Update: All 4 amendments were defeated, meaning we won 2 and lost 2. DeMint’s devolution amendment failed 30-67 with 14 Republicans (including McConnell) voting no; Stabenow’s green energy pork amendment failed 49-49; DeMint’s repeal of all energy subsidies failed 26-72; the Menendez-Burr handouts for natural gas cars failed 51-47.  6 Republicans supported the subsidies, including Tom Coburn! This might seem like a stalemate, but the natural gas subsidies only failed due to the 60-vote threshold.  It is also appalling that only 26 Republicans support the free-market in the energy sector.

Today is D-day for the Senate highway bill and all its amendments.  We must oppose this highway bill, which will raise taxes, engender future bailouts, and preclude much-needed devolution of transportation responsibility to the states.  Before voting on final passage of the bill tonight, the Senate will vote on several other important amendments.  We should support the two DeMint amendments and oppose the other amendments.

• DeMint #1756: At noon today the Senate will vote on DeMint’s amendment to abolish the federal gas tax and devolve transportation spending to the states.  His amendment will only need 51 votes to pass.  This is a seminal vote for conservatives.

After 2:15, the Senate will vote on 20 amendments.  Here are the amendments related to energy subsidies that conservatives must watch carefully.  Each amendment will require 60 votes to pass.

• DeMint #1589: This amendment would repeal all subsidies and tax credits for all energy companies.  This amendment would not only prevent the expired green energy tax credits from being reinstated, it would repeal existing ones as well.  This is one of the most important votes for conservatives.  It will separate the men from the boys.
• Stabenow #1812: This amendment is the antithesis of DeMint’s bill.  Her amendment would extend all of the green energy credits and subsidies, including many of the new provisions enacted in the 2009 Stimulus.
• Menendez-Burr #1782: This amendment would pass the T. Boone Pickens natural gas subsidies.  Boone Pickens’s plan would grant a $4,000 tax credit per car produced by all manufacturers of natural gas vehicles.  It would also give consumers a $7,500 tax credit for purchasing one of these vehicles.  Companies that install commercial fueling stations for these vehicles would be entitled to a $100,000 subsidy per station!

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Update: All 4 amendments were defeated, meaning we won 2 and lost 2. DeMint’s devolution amendment failed 30-67 with 14 Republicans (including McConnell) voting no; Stabenow’s green energy pork amendment failed 49-49; DeMint’s repeal of all energy subsidies failed 26-72; the Menendez-Burr handouts for natural gas cars failed 51-47.  6 Republicans supported the subsidies, including Tom Coburn! This might seem like a stalemate, but the natural gas subsidies only failed due to the 60-vote threshold.  It is also appalling that only 26 Republicans support the free-market in the energy sector.

Today is D-day for the Senate highway bill and all its amendments.  We must oppose this highway bill, which will raise taxes, engender future bailouts, and preclude much-needed devolution of transportation responsibility to the states.  Before voting on final passage of the bill tonight, the Senate will vote on several other important amendments.  We should support the two DeMint amendments and oppose the other amendments.

• DeMint #1756: At noon today the Senate will vote on DeMint’s amendment to abolish the federal gas tax and devolve transportation spending to the states.  His amendment will only need 51 votes to pass.  This is a seminal vote for conservatives.

After 2:15, the Senate will vote on 20 amendments.  Here are the amendments related to energy subsidies that conservatives must watch carefully.  Each amendment will require 60 votes to pass.

• DeMint #1589: This amendment would repeal all subsidies and tax credits for all energy companies.  This amendment would not only prevent the expired green energy tax credits from being reinstated, it would repeal existing ones as well.  This is one of the most important votes for conservatives.  It will separate the men from the boys.
• Stabenow #1812: This amendment is the antithesis of DeMint’s bill.  Her amendment would extend all of the green energy credits and subsidies, including many of the new provisions enacted in the 2009 Stimulus.
• Menendez-Burr #1782: This amendment would pass the T. Boone Pickens natural gas subsidies.  Boone Pickens’s plan would grant a $4,000 tax credit per car produced by all manufacturers of natural gas vehicles.  It would also give consumers a $7,500 tax credit for purchasing one of these vehicles.  Companies that install commercial fueling stations for these vehicles would be entitled to a $100,000 subsidy per station!

Read More →

Earlier today, the Senate began voting on a series of 30 amendments to the highway bill (S.1813).  The three important amendments regarding energy subsidies that we referenced earlier (2 bad, 1 good) were postponed until next week.  However, here is a list of other commonsense amendments that were voted down by Democrats.  It is truly sad that at a time when gas prices are at a record high Democrats are willing to place the interests of the eco-radicals ahead of American consumers.  They also showed that, once again, they have no interest in creating jobs or cutting spending:

• Hoeven amendment no. 1537 that would provide for approval of the Keystone XL pipeline between Canada and the United States.  It was rejected 56-42 (60 votes were required).  Only 11 Democrats were willing to vote for Keystone, and even most of those only did so once they realized that the amendment would fail anyway.
• Collins amendment no. 1660 that would delay the implementation of EPA emission standards for industrial and commercial boilers, known as Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards, and grant the agency 15 months to propose new rules.  It was rejected 52-46 (60 votes were required).  8 Democrats voted for the amendment; Scott Brown voted against it.  Again, those Democrats got a hall pass to support an amendment that was destined to fail anyway.
• Vitter  amendment no. 1535 that would allow new oil and gas leases throughout the outer continental shelf. It was rejected 44-54 (60 votes were required).  3 Democrats voted for it; Brown, Collins, Murkowski, and Snowe voted against it.

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Earlier today, the Senate began voting on a series of 30 amendments to the highway bill (S.1813).  The three important amendments regarding energy subsidies that we referenced earlier (2 bad, 1 good) were postponed until next week.  However, here is a list of other commonsense amendments that were voted down by Democrats.  It is truly sad that at a time when gas prices are at a record high Democrats are willing to place the interests of the eco-radicals ahead of American consumers.  They also showed that, once again, they have no interest in creating jobs or cutting spending:

• Hoeven amendment no. 1537 that would provide for approval of the Keystone XL pipeline between Canada and the United States.  It was rejected 56-42 (60 votes were required).  Only 11 Democrats were willing to vote for Keystone, and even most of those only did so once they realized that the amendment would fail anyway.
• Collins amendment no. 1660 that would delay the implementation of EPA emission standards for industrial and commercial boilers, known as Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards, and grant the agency 15 months to propose new rules.  It was rejected 52-46 (60 votes were required).  8 Democrats voted for the amendment; Scott Brown voted against it.  Again, those Democrats got a hall pass to support an amendment that was destined to fail anyway.
• Vitter  amendment no. 1535 that would allow new oil and gas leases throughout the outer continental shelf. It was rejected 44-54 (60 votes were required).  3 Democrats voted for it; Brown, Collins, Murkowski, and Snowe voted against it.

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Who needs Democrats when so many Republicans are willing to orchestrate their agenda for them?

The Senate is on the precipice of passing Barbara Boxer’s highway bill with overwhelming support.  Mitch McConnell is negotiating a deal with Harry Reid in which Republicans would be granted a vote on some of their choice non-germane amendments.  After Democrats summarily defeat those amendments, Republicans will return the favor by voting for the underlying bill, which overspends its revenue source by 43% and raises taxes to bridge the gap.

The sad thing is that S. 1813 is not just Boxer’s highway bill.  It was supported by every Republican on the committee level, and only 9 Republicans voted against cloture to proceed with the bill on the floor.  In a sane world, McConnell would be negotiating proposals to cut mass transit and eliminate the 10% beautification mandates on the states instead of securing failed votes on non-germane amendments.  Then again, most Republicans in the Senate actually support the idea of federally funded transportation.  They also buy into Obama’s puerile logic that it will create new jobs, instead of spreading around existing ones.

Consequently, not only will Senate Republicans decline to block the Obama/Boxer stimulus, they will lock hands with Democrats, pass the Senate bill, and jam House conservatives.  For his part, John Boehner is using the Senate bill against conservatives, instead of joining with conservatives, to fight this terrible bill.  He will lock arms with Mitch McConnell instead of coalescing behind a devolution bill or the original House bill, which pegged spending to revenues.  Later today, he will issue a pungent threat to bring the Senate bill to the House floor if conservatives fail to cooperate with his bill.  This, from Politico:

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Who needs Democrats when so many Republicans are willing to orchestrate their agenda for them?

The Senate is on the precipice of passing Barbara Boxer’s highway bill with overwhelming support.  Mitch McConnell is negotiating a deal with Harry Reid in which Republicans would be granted a vote on some of their choice non-germane amendments.  After Democrats summarily defeat those amendments, Republicans will return the favor by voting for the underlying bill, which overspends its revenue source by 43% and raises taxes to bridge the gap.

The sad thing is that S. 1813 is not just Boxer’s highway bill.  It was supported by every Republican on the committee level, and only 9 Republicans voted against cloture to proceed with the bill on the floor.  In a sane world, McConnell would be negotiating proposals to cut mass transit and eliminate the 10% beautification mandates on the states instead of securing failed votes on non-germane amendments.  Then again, most Republicans in the Senate actually support the idea of federally funded transportation.  They also buy into Obama’s puerile logic that it will create new jobs, instead of spreading around existing ones.

Consequently, not only will Senate Republicans decline to block the Obama/Boxer stimulus, they will lock hands with Democrats, pass the Senate bill, and jam House conservatives.  For his part, John Boehner is using the Senate bill against conservatives, instead of joining with conservatives, to fight this terrible bill.  He will lock arms with Mitch McConnell instead of coalescing behind a devolution bill or the original House bill, which pegged spending to revenues.  Later today, he will issue a pungent threat to bring the Senate bill to the House floor if conservatives fail to cooperate with his bill.  This, from Politico:

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Folks, it’s not the amendments we should be focused on; it’s the underlying bill that we must block.

Yes, it’s another week in D.C., and that means it’s another week of work on the highway bill.  Throughout the past two weeks, there have been copious pages of ink spilled pontificating about the ramifications of the Blunt amendment and religious conscious issues.  Moreover, the Capitol Hill papers are filled with news about Republican Senators protesting Harry Reid’s “filling the amendment tree,” blocking their precious non-germane amendments from being considered on the Senate floor.  However, through it all, we are forgetting about the underlying bill; the tax and spend highway bill (S. 1813).

Remember that most Republican senators are only lodging their protests over a chance to offer amendments that will invariably fail.  They evidently have no problem with the underlying highway bill.  We observed this a few weeks ago when just 9 Republicans voted against cloture on the motion to proceed with the bill.  Now Harry Reid has filed cloture to shut off debate, setting up a cloture vote on Tuesday and a vote on final passage later this week.  Will we coax more than 9 Republicans to oppose this behemoth?

It is appalling how many Republicans are willing to support Barbara Boxer’s highway bill – a monstrous piece of legislation that makes Boehner’s defunct House bill look conservative.  The 2-year $109 billion Senate bill (S.1813) offers no reform to mass transit and continues to mandate that states use 10% of their funding for wasteful “enhancement projects.”  The Senate bill will spawn even larger deficits in the long-run.  Even for the two-year authorization period of the bill, there will be a $35 billion deficit between trust fund outlays and gas tax revenue.  Additionally, the 1522-page bill contains $7 billion in tax increases, including onerous taxes on inherited IRAs.  It also continues the wasteful union handouts under Davis-Bacon.

Read More →

Folks, it’s not the amendments we should be focused on; it’s the underlying bill that we must block.

Yes, it’s another week in D.C., and that means it’s another week of work on the highway bill.  Throughout the past two weeks, there have been copious pages of ink spilled pontificating about the ramifications of the Blunt amendment and religious conscious issues.  Moreover, the Capitol Hill papers are filled with news about Republican Senators protesting Harry Reid’s “filling the amendment tree,” blocking their precious non-germane amendments from being considered on the Senate floor.  However, through it all, we are forgetting about the underlying bill; the tax and spend highway bill (S. 1813).

Remember that most Republican senators are only lodging their protests over a chance to offer amendments that will invariably fail.  They evidently have no problem with the underlying highway bill.  We observed this a few weeks ago when just 9 Republicans voted against cloture on the motion to proceed with the bill.  Now Harry Reid has filed cloture to shut off debate, setting up a cloture vote on Tuesday and a vote on final passage later this week.  Will we coax more than 9 Republicans to oppose this behemoth?

It is appalling how many Republicans are willing to support Barbara Boxer’s highway bill – a monstrous piece of legislation that makes Boehner’s defunct House bill look conservative.  The 2-year $109 billion Senate bill (S.1813) offers no reform to mass transit and continues to mandate that states use 10% of their funding for wasteful “enhancement projects.”  The Senate bill will spawn even larger deficits in the long-run.  Even for the two-year authorization period of the bill, there will be a $35 billion deficit between trust fund outlays and gas tax revenue.  Additionally, the 1522-page bill contains $7 billion in tax increases, including onerous taxes on inherited IRAs.  It also continues the wasteful union handouts under Davis-Bacon.

Read More →

Representative Mike Turner (R-OH) introduced Mitt Romney at a Dayton, OH campaign stop Saturday afternoon.  In 2009, Turner proudly declared, “I supported the CARS Act, also known as Cash for Clunkers, when it first passed the House in June and I also voted for the additional funding on July 31.”  Judging from Turner’s public remarks this afternoon, he stands firmly behind Romney.  The decision by Romney’s campaign to allow a politician such as Turner to introduce the governor is indicative of why Romney struggles to attract more support from conservative activists.  Turner’s record on fiscal issues does not often often reflect the principles espoused by the Tea Party.  Entrenched politicians such as Turner who favor egregious programs such as Cash for Clunkers share responsibility for the enormous national debt burdening this nation.

Then again, both Mike Turner and Mitt Romney also supported the Wall Street bailouts.  One should not be too surprised to find Turner among Romney’s most avid Ohio supporters.

Most Republicans (and some Democrats) were against past and future government stimulus package. Former GOP candidate Herman Cain is one of those who have been critical of the Bush and Obama stimulus packages, but his new website and first video from it may earn them a call from PETA, let alone others who might see it as “over the top.”

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