Jim DeMint
U.S. Senator, South Carolina
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Earlier today on the Senate floor, Sen. DeMint discussed the importance of an amendment he would like to offer to the 2009 Defense Authorization bill and explained why earmarks contained therein should not be given the force of law.
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Currently, Section 1002 of the defense authorization bill has “incorporation language” that gives the force of law to all of the non-legislative earmarks written in committee reports, even though they are not actually written in the bill, not debated, not voted on, and not signed into law.
Senator DeMint’s amendment would strike Section 1002, and restore the effect of the President’s executive order to ensure all earmarks in committee reports are subjected to a competitive, merit-based review. This would allow agencies to continue funding worthy projects, while stopping wasteful earmarks and directing the tax dollars to real priorities.“This is an attempt to make law without actually writing law. The ‘incorporation language’ is a just gimmick to strong-arm taxpayers into paying for secret earmarks. Americans are fed up with wasteful spending rammed through in the dark of night. Senator DeMint’s amendment will ensure that all of these projects are subjected to a competitive, merit-based review before any of them are funded. Americans expect their taxes to be spent wisely or not spent at all.” – Wesley Denton, spokesman for Senator DeMint The "incorporation language" would likely lead to a veto because it is a direct violation of the President's Executive Order which specifically prohibits agencies funding secret, non-legislative earmarks in committee reports...
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Last night Sen. DeMint joined Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) on CNBC's "Kudlow & Company" to discuss the government bailout of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the current drilling debate heating up in Congress.
Click here to watch a video clip of the interview.
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Recently, a notable economist who supported the stimulus tax rebate checks mailed out this spring admitted the checks failed to give the economy a much-needed boost.
Martin Feldstein, a Harvard professor who chaired the Council of Economic Advisers under President Reagan, wrote in the Wall Street Journal:
Those of us who supported this fiscal package reasoned that the program would boost consumer confidence as well as available cash.{…}The evidence is now in and that optimism was unwarranted. Recent government statistics show that only between 10% and 20% of the rebate dollars were spent. The rebates added nearly $80 billion to the permanent national debt but less than $20 billion to consumer spending. This experience confirms earlier studies showing that one-time tax rebates are not a cost-effective way to increase economic activity.
Not only were the stimulus checks ineffective, they added nearly $80 billion to our permanent national debt. Once again, our government’s knee-jerk reactions will cost our children and grandchildren for years to come...
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During a report on CNN's "The Lou Dobbs Show," Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) discusses mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's lobbying of Congress has kept them out of reach of government oversight:
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During a speech on the Senate floor last week, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said Democrats are just "playing games" with the energy crisis facing the country by refusing to openly debate the issue on the Senate floor.
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Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) appear on CNN's "The Lou Dobbs Show" to discuss a new Congressional Research Service report that finds that 94 percent of Senate bills were passed in the 110th Congress without a vote, debate or a single amendment added.
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Today the Senate turns its attention to the nation's energy crisis. With gas prices at an all-time high, the majority of Americans -- 62 percent -- would like to see their elected officials increase supply by lowering bans on new energy production by drilling offshore.
Instead, Democrats are promoting legislation that will surely push the oil futures market overseas and expose the process to less sunlight, not more -- even after declaring the need for more transparency, not less.
Explains a Wall Street Journal editorial today:
Because commodity futures trading is a complex financial instrument, "speculation" makes an expedient scapegoat for edgy lawmakers and even aggrieved industries -- such as the airlines. But it performs a vital price-discovery function. Major energy producers and consumers, such as refiners, buy and sell these contracts to lock in oil at a future price, as a shock absorber against volatility. Essentially, they're bets that reveal market expectations about the supply and demand of oil, as well as the rate of inflation.
Even the title of the Senate's bill -- the "Stop Excessive Energy Speculation Act" -- is idiotic. True, the volume of trading has increased by about sixfold since 2000, but it can't be "excessive." The inviolable law of futures markets is that someone has to take the other side of any option. That is, the value of contracts agreed to by sellers anticipating that prices will fall must equal the value of contracts agreed to by buyers anticipating prices will rise. The overall size of the market is irrelevant.
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| Office Locations |
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Charleston
112 Custom House
200 East Bay St
Charleston, SC 29401
P: 843-727-4525
F: 843-722-4923
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Columbia
1901 Main St
Suite 1475
Columbia, SC 29201
P: 803-771-6112
F: 803-771-6455
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Greenville
105 North Spring St
Suite 109
Greenville, SC 29601
P: 864-233-5366
F: 864-271-8901
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Washington, D.C.
340 Russell
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
P: 202-224-6121
F: 202-228-5143
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