Counsel and Chief of Staff to United States Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Growing Clout: South to gain more Congressional seats than earlier projected
It's been clear for a while that the South's political clout will grow after the 2010 Census data was released next year and used to redo the nation's Congressional districts. But a new projection suggests the region's gains will be even bigger than had been estimated earlier, with Southern states picking as many as eight House seats and Electoral College votes for president.
The new analysis by Election Data Services predicts that burgeoning growth in the South and West will pull 12 Congressional seats away from states in the Midwest and Northeast. Here are the states that would gain:
But the new analysis suggests Florida's population will grow enough to comfortably pick up a second Congressional seat. Texas is right on the bubble, winning a fourth seat by a margin of just 38,000 people.
These are just estimates: If Texas falls short when the official 2010 Census numbers are released on December 31, EDS says there are 16 states that could overtake Texas to pick up the final seat, lead by New York, California, Arizona, North Carolina and Illinois.
North Carolina's chances of gaining a seat may be even higher, thanks to U.S. foreign policy.
As EDS notes, their analysis doesn't account for military personnel -- which ended up being the decisive factor in 2000, when N.C. beat out Utah in adding a Congressional seat. Over the last decade, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have brought thousands of members of the armed services to North Carolina's military bases, which will be credited as their official U.S. address for Census purposes.
On the flip side, Louisiana's massive displacement from Hurricane Katrina will likely cause it to lose a district.
Here's a map from EDS showing which states are projected to win and lose from the new 2010 Census numbers:
FS
The new analysis by Election Data Services predicts that burgeoning growth in the South and West will pull 12 Congressional seats away from states in the Midwest and Northeast. Here are the states that would gain:
STATE / CONGRESSIONAL SEATS GAINEDThe gains in the South are bigger than had been estimated a few months ago, when the Great Recession and housing market collapse were slowing migration to Florida and Texas.
Arizona +1
Florida +2
Georgia +1
Nevada +1
South Carolina +1
Texas +4
Utah +1
Washington +1
But the new analysis suggests Florida's population will grow enough to comfortably pick up a second Congressional seat. Texas is right on the bubble, winning a fourth seat by a margin of just 38,000 people.
These are just estimates: If Texas falls short when the official 2010 Census numbers are released on December 31, EDS says there are 16 states that could overtake Texas to pick up the final seat, lead by New York, California, Arizona, North Carolina and Illinois.
North Carolina's chances of gaining a seat may be even higher, thanks to U.S. foreign policy.
As EDS notes, their analysis doesn't account for military personnel -- which ended up being the decisive factor in 2000, when N.C. beat out Utah in adding a Congressional seat. Over the last decade, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have brought thousands of members of the armed services to North Carolina's military bases, which will be credited as their official U.S. address for Census purposes.
On the flip side, Louisiana's massive displacement from Hurricane Katrina will likely cause it to lose a district.
Here's a map from EDS showing which states are projected to win and lose from the new 2010 Census numbers:
FS
Friday, November 5, 2010
How the GOP Can Stop the Spread of Obamacare
Progressive pundits and policy wonks boast that, despite Tuesday's Republican victory in the House, ObamaCare will be very difficult to eradicate. They correctly point out that, to get rid of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), both houses of Congress must pass repeal legislation and that a Democrat filibuster would more than likely forestall any such effort in the Senate. They further point out that President Obama would certainly veto any repeal bill that somehow found its way to his desk, and that there is virtually no chance that his veto would be overridden. All of this is absolutely true. Moreover, the PPACA infection has already been introduced into the health care system and has begun to spread. Nonetheless, when the Republicans officially take control of the House in January, they will still have the ability inoculate us against future outbreaks of this contagion.
The three-stage vaccine with which the GOP can stop the spread of PPACA has already been proven effective -- in Massachusetts of all places. It will come as a surprise to many that Romneycare was not the first "universal coverage" law to be inflicted on the long-suffering citizens of the Bay State. In 1988 that state's legislature passed a health care bill containing many of the provisions that later reappeared in the 2006 boondoggle signed by Romney. That "reform" program was signed into law by then-governor Michael Dukakis, who gave it a prominent place in his résumé during his unsuccessful bid for the presidency. Like polio, however, "DukakisCare" is all but forgotten. Why? Because a group of newly elected state legislators defunded the program, delayed its implementation and, for all intents and purposes, killed it after Republican William Weld was elected governor in 1990.
The many similarities between the DukakisCare and ObamaCare situations have not received any attention in the media, of course, but they have not been lost on everyone. Mike Stopa, who unsuccessfully sought the 2010 Republican congressional nomination for the MA-3 district, offered a PPACA repeal plan whose introduction declared, "[T]he experience of Massachusetts in the late 1980's… serves as a model in our current situation." Indeed it does. Not long after the Dukakis legislation passed, the GOP made significant gains in the state legislature and immediately set about dismantling the bill. There are also parallels in the executive branch. As Stopa put it, "Michael Dukakis passed universal healthcare in 1988 and his term as governor ended in 1990. Barack Obama passed PPACA in 2010 and his term ends in 2012." All of which suggests that the "MA vaccine" could work on ObamaCare.
For the newly empowered GOP, however, the most difficult stage of the vaccination process may be the first -- getting solidly behind the defunding project. Their vociferous denunciations of PPACA notwithstanding, many House Republicans have expressed reservations similar to those of Rep. Paul Ryan: "Well, yeah, technically speaking, we can put riders in appropriations bills that say, 'No such funds can go to HHS to do x, y, or z in implementing ObamaCare.' He's gotta sign those things. And he doesn't strike me as the kind of person who would sign those things." Similar noises have been heard in the upper chamber. Retiring Senator Judd Gregg recently said, "I don't think starving or repealing is probably the best approach here …"
These and other Republicans are understandably chary of fighting a PR war with the White House. Their shellacking by Bill Clinton in 1995 is still green in their memories. But much has changed since then. Fifteen years ago, the Democrat-friendly "news" media could exert considerable control over the public perception of a battle between Congress and the President. Now, the blogosphere and conservative talk radio can -- and will -- provide an alternate narrative. And the voters who came out in such impressive numbers to repudiate the Democrats are not likely to be patient with a pusillanimous approach on this issue. Most would likely agree with the chairman of DeFundIt.org, who responded thus to Ryan's squeamishness: "[I]t is a policy battle we must fight…. Make no mistake, the conservative base will revolt against a Republican Party that backs down in a funding fight over ObamaCare."
Assuming the Republicans can absorb this reality and summon the courage to face down the President on funding, they can move to the second stage of the vaccination process. In addition to the power of the purse, the new House majority will also have subpoena power that can be used to delay implementation. They can hold numerous and protracted public hearings, while demanding all manner of documentation from the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). They can summon HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to answer questions about her 2009 gag order to insurance companies and her growing reputation as an enemy of the First Amendment. It would also be instructive to hear CMS administrator Donald Berwick to elaborate on statements like, "Any healthcare funding plan that is just ... must redistribute wealth."
The third and final stage of the vaccine must, of course, be administered in 2012. The event that enabled Massachusetts legislators to finish off the 1988 universal coverage bill was the replacement of Michael Dukakis with Republican William Weld. The decision, by the former, not to seek reelection in 1990 made that process easier than might otherwise have been the case. Needless to say, Barack Obama is very unlikely to follow the Duke's example. However, if the President stays true to form and refuses to face the reality that the American people do want to "re-litigate" the reform issue, it is at least possible that a good Republican opponent can beat him in the 2012 presidential contest. And Tuesday's big GOP gains in key state houses and legislatures, particularly in crucial battlegrounds like Pennsylvania and Ohio, render an Obama defeat even more plausible.
Cynics will argue that, even if Obama can be given the bum's rush in 2012, that doesn't guarantee the success of this three-stage vaccine. And it is certainly true that it didn't permanently inoculate the Bay State from new and more virulent strains of health "reform." But that's hardly an argument for supinely allowing the PPACA to spread or waiting for the Supreme Court to provide a miracle cure. This contagion must be eradicated now. John Boehner was right when he said, "[W]e have to do everything we can to try to repeal this bill…" And, if outright repeal isn't possible, then the MA vaccine is the next best alternative.
AS
The three-stage vaccine with which the GOP can stop the spread of PPACA has already been proven effective -- in Massachusetts of all places. It will come as a surprise to many that Romneycare was not the first "universal coverage" law to be inflicted on the long-suffering citizens of the Bay State. In 1988 that state's legislature passed a health care bill containing many of the provisions that later reappeared in the 2006 boondoggle signed by Romney. That "reform" program was signed into law by then-governor Michael Dukakis, who gave it a prominent place in his résumé during his unsuccessful bid for the presidency. Like polio, however, "DukakisCare" is all but forgotten. Why? Because a group of newly elected state legislators defunded the program, delayed its implementation and, for all intents and purposes, killed it after Republican William Weld was elected governor in 1990.
The many similarities between the DukakisCare and ObamaCare situations have not received any attention in the media, of course, but they have not been lost on everyone. Mike Stopa, who unsuccessfully sought the 2010 Republican congressional nomination for the MA-3 district, offered a PPACA repeal plan whose introduction declared, "[T]he experience of Massachusetts in the late 1980's… serves as a model in our current situation." Indeed it does. Not long after the Dukakis legislation passed, the GOP made significant gains in the state legislature and immediately set about dismantling the bill. There are also parallels in the executive branch. As Stopa put it, "Michael Dukakis passed universal healthcare in 1988 and his term as governor ended in 1990. Barack Obama passed PPACA in 2010 and his term ends in 2012." All of which suggests that the "MA vaccine" could work on ObamaCare.
For the newly empowered GOP, however, the most difficult stage of the vaccination process may be the first -- getting solidly behind the defunding project. Their vociferous denunciations of PPACA notwithstanding, many House Republicans have expressed reservations similar to those of Rep. Paul Ryan: "Well, yeah, technically speaking, we can put riders in appropriations bills that say, 'No such funds can go to HHS to do x, y, or z in implementing ObamaCare.' He's gotta sign those things. And he doesn't strike me as the kind of person who would sign those things." Similar noises have been heard in the upper chamber. Retiring Senator Judd Gregg recently said, "I don't think starving or repealing is probably the best approach here …"
These and other Republicans are understandably chary of fighting a PR war with the White House. Their shellacking by Bill Clinton in 1995 is still green in their memories. But much has changed since then. Fifteen years ago, the Democrat-friendly "news" media could exert considerable control over the public perception of a battle between Congress and the President. Now, the blogosphere and conservative talk radio can -- and will -- provide an alternate narrative. And the voters who came out in such impressive numbers to repudiate the Democrats are not likely to be patient with a pusillanimous approach on this issue. Most would likely agree with the chairman of DeFundIt.org, who responded thus to Ryan's squeamishness: "[I]t is a policy battle we must fight…. Make no mistake, the conservative base will revolt against a Republican Party that backs down in a funding fight over ObamaCare."
Assuming the Republicans can absorb this reality and summon the courage to face down the President on funding, they can move to the second stage of the vaccination process. In addition to the power of the purse, the new House majority will also have subpoena power that can be used to delay implementation. They can hold numerous and protracted public hearings, while demanding all manner of documentation from the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). They can summon HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to answer questions about her 2009 gag order to insurance companies and her growing reputation as an enemy of the First Amendment. It would also be instructive to hear CMS administrator Donald Berwick to elaborate on statements like, "Any healthcare funding plan that is just ... must redistribute wealth."
The third and final stage of the vaccine must, of course, be administered in 2012. The event that enabled Massachusetts legislators to finish off the 1988 universal coverage bill was the replacement of Michael Dukakis with Republican William Weld. The decision, by the former, not to seek reelection in 1990 made that process easier than might otherwise have been the case. Needless to say, Barack Obama is very unlikely to follow the Duke's example. However, if the President stays true to form and refuses to face the reality that the American people do want to "re-litigate" the reform issue, it is at least possible that a good Republican opponent can beat him in the 2012 presidential contest. And Tuesday's big GOP gains in key state houses and legislatures, particularly in crucial battlegrounds like Pennsylvania and Ohio, render an Obama defeat even more plausible.
Cynics will argue that, even if Obama can be given the bum's rush in 2012, that doesn't guarantee the success of this three-stage vaccine. And it is certainly true that it didn't permanently inoculate the Bay State from new and more virulent strains of health "reform." But that's hardly an argument for supinely allowing the PPACA to spread or waiting for the Supreme Court to provide a miracle cure. This contagion must be eradicated now. John Boehner was right when he said, "[W]e have to do everything we can to try to repeal this bill…" And, if outright repeal isn't possible, then the MA vaccine is the next best alternative.
AS
House GOP walking fine line with Tea Party in effort to keep Bachmann and her ‘antics’ out of leadership
The trick for Republicans is to keep Bachmann – the Minnesota Republican viewed by many in leadership as an unserious and unhelpful spokesman for the party – away from an elevated platform that many in the party feel would hinder or harm the GOP, without being viewed as not listening to the Tea Party movement, which supplied much of the energy that gave them a 61-seat pickup and control of the House.
Bachmann is loved by many in the conservative grassroots for her outspoken support for a wide range of conservative positions, no matter how politically incorrect. She has developed a national profile after only two terms in Congress by appearing regularly on TV. But she has attracted significant negative attention as well for comments deemed extreme or careless.
She is running against Rep. Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican, for the chairmanship of the House Republican Conference, which functions as a communications and logistics hub for the party.
Top House Republicans from Eric Cantor to Paul Ryan are firmly behind Hensarling, arguing that he is a solid conservative who will provide the very “constitutional conservatism” that Bachmann says she represents.
But Hensarling is far less well known beyond Washington and his home district of the southeast Dallas suburbs, so there is potential for average grassroots conservatives who know of Bachmann but not Hensarling to interpret the party’s support for the latter as a slight of the Tea Party.
And Bachmann could, in fact, gain traction, if a significant number of incoming freshman Republicans side with her. But Republicans made the case, strenuously, that that won’t happen.
“Bachmann will have a tough time convincing anyone that Hensarling isn’t conservative enough,” a House Republican aide told The Daily Caller. “She’ll have an even tougher time convincing the conference that she wouldn’t take our whole team down in flames with her antics.”
Another House Republican staffer aligned with the most conservative elements of the party called Hensarling “literally unbeatable.”
“A Bachmann win would be possible were she running against a no-name do-nothing member,” the Republican said. “But Jeb Hensarling has been one of the most active members of the Conference in recent years–as [Republican Study Committee] chairman, as [National Republican Congressional Committee] fundraiser, as financial services and budget guru, and as media maven.”
Bachmann aides did not respond to requests for comment.
DC
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Look for Dems to sling mud nationwide, but especially in the South.
I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left.
--Margaret Thatcher
If the former British Prime Minister was right then the article by Hastings Wyman with the Southern Political Report pretty much sums up what the Dems have to offer the American public . . . gossip, mud and negativity.
Wyman reports that Democratic candidates have launched a full-scale assault of personal attacks on their Republican opponents. We Southerners will see more of it than the rest of the country.
Hyman continues,
--Margaret Thatcher
Wyman reports that Democratic candidates have launched a full-scale assault of personal attacks on their Republican opponents. We Southerners will see more of it than the rest of the country.
With the policies of the Obama Administration and the Democratic congress offering them little in the way of campaign ammunition, the Democrats – mostly incumbents – are relying on an onslaught of politically damaging charges, mostly related to past business and financial dealings of the GOP standard bearers. The personal-attack strategy is present in Democratic congressional, senatorial and gubernatorial campaigns in virtually every Southern state. This, of course, is not a Southern strategy. Democratic personal attacks have dominated campaigns in California, Delaware, New York and elsewhere, but it is especially useful in Dixie, where the Obama Administration is so unpopular.Hyman whittles the argument down to the current leadership not offering enough "campaign ammunition". But, if good policy is good politics then you have to connect it to the simple fact that folks don't like where things are headed. The article tries to make a purely political assesment, but it can't be disconnected from the reality of the situation. People aren't rejecting the lack of campaign hype, they're rejecting the redistributive effort and pandering. Voter's are smart enough to know that a flashy logo and an ad campaign doesn't put food on the table or reduce the amount of money they are forced to give to the government.
Hyman continues,
For some of the attacks, the Democrats themselves – either in Washington or on the state or district level – have done the necessary digging into the past activities of Republican candidates. In others, the news media – mostly newspapers – have done the negative research.Wouldn't it be great if they did as much "digging" into the solutions that would alleviate the problems?
It is noteworthy that even in hotly contested Republican primaries, few of the political time-bombs were uncovered and defused, leaving the GOP with some nominees who are weaker than they were when they were nominated. Moreover, because most of the Democrats, especially the freshmen, anticipated a tough reelection battle and raised flush war chests, their campaigns – aided by Washington-based Democratic committees – have well-funded advertising budgets to make sure the negative message gets out there.Sickening isn't it? Why build yourself and your constituents up, when you can knock others down to your level with the help of your DC committees?
The GOP is not responding in kind, but continues to hammer away at the policies of President Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. “Pretty much all of our candidates are running on the issues,” says National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Andy Sere. “There are plenty of negative ads, but all on the issues, on votes and quotes.” He adds, “Personal attacks are not relevant to unemployment.”Running on the issues. What a novel concept. One we can only hope isn't drowned out by the negativity.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Demint: The Fired Congress
 |
| Senator Jim Demint |
In December, more than a dozen senators will come back to Washington and decide how much more tax money to take from Americans, without being accountable to any of them.
Some companies have a policy that once someone is fired, they aren’t allowed back on the premises out of fear they might do further damage to the company. It’s too bad Congress doesn’t have the same policy. Because before they’re replaced in January, all of the Democrats who are put out of a job in November will be able to come back and rob the nation blind.
More than a dozen senators will come back to Washington and decide how much more tax money to take from Americans, without being accountable to any of them. Higher taxes, cap-and-trade, amnesty, and card check will be top-priority items for the Fired Congress, otherwise known as the lame-duck Congress. They’re also likely to roll unfinished appropriations bills into a massive, pork-stuffed omnibus to snag every last possible earmark on their way out of Washington.
This must not happen. The only acceptable outcome of the lame-duck session is a continuing resolution to keep government operating at current levels of spending and taxation, as I pushed the Senate to do in 2006 after Republicans lost the majority to the Democrats. No last-minute earmarks, no add-ons, no tax increases, and no big deficit spending.
By simply passing a continuing resolution that kept the government funded at current levels until February 2007, Republicans stopped more than 10,000 earmarks from being enacted and prevented big spenders in Congress from wasting billions of dollars on pork-barrel projects. Then, 2007 became the year without earmarks, because when that temporary continuing resolution expired in February, Congress extended it for the rest of the year. We should adopt the same approach during the 2010 lame-duck session.
To stop a wasteful omnibus and instead secure a continuing resolution, Republicans must hold together. Fortunately, the GOP may have a few reinforcements on the way. Three new senators will take office immediately following the midterms — one each from Delaware, Illinois, and West Virginia, where special elections are being held to replace temporarily appointed senators. And the Republicans running in these races are eager to help.
Illinois Republican Senate candidate Mark Kirk has promised that if he wins, “I will become the 42nd Republican senator, with the opportunity to put the brakes on any lame-duck overreach.”
Delaware Republican candidate Christine O’Donnell has made it part of her pitch, too. “Who do you want serving in that lame-duck session?” she has said. “Someone who’s going to promote that very liberal agenda that can’t even get enough Democratic support, or someone who is going to push back against the establishment?”
West Virginia’s Republican Senate candidate, John Raese, who is up in the polls, has stated unequivocally that he would oppose the Democrats’ lame-duck agenda. He has said, “It is completely inappropriate for House and Senate Democrats, who would be in cahoots with President Obama, to take up any legislation that would significantly affect the country after an election that will considerably alter the political landscape of Congress. Any attempt to do so would be a slap in the face to all Americans who voted for a change from the liberal status quo.”
More candidates should go on the record with such statements. There’s a whole month of campaigning left before the midterms, and voters can extract promises from their elected officials not to let the Fired Congress pass major legislation. This is a reasonable request that even the Democrats should be able to support. Colorado Republican Senate candidate Ken Buck has called on Democratic senator Michael Bennet to promise to oppose any tax hikes Harry Reid may try to ram through during the lame-duck session. All Senate Democrats up for election this year should be asked to do the same.
Getting more elected officials to speak out against a spendthrift lame-duck session can help deter the Democratic leadership from cramming it with votes. It’s been reported that Democrats are considering as many as 20 pieces of legislation to bring up for a vote. After failing to get the New START Treaty (an agreement that hurts America’s missile-defense systems) ratified, to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell,” and to pass legislation to give amnesty to illegal aliens, Democrats see opportunity after the elections, when a number of their members won’t have anything to lose.
Democrats are also hoping that the pressure of a Christmas deadline will get some Republicans to break their way. White House senior adviser David Axelrod recently said he thinks Republicans will “blink” and help Democrats raise taxes as the end-of-the year deadline approaches. Republicans must not cave.
Democrats are playing political games and Americans are going to fire them for it in November. When the Democrats come back in December to box up their personal belongings, Republicans must make sure that’s all they take with them.
Jim DeMint is a U.S. senator from South Carolina.
NRO
MBJ Video: Harper Predicts GOP House Victory, "Bigger Than 1994"
From the Stennis Institute Luncheon:
Monday, October 4, 2010
Medicaid! Just Look At It Grow!
BY: Peter Suderman
At the beginning of the summer, legislators in Congress balked at a proposal to extend the additional federal Medicaid funding initially included in the stimulus. And for a moment, it looked as if the money might not come through. But eventually a funding measure passed. State budgets got a big break. Officials in several states had built an expectation of that extension into their budgets, and without it, those states would’ve been certain to face significant shortfalls. Now, thanks to that extension, the cost of Medicaid to the states has actually declined slightly. But the program is funded jointly by the states and the federal government, meaning that the size of the state fiscal burden isn’t necessarily representative of the size of the program as a whole. And a new report by Kaiser indicates that, in total, the program has expanded beyond what was expected over the last year:
If you fund it, it will grow. If you fund it more, it will grow even more.
Despite the extra billions provided for the program, it’s not enough. (It will never be enough.) “There seems to be no end in sight for the fiscal pressure on Medicaid programs,” the lead author of Kaiser’s Medicaid report tells Health Affairs. And that, of course, leads to greater and greater demands for funding. Already there’s talk about extending the extra federal funding again next summer. Temporary funding is rarely temporary.
And rather than attempt to slow the program’s growth, or cut it back, Congress voted to make it significantly larger: Half of the new health care law’s projected expansion of insurance coverage comes through Medicaid. By the end of the decade, that law is expected to result in additional 16 million individuals getting covered through the program. Historically, state-based efforts to expand Medicaid have not had much success. And overall the program’s record is one of spotty health outcomes and rapidly expanding cost.
This was the highest rate of growth in 8 years and exceeded the 6.3 percent spending growth that Medicaid directors had expected; higher than expected enrollment, driven by the recession and job losses, was behind the higher spending. State legislatures have authorized a slower 7.4 percent rate of Medicaid spending growth for the current fiscal year, but two-thirds of states said the chances of a spending shortfall were at least 50-50.
If you fund it, it will grow. If you fund it more, it will grow even more.
Despite the extra billions provided for the program, it’s not enough. (It will never be enough.) “There seems to be no end in sight for the fiscal pressure on Medicaid programs,” the lead author of Kaiser’s Medicaid report tells Health Affairs. And that, of course, leads to greater and greater demands for funding. Already there’s talk about extending the extra federal funding again next summer. Temporary funding is rarely temporary.
And rather than attempt to slow the program’s growth, or cut it back, Congress voted to make it significantly larger: Half of the new health care law’s projected expansion of insurance coverage comes through Medicaid. By the end of the decade, that law is expected to result in additional 16 million individuals getting covered through the program. Historically, state-based efforts to expand Medicaid have not had much success. And overall the program’s record is one of spotty health outcomes and rapidly expanding cost.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Obama Administration Wants Authority to Wiretap the Internet
Federal law enforcement and national security officials are preparing to seek sweeping new regulations for the Internet, arguing that their ability to wiretap criminal and terrorism suspects is “going dark” as people increasingly communicate online instead of by telephone.
Essentially, officials want Congress to require all services that enable communications — including encrypted e-mail transmitters like BlackBerry, social networking Web sites like Facebook and software that allows direct “peer to peer” messaging like Skype — to be technically capable of complying if served with a wiretap order. The mandate would include being able to intercept and unscramble encrypted messages.
The bill, which the Obama administration plans to submit to lawmakers next year, raises fresh questions about how to balance security needs with protecting privacy and fostering innovation. And because security services around the world face the same problem, it could set an example that is copied globally.
James X. Dempsey, vice president of the Center for Democracy and Technology, an Internet policy group, said the proposal had “huge implications” and challenged “fundamental elements of the Internet revolution” — including its decentralized design.
“They are really asking for the authority to redesign services that take advantage of the unique, and now pervasive, architecture of the Internet,” he said. “They basically want to turn back the clock and make Internet services function the way that the telephone system used to function.”
Officials are coalescing around several of the proposal’s likely requirements:
¶ Communications services that encrypt messages must have a way to unscramble them.
¶ Foreign-based providers that do business inside the United States must install a domestic office capable of performing intercepts.
¶ Developers of software that enables peer-to-peer communication must redesign their service to allow interception.
Read the entire article: NYT
Essentially, officials want Congress to require all services that enable communications — including encrypted e-mail transmitters like BlackBerry, social networking Web sites like Facebook and software that allows direct “peer to peer” messaging like Skype — to be technically capable of complying if served with a wiretap order. The mandate would include being able to intercept and unscramble encrypted messages.
The bill, which the Obama administration plans to submit to lawmakers next year, raises fresh questions about how to balance security needs with protecting privacy and fostering innovation. And because security services around the world face the same problem, it could set an example that is copied globally.
James X. Dempsey, vice president of the Center for Democracy and Technology, an Internet policy group, said the proposal had “huge implications” and challenged “fundamental elements of the Internet revolution” — including its decentralized design.
“They are really asking for the authority to redesign services that take advantage of the unique, and now pervasive, architecture of the Internet,” he said. “They basically want to turn back the clock and make Internet services function the way that the telephone system used to function.”
Officials are coalescing around several of the proposal’s likely requirements:
¶ Communications services that encrypt messages must have a way to unscramble them.
¶ Foreign-based providers that do business inside the United States must install a domestic office capable of performing intercepts.
¶ Developers of software that enables peer-to-peer communication must redesign their service to allow interception.
Read the entire article: NYT
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Must read analysis of the lefts view of the TEA Party Movement from Redstate.
When Newt Gingrich was in Jackson a few months ago he spoke at the Rankin County Republican Dinner to honor Congressman Gregg Harper. He very succinctly broke down the battle of Right Vs. Left when he said the left simply views the message of limited government with disdain. In a nutshell, Conservative's can't hope to compromise with someone who has a fundamentally polar opposite view.
One would expect Gingrich to try to get mileage out of the 1994 Republican takeover of Congress that he helped oversee along with then GOP Chairman Haley Barbour. But, he's right. No matter how hard one tries, attempts to explain away fundamental differences with lip service to compromise has never put us in a position to return to constitutionally limited government.
What will?
Starving the beast that is the federal government.
No matter how hard "lefty pencil necks" attempt to explain away the current movement, and no matter how often their minions parrot the talking points provided (Keith Olbermann, Ed Shulz, Chris Matthews, etc.), and hurl insults and racial accusations, the simple truth is this is going to happen come November. Conservatives have been given yet another chance to get it right, this time by the TEA Party activists. Considering the level of disconnect between words and deeds with the current administration and the Democrat leadership in Congress, this could be the last chance before the country moves beyond the point of no return.
Read the entire post at Redstate
One would expect Gingrich to try to get mileage out of the 1994 Republican takeover of Congress that he helped oversee along with then GOP Chairman Haley Barbour. But, he's right. No matter how hard one tries, attempts to explain away fundamental differences with lip service to compromise has never put us in a position to return to constitutionally limited government.
What will?
Starving the beast that is the federal government.
No matter how hard "lefty pencil necks" attempt to explain away the current movement, and no matter how often their minions parrot the talking points provided (Keith Olbermann, Ed Shulz, Chris Matthews, etc.), and hurl insults and racial accusations, the simple truth is this is going to happen come November. Conservatives have been given yet another chance to get it right, this time by the TEA Party activists. Considering the level of disconnect between words and deeds with the current administration and the Democrat leadership in Congress, this could be the last chance before the country moves beyond the point of no return.
The Tea Party Movement as a Libertarian Mob
a pencil necked lefty explains the Tea Party movement
There is an apocryphal story, truth be told it is more closely akin to a parable than a story, that tells much about the American character. As the story goes, an English nobleman is in America at some point in the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries, depending upon when you find the story, and he’s seeking directions or a room for the night or somesuch. He approaches an American farmer or rancher or backwoodsman and says, “My good man, where is your master.” The American solemnly stares and replies, “I reckon that sumbitch ain’t been born.”
Segments of the left are all a-Twitter, so to speak, today over an article in the New York Times Review of Books by someone named Mark Lilla titled Tea Party Jacobins. According to the left, this article explains the Tea Party movement and the electoral stomping the left anticipates taking this November. It has nothing to do with the Administration’s policies or its disdain for America rather:
A new strain of populism is metastasizing before our eyes, nourished by the same libertarian impulses that have unsettled American society for half a century now. Anarchistic like the Sixties, selfish like the Eighties, contradicting neither, it is estranged, aimless, and as juvenile as our new century. It appeals to petulant individuals convinced that they can do everything themselves if they are only left alone, and that others are conspiring to keep them from doing just that. This is the one threat that will bring Americans into the streets.
Welcome to the politics of the libertarian mob.
This is a very convenient position to take when you’re in Mr. Lilla’s position. The alternative is to admit that your entire world view is being repudiated by most of the country.
Read the entire post at Redstate
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Congressman Harper expresses support for National Day of Prayer
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representative Gregg Harper (R–Miss.) has signed onto two House Resolutions to convey his support and appreciation for the National Day of Prayer.
“As our nation reflects on God’s blessings, may we remember the Christian principles that have presented a firm, time-tested foundation into our government,” said Harper.
H. Res. 1273 expresses the sense of Congress that the National Day of Prayer is constitutional and a needed tribute to the value of prayer. Introduced by Representative Lamar Smith of Texas, this resolution acknowledges our nation’s rich religious history – from the signing of the Declaration of Independence – to signing of legislation by President Harry S. Truman providing that, “The President shall set aside and proclaim a suitable day each year” as a National Day of Prayer.
Harper added, “President Truman eloquently affirmed the purpose of setting aside a day for prayer, understanding that ‘…from the earliest days of our history our people have been accustomed to turn to Almighty God for help and guidance.’”
The second resolution calls for an appeal of the April 15, 2010 ruling by U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb that the National Day of Prayer was a violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution. H. Res. 1279 expresses the support of the U.S. House of Representatives to encourage Attorney General Eric Holder to appeal the district court ruling and reaffirms the commitment of the House to the institution of an annual day to reflect in prayer.
“I thank the President for issuing a proclamation declaring a day for the nation to pray, continuing a tradition that dates back to 1952,” said Harper.
The 2010 National Day of Prayer will be observed on Thursday, May 6th.
“As our nation reflects on God’s blessings, may we remember the Christian principles that have presented a firm, time-tested foundation into our government,” said Harper.
H. Res. 1273 expresses the sense of Congress that the National Day of Prayer is constitutional and a needed tribute to the value of prayer. Introduced by Representative Lamar Smith of Texas, this resolution acknowledges our nation’s rich religious history – from the signing of the Declaration of Independence – to signing of legislation by President Harry S. Truman providing that, “The President shall set aside and proclaim a suitable day each year” as a National Day of Prayer.
Harper added, “President Truman eloquently affirmed the purpose of setting aside a day for prayer, understanding that ‘…from the earliest days of our history our people have been accustomed to turn to Almighty God for help and guidance.’”
The second resolution calls for an appeal of the April 15, 2010 ruling by U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb that the National Day of Prayer was a violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution. H. Res. 1279 expresses the support of the U.S. House of Representatives to encourage Attorney General Eric Holder to appeal the district court ruling and reaffirms the commitment of the House to the institution of an annual day to reflect in prayer.
“I thank the President for issuing a proclamation declaring a day for the nation to pray, continuing a tradition that dates back to 1952,” said Harper.
The 2010 National Day of Prayer will be observed on Thursday, May 6th.
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