Common Sense Reforms for the 112th Congress

From Taxpayers for Common Sense --

As the dawn of the 112th Congress draws near, there are several reforms Congress should enact, regardless of which party is in control. These reforms will help reinvigorate public trust and confidence in Congress, two things that are clearly lacking. In addition, these reforms just make sense.

Download a PDF of this document:  Common Sense Reforms for the 112th Congress

1. Pass Budget Bills Before the Beginning of the Fiscal Year—For the first time in recent memory, none of the twelve spending bills were enacted prior to Congress leaving town for the election, meaning a post-election “lame duck” Congress will still be working on government funding even as the first quarter of the fiscal year winds down.
    
2. Make Congress More Transparent—Committees should post all information about votes, attendance and amendments, and this should be done in real time. Furthermore, all non-classified Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports should be made available to the public. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports should be released immediately—not subject to a 30-day member hold—and all non-classified executive branch reports to Congressional Committees should be posted on the Committee web sites.
    
3. End Accounting Gimmicks—Creating budgets based on “temporary” tax cuts, short term patches to the AMT, and routinely ignored formulas, like Medicare reimbursement rates, might soften the sticker shock of Congress’ budget bills, but creative accounting isn’t beneficial to taxpayers. Congress needs to build their budget around the costs we know we will incur, and either raise revenue or cut spending to get our fiscal house in order.
    
4. Earmark Reforms—Establish spending decision-making systems that enable Congress and the Administration to make funding decisions on the basis of competition, merit or formulas.  As we transition to this system, Congress should adopt rules that prevent earmarks for campaign contributors, make earmarks more transparent with a real-time online database that is downloadable, searchable, and sortable, and enable independent auditing of earmarks by the GAO.
    
5. Reassess Authorizations—Congress is all too happy to authorize new projects and programs for agencies that already have thousands of projects worth billions of dollars waiting to be completed. Adding to the years-long backlog of projects simply saps money from good projects and increases the likelihood of bad projects limping along.  Be it bridges, or dams, or new weapons systems, Congress must reevaluate authorized yet incomplete projects and ensure new authorization bills prioritize the needs of taxpayers over politicians.
    
6. All Bills Available to the Public 72 Hours Before Votes—Current rules provide for a waiting period between the unveiling of a bill’s text and a vote, but these rules are regularly evaded by whichever party is in control.  Congress should require a supermajority—2/3 of all seated members—to waive the rule.
    
7. Expand the Office of Congressional Ethics to Cover the Senate—The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), an independent body created in 2008 by the House of Representatives, has proven itself a positive force in helping police ethics. Unfortunately, it’s only authorized to cover the House. The Senate should immediately follow the House’s lead and create a fully independent office complete with subpoena power and adequate resources to help ensure Senators stay focused on making government work.
    
8. Pay As You Go (PAYGO) Enforcement—While PAYGO has had some impact on the margins, too much spending is exempted.  New discretionary spending agreed to in the budget and entitlement spending can increase annually without any impact.  Huge programs such as Alternative Minimum Tax relief, increased Medicare payments to doctors, and other measures have enjoyed waivers or outright loopholes.  If we are to close the deficit, we need PAYGO to have real teeth.
    
9. End the Automatic Pay Raise—Congress has the system wired so that unless they vote to stop it, they will receive an annual bump in salary.  This should be immediately reversed so that Congress has to have a recorded vote to increase their pay.
    
10. Disclose all Information on Official Congressional Travel—Every year lawmakers go on dozens of trips around the world on the taxpayers’ dime.  It is important that Congress occasionally travel, meet officials from other countries, and better understand America’s role in the world.  However, the public should be able to see information about cost, lodging, the lawmakers' spouses and staff who attended and trip itineraries.  This should be available online shortly after the conclusion of the trip (for security purposes).

Dennis Kucinich wants MORE Government & MORE EPA Control over your Life-- do you?

In the face of a record setting $1.3 Trillion deficit, national debt of nearly $13 Trillion and the current Miracle-Gro type growth of our federal government, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (OH-10) recently stated he believes we need even MORE spending & MORE government in our life.

Let's take a look at a few samples of what MORE government means....

Controlling our water system --

This Colorado River Basin Geographic Focus Study is part of the ongoing effort outlined in the WaterSMART Secretarial Order signed in February 2010. It reflects a national commitment to understanding water availability in the country and managing that resource for current and future generations. The last comprehensive assessment of water availability for our nation was in 1978 and it is overdue for a new one.

The USGS WaterSMART initiative will produce a water census for the nation, a new and on-going appraisal for water availability that links both water quality and quantity, tracks changing flow, use, and storage of water, as well as developing models and predictive tools to guide its decisions . A relatively new area of science evaluates how much water needs to be left in the streams to support important ecological values. This initiative includes a significant research and assessment effort to help wildlife managers characterize the flow needs for aquatic species and their habitat. Knowing our nation’s water “assets” and rates of use on an ongoing basis is crucial to wise management.

With our Great Lakes under constant threat, we here in OH should share a special interest in this government take over of water. Click here to see the impact on you when the government takes over water supplies.

Setting a future precedent, the EPA, through the Chesapeake Clean Water and Ecosystem Restoration Act (S. 1816)  is emasculating State control of their land & waterways through the Clean Water Act....

“Bigger federal government and expanded federal authority is not in the best interest of our nation,” Stallman said. “By granting EPA the authority to issue what are called Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) without allowing states the opportunity to address water issues, this bill would give EPA greater control over land-use decisions that should be made at the local level.”

According to a letter sent to the full Senate by Farm Bureau and the other groups, S. 1816 “is not a regional bill with only local consequences and only benign effects for the rest of the country.”

“S. 1816 does not authorize a program to improve water quality through collaboration, technical assistance, and/or funding,” the letter stated. “Instead, S. 1816 would set a major legislative precedent in federal environmental law, taking the authority and control granted to states and local governments under the Clean Water Act and instead vest it in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – a step never before taken in the 38-year history of the law.

You're thinking, "clean water is good, but do they really want to take control of ALL water?"  You decide...

The legislation, entitled “America’s Commitment to Clean Water Act”, seeks to expand the federal government’s control of U.S. water under the Clean Water Act by removing the existing requirement that regulated waterways be “navigable.”  Under the proposed legislation, all inland waters, on both public and private lands, would be controlled and regulated by the federal government.

On December 8, 2009, Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) along with fellow House and Senate Western Caucus members outlined their concerns in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) regarding the Senate “Clean Water Restoration Act” (S.787) and the anticipated introduction of similar legislation in the House.

Removing "non-navigable" would give the EPA control of all water from the pond in your front yard to the puddle in your back yard after it rains. If you think your sewer bills from the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District are high now -- wait until the EPA imposes more unattainable restrictions.

Controlling our Food & Agriculture --

Are you thinking that is for farms -- they can't control air in our homes...  Think Again! 

“The Obama EPA’s unprecedented attempts to regulate dust on farms and ranches is just another example of how out-of-touch this administration is. Clear evidence acknowledges that the dust standard revision is unnecessary. Yet despite results from scientific studies, the EPA is continuing its attempts to control the day-to-day operations on ranches and farms.

“This unreasonable requirement will cause extreme hardship to farmers, livestock producers and other resource-based industries throughout rural America. People in the West and those in dry climates will be hit especially hard. It’s time the EPA rethink the consequences the farm dust regulation will have on the people who feed us.”

The goal of these projects is to educate Americans on how to reduce the environmental health risks of indoor contaminants through demonstrations, education projects, trainings and outreach efforts. EPA is placing particular emphasis on reaching households with children, low income families, and minorities because they are disproportionately impacted by poor indoor air quality.

The cooperative agreements will:

• Promote positive indoor air quality management practices in schools nationwide, including holistic approaches to environmental issues.

• Create awareness to reduce asthma triggers in the home and encourage the use of an asthma management plan.

• Increase the number of homes tested for radon and built with radon-resistant features, and increase mitigation of radon in existing homes.

• Increase effective indoor air quality practices in office buildings.

• Motivate Americans to improve their home’s indoor air quality.

So it appears clear that the Obama Administration & the EPA are using regulation through the Clean Air & Clean Water Acts to circumvent a non-existent Cap & Trade legislation. 

By voting against the Cap & Trade legislation in the House earlier this year because it did not go far enough, Congressman Dennis Kucinich, by having the EPA impose big government & economically unsound environmental edicts to push his progressive agenda that has continually failed N/E Ohio.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is awarding 17 cooperative agreements to nonprofit organizations and a university totaling approximately $2.4 million to improve indoor air quality nationwide. Americans spend about 90 percent of their time indoors where levels of air pollution may be two to five times higher than outdoor levels. Indoor air pollutants, such as dust mites, can trigger asthma attacks and radon can cause lung cancer.

Leading Economists Give Industry Reports on EPA an Incomplete, D, two Fs

The economic impact of current policies for the American Destruction Agency, more commonly known as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), have been reviewed & graded by leading economists.

 

The conclusion? EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson should be riding the Short Bus!

From the National Resources Defense Council --

WASHINGTON  (October 28, 2010) -- Recent industry reports purporting to evaluate the economic impacts of policies to keep America’s air clean received unsatisfactory grades from leading economists. Economists from Dartmouth, the University of Wyoming and the University of California at Santa Barbara gave reports from the Manufacturers’ Alliance, IHS Global Insight and Fisher International an Incomplete, D and F respectively.

“These industry groups are attempting to shape vital public health policies with work that wouldn't pass muster in a college economics class,” said John Walke, senior attorney and director of NRDC’s Clean Air Program. “Industry lobbyists are resorting to shoddy economics and outright deception to block EPA rules that could reduce toxic air pollution from industrial plants and save nearly 5,000 lives a year and prevent thousands of cases of respiratory and heart disease. These lobbyists are going further and opposing more protective national smog standards that could save up to 12,000 lives each year.”

For the full reviews go to: http://docs.nrdc.org/legislation/files/leg_10102801a.pdf

Here are excerpts of the reviews from the economists grading these reports:

“Economic Implications of EPA’s Proposed Ozone Standard” - by Manufacturers’ Alliance (MAPI)
Evaluator: Richard B. Howarth, the Pat and John Rosenwald Professor in the Environmental Studies Program at Dartmouth College

Letter Grade -- Incomplete

“The MAPI report is fundamentally flawed, resting on an analytical framework that is scientifically unsound and inappropriate for use in policy evaluation.”

“The report fails to apply standard statistical techniques that are taught to students specializing in the fields of statistics and econometrics.”

“The report would warrant a grade of ‘incomplete’ if it were submitted as an undergraduate honors thesis or master’s thesis in an academic program focusing on environmental policy analysis.”

Evaluation of the Economic Impact of Proposed EPA Air Toxics Rule on Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers and Process Heaters – by IHS Global Insight
Evaluator: Jason F. Shogren, Professor, Department of Economics and Finance, University of Wyoming

Letter Grades -- D & F
Application -- D
“Lack of a serious accounting of economic behavior -- no attempt to account for the behavioral elasticities of demand, a high end cost estimation, one-to-one mapping of upgrade costs to demand reduction, not addressing impacts in non-sector gainers within the economy, no accounting for R&D and new technology innovations and entrepreneurship.”

Transparency -- F

“Weak discussion on the basic economic role of responsiveness and substitution possibilities, multiplier justification is unclear, abatement cost assumptions incomplete, unclear, and inadequately justified.”

“Economic Impact of Pending Air Regulations on the US Pulp and Paper Industry,” addressing EPA’s air toxics standards for industrial boilers, by Fisher International

Evaluator -Charles D. Kolstad, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Economics,
University of California at Santa Barbara

Letter Grade -- F

“If I were grading this, I would give it an F. The economics is all wrong (lack of an incidence analysis or acknowledgement of its importance; failure to draw on the relevant literature), which of course would be my main concern.”

“But the paper has some redeeming features -- the English grammar is decent and typically better than I see on a poor paper. Furthermore, I would want to encourage the student to work harder on the next assignment.”

For more on the EPA click here.

Kucinich shows "Phony" Love for the Troops!

Reaching for straws in his attempts to beat back the on coming surge from challenger Peter J. Corrigan for his 10th Congressional seat, Congressman Dennis Kucinich is now trying to act as if he cares about our U.S. Soldiers fighting in Afghanistan. 

Routinely slamming the efforts of our troops, Dennis Kucinich made the following statement about Afghanistan President Karzai’s admission that he receives “bags of cash” from the Iranian government...

“The Karzai regime is so corrupt; it doesn’t even bother to try to hide it anymore. It can’t be voted out of office because the elections are rigged. While Americans struggle to provide for their families, we continue to spend billions of taxpayer dollars to prop up the arrogantly corrupt regime. How bad does it have to get?

 “We know that the War in Afghanistan is longer than any other war America has ever fought. We know that the war has cost U.S. taxpayers more than a trillion dollars. We know that the death toll is rising. We know that more than 1300 Americans have died, thousands more wounded and countless Afghan civilians have died. We know that the civilian death toll is rising, and we know there are fewer than 100 Al Qaeda in Afghanistan,” said Kucinich.

“What more do we need to know? What part of "Get Out" does the Administration not understand? Our presence in Afghanistan is indefensible. Our soldiers should not have to put their lives on the line for this,” added Kucinich.

Several of Kucinich's statments ring hollow with hypocrisy. 

First, while Kucinich takes issue with Karzai taking bags of cash, Kucinich himself had no problems accepting support and bags of cash in the form of donations from many of the people tied up in the Cuyahoga County corruption scandal.

Second, Kucinich just moved to defund the Afghanistan War and undercut the efforts of our troops.  Which is in line with his obvious disdain for our fighting forces as shown when he refused to visit our troops in 2007 and instead met with Syrian President Bashir Assad. Assad is routinely adored & praised by terrorist groups for allowing them to use his country as a Terrorist Safe Haven.  Then praising Syria for their efforts in the Middle East and with their help in the Iraq War, Kucinich stated our troops were illegally occupying Iraq.

Finally, Kucinich asks, "what part of 'Get Out' does the administration not understand."  Well we would ask, "What part of NO Health Care Reform Bill & NO Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants does Dennis Kucinich not understand?"

Standing in stark contrast with the voters in the 10th Congressional District, Kucinich flip-flopped his stance and voted FOR the Health Care Bill vote and is a strong supporter of Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants.

So it appears besides ridiculing him, the Adminstration ignores Dennis Kucinich the same way he ignores the wishes of the constituents he is supposed to represent.

9th Circus Court of Appeals allows Illegal Immigrants Voting Rights in AZ

In another case from the robed clowns on the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, an Arizona law that requires proof of citizenship when registering to vote and proof of identification when casting a ballot was struck down on grounds that it was superseded by the National Voter Registration Act.

Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor cast a concurring vote for the opinion which drew praise from the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the League of United Latin American Citizens.

Please Call Me Senator.... (Video)

Call Me Senator from RightChange on Vimeo.

Spending Revolt Tour & Nancy Pelosi Pork Barrel Pig Roast

  In the time it takes you to brush your teeth today...

the Federal Government will spend $47 Million!

The nationwide Spending Revolt Bus Tour is rolling into N/E Ohio for another stop on Monday October 25th at 5:30pm.

Along with the Spending Revolt Bus & some musical entertainment there will be the location exclusive "Nancy Pelosi Pork Barrel Pig Roast." In recognizing the efforts of our Cash for Clunker Congress -- Nancy Pelosi "Pulled Pork" Sandwiches will be served!

Pleas join us as this is sure to be an event you don't want to miss!

• Date: Monday October 25, 2010
• Time: 5:30pm - 7:00pm
• Location: LA Pete's (Click for Map)
• Address: 6080 Brecksville Rd. Independence, OH

Speakers to date include;

• Matt Patrick (WTAM)
• Jim Trakas (former OH Rep)
• Mike Carey (Ohio Coal Assoc.)
• Ralph King (CTPP)
• Walker F. Todd (American Institute for Economic Resaearch)

Please bring a friend and don't forget to sign the Spending Revolt Bus & Spending Revolt Petition against out of control spending!

See ya there!