Jack Kingston

Today, UPS paid a visit to Capitol Hill with their new Hydraulic Hybrid Urban Delivery Vehicle and Congressman Kingston stopped by.  

This new technology includes 2 power sources that propel the vehicle:  a smal fuel-efficient diesel combustion engine and hydraulic components.  The technology eliminates the need for a mechanical transmission and driveline. You can check out more about this HERE.

And as you know, Jack and Democrat Eliot Engel have reintroduced their Fuel Choices for American Security Act as the DRIVE Act.  The DRIVE Act aims to reduce our dependence on foreign oil through the use of alternative fuels and new technologies.

The last time that the Democrats controlled Congress (1993-94), they passed what at the time was the largest tax increase in history - $240 billion over five years. 

They haven’t even finished a full three months of their newly regained majority and they are proposing a tax increase of $392.5 billion over five years.  Why the raise?  Well, the Democrats are assuming that the Bush tax cuts will expire in 2010.

Now, if you are thinking to yourself that they are just going to raise taxes on the “rich”, think again.  If the Democrats pass their budget they will be raising marginal rates on ALL taxpayers, eliminating the ten percent bracket that has benefitted numerous low-income individuals, slashing the child tax credit in half, reinstating the marriage penalty and reimposing the death tax.

According to the Department of Treasury, 115 million taxpayers will see a $1,716 rise in their taxes if this budget is passed.  48 million married couples will face an average tax increase of $2,726 while 42 million families with children will see a $2,084 increase.

But this shouldn’t be surprising as the Democrats are just being true to their philosophy: tax and spend.  And as this budget debate continues, Republicans wil be true to their philosophy:  lowering taxes, promoting economic growth and controlling spending.

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Last night, Jack address the House in support of his bill, HR 670, which would reduce our oil consumption by 20% in 20 years.  For more information on the bill click here.

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Today, the Democrats’ Iraq War Emergency Supplemental packed with non-emergency items included specifically to draw votes to a bill that handcuffs our troops fighting in Iraq, passed the House 218-212.

President Bush has promised to veto the bill:

The purpose of the emergency war spending bill I requested was to provide our troops with vital funding. Instead, Democrats in the House, in an act of political theater, voted to substitute their judgment for that of our military commanders on the ground in Iraq.  . . . As I have made clear for weeks, I will veto it if it comes to my desk.

Jack voted No on what he calls the “most controversial bill” he’s voted on since comingto Congress.�

Today, Representative Sam Johnson of Texas addressed the House about the Democrats’ emergency supplemental bill.

In his remarks, Rep. Johnson said, “We must give all our men and women in uniform everything they need to thwart the insurgency in Iraq and come home safely and soon. You know, we can’t tie the hands of the guys on the ground with timelines or benchmarks. And worse, we shouldn’t be using an emergency troop spending bill as a way to finance the political gimmickry of special interest projects.”

Click below to view a clip of his remarks.

That’s what happened on the House floor last night. Neither side showed for the last 2 hrs of a 3 hour debate.  The Democrats were confident in the fact that they had the votes to pass the bill and Republicans were resigned to the fact that they couldn’t stop it.

Today, Jack spoke on the floor during the debate on the Democrats’ “emergency” spending bill.  During his remarks, he highlighted the progress made since the implementation of General Petraeus’ plan as well as “extracurricular” spending items in the bill.

To see a clip of Jack’s remarks, click below.

Last night, Jack led the Special Order to discuss what he calls, “the most controversial bill since [he’s] been a Member of Congress.”

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NOTE: The emergency supplemental offered by the Democrats exceeds the President’s request by nearly $23 billion.  It is expected to come to the floor under a “closed rule” which abandons the collegial nature of the appropriations process and spends $124 billion without the chance for an open debate or the opportunity for those elected by taxpayers to amend its provisions.

Today marks the fourth anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom and much as been said and written aready.  Rather than repeat ourselves about the importance of the war in Iraq and the consequences if we withdraw; we thought we’d direct your attention to the Department of Defense’s website “Heroes In The War on Terror” which honors the brave men and women in our armed services who make sacrifices each and every day.

Every day we read opinion poll after opinion poll on what Americans think of the situation in Iraq, but what do Iraqis think?  Well, yesterday, an article in the London Times highlighted a poll conducted by Opinion Research Business which surveyed over 5,000 Iraqis and came up with some interesting results.

DESPITE sectarian slaughter, ethnic cleansing and suicide bombs, an opinion poll conducted on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq has found striking resilence and optimism among the inhabitants. 

The poll, the biggest since coalition troops entered Iraq on March 20, 2003, shows that by a majority of two to one, Iraqis prefer the current leadership to Saddam Hussein’s regime, regardless of the security crisis and lack of public services.

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We found out late Friday that Jack won the “People’s Choice Award for Online Politician of the Year.”  The award is given out by George Washington University’s Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet.

We’d like to thank everyone who voted for Jack!

This morning Jack appeared on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal where he discussed the War Supplemental and took calls from viewers.  You can go to their site and check out what he had to say.

I recently received an email that really puts things in perspective.  While he’s not a constituent and I don’t agree with everything he says, Harold from Iowa provides great insight into the way things look from Middle America.

Harold from Iowa writes:

“WHAT I VOTED FOR:

1. An end to the Iraq War
2. NO Amnesty
3. Secure Borders
4. No special protected classes
5. Honesty in government
6. An end to K Street politics

WHAT I GOT:

1. Democrats waffling on the Iraq War…
2. KENNEDY ILLEGAL AMNESTY BILL
3. …Democratic open borders advocates
4. More liberal protected class politics
5. …A Democrat with tens of thousands of cash in his freezer…THIS FROM PELOSI WHO PROMISED NEW HONESTY
6. Different K Street political bribes to Democrats

-Harold…Democrat for over 30 years, but LOOKING!”

A Washington Post editorial today hits the nail on the head when it comes to the Democrats’ Iraq Supplemental.  According to the Post:

“The restrictions on Iraq war funding drawn up by the House Democratic leadership are exquisitely tailored to bring togetehr the party’s leftist and centrist wings. . . . The only constituency House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ignored in her plan for amending President Bush’s supplemental war funding bill are the people of the country that U.S. troops are fighting to stabilize.  The Democratic proposal doesn’t attempt to answer the question of why August 2008 is the right moment for the Iraqi government to lose all support from U.S. combat units.”

This follows on the heels of yesterday’s LA Times editorial asking whether we need a General Pelosi running the Iraq War (I think we all know the answer to that one). 

When