Rep Broun introduces "Debt Ceiling Reduction Act"; Tells GOP "Ante up or Find a New Job"

The Debt Ceiling fight is heating up and Speaker John Boehner, is again ready to perform one of his famous "Boehner Buckle's" or even worse make one of his oh so great deals.  To put it bluntly... Speaker Boehner is a failure, cannot be trusted and is part of the problem we are trying to fix in this country.

The widely publicized plan of Cut, Cap and Balance, while a good step, falls short of what most Americans desire and will ultimately still allow for the debt ceiling to be raised.  At this point in time any step we take must be backwards from the spending cliff and not a side-step with more promises of what future legislators can and cannot do.

Telling his fellow GOP Congressmen to, "ante up or go find a new profession," Congressman Paul Broun has recently introduced HR 2409, the Debt Ceiling Reduction Act, which will CUT spending and LOWER the debt ceiling back down to $13 trillion from the current $14.3 trillion. There are no promises to break, pledges to weasel back on or tit for tat deals of raising the debt ceiling...

From Congressman Paul Broun --

Congressman Paul Broun, M.D. (GA-10) today introduced unique legislation, H.R. 2409 the Debt Ceiling Reduction Act, that would lower the debt ceiling from $14.3 trillion back down to $13 trillion.  The legislation would be enacted at the beginning of FY 2012 and would force Congress to begin to pay off a portion of the national debt while drastically reducing spending.

“Should my legislation be signed into law, Washington would have to actually make the cuts that until now they’ve only talked about, and our national debt would be one step closer to being manageable,” said Congressman Broun. “My legislation would not just slow down, or stop the reckless spending train; it would completely turn it around.

“Americans are tired of lawmakers who talk out of both sides of their mouths and make promises that they can’t keep.  This bill offers a real and true solution for our fiscal dilemma, and I whole heartedly hope that my colleagues will either ante up – or try their luck at another profession.”

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The Left’s Desperate, Devious and Dangerous 14th Amendment Ploy to Raise the Debt Ceiling

The below piece by former Oklahoma Congressman Ernest Istook, illustrates how the left will employ, at the expense of future generations and the well-being of our country, deceitful and devious tactics to meet their desired agenda of spending our country into oblivion.

Being duplicitous, as when they ignored the U.S. Constitution when it came to ramming Obamacare down our throats,  they will cloak themselves with the U.S. Constitution through creative interpretations supporting their views when it comes to raising the debt ceiling.

From Ernest Istook --

Seeking to make virtue out of vice, the political Left has launched a desperate, devious and dangerous ploy to prevent the spending cuts that the public demands.

They are laying the groundwork for President Obama to bypass negotiations and to ignore the $14.3-trillion statutory ceiling on federal debt.  They want him to instruct the Treasury to borrow whatever it needs to satisfy grandiose spending designs, by claiming that the borrowing limit is unconstitutional.

If this happened, it would add a constitutional crisis to our economic crisis.  And it would worsen our economic problems.

The Left bases their plan on a dangerous misreading of the 14^th Amendment.  They employ deceptive rhetoric to depict the big spenders as the saviors of the Constitution.  They claim it’s the Constitutional remedy to protect our economy from the supposed alternative Armageddon’s of defaulting on debt or devastating reductions in spending.

The Left adds that this also would save us from the evil Republicans who won’t go along with job-killing tax hikes.

Declaring the debt ceiling unconstitutional and void would be a course reversal for Obama and Treasury Secretary Geithner, who have been claiming that doom is around the corner because of the debt limit.  But a reversal would not be the first time Obama has declared his position is “evolving” to match his political interests.  Nor would it be the first time Obama claimed a Presidential prerogative to ignore laws that he finds inconvenient.

Twice offered a public opportunity to repudiate this horrid idea, Obama has twice refused to do so.

The 14^th Amendment idea began quietly percolating on the Left a few months ago.  As it became clear that they were losing the fight over deficit spending, the Left last week began to unveil articles by cooperative law professors, economists, columnists and pundits, covered by CBS News, MSNBC, USA Today, The Washington Post, and numerous other outlets.  The Huffington Post has been the biggest cheerleader for the plan.

The proponents base their false claim on a selective reading of the 14^th Amendment’s statement that, “The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law . . . shall not be questioned.”  The language was adopted after the Civil War.  Because the adjacent passage of the Amendment expressly disavows any debts of the former Confederacy, the drafters needed to distinguish this from the valid debt issued by the Union.

Nobody is questioning the validity of our legally-issued debt, nor should they, but the President has no authority to create additional debt that Congress has not approved.

As noted by The Heritage Foundation’s Andrew Grossman, “it does not follow that the debt ceiling is unconstitutional. . . . Indeed, unilateral action by the President to borrow money would be an unconstitutional usurpation of the legislative power.  The Constitution [in Article 1, Section 8] vests the power to ‘to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States’ and the power ‘to borrow money on the credit of the United States’ in the Congress, not the President.  The President lacks the authority to, on his own accord, make expenditures which have not been authorized by Congress (because Congress has imposed a debt ceiling that supersedes any such authorizations) or to undertake borrowing that has not been authorized by Congress.”

Constitutional expert and former federal appellate judge Dr. Michael McConnell sums up quite simply the notion that the 14^th Amendment invalidates the debt ceiling.  McConnell eloquently says, “Bunk.”

Since 1917, Congress has exercised its control over debt by placing a statutory cap on the total amount that can be borrowed.  This is an exercise of Congress’ explicit and exclusive Constitutional authority—as opposed to a drummed-up misinterpretation of the 14^th Amendment to create some new Presidential power to issue unlimited debt.  As noted by the Congressional Research Service, “The debt limit also provides Congress with the strings to control the federal purse, allowing Congress to assert its constitutional prerogatives to control spending.”

To sum it all up:  As the 14^th Amendment states, debt must be “authorized by law.”  As Article 1 states, only Congress can do that authorizing.

The Left’s effort to reverse this is desperate, devious and dangerous.  They have seen polls showing 60 to 70 percent of the public oppose an increase in borrowing, so they are desperately trying to preserve big government.  Their twisting of the Constitution is devious.  And ignoring the debt ceiling would be dangerous to future generations and to today’s economy.

Imagine the chaos in financial markets if they could not distinguish Congressionally-approved and valid Treasury notes from Presidentially-authorized and questionable debt.  The Left has a bad answer for this:  Get the Federal Reserve to buy the new debt.  That would mean printing more currency, inflating our money and further devaluing the dollar.

The entire 14^th Amendment ploy needs to be shot down and denounced for what it is—another liberal maneuver to bypass both the Constitution and public opinion and to protect big government at all costs.

Adding a constitutional crisis on top of our economic crisis would only make things worse.

To send Speaker John Boehner and members of Congress a message, please sign the Tea Party Patriots NO Debt Increase petition by clicking here.

EPA funding Global Warming Programs in Foreign Countries

Thanks to Matthew Vermillion, Tea Party Patriots / Oklahoma State Coordinator, for the following info on how green energy goons at the EPA have sent over $27 Million to China, Thailand, Russia and other foreign countries to fund the liberal climate change agenda...

From Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) --

OUTRAGE OF THE YEAR: EPA SENDING TAX DOLLARS TO CHINA

July 7, 2011

WASHINGTON, D.C. - "Outrage of the Year" - that is what U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, is calling the distribution of tax dollars to China by the Obama Administration, through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to promote its climate change agenda. This information comes from a report released by Congressman Fred Upton, Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

"As the White House calls Congressional leaders to a meeting to address our nation's debt and spending crisis, a report recently released by Congressman Fred Upton shows that the Obama EPA has been spending millions of taxpayer dollars in places like China - a country we already owe 1.2 trillion - to promote its liberal climate change agenda," Senator Inhofe said. "This is truly the outrage of the year.

"When I became Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in 2003, I made it a priority to provide greater oversight over how EPA spends our tax dollars. By 2004, EPA was required to implement a new competition policy for awarding funds and maintain a Grants Award Database so that taxpayers could view EPA's spending information online.

"Chairman Upton's report makes use of this database: it shows that EPA has awarded $718,000 to China's EPA to assist with control of air emissions, $700,000 to Thailand to collect methane from pig farms and $150,000 to Interpol for climate change programs. Since 2009, $27 million in taxpayer dollars has been sent to foreign countries."

For Chairman Upton's report on the out of control EPA, click here. To read more about how the EPA is using your money to teach pigs in Thailand how to pass gas in a jar and to fund more liberal climate programs in other countries, please click here.

Below is a YouTube Video of Senator Inhofe with more on the subject (Click for Video Transcript)

Ohio's Top Conservative Bloggers & "We the People"

It was great to see the top conservative bloggers in Ohio, Tom Blumer of Bizzy Blog (www.bizzyblog.com), Matt Hurley & Mark Garbett from Weapons of Mass Discussion (http://massdiscussion.blogspot.com/) and Maggie Thurber of Thurber's Thoughts (http://thurbersthoughts.blogspot.com/) 
Note: There are many good conservative bloggers in Ohio.  In the very near future, you will soon 
          hear a lot more about them and from them.

Matt & Tom participated on a panel for one of the break out sessions also.  In sharing his views on the "We the People Convention," Mark G (WMD) offers up his take on Tom B's and Matt's portion of the break out session...

"Those two did a lot to bring blogging to the people and disspell a lot of the esoteric b.s. of some other presenters who tried to make it sound like you had to do what they did to be successful, or that you couldn't cover national events because Malkin already does. Kudos to those two for excellent work...oh yeah, and I helped!"

Weapons of Mass Discussion Live Blogged the "We the People Convention" and has replays of it for Day 1 (Click Here) and for Day 2 (Click Here).

In the world of the blogosphere, Weapons of Mass Discussion, BizzyBlog and Thurbers Thoughts, are what would be considered "grassroots" blogging in the same aspect the Tea Party is a grassroots movement. The mainstream media blogs serve their purpose, but the grassroot blogs like those listed above and the many other like them is where you will find the best sources of information -- especially on issues in your state.

But, pleae be warned there are what are called "trolls" in the blogosphere and some that could be defined as, if the blogosphere were a living person -- they would be the arm pit. Though there are many good blogs -- there are some very bad ones - so beware.  The three highlighted in this post (Weapons of Mass Discussion, BizzyBlog and Thurbers Thoughts)  are award winning, reputable and full of resourceful information nationally and for the State of Ohio.

Not an often ventured into area for most tea party type people, the blogosphere is a tool greatly underused by our movement.  It is an area the left continually uses to shape public opinion and perception. It is an arena we must enter in a much larger presence.  Take the plunge, visit Weapons of Mass Discussion, BizzyBlog and Thurbers Thoughts.

Obamacare -- Ohio Style?

As we prepared to celebrate the birth of our country and freedom from oppresive and government intrusion, on 6/29/11 some members of Ohio's Donkey Brigade in Columbus introduced legislation that will create an Ohio version of Obamacare -- HB 287.

In part, and in creating regional health care boards, HB 287 will enact the Ohio Health Security Act to establish and operate the Ohio Health Care Plan to provide universal health care coverage to all Ohio residents.....

Sec. 3922.01.  As used in this chapter:

(A) "Blind trust" means an independently managed trust in which the beneficiary has no management rights and in which the beneficiary is not given notice of alterations in or other dispositions of the stock, mutual funds, or other property subject to the trust.

Sec. 3922.02.  (A)(1) There is hereby created the Ohio health care plan, which shall be administered by the Ohio health care agency under the direction of the Ohio health care board.

(2) The Ohio health care plan shall provide universal and affordable health care coverage for all Ohio residents, consisting of a comprehensive benefit package that includes benefits for prescription drugs. The Ohio health care plan shall work simultaneously to control health care costs, control health care spending, achieve measurable improvement in health care outcomes, increase all parties' satisfaction with the health care system, implement policies that strengthen and improve culturally and linguistically sensitive care, and develop an integrated health care database to support health care planning.

(B) There is hereby created the Ohio health care agency. The Ohio health care agency shall administer the Ohio health care plan and is the sole agency authorized to accept applicable grants-in-aid from the federal and state government, using the funds in order to secure full compliance with provisions of state and federal law and to carry out the purposes of sections 3922.01 to 3922.33 of the Revised Code. All grants-in-aid accepted by the Ohio health care agency shall be deposited into the Ohio health care fund established under section 3922.09 of the Revised Code.

In its' entirety, HB 287 (click to read HB 287) is nothing more than trying to enact Obamacare at the state level through newly created regional and state boards deciding your healthcare.

To combat this Ohio style of Obamacare, signatures for the Ohio Healthcare Freedom Amendment to be on the ballot this upcoming election will be submitted this Wednesday (7/6/11) to the OH Secretary of States office. Getting this on the ballot and passed is the first step in protecting Ohio residents from Obamacare's forced health care insurance mandate.  (Click here to join in the Signature Submittal Rally this Wednesday).

The second step to Healthcare Freedom in Ohio is through SB 189, the Ohio Health Care Compact, which when passed and approved by Congress, will give Ohio residents the right to craft healthcare laws task specific to our needs.

National Association for the Self-Employed: "Lawmakers need to simplify the Tax Code'

From National Association for the Self-Employed --

Move Would Help Narrow $345 Billion Tax Gap, Decrease Taxpayer Headaches

Washington, D.C., June 30, 2011 – With spending up and revenues down, Senate lawmakers are looking to rein in the tax gap in order to bring down the national debt. The tax gap is the difference between what the IRS is owed versus what it collects each year and is currently estimated at $345 billion. The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) has been very active in suggesting ways that the gap might be closed, including small changes to current tax code and tax policy.

“Congress has been eager to pursue methods for reducing the tax gap, often at the expense of the self-employed and micro-businesses,” said NASE Executive Director Kristie Arslan. “Instead of further complicating the tax code with added regulatory burdens on small business and increasing enforcement activities, we suggest a more balanced approach that includes simplifying the tax code and enhancing taxpayer education.”

In the past, the federal government has targeted the self-employed (Schedule C filers) as part of their collection efforts. Recently, some agencies have publically acknowledged deficiencies in the tax system, including the IRS and the Government Accountability Office.  Both offices have acknowledged that most noncompliance is the result of inadvertent errors and tax loopholes that provide opportunities for noncompliance.  These agencies suggested what the NASE has said for years, that simplification of the tax code is a key component to narrowing the tax gap.

It is important to note that in review of current proposals to address the tax gap, we see that they solely focus on business to business transactions. Business to business transactions are already highly regulated and have substantial reporting requirements. A large area of potential non compliance and under reporting stems from business to consumer transactions. These dealings are currently not subject to reporting requirements and the creation of those requirements would likely be prohibitive to consumers and politically unappealing to legislators.

“In the fervent drive by Congress to recoup revenues for our fast depleting federal coffers, we must take the necessary steps to make certain the path we choose is balanced and effective, rather than detrimental. The NASE believes that the collective focus should be on supporting efforts for the survival, growth and innovation of small business as a foundation for long-term economic vitality,” remarked Arslan.

Read more here about the NASE’s position on specific tax gap proposals.

41 U.S. Senators Standing up against the EPA & The Clean Water Act

From Senator Thad Cochran --

COCHRAN JOINS CHALLENGE TO EPA & ARMY CORPS
NEW GUIDANCE ON CLEAN WATER ACT JURISDICTION

Group of Senators Ask Agencies to Abandon Proposed “Clarifications” on Water Regulations

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) is among 41 U.S. Senators who have asked two federal agencies to abandon a regulatory guidance effort that would change rights of communities, farmers and others who are subject to the Clean Water Act.

Cochran has signed a letter authored by Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) that asks the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers to take no further action on an interim draft guidance document on identifying waters protected by the Clean Water Act.  The letter questions the legality and necessity for change, and takes issue with the prospect of the guidance being used as “the first step toward a formal rulemaking in the future.”

The interim draft guidance notice (EPA-HQ-OW-2011-0409) was published in the Federal Register on May 2.  Public comments on the document are being accepted until July 31.

“The Clean Water Act has a proper role in protecting our waters, but the draft guidance offered by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps amounts to a slippery slope into a regulatory swamp,” Cochran said.  “The guidance document should be pulled and thoroughly reconsidered based on the many serious questions being raised about the legal authority behind it, as well as the potential ramifications for those who will be regulated.”

The detailed letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy questions the necessity of the new federal guidance because there have not been new legislative changes or court decisions altering the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act since the last official guidance was implemented several years ago.

Led by Inhofe, who is the ranking Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the Senators contend that the new guidance has clear regulatory consequences and will shift the burden of proving jurisdictional status from the EPA and Army Corps to the regulated communities. 

“While we question seriously the need for this new guidance and believe that the Agencies lack the authority to rewrite their jurisdictional limitations in this manner, one thing is clear:  it is fundamentally unfair to the States and the regulated community (including our nation’s farmers and other property owners) to subject lands and waters under their control to a change in their legal status of this magnitude via a ‘guidance document,’” the Senators wrote.

The Senators go on to argue that the draft interim guidance will substantively change how the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers decide which waters are subject to federal jurisdiction and will impact the regulated community’s rights and obligations under the Clean Water Act.

“This guidance has clear regulatory consequences and goes beyond being simply advisory guidelines.  The draft guidance will shift the burden of proving jurisdictional status of waters from the Agencies to the regulated communities, thus making the guidance binding and fundamentally changing the legal rights and responsibilities that they have.  When an agency acts to change the rights of an individual, we believe that the agency must go through the formal rulemaking process,” the Senators wrote.  “We respectfully request you abandon any further action on this guidance document.”

Links:

• Federal Register Notice:  http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/guidance/wetlands/upload/signed_epa-hq-ow-2011-0409_frn.pdf 
• Proposed Guidance Document:  http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/guidance/wetlands/upload/wous_guidance_4-2011.pdf
• EPA Clean Water Act:  http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/guidance/wetlands/CWAwaters.cfm

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