JACK ON THE FLOOR - Omnibus Spending Package
February 25th, 2009 by Legislative StaffJack took to the House floor this afternoon to discuss the omnibus spenidng package. To view a clip of his remarks, click below:
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A Day in the District
February 24th, 2009 by District StaffThis President’s Day District Work Period was full of good times and great travel, talking to folks across the district. To give you an idea of some of the things Jack did while he was traveling the district, we put together this slideshow of one of the days:
February 24th, 2009 by Spokesblogger
The American people have less confidence now more than ever in the economic “stimulus” - just one week after President Obama signed it into law.
According to Rasmussen Reports, “half of all voters (51%) continue to believe it is at least somewhat likely that the stimulus plan passed by Congress will make things worse instead of better. That figure includes 32% who says it’s Very Likely to hurt.”
Perhaps that’s why 67% of US voters have more confidence in their own economic judgment than they do in that of the average member of Congress.
As this plan continues to flounder, keep in mind that House Republicans offered and alternative which would’ve created twice the jobs at half the price.
Asleep at the wheel?
February 24th, 2009 by Legislative StaffDespite growing the government through the trillion dollar economic “stimulus” and preparing for the largest increase in government since the Carter Administration with this week’s omnibus, House Democrats have failed to conduct a single oversight hearing so far this year. From todays The Hill:
Despite the fact that the government is steering hundreds of billions of dollars to financial firms and has approved the spending of hundreds of billions more, the House Oversight Committee is one of two panels in the lower chamber that have yet to hold a hearing in this Congress. The other is the Homeland Security Committee.
Compare that to the last Congress during which then-Chairman Henry Waxman held hearings on everything from, “the Bush administration’s use of e-mail to private security contractors in Iraq to steroids in Major League Baseball.”
Omnibus finally on the web
February 23rd, 2009 by Legislative StaffDespite calls for a new era of transparency and accountability, House Democrats have just posted the omnibus spending package on internet for pubilc review (it’s not even available on the appropriations website yet - you’ve got to go to the Rules website). To make things easier for you to find, below are all the links for the legislative text as well as the explanatory language:
- Legislative Text
Division B - Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2009
Division C - Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2009
Division D - Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2009
Division E - Department of Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2009
Division G - Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2009
Division H - Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2009
Division J - Further Provisions Relating to the Department of Homeland Security and Other Matters
Joint Explanatory Statement
Division B - Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2009
Division C - Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2009
Division D - Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2009
Division E - Department of Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2009
Division G - Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2009
Division H - Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2009
Division J - Further Provisions Relating to the Department of Homeland Security and Other Matters
SCAM ALERT: SBA Warns of Fraudulent Attempts to Obtain Bank Account Information from Small Businesses
February 19th, 2009 by DistrictbloggerThe U.S. Small Business Administration issued a scam alert today to small businesses, warning them not to respond to letters falsely claiming to have been sent by the SBA asking for bank account information in order to qualify them for federal tax rebates.
The fraudulent letters were sent out with what appears to be an SBA letterhead to small businesses across the country, advising recipients that they may be eligible for a tax rebate under the Economic Stimulus Act, and that SBA is assessing their eligibility for such a rebate. The letter asks the small business to provide the name of its bank and account number.
FACT SHEET: Democrat’s Trillion Dollar Bait and Switch
February 13th, 2009 by Legislative StaffThe leg staff put together this fact sheet to help people understand what’s really in this bill. To view the fact sheet, click below:
RELEASE: KINGSTON VOTES AGAINST TRILLION-DOLLAR BAIT AND SWITCH
February 13th, 2009 by MilipunditCongressman Jack Kingston (R/GA-1) today voted against the trillion dollar spending package crafted in closed-door negotiations that would do little to stimulate the economy and could, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, hurt the long-term economic growth of the United States.
“This bill is a trillion dollar bait-and-switch,” Congressman Kingston said. “President Obama campaigned on tax relief and infrastructure investment in ‘shovel-ready’ projects. America bought in to that plan, I bought in to that plan but when Speaker Pelosi and Harry Reid got their hands on this package the tax cuts amount to twenty cents per hour for the average worker and only seven percent goes to shovel-ready projects. With folks getting laid off and having their homes foreclosed on, this ‘stimulus’ package is a slap in the face to working Americans.”
Friday the 13th
February 13th, 2009 by Spokesblogger
JACK ON THE FLOOR
February 13th, 2009 by Legislative StaffJack took to the floor again today to debate the economic “stimulus” plan offered by House Democrats which, among other things, includes $30 million for a marsh rat in San Francisco:
ICYMI - Lou Dobbs-a-thon
February 13th, 2009 by Press StaffIn case you missed it - Jack was featured on both the Lou Dobbs Radio Show and Lou Dobbs Tonight yesterday for his efforts to provide protections for American workers in the economic “stimulus” package. Despite being unanimously approved in the House Appropriations Committee, Jack’s amendment which would ensure that all workers hired as a result of the stimulus are legal American workers was stripped in the back door, dark of night conference committee negotiations.
To listen to Jack’s segment on Lou Dobbs Radio Show, click here.
To view the segment on Lou Dobbs Tonight, click below:
Defict growing
February 13th, 2009 by Legislative StaffThis chart from yesterday’s Wall Street Journal shows just what the Democrats are doing to the deficit:
Some interesting facts to remember:
- The debt was $8.677 trillion the day that the 110th Democrat Congress was sworn in, and had risen to $10.6 trillion by the time the 11th Congress was sworn in just a month
- That’s TWO TRILLION DOLLARS that Congress managed to spend in just TWO YEARS.
- The government has spent over ONE TRILLION JUST SINCE the end of August 2008- that was just SIX MONTHS AGO.
Questionable spending in “stimulus”
February 13th, 2009 by Legislative StaffCourtesy House Republican Conference:
Questionable or Non-Stimulative Spending:
- $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts
- $2 billion for the Neighborhood Stabilization Fund, providing funds to organizations such as ACORN, which has been accused of practicing unlawful voter registration in recent elections
- $10 million for the inspection of canals in urban areas
- $100 million for grants to small shipyards
- $198 million to authorize payments to certain Filipino veterans from WWII
- $300 million for the Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program
- $2 billion to support the manufacturing of advanced vehicle batteries
- $1 billion for Community Development Block Grants
- $1.3 billion for Amtrak, including $450 million for a new rail security grant program not included in either the House-passed or the Senate-passed bills
- $300 million for federal procurement of plug-in and fuel efficient vehicles
- $8 billion for a High Speed Passenger Rail Program, after the House did not include any funding for the program and the Senate included $2 billion, which will fund at least one project from Las Vegas to Los Angeles
- $15 million for historic preservation at historically black colleges and universities
- $170 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to research the cause, effects and ways to mitigate climate change
- $200 million for Americorps and other paid “volunteerism” programs
- $400 million for NASA to accelerate climate research missions
- $5.5 billion for federal buildings (GSA), including $4.5 billion to convert federal buildings into “high-performance green buildings” and $450 million for a new headquarters for the Department of Homeland Security.
- $210 million for a new grant program to modify and upgrade local fire stations
- $142 million for the Coast Guard to alter or remove 4 obstructive bridges
- $25 million for the Smithsonian Institution for maintenance backlogs
- $1 billion for expenses in conjunction with the 2010 decennial census
- $650 million for Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupons
- $1 billion for a Prevention and Wellness Fund, which can be used for sexually transmitted disease (STD) education and prevention programs at the CDC
- $500 million to replace a 30-year old computer system at the Social Security Administration
- $500 million for a health professions training program—funding which an earlier committee report said were allocated because, “a key component of attaining universal health care reform will be ensuring the supply of primary care providers.”
We need your help!
February 13th, 2009 by Legislative StaffIn another broken promise, House Democrats released the final text of the economic “stimulus” shortly before midnight last night despite the UNANIMOUS will of the House and the overwhelming will of the American people for a period of public review.
Our office is rooting through the language to find the waste and earmarks in the measure but we need your help. The links below will lead you to the bill text and the explanatory language. Take a chunk, whatever you can, and let us know by clicking here what you’ve found.