Congressional Update

Last updated: 11/7/09

I tend to read through a lot of proposed legislation and often find nuggets that don’t necessarily merit their own articles, but would more-than-likely interest my readers. I’ll be updating this post on a regular basis as I catch legislation that might be of interest.

Most Recent Update

• S.2750 Bill that gives Secretary of HHS the authority to make grants to States to reduce the ratio of school nurses to students
• S.2748 Bill that extends by one year employer wage credit for those that have employees that are active duty military

Contents:

• Public polling on Congress
• Legislation of interest
• Congressional News

Public Opinion Polls

Rasmussen reports:

• 83% Say Congress Should Post Bills Online For All To Read Before Voting On Them
• Only 22% Say Most in Congress Will Understand Health Care Plan Before They Vote
• 49% See GOP Takeover of Congress Next Year As Possible
• 55% Expect Washington Politics to Grow More Partisan
• Generic ballot shows support for Republicans edges out Democrats 42% to 38%
• 62% say Congress more responsive to media than to voters
• 53% say Congress won’t address most critical issues
• GOP advantage in generic ballot grows to 5 points
• 58% view Pelosi unfavorably
• Government ethics now tops economy as topic of most-concern for Americans

Gallup:

• 64% say health care reform will affect their vote in 2010
• Democrats hold 2 point lead in Gallup generic ballot 46-44%
• Congressional Job Approval down to 21%
• Roughly a third of Americans believe that either Republicans or Democrats have bothered to work in a bi-partisan manner
• Only 45% of Americans trust Congress – a record low

Legislation of Interest

• S.2750 Bill that gives Secretary of HHS the authority to make grants to States to reduce the ratio of school nurses to students
• S.2748 Bill that extends by one year employer wage credit for those that have employees that are active duty military

• H.R.3221 Eliminates federal subsidies to private student loan programs – significant limitation for middle-class families seeking higher-education
• H.R.3922 Ensures that U.S. companies are not conducting business in Iran

• H.Res.842 – Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire should be recognized for its contribution to the arts around the world and heritage of the United States.
• H.R.3548 – Unemployment Compensation Extension Act: Adds an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits on top of the last extension
• S.1792 – Amends tax code to allow energy efficient windows/doors to qualify for tax credits.
• H.R.1283 – Military Readiness Enhancement Act: Repeals “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” and makes the act retro-active (anyone discharged on the basis of the policy can be re-instated)
• H.R.1283 – Military Readiness Enhancement Act: Repeals “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” and makes the act retro-active (anyone discharged on the basis of the policy can be re-instated)
• S.J. Res.20: Joint resolution that would force Congress to spend no more than the “certain revenue” in the current year and no more than 20% of GDP of the previous year. That is spending, not deficit. During the years of 200-2008 the spending range was between 18.4% and 19.8% of G.D.P. This seems to be a realistic and beneficial target.
• S.Res.309: Resolution recognizing and celebrating the 145th anniversary of Nevada’s entry into the United States. Sponsored by…. yeah Harry Reid. Doesn’t the Senate have better things to do with our tax-payer funded salaries than push garbage like this through while we are at war, in economic turmoil, without jobs… I could go on… and I will
• S.Res.307: Requires that all matters before Congress be fully scored by the Congressional Business Office for at least 72 hours before consideration by subcomittee
• S.J.Res.7: Joint resolution that proposes an amendment to the Constitution to make it a requirement that Senators be elected by the populations of their states, even for the purpose of replacing an unexpected vacancy. This is in response to Ted Kennedy’s death and the maneuvering in the Massachusetts legislature. Teddy changed the law in the Democrat’s favor years ago and now wants it back to allowing the Governor to appoint. Senator Feingold is sponsoring good legislation here.
• S.1692: USA Patriot Act Extension. This seeks to extend the Patriot act…. wait.. weren’t the Democrats opposed to everything in the PA
• H.R.187: National Right-to-Carry – fairly-muddy cross-state allowance for concealed carry. Still enforces state’s rights, which is the correct move – no matter how much of a 2nf amendment supporter you may be
• H.R.3458 – Unemployment Compensation Extension – Extends compensation by 13 weeks in states that have jobless rates above 8.5%
• H.R.264 – Doubles the number of visas to almost 1 Million, by offering legalization to aliens who have been in the U.S. for five years or are children. Haitians are given special consideration – immediate access to lawful permanent resident status. Some enhancements for border control.
• S.729: DREAM act: Gives states the power to allow illegal aliens access to higher education benefits (in-state tuition, grants, loans, etc)
• H.R.3200: House Democrat’s health care bill
• H.R.3400: House Republican’s health care bill
• H.R.2454: American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009: Cap and Trade pollution controls. This bill is also known as the Waxman-Markey bill and seeks to limit CO2 emission by making it more expensive to generate electricity. A lot more expensive.

Congress in the News and on the Web

• The Oberstar Transportation Plan: A Costly Exercise in Lifestyle Modification
• House set to open healthcare debate
• Democrats Reach Deal on Abortion, Set Stage for Health Debate
• Expanded First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Becomes Law
• House seen expanding home buyer break
• How did your members of Congress Vote
• Senate OKs transfer of Gitmo prisoners for trials
• Run-down of H.R.2454 Cap and trade
• Graham (RINO – SC) lends support to Kerry’s cap-and-trade bill – legislation still not publicly available