Chad Dewey for Liberty

The number of bills that were introduced this week – 446. This is a little higher than the typical number of bills introduced each week in the House and Senate. This is likely due to a summer recess that is supposed to take place. At this point, I don’t see it as a bad thing they’ll be gone for a few weeks – it means they won’t be spending us into oblivion.

H.RES.1560 — Whereas computing technology has become an integral part of culture and is transforming how people interact with each other and the world around them. Supporting the increased understanding of, and interest in, computer science and computing careers among the public and in schools, and to ensure an ample and diverse future technology workforce through the designation of National Computer Science Education Week.

This one really burns me, especially being someone who is a part of the information technology instructional community, as our federal government has been attempting to do this for years. The bill is an attempt to give extra scholarships and incentives to “women and minorities” in the realm of computer science because the government feels not enough “women and minorities” are computer scientists. The incentives are not fair or equal to ALL people – it picks winners and losers based on financial incentives. A common sense approach to this is to look at the high rate of female RNs in the medical field. It’s more popular amongst females to take on the role of an RN versus a computer scientist just as the reverse is true. Let people chose their OWN future rather than try to steer people for the sake of “diversity”. This type of legislation is absolutely ridiculous and Vern Ehlers should be ashamed of himself for introducing it. Thankfully Vern will be replaced by someone like Justin Amash as Mr. Ehlers will be retiring January 3^rd, 2011. Vote: NO

H.CON.RES.314 — Expressing the sense of Congress on the closure of the main entrance to the Supreme Court. Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that–

(1) the Supreme Court tradition of openness as symbolized by its open front doors should be honored and continue to be upheld;

(2) even in the face of threats from enemies, it is of critical and symbolic importance that the United States demonstrates to the world that its most sacred institutions will continue to be open for business to all who seek justice; and

(3) the Supreme Court should act with great dispatch to take every step to open its main doors as a public entrance.

Now this is something I completely agree with. In fact, I believe ALL federal buildings should be as open as they were BEFORE September 11^th, 2001. We are supposed to live in an open and free society, but they’ve closed the doors to We, The People. Vote: YES

H.CON.RES.305 — Expressing the sense of the Congress concerning contraceptives for women.

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That the Congress–

(1) supports a major, national campaign to help all women, regardless of income, avoid unintended pregnancy and abortion through access to contraception; and

(2) supports programs and policies that make it easier for all women not only to obtain contraceptives but also to use them consistently and correctly over time.

There are already health and sex education classes in schools that explain matters of pregnancy and contraception. There are also state/county-sponsored clinics that allow men and women to obtain contraception free of charge. While I understand the intent of this bill is to help curb abortion, it certainly won’t stop it and is not likely to change the statistics significantly. Free educational material and free contraceptives are already out there and available, throwing more money at the problem won’t solve it. The government has already involved itself too much in both health and personal matters where the government should not have any part in to begin with. Vote: NO

H.RES.1579 — Establishing an earmark moratorium for fiscal year 2011.

…(d) This resolution shall not apply to any authorization of appropriations to a Federal entity if such authorization is not specifically targeted to a State, locality, or congressional district.

I got excited when I saw the title of this bill, but as usual, bill titles are very misleading. Because of the very last line (d), this bill is fairly meaningless. If (d) was removed, it would receive a yes vote, but because of (d), nothing is changed and earmarks continue. Vote: NO

H.R.5858 — FIRE Act. To amend the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to authorize a fire station construction grant program for 5 years, and for other purposes. `(3) CONSTRUCTION OF NON-FEDERAL FIRE STATIONS- In addition to the amounts authorized under paragraph (1), there are authorized to be appropriated to the Director for competitive grants for modifying, upgrading, or constructing non-Federal fire stations $210,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 through 2015.’.

Non-federal means just that – non-federal. Let the taxpayers decide at the state and local level if they want to pass something such as this through millages. If they feel an “upgrade” to their fire station is necessary, let it happen through millages and donations as it always has. Don’t take taxes from Michigan to pay for a new fire station in California. Vote: NO

H.R.5871 — SEED Act. To amend the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to allow non-debt financing for for-profit companies in business incubators.

This is redistribution of wealth and debt – it even says so in the bill. They’re not even trying to hide their intentions any more. Vote: NO

H.R.5875 — Emergency Border Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2010. Making emergency supplemental appropriations for border security for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes.

There is a LOT of money floating around in this bill being distributed to FEMA, FBI, ATF, and Federal Prisons, which are already heavily funded, but we have none to spend. We already have had plenty of money funneled into border protection, including the funding to build a fence that was squandered away on other projects. My simple suggestion is to dissolve the Department of Homeland Security to pay for the extra border protection. Vote: NO

This next bill has me puzzled and VERY skeptical. The time at which the resolution takes effect tells me it’s a trap. I’m posting this short bill in it’s entirety here. It has been created by Jared Polis (D-CO):

H.RES.1573 — To amend the Rules of the House of Representatives to prohibit bills and joint resolutions from containing more than one subject. To amend the Rules of the House of Representatives to prohibit bills and joint resolutions from containing more than one subject.

Resolved, That (a) rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by adding at the end the following new clause–

`11.(a) No bill, joint resolution, or amendment to any bill or joint resolution that contains more than a single subject may be received or considered in the House. A question of order on the number of subjects in any such bill, joint resolution, or amendment thereto, may be raised at any time.

`(b) The single subject of any bill or joint resolution shall be expressed in the title.

`(c) Paragraphs (a) and (b) do not apply to a bill, joint resolution, or amendment thereto that complies, consolidates, revises, or rearranges the statutory law.’.

(b) The amendment made by this resolution shall take effect immediately before noon, January 3, 2011.

Is Mr. Polis preparing for the House of Representatives to be recovered and taken over by Republicans? I’m thinking so. This is a bill that everyone should keep their eye on.

Recently, I was asked to fill out a survey for the purpose of sharing my views with the public. I embrace every chance I get to let people know who I am and what I stand for. The survey I had filled out for LibertyCentral.org had several excellent questions that I was happy to answer. The survey can be found at Liberty Central, but it appears the PDF got cut off a bit. For your convenience, I have also scanned and uploaded a copy to be downloaded and viewed.

The number of bills that were introduced this week – 228. That’s a typical number of bills introduced each week in the House and Senate. That’s almost 12,000 bills per year. What a waste of taxpayer dollars to vote on some unconstitutional, wasteful, and downright unnecessary bills.

Before getting into the “real” bills, I’m finding the “recognition” of sports a bit ridiculous. Once again, here are some bills regarding sports that are very unnecessary:

H.RES.1480 : Commending the University of Southern California Trojan men’s tennis team for its victory in the 2010 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men’s Tennis Championship.

H.RES.1486 : Expressing support for designation of June 11, 2011, as “National Minority Golf Awareness Day”.

H.RES.1491 : Congratulating the University of South Carolina Gamecocks on winning the 2010 NCAA Division I College World Series.

Now on to the bills.

H.RES.1497 : Condemning the inclusion of inflammatory and inaccurate content in Iranian textbooks that is aimed at indoctrinating and radicalizing students with anti-Israeli, anti-Semitic, and anti-Western sentiment and at restricting the rights of women. Is it really our place to impose our beliefs on other countries? We have the 1^st Amendment here in the United States and we should not concern ourselves with the actions of other countries. We have our own inaccurate textbooks that indoctrinate and radicalize students in our own schools, which our Federal government allows and funds, but apparently this doesn’t seem to be an issue, so why should a foreign entity doing the same be an issue? Vote: NO

H.R.5622 : Stop Outsourcing and Create American Jobs Act of 2010. To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for the identification of corporate tax haven countries and increased penalties for tax evasion practices in haven countries that ship United States jobs overseas, and for other purposes. While this bill may sound like it has good intentions, I have a more direct approach at helping to prevent corporations from outsourcing jobs and sending their money to other countries to protect them from unfair taxation. Stop taxing corporations and people to death. This bill does nothing more than attempt to tax corporations and people who are smart enough to send their money to a country that doesn’t tax them nearly as much as the United States does. In fact, if we lowered our taxation rates, we would likely see the reverse effect – overseas corporations and people would send their money to us. Vote: NO

H.R.5671 : To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to create a demonstration project to fund additional secondary school counselors in troubled title I schools to reduce the dropout rate. This bill gives incentive to counselors that lower the dropout rate. If you think about that for a moment, you’ll see that it’s ripe for abuse just as “No Child Left Behind”. It creates an incentive to either pass students without giving them a proper educational experience or it allows for the lowering of standards to “level the playing field”. First off, I don’t believe the Federal government should be a part of schools that are funded locally through local and state taxes. The Department of Education should be abolished, in addition to No Child Left Behind. Vote: NO

H.R.5667 : To provide for the conduct of a study on the effectiveness of firearms microstamping technology and an evaluation of its effectiveness as a law enforcement tool. This is yet another overbearing micromanagement technique to be used against the citizens of the United States who own a gun. The bill provides funding for researching a new technology that will drive up the price of ammunition and/or guns as it will require microstamping each piece of ammunition. Vote: NO

H.R.5649 : Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act of 2010. To promote neutrality, simplicity, and fairness in the taxation of digital goods and digital services. This is nothing more than looking for new ways to tax United States citizens for purchases or services rendered over the internet. We’re taxed enough, thanks. Vote: NO

H.R.5632 : Consumer Fuels Choice Act of 2010. To improve choices for consumers for fuel, and for other purposes. This bill allows tax rebates, in addition to substantial taxpayer-funded financial grants, for producers of E85 related fuel producers. This is wealth redistribution from taxpayers to businesses. This works against free market principles by creating a product that currently has little demand whether it is profitable or not. What’s worse is that they’re attempting to use a significant amount of taxpayer dollars to fund it. If there is a real demand for E85, private companies will see the demand and produce it if they find it is profitable. Vote: NO

H.R.5633 : Consumer Vehicle Choice Act of 2010. To improve choices for consumers for vehicles, and for other purposes. Just like the Consumer Fuels Choice Act (also written by the same person), this bill works against free market principles. It requires manufacturers to have their new vehicles fitted to accept two different fuels (gas/E85 for example). The bill requires 50% of all vehicles to have this ability by 2012 and that percentage increases to 90% in 2013. Let the free market decide which forms of alternative energy are the most viable, not government. Vote: NO

H.R.5640 : National Rape Kit Database Act. To establish a National Rape Kit Database. While this act does not allow the entry of personally identifiable information into the database (yet), there is no need for a national rape kit database as the information gathered is collected and given to local law enforcement agencies. This bill would require State and local law enforcement agencies to participate. Vote: NO

H.R.5609 : To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit any registered lobbyist whose clients include foreign governments which are found to be sponsors of international terrorism from making contributions and other campaign-related disbursements in elections for public office. This is likely the most difficult bill I have come across this week. There is no definition of “sponsors of international terrorism”, so could that include the United States? Personally, I don’t believe ANY foreign entity should be allowed to contribute to ANY United States election as it is a conflict of interest. I also don’t believe any Political Action Committee (PAC) should be able to contribute either as they tend to be a funnel for corporate campaign contributions. This bill is very vague and poorly worded, which leaves a lot of loopholes open. Good intention, bad execution. Vote: NO

Below is a list of bills posted to the Library of Congress from 6/7/2010 to 6/15/2010. There are quite a few “recognition bills”, which I have no problem with as they don’t increase the deficit and it’s good to recognize certain aspects of our society for the good they have done. Some examples of recognition that I would personally dedicate my time to would be:

H.CON.RES.285 : Recognizing the important role that fathers play in the lives of their children and families and supporting the goals and ideals of designating 2010 as the Year of the Father.

H.CON.RES.284 : Recognizing the work and importance of special education teachers.

H.CON.RES.286 : Recognizing the 235th birthday of the United States Army.

As previously posted, I have also included how I would have voted on each bill for reference. There are about 160 other bills, but these are the most relevant, so I thought I would pass these along.

H.RES.1425 : Recognizing pitcher Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers for pitching a near-perfect game, declaring that Galarraga pitched a perfect game, and urging Major League Baseball to overturn the mistaken safe call by the umpire that spoiled the perfect game. The government has no business getting in the middle of a baseball game decision. This bill is ridiculous and is a waste of taxpayer dollars to even consider putting something like this in front of Congress. We have many other more important issues to worry about. Vote: NO (Sorry Tiger fans)

(Side note: this sports theme seems to have spread like wildfire this week. I urge you to check out all of the “sports recognition” bills on the table. Again – a waste of time and taxpayer dollars.)

H.RES.1436 : Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 5486) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide tax incentives for small business job creation, and for other purposes; and providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 5297) to create the Small Business Lending Fund Program to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to make capital investments in eligible institutions in order to increase the availability of credit for small businesses, and for other purposes. If you read H.R. 5486 and H.R. 5297, the term “small business” is very vague, which can have both positive and negative consequences. More importantly, this bill allows tax breaks for a specific group. All tax incentives should be equal across the board, not just given to some people for certain reasons the government feels necessary to do so. Vote: NO

H.R.5478 : Green Railcar Enhancement Act of 2010. To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide an incentive to encourage the replacement of inefficient, outdated freight railcars with greener, more fuel efficient vehicles. Why should taxpayers carry the burden of tax incentives for businesses to upgrade their equipment? Let the free market work. If the business sees a significant savings in purchasing new railcars or updating old railcars for fuel efficiency, then let them make that decision based on their own economic forecasts. Vote: NO

H.R.5479 : CARE Act. To amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to provide for use of excess funds available under that Act to provide for certain benefits, and for other purposes. If you really dig into this bill, and the Act it is attempting to amend, you will see the real intent. Basically, if the funds set aside for the Act are not used, it allows the government to use them elsewhere. Sound familiar? Social Security anyone? I have a better idea – use the extra funds to pay down our huge deficit. Vote: NO

H.R.5480 : Ending Childhood Hunger Challenge Act of 2010. To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to direct the Secretary to competitively award grants to, or enter into cooperative agreements with, Governors of States to carry out comprehensive and innovative strategies to end childhood hunger, including establishing public-private partnerships and alternative models for service delivery that promote the reduction or elimination of childhood hunger by 2015. In other words, rewards paid for by we, the taxpayers, on top of the free lunch program funds…for giving out more free lunches. What really frustrates me about this bill is it’s done “in the name of children”. Whenver you see “child” or “children” in the name of the legislation, a red flag should go up for you to read the true intentions of the bill. I’m all for ending hunger, but this bill has nothing to do with ending hunger. Vote: NO

H.R.5481 : To give subpoena power to the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. The National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling established by Executive Order No. 13543 of May 21, 2010 (in this section referred to as the `Commission’), may issue subpoenas to compel the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of books, records, correspondence, memoranda, and other documents. The bill is attempting to allow a “Commission” created by an Executive Order to hand out subpeonas. There is also no checks and balances as the majority vote of the “Commission” decides whether or not a subpoena can be issued. It is the duty of law enforcement officials to issue a subpoena, not a hastily created commission. Vote: NO

H.R.5490 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit against excise taxes with respect to distilled spirits and wine for certain distilled spirits or wine produced from domestic agricultural waste or byproducts. This is another “green tax incentive”. Again, please let the free market work. Let the business decide whether or not it is financially advantaged to take on alternative energy. Do not subsidize their decision with tax credits on the backs of the taxpayers. It also gives specialized tax credits to a limited demographic. If there are tax incentives introduced, make it across the board so it is equal for everyone. Vote: NO

H.R.5497 : Check the Debt Act of 2010. To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow an individual to designate $3 on their income tax return to be used to reduce the public debt. I have a better idea – stop the out of control spending by the Federal government to reduce the public debt. We, as taxpayers, have already paid our fair share. Don’t ask for more so you can end up spending it on things other than what it was intended for. Vote: NO

H.R.5498 : WMD Prevention and Preparedness Act of 2010. Wrong on so many levels – yet another power (and money) grab by D.C. lawmakers. This bill adds more power and debt to an already over-reaching and over-spending government. Vote: NO

H.R.5504 : Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act. As I stated with the Ending Childhood Hunger Challenge Act of 2010, when you see “child” or “children” in the wording of bills, it should throw up a red flag. These two bills are very similar. This bill focuses more on regulating what children eat in schools. While I understand we have an obesity epidemic in America, I also believe that it should be up to the child’s parents to teach their children moderation and what foods are good or bad for them. I also don’t believe the Federal government should have any involvement in schools whatsoever. After all, our schools are paid for at the local level via property taxes. When the Federal government gets involved, only bad things can happen. Vote: NO

H.R.5510 : Aiding Those Facing Foreclosure Act of 2010. To amend the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 to allow amounts under the Troubled Assets Relief Program to be used to provide legal assistance to homeowners to avoid foreclosure. TARP was a bad idea to begin with. In this case, I don’t believe it should be your neighbor’s responsibility to pay for your legal assistance because you decided to get in over your head with your mortgage. This does not teach personal responsibility and only encourages bad behavior. Once again – let the free market work and let people and businesses fail if they make bad decisions. Vote: NO

S.3471 : Native American Employment Act of 2010. This has a lot more to do with special treatment for one particular group than actual employment. Tax breaks and guaranteed loans for a specific group on the back of the taxpayer. Tax breaks should be given to everyone equally. Guaranteed loans should not be backed by my taxes as that mean’s I am taking the risk rather than the person or business taking out the loan. Vote: NO

There were a plethora of wasteful, useless bills put forth this week. It’s shameful.

As reported by Fox News, Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.) has introduced legislation to bailout failed union pension funds. I’m sure you can guess who gets the burden of insuring these failed funds – American taxpayers. Obama states that he will not support any more bailouts, but if it gets past Congress and the Senate, I’m quite sure he’ll sign it.

Enough is enough!

It is not up to you or me to prop up any failed institution (that includes the government) with our hard-earned money. This is not how Capitalism and the Free Market work. Judging by the voting record list I compiled, it appears that Senator Bob Casey also voted in favor of the bank bailouts and the health care bill. I would say it is time for Senator Bob Casey to find another job when he is up for re-election in 2012.

I have compiled a list of current politicians in Congress and Senate, which includes their voting records on a few highly controversial bills that eventually turned into law. I am sharing the data via Facebook, Twitter, and this web site for those that are interested. The Congress voting records are as accurate as possible due to voting records being listed by last name only, which makes things difficult with a variety of people with the name “Smith”. Not all of the current Congress members were in office each term the bills became laws either, so please read the legend at the top of the page. The Senate voting records are all accurate. As I have said before – please become an informed voter and research the voting record of your chosen potential candidate as their actions will speak much louder than their words.

Congress voting records (PDF)

Senate voting records (PDF)

Both of Michigan’s U.S. Senators (Stabenow and Levin) voted “Nay” against an amendment proposed to audit the Federal Reserve. This vote falls right in line with Levin’s “Yea” vote for the bank bailouts. The amendment would have at least put some transparency into the Federal Reserve. The Senator Dodd bill (Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010) it would be attached to intends to extend the power of the Federal Reserve (not good). Of course, Stabenow has put quite a spin on how Dodd’s bill will ”protect consumers”:

“This bill creates a new, independent agency with broad authority to monitor banks, credit card companies and other Wall Street firms for abusive practices – and intervene when necessary to protect consumers.”

What Stabenow and Levin don’t seem to understand is how the Federal Reserve was the problem to begin with. If you read Dodd’s bill, you will see for yourself that the Federal Reserve will be a significant part of this ”independent agency” (page 12 out of 1566). The same “independent agency” that was responsible for disbursing the bailout funds…but won’t show you HOW they were disbursed.

When I am elected, not only will I vote for and/or propose a bill auditing the Federal Reserve, I will vote for and/or propose a bill to END the Federal Reserve.

Below is a list of bills posted to the Library of Congress this week. Some are quite shocking like the two bills pertaining to oil companies – prepare for some extremely high gas prices this summer if they both pass. I have also included how I would have voted on each bill for reference. There are about 200 other bills, but these are the most relevant, so I thought I would pass these along.

No New Drilling Act of 2010 (Introduced in House) – No new drilling on the Florida shelf means the beginning of no offshore drilling. Prepare for gas price increases. Vote: NO

Big Oil Bailout Prevention Liability Act of 2010 (Introduced in Senate) – This combined with the “No drilling act” will make gas prices soar. This allows Big Oil to be fined more, which ends up being passed on through increased prices to the consumer (you and I). Making the bill retroactive (introduced May 4th, making it effective as of April 15th) does not follow the rule of law as it is an obvious retroactive strike at the recent oil pipeline burst. Vote: NO

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the first-time homebuyer tax credit through December 31, 2010, and for other purposes (Introduced in House) – Extends the first time home buyer credit until the the end of 2010. While I like the idea of taxpayer dollars being given back to the taxpayer, the U.S. government can not sustain this type of spending continuing to bail out banks from sitting on reposessed properties. Vote: NO

STOP Act (Introduced in the House and Senate) - This bill adds more power to the IRS (bigger government) and micromanages cigarette distribution. I was unaware that we had any issues with cigarette smuggling, but surely the bureaucracy added by this bill won’t help. Vote: NO

Haiti Economic Lift Program Act of 2010 (Received in Senate from House) – More assistance via taxpayer dollars to Haiti, which is not part of the United States. We have our own financial problems in the United States. Let the charitable people of the United States continue to donate, but don’t force their tax dollars to be sent. Vote: NO

Zimbabwe Transition to Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2010 (Introduced in Senate) – Meddling in Zimbabwe’s affairs is not the job of the United States. Using taxpayer dollars to attempt to change another country’s government is unacceptable. Vote: NO

Whereas “In God We Trust” is the official motto of the United States (Introduced in House) – Allows “In God We Trust” to be displayed in public schools, public buildings, and other government institutions. Supported by the true meaning of the 1st Amendment allowing for Freedom of Religion. Separation of Church and State does not apply (as some believe) as the state is not requiring a religion to be practiced by anyone, but allowing the expression of a religion as the Founding Fathers intended. Vote: YES