Action Alert: 12/16/10 Legislative Update

The clock is ticking and Democrats are fast-tracking every piece of legislation on their liberal “wish list.” We are concentrating our efforts right now on three important bills: the Omnibus Spending Bill, the Obama Tax Compromise and the Dream Act. Below you will find information on each bill as well as specific actions to take.

FY 2011 Omnibus Appropriations Act

Information:

On Tuesday the Senate Democrats released a $1.1 trillion Omnibus Bill that would fund the government through the 2011 fiscal year. This 1,924-page spending monstrosity includes 6,714 earmarks that total approximately $8.3 billion.

It is apparent that the current Senate leadership and some Senate Republicans may be hearing impaired, since they are completely ignoring the results of the November 2^nd election by creating a pork-fest with the Omnibus spending bill.

According to Fox News, "Senator John McCain tweeted the top 10 earmarks in the spending bill, including $247,000 for virus-free wine grapes in Washington State, $413,000 for peanut research in Alabama, $235,000 for noxious weed management in Nevada and $400,000 for solar parking canopies and plug-in electric stations in Kansas. McCain expressed disbelief about the projects. "Are we tone deaf? Are we stricken with amnesia?" he said, adding that voters made it clear in last month's midterm elections that they're tired of business as usual in Washington."

If these things are not enough to tell how bad the bill is, realize this: the FDA power-grab bill (S. 510) is inserted into the Omnibus Bill. That bill didn't pass before and needs to stand on its own. Those GOPers that voted against the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act cannot in good faith vote for the spending bill.

 

While the Republican leadership is strongly opposing this bill, some Republicans like Sen. George Voinovich are leaning toward supporting it. Here is the list of Republicans leaning toward supporting the Omnibus Bill as reported by several news outlets:

Senator George Voinovich (OH)

Senator Richard C. Shelby (AL)

Senator Robert F. Bennett (UT)

Senator Lisa Murkowski (AK)

Senator Thad Cochran (MS)

Senator Susan Collins (ME)

Senator Olympia Snowe (ME)

Senator Kit Bond (MO)

(These Republicans need to be reminded that the Omnibus includes $1.25 billion to start implementing ObamaCare. Again if they voted against ObamaCare, they cannot in good faith vote for this bill.)

Actions to take:

1.    Call Senator Voinovich and urge him to oppose this bill: DC Office Phone: (202) 224-3353 / Cleveland Office Phone: (216) 522-7095.

2.    Please call Senator Mitch McConnell and thank him for opposing this bill and encourage him to continue: DC Office Phone: (202) 224-2541

3.    Senators Tom Coburn and Jim DeMint are expected to make the Clerk of the Senate read the 1,924-page bill before a vote is taken. Please call and encourage them to do so.

Sen. Tom Coburn

DC Office Phone: 202-224-5754

Sen. Jim DeMint

DC Office Phone:  202-224-6121

Resources:

Senator Coburn has created a database of all earmarks in the bill:

http://coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/rightnow?ContentRecord_id=e07a0af9-c677-4b5a-814f-a40c8ac13f74 .

The Hill article:

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/133563-senate-dems-unveil-11t-omnibus-spending-bill-

The Washington Post article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/14/AR2010121407208.html?wpisrc=nl_politics

Text for FY 2011 Omnibus Appropriations Act:

http://appropriations.senate.gov/news.cfm?method=news.view&id=9ac3518e-7e19-4328-bf52-16a6c2a1d333 

H.R. 4853 – Middle Class Tax Relief Act of 2010

(Obama Tax Compromise)

Information:

On Wednesday, the “tax deal” bill passed with overwhelming support (81-19) in the Senate. Surprisingly, Senator Voinovich voted against the bill. To view the complete roll call, visit: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=2&vote=00276.

“The House could start debate on the bill as early as Wednesday [December 15^th], although House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said a vote in the House would not happen until Thursday at the earliest,” according to a CNBC article. This does not leave us much time to take action.

Actions to take:

1.    If you have not done so already, please sign the “No Tax Compromise” petition by visiting http://notaxcompromise.com/.

2.    We also urge you to call the following targeted Congress members in Ohio and ask them to vote NO on this compromise.

Rep. Steve Driehaus, OH-1

D.C. Office Phone: (202) 225-2216 / D.C. Office Fax: (202) 225-3012

E-mail: https://forms.house.gov/driehaus/webforms/issue_subscribe.htm

Note: We were unable to reach his office, so we are unsure of his stance.

Rep. Jean Schmidt, OH-2

D.C. Office Phone: (202) 225-3164 / Toll-free Number: (800) 784-6366 / D.C. Office Fax: (202) 225-1992

E-mail: http://www.house.gov/schmidt/contact.shtml

Note: We were unable to reach her office, so we are unsure of her stance.

Rep. Mike Turner, OH-3

D.C. Office Phone: (202) 225-6465 / D.C. Office Fax: (202) 225-6754

E-mail: http://turner.house.gov/Contact/

Note: Aide is unsure of Representative Turner’s stance.

Rep. Jim Jordan, OH-4

D.C. Office Phone: (202) 225-2676 / D.C. Office Fax: (202) 226-0577

E-mail: http://jordan.house.gov/Contact/ 

Note: Aide said Representative Jordan is undecided. He has issues with some of the amendments.

Rep. Bob Latta, OH-5

D.C. Office Phone: (202) 225-6405 / Toll-free Number: 1-800-541-6446 (OHIO)

D.C. Office Fax: (202) 225-1985 / Toll-free Fax Number: 1-800-278-8203

E-mail: https://latta.house.gov/Contact/default.aspx

Note: Aide noted that Representative Latta is still undecided.

Rep. Charlie Wilson, OH-6

D.C. Office Phone: (202) 225-5705 / D.C. Office Fax: (202) 225-5907

E-mail: https://forms.house.gov/charliewilson/webforms/issue_subscribe.htm 

Note: Office is not sure how Representative Wilson is voting on the bill.

Rep. John Boehner, OH-8

D.C. Office Phone: (202) 225-6205 / D.C. Office Fax: (202) 225-0704

E-mail: http://www.kaptur.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=152

Note: We need to tell Representative Boehner how we feel about his tax compromise with President Obama.

Rep. Marcia Fudge, OH-11

D.C. Office Phone: (202) 225-7032 / D.C. Office Fax: (202) 225-1339

Email: http://fudge.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=51&sectiontree=351

Note: According to her aide, Representative Fudge is voting NO; however, it is because of the “tax cuts” for the rich. While her reasoning is wrong, we need to encourage Representative Fudge to remain a NO vote.

Rep. Patrick Tiberi, OH-12

D.C. Office Phone: (202) 225-5355 / D.C. Office Fax: (202) 226-4523

Email: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

Note: Aide does not know how Representative Tiberi is voting.

Rep. Steven LaTourette, OH-14

D.C. Office Phone: (202) 225-5731 / D.C. Office Fax: (202) 225-3307

Email: http://latourette.house.gov/contact/contact-form.aspx

Notes: According to his aide, Representative LaTourette is undecided. His vote depends on the additional amendments that will be added to the bill.

The DREAM Act

Information:

Tea Party Patriots (TPP) has been working with different groups to help defeat this spending nightmare. Chad MacDonald of Immigration Action Report has been providing TPP with daily, and sometimes hourly, updates on the DREAM Act. It seems the Senate will vote on the House version of the DREAM Act either this weekend or early next week.

Here are some “vote tally” updates from Chad:

GOP confirmations

§  Senator Lindsey Graham (SC) will vote NO on the DREAM Act. He is with us on this one.

§  Senator Scott Brown (MA) is a NO vote. He says the DREAM Act is a backdoor amnesty.

§  Senator Mark Kirk (IL) is a NO vote.

§  Senator Dick Lugar (IN) will most likely vote YES. He will cross the GOP, because he is a sponsor of the DREAM Act bill.

Democrats leaning NO

§  Senator Ben Nelson (NE) will vote NO on the DREAM Act and anything that does not improve the economy, create jobs, or reduce debt.

§  Senator Mark Pryor (AR) is a NO on the DREAM Act as well.  He is with us.

§  Senator Max Baucus (MT) is leaning NO. He needs to hear from people in Montana only. He's not listening to those out-of-state from either side.

§  We are hoping Senator Joe Manchin (WV) will vote NO. He is just getting settled; this will be a major vote for him.

Here is the deal. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid needs to get to 60, which he does not have. We need all 42 GOP to stick together and hold a handful of Democrats to beat this thing. All fire power needs to be focused on the swing-vote Republicans!

Target Republicans are Collins, Murkowski, Voinovich, Snowe and LeMieux.

Actions to take:

1.    Please make calls to the targeted Senators, even if you don't live in their state.

Senator Susan Collins (R-ME)

DC Office Phone: (202) 224-2523 / Local Office Phone: (207) 945-0417 (Bangor)

Email: http://collins.senate.gov/public/continue.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenatorCollins.EmailIssue

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/susancollins

Twitter: http://twitter.com/SenatorCollins   

Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)

DC Office Phone: (202) 224-6665  

Email: http://murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=EMailLisa

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SenLisaMurkowski  

Twitter: http://twitter.com/lisamurkowski 

Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) 

DC Office Phone: (202) 224-3353 / Local Office Phone: (216) 522-7095 (Cleveland)

Email: http://voinovich.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm

Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) 

DC Office Phone: (202) 224-5344 / Local Office Phone: (800) 432-1599 (toll-free in Maine)

Email: http://snowe.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenatorSnowe.Email

Senator George LeMieux (R-FL)

DC Office Phone: (202) 224-3041 / Local Office Phone: (866) 630-7106 (toll-free in Florida)

Email:  http://lemieux.senate.gov/public/?p=EmailSenatorLeMieux

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/George-LeMieux/153771371660

Twitter: http://twitter.com/George_LeMieux

Some actions to turn up the heat

We are afraid that phone calls will not be enough. We know that it is a busy time of the season; however, the liberals are driving this country further into debt with their reckless legislation. If you are able to take any of the following actions, we would greatly appreciate it.

1.    Visit your congressman's local district office. Tell them in person that you do not want these bills to pass. Leave a note – hand write it on the back of your Christmas shopping list if you have to – to tell them you are serious about not passing these bills.

2.    Visit your senators' local district offices.  Again, tell the staff at each office that you do not want these bills to pass. Leave a note at each of these offices. 

3.    Go online to your local newspaper's website.  Find the articles about these bills and leave your comments about why your congressman and senators (use their names) should not vote for these bills. As unbelievable as it may seem, their staff gives this as much, if not more, credence than your personal phone calls and office visits.  (Go figure!!)

Will the GOP Freshmen Take the Lead?

The below Op/Ed piece from TPP Co-Founders, Jenny Beth Martin & Mark Meckler ran in Politico --

House Republican leaders are making bold statements about what the public can expect during their tenure in the majority. In addition to the “backroom deal” tax compromise, last week, through their appointments to chairmanships of the Energy and Commerce and the Appropriations committees, they sent a clear message that despite an electoral victory driven by the tea party movement and fueled by public disgust with incumbents, Washington is back to business as usual.

The large incoming freshman class is filled with tea party representatives. Yet the GOP’s old paradigm leaders are daring this new class to stand for the principles on which it was elected.

By appointing the most liberal possible choice to chair Energy and Commerce, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), the leaders indicated they are not serious about expanding the nation’s energy-producing capability. Upton, after all, is most recently famous for highly unpopular legislation banning the incandescent light bulb. He is hardly the choice for a nation desperate for energy through an expansion of domestic oil drilling and the relaxation of regulations on nuclear, coal and other energy sources.

When Upton changed his position on the bulb issue during his run for the chairmanship, it made him look like a politician who does not plan to act on principles but on what can help him get reelected.

Do Republicans really believe that the best choice for this important committee chairmanship is a flip-flopping liberal Republican? Stuck in the politics of the past, Republicans went for seniority over principle — and ignored the clearly expressed will of their supporters.

At the apex of the tea party movement is the issue of fiscal responsibility. In what can only be interpreted as a direct affront to the millions of tea partiers who provided much of the fuel that brought them to the majority, Republicans balked at the chance to put a fiscal conservative in charge of the Appropriations Committee.

Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) was a qualified and proven fiscal conservative, supported by tea partiers nationwide. Yet instead of Kingston, Republicans decided to put the powerful panel under the control of a liberal Republican — one with a seemingly insatiable appetite for pork.

If things stand as they have been announced, Kentucky Rep. Hal Rogers is likely to continue the big-spending, pork-barrel ways that lost Republicans the majority four years ago.

The choices were clear, and GOP leaders have chosen the paradigm of the past over the future.

Reversing this situation is up to the freshmen, who are now presented with a distinct choice. House rules allow the full Republican caucus to vote to approve or reject the choices for chairmanships put forth by the Steering Committee. It is now clear that the existing leadership refuses to lead the charge for real reform in Washington.

So what will the freshmen do? They have a mandate from the people to step up and lead. Will they lead by principle? Or will they go along with Speaker-elect John Boehner (R-Ohio), like so many sheep to the slaughter?

Our bet is on the freshmen. Many promising representatives will be sworn into office for the first time in January. With a national army of Tea Party Patriots behind them, and public opinion in their favor, they have the power to force an early showdown with the existing Washington power structure.

This is a defining moment for the freshman class. Will these new members be bullied into accepting committee chairmen who represent the mistakes of the past? Or, as millions of Americans watch and hope, are they really in Washington to resist the status quo and bring government back to the people?

Many Americans stand ready to fight with them. To buck the status quo and make concrete changes in Washington is the choice before them. If they choose wrongly, there may well be more housecleaning in 2012.

Mark Meckler and Jenny Beth Martin are co-founders of the Tea Party Patriots, a national grass-roots organization with more than 3,000 affiliated local groups.

A Victory against Obama Care in Virginia

The State of Virginia scored a huge victory yesterday against the federal mandate forcing people to purchase health care insurance under the new Obama Care bill. Below is a statement from Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli giving a brief overview of the case and what comes next...
From Ken Cuccinelli --

As I told you earlier today, Virginia won the first round of the constitutional fight over the federal health care law. I also told you I'd get back to you with more details later in the day, and I'm keeping my promise. I will tell you up front that I will also go into still more detail later this week - when time allows. Arguments and Outcomes There were two basic arguments in this case. First, Virginia argued that the individual mandate was beyond the power of Congress and the President to impose under the Constitution. Specifically, Congress claimed that their regulatory power under the Commerce Clause allowed them to order you to buy their government-approved health insurance, even if you decide not to buy health insurance. The judge ruled that the federal government does not have the power to compel you to buy health insurance as part of its attempt to regulate the entire field of health care and health insurance. Thus, Virginia won this argument. Second, the federal government advanced a 'fallback' argument in case it lost on its commerce clause argument. The feds' fallback argument was that the financial penalty you have to pay if you don't buy the government mandated health insurance is a tax. This may sound like an odd argument from a political standpoint - usually they say everything is NOT a tax (in fact, they argued the penalty was not a tax while they were trying to get the bill passed); however, they changed position after the bill became law to try and save the bill. What they were trying to do was to get the courts to agree that because the penalty would presumably raise some revenue, it was therefore a 'tax' under the taxing and spending for the General Welfare Clause of the Constitution. No judge in the country has bought this argument, and Judge Hudson was no exception. He ruled that the taxing power of Congress does not save the bill, because the penalty for not buying the mandated health insurance is not a tax. The federal government only had to win on either of these two arguments, while Virginia needed to win both to prevail, and we won both! What's Next? Certainly the federal government will appeal their loss in the district court to the 4th circuit court of appeals within the next 30 days. And whichever side loses in the 4th circuit will certainly appeal to the Supreme Court. And no one has any serious doubts that ultimately the constitutionality of the individual mandate will be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. That could take approximately (very rough approximation) two years. We are discussing with the Department of Justice accelerating the case, and those discussions have been very cordial thus far. More on that later. Conclusion Today is a great day for the Constitution. Today the Constitution has been protected from the federal government, and remember, an important reason for the constitution in the first place was to limit the power of the federal government. Today is also a day of a small degree of vindication. When we first filed suit, the screeching of the liberals was deafening. Everything from accusing us of playing politics instead of practicing law, to filing what they called a 'frivolous' lawsuit. I want you to know, that our team makes decisions based on the Constitution and the laws. Period. We deal with the consequences of our decisions separately, but first and foremost we have been and will continue to be true to the Constitution and laws of the United States and Virginia, regardless of whether it's easy or hard in any particular case.

To read the official ruling of the health care lawsuit click here.

Tea Party Patriot Petition Slams Tax Compromise

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 14, 2010

Contact: Ralph King
clevelandteaparty@gmail.com

TEA PARTY PETITION SLAMS

TAX COMPROMISE AS 'BACKROOM DEAL'

Americans Demand Promised

Transparency, Adherence to 'Pledge to America'

Cleveland - Today, the Tea Party Patriots launched a petition (http://notaxcompromise.com/) to supporters across the country denouncing the tax cut compromise forged in secret by the Obama Administration and Republican Leadership in Congress. The plan was negotiated without the consultation of newly-elected Members of Congress or the American people and violates several components of the Republican's "Pledge to America."

"Our members are outraged as our representatives continue to ignore the message we sent on Election Day," said Ralph King of Cleveland Tea Party Patriots. "We are watching how they vote, and they will be held accountable."

"This 'backroom deal' ignores those who voted for principled leadership on Election Day," said Mark Meckler, National Coordinator of Tea Party Patriots. "Americans demand transparency in the legislative process and policies that reflect fiscal responsibility-not secret negotiations and weak compromise."

"Republicans in Congress only have the leverage to negotiate for tax deals because of the support Americans gave them and principled candidates across the country," said Jenny Beth Martin, National Coordinator of Tea Party Patriots. "It is an insult to those who voted them into power to procrastinate on their pledge to honor conservative principles."

Following are excerpts of the petition:

• Do not let Congress compromise with President Obama. "The Compromise" is against everything the House Republican Leadership agreed to in the "Pledge to America." This type of behind closed door politics is not what "We the People" voted for in November.
• "The Deal" was forged in secret, without consultation with the scores of new representatives and senators who campaigned on a much different agenda.
• "The Deal" like Obamacare, isn't reduced to writing even now. Like Obamacare, we are being told we will have to pass the bill to find out what is in it.
• "The Deal" revives the death tax, an immoral "vampire tax" that sucks the blood from the dead, ruins family businesses and double taxes savings that were accumulated over a lifetime.
• "The Deal" spends billions and billions of dollars that the country does not have in order to prevent a tax hike that the country voted against...the GOP bribed the president to follow the will of the people. 
• There are at least five provisions of the Pledge that are violated by "The Deal."

Click here for the full petition.

Tea Party Patriots is a national grassroots coalition with more than 3,000 locally organized chapters and more than 15 million supporters nationwide. Tea Party Patriots is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting the principles of fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government, and free
markets. Visit Tea Party Patriots online at www.TeaPartyPatriots.org.

Legislative Updates

A big thanks to Amy & Jeff with the Medina Tea Party Patriots for the below updates on key legislation in the House & Senate --

Updates on key legislation

The past two days have been a voting whirlwind as the Democrats in the House and Senate try to push through their liberal agenda before the new Congress takes session. Some of the following results provide hope that the pressure we are putting on key senators is working. 

Senate: Public Safety

Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2010 (S. 3991)

For those who need a refresher, this  “forced unionization” bill unconstitutionally subjects state and local public-safety workers to compulsory union “representation” and eliminates local government control over the labor relations of their own workers.

Fortunately, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was unable to reach cloture in the Senate on Wednesday, blocking the bill from moving forward. The vote was 55 (YEAs) and 43 (NAYs); 60 votes were needed for cloture. For the complete roll call, visit: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=2&vote=00266.  

Senate: DREAM Act

After delaying the DREAM Act vote until Thursday morning, Senator Harry Reid made a motion to table the consideration of the DREAM Act. The motion to table the bill passed with a 59 to 40 margin.

It is obvious that Senator Reid does not have the votes yet. However, we fully expect him to bring it to the floor again. With that said, we must continue to remind our senators (especially Senator George Voinovich) that we cannot afford this spending nightmare.

For more information on the motion-to-table vote, visit: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101209/ap_on_go_co/us_immigration_students.

Senate: Defense Authorization Bill, which included repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” 

According to The Hill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) failed to garner the necessary 60 votes for a procedural motion to start considering the 2011 defense authorization bill, which contains a provision to repeal the ban on openly gay people serving in the military. The final vote was 57-40.” To read the entire article, visit: http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/132745-senate-fails-on-repeal-of-dont-ask-dont-tell.

To view the entire roll call, please visit: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=2&vote=00270.

House: DREAM Act

As you know, the DREAM Act passed in the House last night with a 216 to 198 margin, with 208 Democrats and 8 Republicans voting for the bill, and 160 Republicans and 38 Democrats voting against it.

The eight Republicans who went against the tide of common sense were:

Joseph Cao (LA)

Mike Castle (DE)

Lincoln Diaz-Balart (FL)

Mario Diaz-Balart (FL)

Charles Djou (HI)

Vernon Ehlers (MI)

Bob Inglis (SC)

Illeana Ros-Lehtinen (FL)

For the complete roll call, visit: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/roll625.xml.

House: H.R.3082

which included the “food safety” bill (S. 510)

Instead of making the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act a separate vote, Speaker Nancy Pelosi tucked it into H.R. 3082, a continuing resolution (CR), which provides temporary funding for the government while budget bills are worked out. 

With a 212 to 206 vote, the House passed H.R. 3082. Since the “food safety” bill language was put in the CR, it goes back to the Senate, which is expected to be voted on by the middle of next week. According to one advocacy group, Alliance for Natural Health USA, “the rumor is that instead of dealing with the CR directly, Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI) will introduce the Senate’s own omnibus bill (even larger than the CR) that will also contain the food safety language along and who knows what else.”

To remind you of the dangers of this bill, revisit Sen. Coburn’s list of detailed concerns: http://coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2010/9/detailed-concerns-with-s-510-the-fda-food-safety-modernization-act-of-2010.

  

We must continue to voice our concerns about this bill, which allows the government once again to overstep its powers. 

The Deal

The extension of the current tax rates, or “The Deal”, as it is becoming known around the country between President Obama and Congressional Leadership, is problematic. It is a deal that needs to be opposed.

Call the following people today:

Sen. George Voinovich

DC Office Phone: (202) 224-3353 / no fax provided

Cleveland Office: (216) 522-7095/ Cleveland Fax: (216) 522-7097

Speaker-Elect John Boehner

DC Office Phone: 202-225-6205 / DC Office Fax: 202-225-0704

Senator Mitch McConnell

DC Office Phone: 202-224-2541 / DC Office Fax: fax: 202-224-2249

Keeping the Pledge

A couple of months ago, the Republicans signed "The Pledge" which were several legislative and principled commitments they made to Americans. This “Deal” violates several commitments from The Pledge. 

Here are the reasons why this tax bill must be opposed as outlined by Hugh Hewitt in TownHall.com, http://townhall.com/columnists/HughHewitt/2010/12/09/kill_the_deal/page/full/:

"The deal" was forged in secret, without consultation with the scores of new representatives and senators who campaigned on a much different agenda much less with their supporters and contributors who worked for two years and gave vast sums of money so that a new start could be made, one built on transparency and principle.

"The deal" like Obamacare, isn't reduced to writing even now, when Senator Reid says a vote could be held on Saturday. Like Obamacare, we are being told we will have to pass the bill to find out what is in it.

"The deal" revives the death tax, an immoral "vampire tax" that sucks the blood from the dead, ruins family businesses and double taxes savings that were accumulated over a lifetime. It took ten years of gradual step downs to eliminate the tax, and now "the deal" revives it at 35% with a $5 million dollar exemption, a rate that looks and feels permanent and which will immediately impact tens of thousands of families in 2011 and when inflation works its way into the system, thousands more over time. The GOP has spent years making the case against the death tax on moral and economic grounds, and in the course of a weekend of secret meetings, it gave that issue away.

"The deal" spends billions and billions of dollars that the country does not have in order to prevent a tax hike that the country voted against. In essence the GOP bribed the president to follow the will of the people. There is at least $75 billion in new spending in the plan, agreed to by the GOP less than 5 weeks after the country fairly screamed "Stop Spending Our Children's Money!"

On September 23, all of the House GOP leadership agreed to the "Pledge to America." A photo op was arranged at the Tart Lumber store in Sterling, Virginia, and the senior leaders of the would-be majority, with their shirt sleeves rolled up, took the pledge and asked America for the majority back. There are at least five provisions of the Pledge that are breached by "the deal." In September the House GOP promised

"Permanently Stop All Job-Killing Tax Hikes" (p. 16)

"Act immediately to Reduce Spending" (p. 21)

"Cut Government Spending to Pre-Stimulus, Pre-Bailout Levels" (p. 21)

"Read the Bill" (p. 33)

"Advance Legislative Issues One at a Time" (p. 33)

"The deal's" assault on "The Pledge" will make the latter a joke, and instantly impacts the credibility of all future efforts to propose agendas to the electorate.

The idea that this massive tax and spend bill has not yet even been written but may be voted on by the Senate this weekend is appalling, and has rightfully drawn the anger of the TeaPartyPatriots.org and other Tea Party activists, an anger that will not diminish.”

Senator Tom Coburn Calls CR/Omnibus a Trojan Horse to Fund Obama Care

We are hearing Senator George Voinovich is leaning towards supporting the below back-door funding of Obama Care & trillion-dollar swing sets that we don't need! 

Please contact his office (click here) and ask him to stand strong against the stealth funding of these progressive policies that have been soundly rejected by the American public...

From Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. --

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) released the following statement today regarding provisions slipped into the so-called “Cromnibus” bill designed to ratify and fund the new health law:

“Using the end-of-the-year spending bill as a Trojan horse to fund the new federal health care law is hardly the mandate from the November elections. Yet, that is what Congress is doing through the must-pass spending bill to fund government operations. We need to repeal, not ratify, the new health law and replace it with health reforms that will truly lower costs and improve health care quality and access.”

“The bill provides $19 million to the IRS for dictating health insurance under the new health law -- a small but significant opening salvo in the push to give IRS tax bureaucrats power over Americans’ health care. The legislation also spends $12 million on an unelected panel of bureaucrats who will issue costly mandates, make coverage decisions for all Americans, and could deny patient choice under the guise of ‘prevention.’

“The bill also provides a fat $3.6 billion check for Dr. Donald Berwick, the new head of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to be used for non-descript ‘program management.’ The fact that Dr. Berwick continues to evade questions from members of the press and public raises serious questions about his intended purpose for these funds.

“Other funding for the new health law in the bill seems to reflect the desire of congressional appropriators to micromanage and make decisions in areas in which they have limited knowledge and expertise. For instance, the health law provides $750 million in 2011 to a prevention and public health slush fund – all of which is earmarked by this bill primarily for new health reform programs. Rather than allowing public health experts to allocate funding to the most promising public health strategies, the appropriations committee has decided which public health programs to fund and directed significant new funding to build sidewalks, jungle gyms and swing sets.

“Members of Congress who campaigned on defunding the misguided health law Congress passed last year should oppose this trillion-dollar spending bill. We already know the health law isn’t working. Members who supported it are guilty of misleading advertising. During the last six months we have seen health insurance premium increase, not decrease, because of the new law. It’s time for Congress to extend current tax rates, pass a clean spending bill – a ‘continuing resolution’ - without extraneous and vague health care provisions, and go home.”

Will Senator George Voinovich Support the Funding of Obama Care?

Ohio Patriots it appears our soon-to-be-retired Senator from Ohio, Senator George Voinovich, is considering supporting a continuing resolution that funds Obama Care.

That Senator Voinovich would even consider giving us a going away kick-in-our-conservative-cookies and supporting anything that funds Obama Care is mind-boggling! 

How can a pro-life Senator support something that funds tax-payer funded abortions? 

How can Senator Voinovich support the funding of a bill that will in effect roll senior citizens into a corner and let them die? 

How can Senator Voinovich support the funding of an Unconstitutional health care bill that is more about growing government and mandating liberty-stripping edicts than it is about health care?

Please help "remind" Senator Voinovich that well over half of OH residents and people in this country are AGAINST the funding of Obama Care!

From Americans For Prosperity --

A continuing resolution funding ObamaCare passed the U.S. House Wednesday and is being considered in the Senate.  We are hearing that Senator Voinovich may join with Democrats and vote for this bill, which is a violation of the clearly expressed will of Ohioans on November 2nd.  Please contact Senator Voinovich and ask him to vote against the continuing resolution that funds ObamaCare.

 

Call Senator Voinovich:  (202) 224-3353

Click here to email Senator Voinovich (editable text is provided)

Key Message Points:

1. It’s wrong to cheat the American people by voting to fund ObamaCare before a new Congress elected to de-fund it can be seated.

2. Do not disrespect the American people by pursuing the same far-left, big-government policies they just decisively rejected.

Below is a letter from Phil Kerpen, vice president for policy at Americans for Prosperity, fighting the lame duck threat at http://www.novemberspeaks.com/.

Will Congress get ObamaCare funding and pork this Christmas?

Last Christmas Eve, the U.S. Senate gave Americans the lump of coal known as ObamaCare.  This year, they may take our money to fund it and also force us to buy a pork-barrel full of thousands of earmarks.  On a 212-206 vote, House Democrats yesterday pushed through a flawed continuing resolution that funds ObamaCare and extends overall funding for the next year at reckless 2010 levels.

As Sen. Tom Coburn has pointed out, the House-passed bill contains significant ObamaCare funding, which is why Coburn called the bill “Trojan Horse to Fund New Health Law.”

Now the focus shifts to the Senate, where efforts are underway to amend the House-passed version—and not for the better.  Senate Democrats will offer an amendment to make it even worse with a full-blown omnibus appropriations bill packed with pork-barrel earmarks, spending increases, and even more funding for every top Obama administration priority. And unfortunately, some Senate Republicans may be poised to help the Democrats pass it.

Rumors are swirling that despite the fact Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell pulled the plug on official Republican support for the omnibus, a small group of rogue Republican appropriators are playing ball, planning to vote for the massive bloated spending bill in exchange for a parting Christmas gift of pork-barrel goodies for their states.  The most likely to do so are three appropriators, Kit Bond of Missouri and George Voinovich of Ohio, who are retiring and will never face voters again, and the highest-ranking Republican appropriator, Thad Cochran of Mississippi.

We don’t know which earmarks made it into the omnibus yet but we do know that Kit Bond requested 142 earmarks this year totaling over $600 million.  George Voinovich requested 172 earmarks totaling over $460 million, and Thad Cochran requested a whopping 712 earmarks totaling over $2.4 billion.

Other Republican senators worth worrying about identified themselves last week when they voted against the Coburn-McCaskill amendment to ban earmarks: Robert Bennett (R-Utah), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Dick Lugar (R-Ind.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.).

These nine Republicans must be urged to abide by the wishes of the American people and to learn the same lesson Mitch McConnell, himself an appropriator, made clear I his wonderful Senate floor speech embracing the earmark moratorium:

“Nearly every day that the Senate’s been in session for the past two years, I have come down to this spot and said that Democrats are ignoring the wishes of the American people. When it comes to earmarks, I won’t be guilty of the same thing.”

Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, some Republicans may vote for the Democrats’ pork-packed, ObamaCare-funding omnibus monstrosity.

That’s why pressuring Democrats is critical, starting with the ones who voted in favor of the Coburn-McCaskill earmark ban.

Claire McCaskill herself is the most likely Democrat to oppose the omnibus.  Unlike her pork-loving Republican colleague Kit Bond, McCaskill has requested no earmarks this year and has long been a proponent of reform.  This vote will test whether, when the rubber hits the road, she is really willing to vote to stop a rolling pork-barrel.

The other Democrats who voted with Coburn include Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) and Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), neither of whom requested any earmarks this year, along with Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.).  They will be put to the test of whether their earmark reform was sincere when they have the opportunity to stop the omnibus.

Moreover, all senators need to be forcefully reminded that this will be the first vote on funding ObamaCare, a signature issue that will loom large in the 2012 election.

The bottom line is that this Congress had all year to do its job and pass legislation to fund the government before the election.  They failed.  They should not now be rewarded with a massive omnibus spending bill on their way out the door.  Sen. Coburn gets it exactly right: “It’s time for Congress to extend current tax rates, pass a clean spending bill – a ‘continuing resolution’ - without extraneous and vague health care provisions, and go home.”

Mr. Kerpen is vice president for policy at Americans for Prosperity, fighting the lame duck threat at http://www.novemberspeaks.com/.