After a week of preemptive attacks on a possible IMF bailout of Greece, Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) introduces the European Bailout Protection Act, aimed at preventing taxpayer dollars from going to a rescue plan.
"This legislation would require that countries like Greece cut spending and put their own fiscal house in order," says Pence, backed up by other members of the House GOP, "instead of looking to the United States for a bailout. We face record unemployment and a debt crisis of our own, and American taxpayers should not be forced to bear the risk for nations that have avoided making tough choices."
The full release is below the fold, with the detail that the bill "does not permanently prohibit the IMF from lending" to the troubled counties. Nevertheless, Ezra Klein is not a fan of this proposal.(Thanks to my colleague Ben Pershing.)
U.S. Congressman Mike Pence, Chairman of the House Republican Conference, joined Conference Vice-Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee Rep. Jerry Lewis, Rep. Jeb Hensarling, and Rep. Kay Granger in introducing legislation today to stop U.S. tax dollars from being used by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for bailouts for European countries. Rep. Pence released the following statement today as the European Bailout Protection Act was introduced:
“The American people are fed up with taxpayer-funded bailouts and deserve to know we are bailing out Greece and possibly other European countries. If the Obama Administration has its way, the U.S. will contribute to a nearly trillion dollar bailout of European countries with economic crises that are a direct result of wasteful government spending.
“This legislation would require that countries like Greece cut spending and put their own fiscal house in order, instead of looking to the United States for a bailout. We face record unemployment and a debt crisis of our own, and American taxpayers should not be forced to bear the risk for nations that have avoided making tough choices.
Background
The European Bailout Protection Act would:
1) Prohibit any funds that have yet to be drawn by the IMF from being used to provide financing to any EU countries until all EU nations are in compliance with the debt to GDP ratio requirement in their own collective growth pact.
2) Require the Treasury Secretary to oppose any IMF loans to EU nations until all EU countries are in compliance with their debt to GDP ratio requirement.
The bill does not permanently prohibit the IMF from lending to these nations; it simply prohibits the U.S. from participating in the proposed European bailout.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) introduces the European Bailout Protection Act
Reason #745, 328 a Community Organizer shouldn't be President; Federal Budget Hits Record Deficit
The federal budget deficit hit an all-time high for the month of April as government revenue fell sharply.
The Treasury Department said Wednesday the April deficit soared to $82.7 billion, the largest imbalance for that month on record. That was significantly higher than last year's April deficit of $20 billion and above the $30 billion deficit private economists had anticipated.
The government normally runs surpluses in April as millions of taxpayers file their income tax returns. However, income tax payments were down this April, reflecting the impact of the recession which has pushed millions of people out of work.
Total revenues for April were down 7.9 percent from a year ago, dipping to $245.3 billion.
The Obama administration forecast in February that the deficit for this year will hit an all-time high of $1.56 trillion, surpassing the current record of $1.4 trillion set last year. Many private economists believe this year's imbalance will be closer to the $1.4 trillion set last year and that deficits will remain high for years to come.
The trillion-dollar-plus deficits are being driven by the impact of the recession, which has cut government tax revenue while driving up spending.
Analysts estimate that roughly one-third of the increase in the deficits over the past two years came from lost revenue — the result of fewer people working and lower corporate profits. Another third is from increased government spending that normally occurs in a downturn, such as higher payments for unemployment benefits and food stamps. The final third reflects the added government spending on the $787 billion stimulus bill and the $700 billion financial bailout. (More....)
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Continuing the Health Care Fight in Ohio; Support HB 489 & SB 244
Patriots,
We must not allow the hard work you have done in the fight against government run health care go to waste -- we must continue this fight, but now it needs to be at the state level. Our efforts must be channeled into areas where we can have a reasonable expectation of success. In the the same way we did in D.C., we now need to fill up the phones, faxes and emails in Columbus.
One of the avenues in which we can achieve this reasonable expectation of success comes from reconcentrating our efforts in supporting Senate Bill 244 sponsored by OH State Senator Shannon Jones & OH State Senator Tim Grendell. As introduced, SB 244 would prohibit requiring an individual to maintain a policy of health insurance in the State of Ohio.
Being introduced when the OH House goes back into session on 5/11/2010, OH Rep. Barbara Sears will be introducing OH House Bill 489 (HB 489) which would also prohibit requiring an individual to maintain a policy of health insurance in the State of Ohio and will be a companion bill to SB 244.
Here is the text of HB 489 as it will be introduced on 5/11/2010....As Introduced
128th General Assembly
Regular Session 2009-2010H. B. No. 489
Representatives Boose, Sears
Cosponsors: Representatives Adams, J., Adams, R., Amstutz, Bacon, Baker, Blair, Bubp, Burke, Coley, Combs, Derickson, Evans, Goodwin, Grossman, Hite, Hottinger, Huffman, Jordan, Lehner, Maag, Martin, McGregor, Mecklenborg, Morgan, Ruhl, Stautberg, Stebelton, Wachtmann
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A BILL
To enact section 3901.711 of the Revised Code to prohibit requiring an individual to obtain or maintain a policy of health insurance.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 3901.711 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 3901.711. (A)(1) No individual who is a resident of this state, regardless of whether the individual has or is eligible for health insurance coverage under any policy or program provided by or through the individual's employer, or a plan sponsored by this state or the federal government, shall be required to obtain or
maintain a policy of individual health insurance coverage.
(2) No provision of Chapter 1751. or Title XXXIX of the Revised Code shall render an individual who is a resident of this state liable for any penalty, assessment, fee, or fine as a result of the individual's failure to procure or obtain health insurance coverage.
(3) No public official, employee, or agent of this state or any political subdivision shall impose, collect, enforce, or effectuate any penalty as a result of the failure of an individual who is a resident of this state to procure or obtain health insurance coverage.
(B) The attorney general shall seek injunctive or any other appropriate relief as expeditiously as possible to preserve the rights and property of the residents of this state, and to defend as necessary this state, its officials, employees and agents in the event that any government, subdivision, or government agency enacts or adopts any law, rule, or regulation that violates division (A) of this section.
(C) This section shall not apply to individuals voluntarily applying for coverage under the medicaid program established under Chapter 5111. of the Revised Code or the children's health insurance program established under sections 5101.50 to 5101.529 of the Revised Code.
Contact OH House Speaker Armond Budish. Please inform Speaker Budish that as an OH resident you support this proposed legislation and ask that he do the same.
Speaker Armond Budish
77 S. High St 14th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Phone: (614) 466-5441 Fax: (614) 719-0008
Email: district08@ohr.state.oh.usContact your OH House Rep and ask that they publicly declare their support for HB 489. To find your OH House member click here for their contact information.
If you have not yet done so, please consider signing the online petition supporting State Senator Shannon Jones. You can read & sign the on-line petition in support of SB 244 by clicking here.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Cleveland Ban The Cams Petition Signature Collecting: This Saturday May 8th
The LARGE majority of people in greater Cleveland want the traffic cams in Cleveland to go away.
We need your help in gathering signatures on the petitions to have this issue put on the ballot for November's election.
We were at the West Side Market on May 1st and it is a tremendously productive place to gather signatures.
If you can help out for an hour or more, that would be incredibly helpful.
We will be on the parking lot side of the market, right where you enter the market. If you go to the link below, we will meet at the intersection where it shows Market St. and W. 24th.
- Date: Saturday, May 8, 2010
- Time: 9:00am - 2:00pm
- Location: West Side Market - 1979 West 25th Street, Cleveland, OH
Here's a map of where the market is: http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&q=west+side+market&fb=1&gl=us&hq=west+side+market&hnear=Beachwood,+OH&cid=0,0,12372574425359174750&ei=gd7cS6aBN5TSNb-c_NMH&ved=0CAcQnwIwAA&ll=41.48664,-81.702983&spn=0.007008,0.01354&z=16
Monday, May 3, 2010
Geauga / Lake County Tea Party Patriots host Tea Party in Mentor
No candidates will be speaking!- When: Sunday, May 16, 2010
- Time: 3:00 PM -
- Where: Mentor Municipal Center
- Address: 8500 Civic Center Blvd (State Rt 615) Mentor, OH 44060 (Click Here for Map)
Join the Counter Protest against Illegal Amnesty today in Cleveland
Our friends at the Grassroots Rally Team members will be staging a counter protest to a rally Co-sponsored by Hispanas Organizadas de Lake y Ashtabula Counties, Reform Immigration for America, Latino Pastors Association, the American Civil Liberties Union, and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People protesting the new Arizona Immigration law and to push for "their" version of immigration reform.
Please join the Grassroots Rally Team on the southwest corner of E. 9th Street and Lakeside (across from the Free Stamp) Monday May 3rd from 11:30 A.M. - 12:30 P.M.
We need to let Senator Brown and Senator Voinovich know citizens oppose amnesty!
Please click here to sign the Tea Party Patriots petition supporting the new AZ Immigration law.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Arizona "tweaks" New Immigration Law; Some in GOP Still Backing Away
One of the first steps, being a nation of laws, the federal government should enforce the current immigration laws. But what is a state to do when the federal government does NOT enforce their own laws and this lack of enforcement is creating a financial strain on the well being of the community along with creating an unsafe environment for U.S. citizens?
Most would say it is incumbent on the elected state officials, within the powers vested in them under our Constitution & affirmed in their State Constitution, to take action in addressing the problems when the Federal government refuses to do so. The State of Arizona did just that and is now facing a full frontal attack on their states rights by the federal government that allowed the problem to grow to epidemic proportions.
In attempts to address the concerns of the PC Korretniks on the left, illegal immigrants & the expected onslaught of legal challenges, the State of Arizona recently refined the language in their controversial and so-called civil rights violating new illegal immigration law....
From L.A. Times --
The initial law, signed by Gov. Jan Brewer last week, required police to determine a person's immigration status if officers formed a reasonable suspicion about their legality during any "lawful contact." That led to suggestions by some legal experts that police would be obligated to scrutinize even people who asked for directions.
Lawmakers on Thursday night changed the language to require scrutiny only of people who police stop, detain or arrest. They also changed a section of the bill that barred officers from "solely" using race as grounds for suspecting someone is in the country illegally; opponents had argued that that would allow race to be a factor. The legislators removed the word "solely" to bar race from being used by officers enforcing the law.
"It absolutely clarifies what the intent was," said Paul Senseman, a spokesman for Brewer, who supported the changes and is expected to sign them into law. "It's undeniable now that this bill will not lead to racial profiling." More....
The intent of AZ's new law was always clear -- removing the illegal immigrants already there and stop/stem the flow of illegal immigrants from over the porous border that the federal government refuses to address. It has nothing to do with being against a certain race or culture. Nowhere in the law does it say only target people from Mexico or specific races from Latin America.
The mostly disobedient and far from peaceful protests by groups against enforcing any laws dealing with illegal immigration (other than complete Amnesty) has the GOP in a tizzy. Instead of supporting the will of the voters some high profile members of the Elephant clan show they are more concerned with votes & running for political cover than doing what's right...
Arizona's immigration law has been an immediate hit with the Republican base, but some of the party's top strategists and rising stars worry that the harsh crackdown may do long-term damage to the GOP in the eyes of America's Hispanic population.
And the party's long-term thinkers worry that the Arizona law is merely a quick political fix which may create a permanent rift with the fastest growing segment of the U.S. electorate.
"It's like a virus that you get and you don't feel like you're unhealthy for the first few days, but after that you have a fever and you're really sick," says Matthew Dowd, former President George W. Bush's chief strategist in 2004. "You can't win a national election and you can't win certain states without the Latino vote. And Republicans already had a problem."
"I think there is going to be some constitutional problems with the bill," top Bush strategist Karl Rove said during a stop on his book tour. "I wished they hadn't passed it, in a way." (AZ Central)
And they've even got their "bought & paid for" wing of the Tea Party speaking out against the law....
Even Sal Russo, the longtime California Republican political operative who helps fund the Tea Party Express, acknowledges that the Arizona law creates problems for the party.
"I think Republicans do a poor job of communicating to non-traditional Republican voters," Russo said. "We've done a poor job in reaching out beyond the Republican base, and I think that's been part of the problem. (AZ Central)
Even though this new law has bi-partisan support in Arizona, and the fact that AZ Governor Jan Brewer actually saw an increase in poll numbers AFTER the law was signed, as usual ignoring the will and voice of "We the People," Russo & the GOP want to make it about the "party" and not the people.
A couple of polls being ignored by the spineless GOP and the "drive-by" Tea Party Express is a Gallup poll showing 51% of Americans aware of the Arizona law support it -- along with 39% of the people polled who have not yet heard of the law also supported it. The 39% most likely reflects U.S. citizens happy somebody is just doing something about the illegal immigration problem in this country.
And in a poll done by SurveyUSA, 82 percent of Florida Republicans who have heard about Arizona's law agree with it—and 81 percent think Florida should pass a similar measure.
You can click here to sign the Tea Party Patriots petition supporting Arizona's new law.
