Supercommittee announces failure in effort to tame debt
November 21st, 2011 · Accountability, Congress, Economy, Federal Spending, Finance, Greed, Money Lost, Money Matters, Non-Transparency, Obama Nominees, Obama's Scheme, Politics, Stimulus, Tax Dollars, Terrorism from Within
By Lori Montgomery and Paul Kane, Published: November 21
A special congressional committee created to try to curb the national debt abandoned its work and conceded failure Monday, the latest setback in a long effort by Washington to overcome ideological differences and stem the rising tide of red ink.
In a joint statement issued hours before a midnight deadline, the Democratic and Republican leaders of the panel said that they were “deeply disappointed” by their inability to reach an agreement and that they hope for progress in the months ahead.
supercommittee conceded defeat Monday in its quest to conquer a government debt that stands at a staggering $15 trillion, unable to overcome deep and enduring political divisions over taxes and spending. (Nov. 21)
“Despite our inability to bridge the committee’s significant differences, we end this process united in our belief that the nation’s fiscal crisis must be addressed and that we cannot leave it for the next generation to solve,” said the statement from Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Tex.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). “We remain hopeful that Congress can build on this committee’s work and can find a way to tackle this issue in a way that works for the American people and our economy.”
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Happy Veterans Day to the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces.
November 11th, 2011 · General
Thank you for the tremendous sacrifices you have made to defend us and our freedoms that we all too often take for granted.
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Dead federal retirees are paid $120 million annually, report says
September 23rd, 2011 · Accountability, Corruption, Ethics, Federal Spending, Fraud Alert, Government, Tax Dollars
By Ed O’Keefe: September 22
The federal government pays out millions of dollars to dead people each year — including deceased retired federal workers, according to a new report.
In the past five years, the Office of Personnel Management has made more than $601 million in benefits payments to deceased federal annuitants, according to the agency’s inspector general. Total annual payouts range between $100 million and $150 million.
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U.S. Rep. Ribble moves out of District – A Democrat Move. Not illegal but defiantly WRONG
September 17th, 2011 · Corruption, Ethics, House, Republicans, Wisconsin
At least Kagen stood by his District. You lost my Vote for re-election!
SHERWOOD — U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble confirmed reports Tuesday that he recently moved out of the 8th Congressional District and returned to his family’s three-bedroom home on Lake Winnebago in Sherwood, a house he left more than a year ago to challenge incumbent Democrat Steve Kagen in last fall’s midterm election.
Consequently, Ribble is no longer a voter in the district he represents in Congress. Ribble’s Sherwood home is in the 6th Congressional District, where Republican Tom Petri is the incumbent.
Ribble defended the move by asserting, “Northeast Wisconsin is my home and always will be.”
“I have a long and personal tie to the 8th District and assertions to challenge this are just ridiculous,” the Republican congressman wrote in a statement. “I grew up in Appleton, went to Appleton East High School and coached volleyball at Appleton East High School for over 20 years. My roofing business was located in Kaukauna and my wife’s longtime bookstore was also in Appleton.”
Amid reports he recently moved out of an apartment he had been renting in Lawrence in the 8th District, Ribble confirmed he intends to take his Sherwood residence off the sluggish housing market, where it had been on sale for nearly $600,000 as recently as last week, according to online real estate postings.
“My wife and I initially put our Sherwood house up for sale last year,” Ribble wrote. “With the listing contract coming to an end soon, the house is coming off the market until the housing market turns around. We are not immune to the negative effects of the unsteady housing market and just like many Americans across the country, we have had to change our plans.”
Ribble said he had planned to move to a smaller home in the 8th District that “requires less maintenance” given his frequent travel between Washington, D.C., and the Fox River Valley.
“We wish the home would have sold, but unfortunately the tough housing market prevented this from happening,” Ribble wrote.
Ribble’s spokeswoman did not clarify when the move back to Sherwood occurred or whether Ribble intends to transfer his voter registration.
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Unions vs. the Right to Work: Collective bargaining:more similar to an antitrust violation than to a civil liberty.
February 28th, 2011 · Economy, Fraud Alert, Wisconsin
Collective bargaining on a broad scale is more similar to an antitrust violation than to a civil liberty.
By Robert Barro
How ironic that Wisconsin has become ground zero for the battle between taxpayers and public- employee labor unions. Wisconsin was the first state to allow collective bargaining for government workers (in 1959), following a tradition where it was the first to introduce a personal income tax (in 1911, before the introduction of the current form of individual income tax in 1913 by the federal government).
Labor unions like to portray collective bargaining as a basic civil liberty, akin to the freedoms of speech, press, assembly and religion. For a teachers union, collective bargaining means that suppliers of teacher services to all public school systems in a state—or even across states—can collude with regard to acceptable wages, benefits and working conditions. An analogy for business would be for all providers of airline transportation to assemble to fix ticket prices, capacity and so on. From this perspective, collective bargaining on a broad scale is more similar to an antitrust violation than to a civil liberty.
In fact, labor unions were subject to U.S. antitrust laws in the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, which was first applied in 1894 to the American Railway Union. However, organized labor managed to obtain exemption from federal antitrust laws in subsequent legislation, notably the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 and the National Labor Relations Act of 1935.
Remarkably, labor unions are not only immune from antitrust laws but can also negotiate a “union shop,” which requires nonunion employees to join the union or pay nearly equivalent dues. Somehow, despite many attempts, organized labor has lacked the political power to repeal the key portion of the 1947 Taft Hartley Act that allowed states to pass right-to-work laws, which now prohibit the union shop in 22 states. From the standpoint of civil liberties, the individual right to work—without being forced to join a union or pay dues—has a much better claim than collective bargaining. (Not to mention that “right to work” has a much more pleasant, liberal sound than “collective bargaining.”) The push for right-to-work laws, which haven’t been enacted anywhere but Oklahoma over the last 20 years, seems about to take off.
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The Constitutional Moment: Judge Vinson introduces ObamaCare to Madison and Marshall.
February 1st, 2011 · Accountability, Government, Government Control, Healthcare
‘If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”
Federal Judge Roger Vinson opens his decision declaring ObamaCare unconstitutional with that citation from Federalist No. 51, written by James Madison in 1788. His exhaustive and erudite opinion is an important moment for American liberty, and yesterday may well stand as the moment the political branches were obliged to return to the government of limited and enumerated powers that the framers envisioned.
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CBO Update
January 25th, 2011 · CBO Update
The following document has been added to CBO’s Web site:
- Cost Estimate for H.R. 359, A bill to reduce federal spending and the deficit by terminating taxpayer financing of Presidential election campaigns and party conventions
Cost estimate for the bill as introduced on January 20, 2011
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Public Law Update (343-371)
January 9th, 2011 · Public Law Update
H.R. 6398 / Public Law 111-343
To require the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to fully insure Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts.
(Dec. 29, 2010; 124 Stat. 3609; 2 pages)
H.R. 6517 / Public Law 111-344
Omnibus Trade Act of 2010
(Dec. 29, 2010; 124 Stat. 3611; 7 pages)
S. 3386 / Public Law 111-345
Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act
(Dec. 29, 2010; 124 Stat. 3618; 4 pages)
S. 4058 / Public Law 111-346
Helping Heroes Keep Their Homes Act of 2010
(Dec. 29, 2010; 124 Stat. 3622; 1 page)
H.R. 847 / Public Law 111 347
James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010
(Jan. 2, 2011; 124 Stat. 3623; 45 pages)
H.R. 81 / Public Law 111-348
To amend the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to improve the conservation of sharks.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 3668; 6 pages)
H.R. 628 / Public Law 111-349
To establish a pilot program in certain United States district courts to encourage enhancement of expertise in patent cases among district judges.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 3674; 3 pages)
H.R. 1107 / Public Law 111-350
To enact certain laws relating to public contracts as title 41, United States Code, “Public Contracts”.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 3677; 186 pages)
H.R. 1746 / Public Law 111-351
Predisaster Hazard Mitigation Act of 2010
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 3863; 3 pages)
H.R. 2142 / Public Law 111-352
GPRA Modernization Act of 2010
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 3866; 19 pages)
H.R. 2751 / Public Law 111-353
FDA Food Safety Modernization Act
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 3885; 89 pages)
H.R. 4445 / Public Law 111-354
Indian Pueblo Cultural Center Clarification Act
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 3974; 1 page)
H.R. 4602 / Public Law 111-355
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1332 Sharon Copley Road in Sharon Center, Ohio, as the “Emil Bolas Post Office”.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 3975; 1 page)
H.R. 4748 / Public Law 111-356
Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy Act of 2010
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 3976; 3 pages)
H.R. 4973 / Public Law 111-357
National Wildlife Refuge Volunteer Improvement Act of 2010
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 3979; 3 pages)
H.R. 5116 / Public Law 111-358
America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 3982; 68 pages)
H.R. 5133 / Public Law 111-359
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 331 1st Street in Carlstadt, New Jersey, as the “Staff Sergeant Frank T. Carvill and Lance Corporal Michael A. Schwarz Post Office Building”.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4050; 1 page)
H.R. 5470 / Public Law 111-360
To exclude an external power supply for certain security or life safety alarms and surveillance system components from the application of certain energy efficiency standards under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4051; 2 pages)
H.R. 5605 / Public Law 111-361
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 47 East Fayette Street in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, as the “George C. Marshall Post Office”.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4053; 1 page)
H.R. 5606 / Public Law 111-362
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 47 South 7th Street in Indiana, Pennsylvania, as the “James M. `Jimmy’ Stewart Post Office Building”
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4054; 1 page)
H.R. 5655 / Public Law 111-363
To designate the Little River Branch facility of the United States Postal Service located at 140 NE 84th Street in Miami, Florida, as the “Jesse J. McCrary, Jr. Post Office”.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4055; 1 page)
H.R. 5809 / Public Law 111-364
Diesel Emissions Reduction Act of 2010
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4056; 6 pages)
H.R. 5877 / Public Law 111-365
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 655 Centre Street in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, as the “Lance Corporal Alexander Scott Arredondo, United States Marine Corps Post Office Building”.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4062; 1 page)
H.R. 5901 / Public Law 111-366
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to authorize the tax court to appoint employees.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4063; 3 pages)
H.R. 6392 / Public Law 111-367
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 5003 Westfields Boulevard in Centreville, Virginia, as the “Colonel George Juskalian Post Office Building”.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4066; 1 page)
H.R. 6400 / Public Law 111-368
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 111 North 6th Street in St. Louis, Missouri, as the “Earl Wilson, Jr. Post Office”.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4067; 1 page)
H.R. 6412 / Public Law 111-369
Access to Criminal History Records for State Sentencing Commissions Act of 2010
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4068; 1 page)
H.R. 6510 / Public Law 111-370
To direct the Administrator of General Services to convey a parcel of real property in Houston, Texas, to the Military Museum of Texas, and for other purposes.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4069; 3 pages)
H.R. 6533 / Public Law 111-371
Local Community Radio Act of 2010
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4072; 5 pages)
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