Posted by
Staff
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February 13, 2013
Yesterday, President Obama appeared before a Joint Session of Congress to deliver his State of the Union Address. Read Congressman Forbes’ statement in response to the President’s speech here. View additional photos from the day here.
Posted by
Randy
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February 12, 2013
Tonight, the President will speak before a Joint Session of Congress to deliver his State of the Union Address.
In January of 2011, I asked constituents of Virginia’s Fourth Congressional District what they believed was the state of our union, and 43.3% said they were worried. Now, two years later, has your opinion changed? Question of the Week: What is the state of our union? ( ) Strong, the nation is on track. ( ) There is room for improvement, but I am optimistic. ( ) I am worried about the state of our union. ( ) The state of our union is weaker now than it was last year. ( ) Other. Share your thoughts below. Take the Poll here.
Posted by
Randy
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February 08, 2013
In 2011, the Budget Control Act (BCA) was introduced, calling for arbitrary and sharp spending reductions as a means of reducing the deficit. The BCA, which Congressman Forbes voted against but was passed and signed into law, calls for $984 billion in automatic, largely across-the-board spending reductions composed of $492 billion from national security and $492 billion from programs such as education, law enforcement, Medicare, housing, and medical research. These cuts, through the process of sequestration, are scheduled to take place on March 1, 2013, unless Congress and the President act. ( ) I support sequestration called for under the Budget Control Act. Find the results of last week’s InstaPoll here.
Posted by
The Congressional China Caucus
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February 07, 2013
China’s Increasingly Good Mock Air Battles Prep Pilots for Real War. “For 11 days in November, the sky over the northwestern Chinese province of Gansu witnessed some of the most intensive dogfighting to ever take place in China. Jet fighters screamed overhead, twisting and turning in complex aerial maneuvers. Heavily laden bombers lumbered through the tangle of fighters, dodging enemy defenses as they lined up for bombing runs. The warplanes and their crews were the real deal. It featured the best of the best of the Chinese military, which with 2,700 aircraft possesses the world’s third largest aerial arsenal, after the U.S. and Russia. But the combat over the sprawling Dingxin Air Force Test and Training Base was simulated.” http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2013/02/china-mock-air-war/
Japan and China: Tensions Mounting. James R. Holmes of The Diplomat succinctly paints key differences between current Japan and China tensions, and those between the U.S. Navy and Soviet Navy in the 1970s and 1980s. http://thediplomat.com/the-naval-diplomat/2013/02/06/japan-and-china-tensions-mounting/ China Says Probing Japan Complaint About Radar Lock-on. “China's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday the government was investigating a complaint from Japan that a Chinese navy vessel aimed a type of radar normally used to aim weapons at a target at a Japanese navy ship in the East China Sea. "The relevant Chinese departments are currently conducting an earnest, solemn investigation into these reports to verify them," ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing. The Chinese Defence Ministry has yet to comment on Japan's complaint.” http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/07/us-china-japan-idUSBRE91609520130207 China’s Hydro-Hegemony. A New York Times opinion piece by Brahma Chellaney, author of Water: Asia’s New Battleground. “Asia is the world’s most water-stressed continent, a situation compounded by China’s hydro-supremacy in the region. Beijing’s recent decision to build a slew of giant new dams on rivers flowing to other countries is thus set to roil riparian relations. China — which already boasts more large dams than the rest of the world put together and has unveiled a mammoth $635-billion fresh investment in water infrastructure over the next decade — has emerged as the key obstacle to building institutionalized collaboration on shared water resources in Asia. In contrast to the bilateral water treaties between many of its neighbors, China rejects the concept of a water-sharing arrangement or joint, rules-based management of common resources.” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/08/opinion/global/chinas-hydro-hegemony.html?_r=0 Chinese Environmentalists Lose Fight to Stop Nu River Dams. “One of the sayings trotted out when people try to explain Chinese politics is, “The mountains are high, and the emperor is far away.” It is meant to describe the limits on the power of the central government and the ability of local authorities to do much as they wish. Like most such clichés it is only partly useful. If something is considered a threat to the rule of the Communist Party, for instance, the emperor, or his minions at least, are never far away. They are tapping phones, hacking computers and knocking on doors in even the most remote corners of the People’s Republic. But if the question is one further down the list of priorities — environmental protection, for instance — then the emperor can be indeed far away, and the directives of the central government can often be ignored. I was reminded of that by the news that after a decade of debate, plans are going ahead for the construction of a series of dams on the Nu River, also known as the Salween, one of the last free-flowing rivers in the China.” http://world.time.com/2013/02/05/chinese-environmentalists-lose-fight-to-stop-nu-river-dams/#ixzz2KDmOCooT China Sentences 16 for Violent Protest against Pollution. “China has sentenced 16 people to up to a year-and-a-half in prison for involvement in an environmental protest last July when a crowd of thousands ransacked government offices, the official Xinhua news agency reported. A court in Qidong city, 65 km (40 miles) north of Shanghai, charged the group of demonstrators with "gathering to assault state organs, damaging property and theft" during the July 28 demonstration against a pipeline for waste from a paper factory. The protest exemplified a growing environmental awareness and willingness of urban people to voice concern about industrial pollution. At the same time, the ruling Communist Party worries that protests can undermine social order.” http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/07/us-china-protest-sentences-idUSBRE9160BM20130207 China Cracks Down on Tibetan Burnings, Detains 70. “Chinese authorities have detained 70 people in a crackdown on self-immolations in ethnic Tibetan regions, state media said on Thursday, the largest single reported sweep of suspects to date as the government tries to stop the unrest. Nearly 100 Tibetans have set themselves on fire to protest against Chinese rule since 2009 across a large swathe of ethnically Tibetan regions, with most of them dying from their injuries.” http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/07/us-china-tibet-idUSBRE9160CT20130207 Wife of Jailed Chinese Lawyer Appeals to Obama Administration. “Geng He, wife of imprisoned Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng called on President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton to raise their voices for her husband’s release, in an interview Jan 30 with the Sound of Hope Radio network (SOH). Geng fled China with the couple’s two children in 2009, and they are currently living in the United States. Gao Zhisheng has been in and out of prison and brutally tortured for his outspokenness about the lack of human rights in China and for defending members of blacklisted groups, including Falun Gong practitioners.” http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china-news/wife-of-jailed-chinese-lawyer-appeals-to-obama-administration-344718.html In Brennan's Private Sector Stint, a Chinese Connection. “John Brennan, President Obama's nominee to be director of the CIA, like many government employees took a three-year turn through the private sector before rejoining the administration – but it was nothing like the blandly profitable corporate stints of other federal bureaucrats. When Brennan went to work for a private intelligence contractor called The Analysis Corporation, he entered a murky milieu of transnational private spy firms with taxpayer-fueled profits. And he found himself working for a Ferrari-driving foreign boss who made much of his money on the dangerous streets of Iraq. In that world, Brennan was forced to deal with a situation he would never have faced in his earlier days at the CIA: Brennan's corporate parent was looking for lucrative contracts from Chinese state-owned companies at the same time Brennan's unit worked on sensitive US intelligence issues in Washington.” http://www.cnbc.com/id/100440555 The Caucus Brief is a daily publication for Members of Congress and Hill Staffers on China news and information compiled by the office of Congressman Randy Forbes, Founder of the Congressional China Caucus. Email David.Coles@mail.house.gov with tips, comments, or to subscribe/unsubscribe.
Posted by
Randy
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January 31, 2013
On Monday, a bipartisan group of eight Senators proposed a framework for comprehensive immigration reform. The proposal would provide a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants currently in the United States contingent on increased border security and work site verification systems that allow employers to check the status of their employees online. Proponents of the plan argue that providing an amnesty process for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants now living in the country is the only reasonable approach to handling the millions of individuals in our country, many of which are working and contributing to the community in which they live. Opponents of the plan argue that legalizing those who are in the country illegally will costs taxpayers millions of dollars in increased government benefits, decrease jobs available for American workers, and encourage more illegal immigration. They further argue that the presence of millions of unauthorized residents is evidence of inadequacies in the legal immigration system, as well as failures to enforce immigration control policies and laws; factors that must be addressed in order to prevent future illegal immigration.
President Obama, who has said he welcomes the Senators' proposal, released his own immigration reform plan, which is largely similar to the plan offered by the Senators. Read more about Congressman Forbes' views on immigration here. Question of the week: Do you support the Senate plan for immigration reform? ( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) I don’t know ( ) Other Take the Poll here. Find the results of last week’s InstaPoll here.
Posted by
Randy
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January 31, 2013
One month after the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, the President announced a wide array of proposals ranging from gun laws to mental health to school safety, which he is implementing through a series of twenty-three executive actions or calling on Congress to enact legislatively.
Posted by
Randy
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January 31, 2013
I want to share with you a recent CNBC article showing that GDP in the United States fell for the first time since 2009. Both the article and the chart below, indicate that the 0.1 percent decline is due in large part to the largest cuts to defense spending our nation has seen in 40 years.
Since 2011, when sequestration was introduced as a means to reduce spending, I have been warming against drastic and dangerous cuts to our military. I opposed the Budget Control Act, which will implement sequestration and slash defense spending on March 1, 2013, and have consistently supported alternative plans to address the debt and reign in spending in Washington. Given this latest economic report, do you agree that a strong defense is necessary to maintain a strong America?
Posted by
Randy
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January 29, 2013
In my recent online survey, I asked people which issues they believe are most critical for Congress to address. Most (2660 out of 5174) said “taking serious action to reduce government spending.” I agree.
Posted by
Randy
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January 25, 2013
On Monday, President Obama presented his vision for the next four years during his second inaugural address, in which he outlined an agenda that prioritized commitments to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, immigration reform, gun control, climate policy, and same-sex marriage. Congressional Republicans are focused on creating job growth, providing a strong national defense, balancing the federal budget, and making Medicare and Social Security sustainable. As the President and his Administration start their new term and as Congress begins anew, the legislative process is ensnared in philosophical gridlock and finding common ground on priorities will be paramount. ( ) Crime - Addressing crime in our schools and communities ( ) Economy - Strengthening small businesses and spurring economic growth by reducing federal regulations ( ) Education - Strengthening our educational system ( ) Energy - Reducing environmental regulations and increasing domestic energy to reduce dependence on foreign oil ( ) Environment - Taking actions to preserve the environment through regulation and investments in clean energy ( ) Health Care - Reducing health care costs and protecting the doctor-patient relationship ( ) Illegal Immigration - Enhancing border security and enforcing existing laws combating illegal immigration ( ) National Security - Preserving a strong national defense and averting sequestration cuts that threaten military jobs ( ) Same-Sex Marriage - Expanding the definition of marriage to include couples of the same gender ( ) Second Amendment - Protecting the constitutional right to keep and bear arms ( ) Seniors - Protecting critical programs for seniors such as Medicare and Social Security ( ) Social Services - Protecting the most vulnerable through access to social service programs ( ) Spending - Taking serious action to reduce government spending ( ) Taxes - Reducing taxes and simplifying the tax code ( ) Traditional Values - Preserving religious freedoms, traditional marriage, and sanctity of life ( ) Transportation - Rebuilding our nation’s aging roads and infrastructure ( ) Veterans - Fulfilling promises to our nation's veterans ( ) I don’t know. ( ) Other (leave your comments below)
Take the Poll here.
Find the results of last week’s InstaPoll here.
Posted by
Randy
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January 25, 2013
This Tuesday marked the fortieth anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling that deemed abortion a constitutional right. Since the 1973 decision, we have seen the loss of millions of unborn children—and the intelligence, creativity, and uniqueness that each would have contributed to our society.
Thousands of individuals across the country participated in the fortieth annual March for Life today, walking in support of the equal right to life that should be enjoyed by all people. I believe that life—even in its earliest stages—deserves respect and protection. I have partnered with my colleagues on key pieces of legislation to ensure that taxpayer funds are not used to fund abortion, and have worked to protect health care providers whose consciences prevent them from participating in abortion-related procedures. As a public servant, I feel that I have a special obligation to protect innocent, young life. As such, I will continue to support legislation declaring that pre-born children enjoy the same constitutional right to life that all humans enjoy. |
SEARCH BLOGRECENT POSTS02/13/2013 - PHOTO RELEASE: A close-up look at State of the Union02/12/2013 - Question of the Week: What is the state of our union? 02/08/2013 - Question of the week: Do you support sequestration or an alternative spending reduction plan? 02/07/2013 - Caucus Brief: China's Increasingly Good Mock Air Battles Prep Pilots for Real War 01/31/2013 - Question of the week: Do you support the Senate plan for immigration reform? 01/31/2013 - White House gun control proposal ARCHIVESBy YearBy Issue
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