House OKs Hatteras beach-driving bill

The Virginian-Pilot, By Jeff Hampton, February 8, 2014

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that would allow more beach driving access to Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

The measure, sponsored by Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., will go to the Senate. The Senate took no action on a similar bill in 2012 after it had passed the Republican-controlled House.

North Carolina Sens. Richard Burr, a Republican, and Kay Hagan, a Democrat, back the measure.

CONTINUED.

N.C.’s Burr proposes changes that small-business advocates don’t like

McClatchy Washington Bureau, January 4, 2014 

WASHINGTON — Sen. Richard Burr, a former businessman in North Carolina, says he wants the federal government to put the Small Business Administration inside a new agency that combines the departments of Commerce and Labor.

Burr says the move would eliminate duplicative programs that cost the government “staggering amounts of money every year.”

One critic of Burr’s pending legislation, the American Small Business League, has been asserting that the proposal would close the Small Business Association, leaving many businesses without federal help to secure loans and get federal contracts.

Read more here.  

Burr’s dalliances with the Democrats date back to at least 2002

I’ve heard some grumbling from folks about Senator Richard Burr’s steadfast support for congressman Mel Watt in his efforts to become Barry Obama’s new director of the Federal Housing Finance Authority.  I wonder what those same folks will say when they learn about then-congressman Burr’s 2002 endorsement of an incumbent Jim Hunt-appointed Court of Appeals judge in her re-election fight against a Republican challenger.  

Then-Judge Loretta Biggs (D), appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2001 in the waning days of the fourth Jim Hunt term, was facing off against then-Union County Superior Court Judge Sanford Steelman (R). 

Okay.  Let’s go to an endorsement editorial published Nov. 2, 2002 by The Wilmington Star-News:

CONTINUED:  http://dailyhaymaker.com/?p=6468

Richard Burr stands by his man. (And THAT man is Mel Watt.)

Barry Obama is trying to appoint the most leftist member of North Carolina’s congressional delegation to a key administration post.  And North Carolina’s only Republican senator is trying to help make that happen.

On Thursday, Richard Burr — a key fundraiser for US Senate candidate Thom Tillis — was one of ONLY TWO Republican senators to vote in favor of Watt’s appointment as director of the Federal Housing Finance Authority. Watt’s confirmation is looking less likely, and leftists are praising Burr for his “courage.”

Campaign for Liberty has an excellent post detailing why the Watt nomination HAD to be stopped: 

For starters, John Berlau, Senior Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), argues that “Two prerequisites for any nominee for government posts is dedication to transparency in government and a respect for the privacy of citizens.”  In this regard, Re p. Watt fails both.

CONTINUED: http://dailyhaymaker.com/?p=6465

ObamaCare: Taxpayer subsidy for ME, but not for THEE

No wonder Richard Burr thinks it is “the dumbest idea”to defund ObamaCare.  It’s leaked out that the federal government will subsidize the health care costs of Members of Congress and their staffs:

All over the country, people are worried about how Obamacare will affect the cost and quality of their health coverage. Members of Congress and their staffs were especially panicked, because it appeared that the Affordable Care Act required them to purchase coverage on the law’s new insurance exchanges, but without the generous subsidy they receive for their current coverage. Capitol Hill collectively exhaled yesterday, when it came out that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management would allow members and their staffs to keep their insurance subsidies.

http://dailyhaymaker.com/?p=5961

NCGOP pushing ObamaCare defund resolution at August RNC meeting

The furor over Richard Burr’s “dumbest idea” comment has apparently pushed the NCGOP hierarchy into damage control mode:  

Today North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Claude E. Pope, Jr., announced that the North Carolina delegation to the Republican National Committee would put forth a resolution at the RNC’s summer meeting.  

The resolution calls on Congress to de-fund Obamacare and is supported by Chairman Pope, along with Dr. Ada Fisher, the National Committeewoman, and David Lewis, the National Committeeman.

“This could be our last opportunity to put a halt to one of the worst pieces of legislation in the history of our nation”, said Chairman Pope.  “As a small business owner, the impact of Obamacare on our business – and our employees – is severe, punitive, and chilling.  We already offer a comprehensive package of health, dental and disability benefits to our employees, but this legislation imposes a huge disincentive – through the 50-employee limit – to grow and create more jobs, and will immediately put the breaks on an already tenuous and anemic economic recovery.  Small businesses create over 70 percent of all jobs, and those business will now be looking at strategies designed to stay under that limit, further putting more downward pressure on job creation and economic recovery.” [...]

CONTINUED:  http://dailyhaymaker.com/?p=5956

Greg Brannon: BOTH of NC’s senators need to join the fight to defund ObamaCare

THE DAILY HAYMAKER 

Polling shows two-thirds to three-quarters of North Carolinians expressing serious dissatisfaction with ObamaCare.  The North Carolina General Assembly has voted to refuse federal money earmarked for funding health insurance exchanges – a key component of ObamaCare. There is clear evidence that fear and uncertainty about the law  is slowing the economic recovery and causing businesses to put off hiring decisions.  Yet. both of North Carolina’s senators — Kay Hagan (D) and Richard Burr (R) — are sitting on the sidelines in DC while others lead a fight to defund this looming bureaucratic train wreck.

Kay Hagan was a proud cheerleader for ObamaCare – taking great pains to tells us all how good it is going to be for us.  Burr has described the fight to defund ObamaCare as “the dumbest idea.”

Dr. Greg Brannon, a GOP candidate for US Senate in 2014, told roughly 100 supporters at a gathering in Moore County Friday night that Burr and Hagan were failing in their roles as  ”ambassadors” for the people of North Carolina by refusing to join an effort, led by Utah senator Mike Lee (R), to cut funding for ObamaCare out of any continuing resolution that may be passed to keep the federal government running through the end of September:

“Party loyalty — loyalty to your caucus leaders — should have nothing to do with your position on this legislation.  The rule of law should be the main concern here.  There is nothing in The Constitution that empowers the federal government to sink its claws into our health care system and intrude into our lives like this. Our leaders in DC should be deferring to The Constitution, looking at the damage this bill is already doing to our economy and our freedom, and listening to the people back home.  Kay Hagan and Richard Burr need to do the right thing for the people of North Carolina and sign on to Senator Lee’s effort to pull ObamaCare funding.”

CONTINUED:  http://dailyhaymaker.com/?p=5896

Federal Legislative Updae--March 23. 2012

RECENT SENATE VOTES


Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act - Vote Agreed to (60-36, 4 Not Voting)--The Senate gave final approval to the agreement to extend the Social Security payroll tax rate cut, which was reduced from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent last year, through the end of 2012. The bill also extends certain unemployment benefits and Medicare physician payment rates through the end of the year. The president is expected to sign the bill into law. Sen. Richard Burr voted NO and Sen. Kay Hagan voted YES.

RECENT HOUSE VOTES
Protecting Investment in Oil Shale the Next Generation of Environmental, Energy, and Resource Security Act - Vote Passed (237-187, 10 Not Voting). The House passed the first part of the surface transportation authorization bill, which has been divided into three parts. This part deals with energy and would use oil and gas revenue to fund transportation projects.  Rep. Walter Jones voted YES.

Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act - Vote Passed (293-132, 8 Not Voting). The House passed this agreement to extend the Social Security payroll tax rate cut, which was reduced from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent last year, through the end of 2012. The bill also extends certain unemployment benefits and Medicare physician payment rates through the end of the year. The Senate passed the bill a short time later, clearing it for the president's signature. Rep. Walter Jones voted YES.

Message from NC Senator Richard Burr

February 10, 2012



This Week in Washington: Unemployment Benefits Reform Act
This week, I introduced a bill called the Unemployment Benefits Reform Act of 2012 which would individuals who have been unemployed for six months or more to complete 20 hours of public service and 20 hours of active job search or other work related activities per week as conditions for receipt of federal extended unemployment benefits. The United States economy is suffering, and we are experiencing record levels of sustained unemployment. Being unemployed for an extended length of time can be demoralizing for people looking for work, but engagement in volunteer service will encourage unemployed workers to maintain job skills, marketability, and a sense of self-worth while providing for the betterment of their communities. Even more, the active job search requirement will enhance the integrity of the unemployment system and its ability to identify and serve those most in need.

Public service may be fulfilled by working for a 501( c ) (3) organization or a federal, state or local agency, and the bill protects government workers from displacement by only permitting volunteering with a governmental agency when permitted by current law. However, with nearly 13 million unemployed Americans and potentially limited opportunities for voluntary service, states would have the discretionary power to waive the requirement for individuals who had made a concerted effort to volunteer. In addition, unemployed individuals may be exempt from the public service requirement due to illness, family emergency, or if they are unable to perform public service due to child care responsibilities or lack of transportation.


Work related activities include subsidized private sector employment; subsidized public sector employment; work experience (including work associated with the refurbishing of publicly assisted housing); on-the-job training; job readiness assistance; vocational educational training, education directly related to employment, receiving a high school diploma or a certificate of high school equivalency; and providing child care services to an individual who is participating in a community service program.

Not only will this bill improve the stability of our unemployment system, it will also keep the morale, and more importantly, the employability, as high as possible for those looking for work.


Religious Freedom Restoration Act

On Thursday, I signed on as a cosponsor of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 2012, a bill introduced by Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) that would repeal the recent mandate under the President’s health care law that violates religious liberties and conscience rights of faith-based institutions by forcing them to offer employees insurance coverage for contraception free of charge. This mandate is an example of the White House’s complete disrespect for religious beliefs, which has deeply offended many Americans and institutions who do not want to have to choose between providing health insurance for their employees and abandoning the religious beliefs and morals they hold dear.

Religious liberty is one of the most valued freedoms upon which this nation was founded, and I hope that President Obama will reverse this unprecedented federal mandate that conflicts with long-standing religious freedoms and conscience protections.

http://burr.senate.gov/public/

Burr's pandemic bill

Sen. Richard Burr has introduced a bill to make sure the country is prepared to respond to a range of medical and public health emergencies in a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear attack.



Burr, along with Sens. Tom Harkin, a Democrat from Iowa, Mike Enzi, a Republican from Wyoming, and Bob Casey, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, introduced a bill reauthorizing the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act initially passed five years ago.

"The threats facing our nation are serious, and we must address them accordingly," Burr said in a statement. "The American people expect us to do all that we can to prevent an attack and, if one should occur, be fully prepared to respond, including having safe and effective medical countermeasures readily available."

The program is the country's effort to prepare for the unthinkable, including stockpiling vaccines in case of a biological attack.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/11/14/1642503/cunningham-back-from-war-talks.html#ixzz1dk7H9m2p