Congress is currently in the middle of its traditional August recess, but they will have a full agenda in September when they return. Tax reform, violating last year’s debt ceiling deal and health care are poised to dominate the policy discourse. We’ll continue to update you about critical developments as they occur.
Staying informed is pivotal to being a good activist. Click below to learn more from our sister organization, Americans for Prosperity Foundation, about these pressing issues for the fall.
•Need to Know: Fiscal Cliff: January 1, 2013 brings the expiration of the Bush era tax cuts; it will also usher in several new taxes from the President’s health care law. The dramatic increase in taxes will surely hit this weak economic recovery.
•Need to Know: Medicare and IPAB: Congressman Paul Ryan’s selection as the Republican vice-presidential candidate put a spotlight back on Medicare and the President’s use of a board of 15 unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats to control Medicare.
•Need to Know: The Budget Control Act: Last summer, Congress agreed to raise the debt ceiling in exchange for $1.2 trillion cuts in spending dubbed the sequester. Congress seems poised to undo their agreement from only a year ago.
•Need to Know: Medicaid Expansion: Following the Supreme Court’s ruling on health care, states now have the option whether to expand their broken, costly Medicaid system.
Sincerely,
Americans for Prosperity
Americans for Prosperity® (AFP) is a nationwide organization of citizen leaders committed to advancing every individual's right to economic freedom and opportunity. AFP believes reducing the size and scope of government is the best safeguard to ensuring individual productivity and prosperity for all Americans. AFP educates and engages citizens in support of restraining state and federal government growth, and returning government to its constitutional limits. AFP has more than 2,000,000 members, including members in all 50 states, and 34 state chapters and affiliates. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org
Showing posts with label IAPB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IAPB. Show all posts
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Roll-call votes in Congress, March 25, 2012
Here's how local members of Congress voted on major issues in the week that ended Friday:
House
Medicare cost controls: Voting 223 for and 181 against, the House on Thursday sent the Senate a bill (HR 5) to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board established by the 2010 health law to use expert advice from outside government to slow the growth of Medicare costs. Starting in 2015, this panel will have power to restrain any annual Medicare spending increases that exceed official per-capita projections tied to such factors as inflation and the gross domestic product. Congress cannot reduce the sum of the panel's proposed cuts but can change individual parts after clearing high parliamentary hurdles. President Barack Obama has not yet named any of the 15 panel members, who will serve full time and need Senate confirmation for their six-year terms. House and Senate leaders of both parties will recommend 12 of the 15 nominees; Obama will unilaterally select the others.
The bill limits medical-malpractice awards (which should be a states issue), in part, by capping punitive damages at $250,000; shortening statutes of limitation for filing suits; making it easier for judges to cap attorneys' contingency fees; and requiring plaintiffs seeking punitive damages to prove the defendant acted with "malicious intent" and deliberate negligence in causing the injury.
A yes vote was to pass the bill. Voting yes: Renee Ellmers, R-2nd, Walter Jones, R-3rd, Virginia Foxx, R-5th, Howard Coble, R-6th, Larry Kissell, D-8th, Sue Myrick, R-9th, Patrick McHenry, R-10th.
Voting no: G.K. Butterfield, D-1st, David Price, D-4th, Heath Shuler, D-11th, Mel Watt, D-12th, Brad Miller, D-13th.
Not voting: Mike McIntyre, D-7th.
Dispute over Medicare: Voting 180 for and 229 against, the House on Thursday defeated a bid by Democrats to prevent the Republicans' bill on Medicare cost controls (HR 5, above) from contributing to any these outcomes: rationing health care; adding a voucher system that would partially privatize Medicare; ending guaranteed Medicare benefits for seniors or younger people who are disabled; or raising Medicare premiums, deductibles, coinsurance or copayments.
A yes vote backed the Democratic motion.
Voting yes: Butterfield, Jones, Price, Kissell, Watt, Miller.
Voting no: Ellmers, Foxx, Coble, Myrick, McHenry, Shuler.
Not voting: McIntyre.
Senate
Relaxing rules, raising capital: Voting 73 for and 26 against, the Senate on Thursday passed a bill (HR 3606) to relax major financial-reform laws of the past 10 years to help small and mid-size businesses rapidly enter capital markets, attract investors and create jobs. The bill defines a new category of firms with annual revenues under $1 billion that could float IPOs without first having to meet SEC requirements in such areas as auditing and transparency. For these companies, the bill would waive several investor-protection and corporate-governance rules set by the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley and 2010 Dodd-Frank financial-regulation laws.
This bill lowers standards for providing investors with audited financial statements; eases reporting requirements on executive compensation; lets companies "crowd-fund" by using social media and the Internet to solicit large pools of small investors; increases the amount of capital a company can raise and the number of shareholders it can have without registering with the SEC; and raises from 500 to 2,000 the maximum number of shareholders in community banks.
Additionally, the bill reauthorizes the Export-Import Bank through mid-2016 while gradually increasing its lending authority to $140 billion. It extends a Small Business Administration program that provides companies with long-term financing for purchasing real estate and other fixed assets.
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
Voting yes: Kay Hagan, D, Richard Burr, R.
Internet stock touts: Voting 64 for and 35 against, the Senate on Thursday added requirements to HR 3606 (above) for stricter auditing and transparency on the part of start-up companies seeking to raise capital from large pools of small investors over the Internet — a practice known as crowd-funding. For example, the amendment requires an officer of the company to stand behind the touts of the public offering, places caps on the amount individuals can invest as a proportion of their incomes, and sets up third-party intermediate portals as buffer zones between the company and solicited investors.
A yes vote was to adopt the amendment.
Voting yes: Hagan, Voting no: Burr
Key votes ahead
In the week starting Monday, the House will take up a temporary extension of surface-transportation programs, a proposed Republican budget for fiscal 2013 and later years and several competing budget plans. The Senate will consider bills to improve the U.S. Postal Service and repeal taxpayer subsidies for oil companies. Congress will begin a two-week recess at week's end.
Source: Thomas Voting Reports Inc.
http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2012/mar/25/wsmet07-roll-call-votes-in-congress-ar-2084633/
House
Medicare cost controls: Voting 223 for and 181 against, the House on Thursday sent the Senate a bill (HR 5) to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board established by the 2010 health law to use expert advice from outside government to slow the growth of Medicare costs. Starting in 2015, this panel will have power to restrain any annual Medicare spending increases that exceed official per-capita projections tied to such factors as inflation and the gross domestic product. Congress cannot reduce the sum of the panel's proposed cuts but can change individual parts after clearing high parliamentary hurdles. President Barack Obama has not yet named any of the 15 panel members, who will serve full time and need Senate confirmation for their six-year terms. House and Senate leaders of both parties will recommend 12 of the 15 nominees; Obama will unilaterally select the others.
The bill limits medical-malpractice awards (which should be a states issue), in part, by capping punitive damages at $250,000; shortening statutes of limitation for filing suits; making it easier for judges to cap attorneys' contingency fees; and requiring plaintiffs seeking punitive damages to prove the defendant acted with "malicious intent" and deliberate negligence in causing the injury.
A yes vote was to pass the bill. Voting yes: Renee Ellmers, R-2nd, Walter Jones, R-3rd, Virginia Foxx, R-5th, Howard Coble, R-6th, Larry Kissell, D-8th, Sue Myrick, R-9th, Patrick McHenry, R-10th.
Voting no: G.K. Butterfield, D-1st, David Price, D-4th, Heath Shuler, D-11th, Mel Watt, D-12th, Brad Miller, D-13th.
Not voting: Mike McIntyre, D-7th.
Dispute over Medicare: Voting 180 for and 229 against, the House on Thursday defeated a bid by Democrats to prevent the Republicans' bill on Medicare cost controls (HR 5, above) from contributing to any these outcomes: rationing health care; adding a voucher system that would partially privatize Medicare; ending guaranteed Medicare benefits for seniors or younger people who are disabled; or raising Medicare premiums, deductibles, coinsurance or copayments.
A yes vote backed the Democratic motion.
Voting yes: Butterfield, Jones, Price, Kissell, Watt, Miller.
Voting no: Ellmers, Foxx, Coble, Myrick, McHenry, Shuler.
Not voting: McIntyre.
Senate
Relaxing rules, raising capital: Voting 73 for and 26 against, the Senate on Thursday passed a bill (HR 3606) to relax major financial-reform laws of the past 10 years to help small and mid-size businesses rapidly enter capital markets, attract investors and create jobs. The bill defines a new category of firms with annual revenues under $1 billion that could float IPOs without first having to meet SEC requirements in such areas as auditing and transparency. For these companies, the bill would waive several investor-protection and corporate-governance rules set by the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley and 2010 Dodd-Frank financial-regulation laws.
This bill lowers standards for providing investors with audited financial statements; eases reporting requirements on executive compensation; lets companies "crowd-fund" by using social media and the Internet to solicit large pools of small investors; increases the amount of capital a company can raise and the number of shareholders it can have without registering with the SEC; and raises from 500 to 2,000 the maximum number of shareholders in community banks.
Additionally, the bill reauthorizes the Export-Import Bank through mid-2016 while gradually increasing its lending authority to $140 billion. It extends a Small Business Administration program that provides companies with long-term financing for purchasing real estate and other fixed assets.
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
Voting yes: Kay Hagan, D, Richard Burr, R.
Internet stock touts: Voting 64 for and 35 against, the Senate on Thursday added requirements to HR 3606 (above) for stricter auditing and transparency on the part of start-up companies seeking to raise capital from large pools of small investors over the Internet — a practice known as crowd-funding. For example, the amendment requires an officer of the company to stand behind the touts of the public offering, places caps on the amount individuals can invest as a proportion of their incomes, and sets up third-party intermediate portals as buffer zones between the company and solicited investors.
A yes vote was to adopt the amendment.
Voting yes: Hagan, Voting no: Burr
Key votes ahead
In the week starting Monday, the House will take up a temporary extension of surface-transportation programs, a proposed Republican budget for fiscal 2013 and later years and several competing budget plans. The Senate will consider bills to improve the U.S. Postal Service and repeal taxpayer subsidies for oil companies. Congress will begin a two-week recess at week's end.
Source: Thomas Voting Reports Inc.
http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2012/mar/25/wsmet07-roll-call-votes-in-congress-ar-2084633/
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Federal Watchdog & Tea Party Report—March 20, 2012
Defend Property Rights Against EPA 'Navigable Waters' Overreach
The notorious Clean Water Act of 1972 has been used by both the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to curtail mining, control land use in agricultural zones, stop expansion of energy companies, and bring an end to construction projects. The ‘navigable waters’ authority is one of the many dangerous avenues that have allowed the agency to engage in enormous unconstitutional assaults on the rights of property owners. Farmers, ranchers, homeowners, business owners, and municipalities have been forced to abide by costly, and sometimes impossible-to-achieve, EPA mandates that have little or nothing to do with protecting the environment and even less to do with exercising legitimate federal authority.
Legislation introduced by Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) would target these abuses by the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers. The Defense of Environment and Property Act of 2012, S. 2122, with seven cosponsors so far, would rein in the EPA's regulatory overreach over "navigable waters" on private property that has destroyed the American dream of home building for many Americans. A companion bill will soon be introduced in the House. EPA could actually track the flow of water up a pipe and into your house, and call that a navigable water.
H.R. 452: Medicare Decisions Accountability Act of 2011: To repeal the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act providing for the Independent Payment Advisory Board. Sponsor: Rep. Phil Roe [R-TN1]. Status: Reported by Committee. The committees assigned to this bill or resolution sent it to the House or Senate as a whole for consideration on March 8, 2012. This bill would repeal the so called “Death Panel” which would have 15 bureaucrats appointed by Obama with only 1 person from the healthcare arena allowed. Rep. Roe says this bill has bipartisan support, but will likely be merged with HR 5 Malpractice Reform Bill which does not have bipartisan support.
Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) Act: The U.S. Senate has approved of a $109 billion bill that provides two years of funding for transportation and transit projects around the country. The bill may or may not be taken up by the U.S. House Representatives depending on if they choose to write a separate House bill, but hopefully what will be left out of any final version is an amendment by Montana U.S. Sen. Max Baucus. His amendment funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to the tune of $1.4 billion for fiscal years 2013 and 2014 — quite a jump from the $323 million it is currently receiving in FY 2012. This Fund helps purchase and protects lands across the country. Evidently the line of thinking within the Senate is more U.S. lands are in need of being purchased and protected by the federal government. (Sen. Burr voted against this bill and Sen. Hagan voted for it.)
UPCOMING VOTES
Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act - H.R.3606: The Senate is scheduled to take up this House-passed bill that is intended to make it easier for small and mid-sized companies to go public.
Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2011 - H.R.5: This House bill would place caps on damages in certain medical malpractice lawsuits. Heritage Foundation Opposes Federal Tort Reform Bill. The problem with most of the proposed reforms in H.R. 5 is that the law governing medical malpractice claims is a state issue, not a federal issue. Despite H.R. 5's reliance on the Commerce Clause, Congress has no business (and no authority under the Constitution) telling states what the rules should be governing medical malpractice claims.
Republican and Democratic Congressmen are trying to amend H.R. 5 to protect states' and individual rights before the House votes on it later this week. Americans who cherish their God-given rights should call the U.S.Capitol switchboard at 202-225-3121, ask to speak with their Congressman and insist that he/she oppose that bill unless the unconstitutional language is removed.
Two important rallies coming up as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear the case on the constitutionality of Obamacare:
March 24, 2012: Tea Party Patriots, Road to Repeal Rally, 12:00 Noon, Washington, DC https://www.roadtorepeal.com/
March 27, 2012: Americans for Prosperity, Hands Off Our Healthcare Rally, Upper Senate Park, Washington D.C. http://www.americansforprosperity.org/north-carolina#ixzz1nAcbtEO3
The notorious Clean Water Act of 1972 has been used by both the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to curtail mining, control land use in agricultural zones, stop expansion of energy companies, and bring an end to construction projects. The ‘navigable waters’ authority is one of the many dangerous avenues that have allowed the agency to engage in enormous unconstitutional assaults on the rights of property owners. Farmers, ranchers, homeowners, business owners, and municipalities have been forced to abide by costly, and sometimes impossible-to-achieve, EPA mandates that have little or nothing to do with protecting the environment and even less to do with exercising legitimate federal authority.
Legislation introduced by Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) would target these abuses by the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers. The Defense of Environment and Property Act of 2012, S. 2122, with seven cosponsors so far, would rein in the EPA's regulatory overreach over "navigable waters" on private property that has destroyed the American dream of home building for many Americans. A companion bill will soon be introduced in the House. EPA could actually track the flow of water up a pipe and into your house, and call that a navigable water.
H.R. 452: Medicare Decisions Accountability Act of 2011: To repeal the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act providing for the Independent Payment Advisory Board. Sponsor: Rep. Phil Roe [R-TN1]. Status: Reported by Committee. The committees assigned to this bill or resolution sent it to the House or Senate as a whole for consideration on March 8, 2012. This bill would repeal the so called “Death Panel” which would have 15 bureaucrats appointed by Obama with only 1 person from the healthcare arena allowed. Rep. Roe says this bill has bipartisan support, but will likely be merged with HR 5 Malpractice Reform Bill which does not have bipartisan support.
Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) Act: The U.S. Senate has approved of a $109 billion bill that provides two years of funding for transportation and transit projects around the country. The bill may or may not be taken up by the U.S. House Representatives depending on if they choose to write a separate House bill, but hopefully what will be left out of any final version is an amendment by Montana U.S. Sen. Max Baucus. His amendment funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to the tune of $1.4 billion for fiscal years 2013 and 2014 — quite a jump from the $323 million it is currently receiving in FY 2012. This Fund helps purchase and protects lands across the country. Evidently the line of thinking within the Senate is more U.S. lands are in need of being purchased and protected by the federal government. (Sen. Burr voted against this bill and Sen. Hagan voted for it.)
UPCOMING VOTES
Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act - H.R.3606: The Senate is scheduled to take up this House-passed bill that is intended to make it easier for small and mid-sized companies to go public.
Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2011 - H.R.5: This House bill would place caps on damages in certain medical malpractice lawsuits. Heritage Foundation Opposes Federal Tort Reform Bill. The problem with most of the proposed reforms in H.R. 5 is that the law governing medical malpractice claims is a state issue, not a federal issue. Despite H.R. 5's reliance on the Commerce Clause, Congress has no business (and no authority under the Constitution) telling states what the rules should be governing medical malpractice claims.
Republican and Democratic Congressmen are trying to amend H.R. 5 to protect states' and individual rights before the House votes on it later this week. Americans who cherish their God-given rights should call the U.S.Capitol switchboard at 202-225-3121, ask to speak with their Congressman and insist that he/she oppose that bill unless the unconstitutional language is removed.
Two important rallies coming up as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear the case on the constitutionality of Obamacare:
March 24, 2012: Tea Party Patriots, Road to Repeal Rally, 12:00 Noon, Washington, DC https://www.roadtorepeal.com/
March 27, 2012: Americans for Prosperity, Hands Off Our Healthcare Rally, Upper Senate Park, Washington D.C. http://www.americansforprosperity.org/north-carolina#ixzz1nAcbtEO3
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