Daily Update

Congressional Update:

Senator John Thune's Amendment (1618) to the National Defense Authorization Act (S 1390) was rejected 58-39 (3 not voting). The amendment is of interest to supporters of the 2nd amendment:

To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to allow citizens who have concealed carry permits from the State in which they reside to carry concealed firearms in another State that grants concealed carry permits, if the individual complies with the laws of the State.

Both TN Senators voted YES to the amendment.

Another Senate amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act was also defeated on a 43-54 (3 not voting) vote. The Brownback amendment 1597 was intended to "To express the sense of the Senate that the Secretary of State should redesignate North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism". Interestingly, Sen. Lamar Alexander voted FOR the amendment and Sen. Corker voted against it. I CANNOT IMAGINE WHAT REASON SEN. CORKER HAS FOR VOTING AGAINST THIS!! He was one of only 2 Republicans doing so. Please explain yourself Sen. Corker!!!

House Activity...
HR2920 (Pay-As-You-Go) passed the House today along party lines (265-166, 3 not voting). The TN delegation voted as follows:

YES: Davis, Cooper, Gordon, Tanner, Cohen
NO: Roe, Duncan, Wamp, Blackburn

There was one amendment offered to this bill but the text of the amendment was not available as I wrote this. The amendment was defeated with most Democrats voting against it, most Republicans voting for it. The TN delegation voted along party lines for the amendment.

NO: Davis, Cooper, Gordon, Tanner, Cohen
YES: Roe, Duncan, Wamp, Blackburn

I would like to know more about this bill and why the final vote was along party lines. Isn't a 'pay-as-you-go" bill from the Democrats disingenuous considering the fact that the Democrats have been voting for outrageous spending almost every day in the House(you should have seen the votes to cut spending on most of the appropriations bills - the Dems voted against almost EVERY proposed spending cut on each appropriation bill). Also, how can the Dems say that they're for "pay as you go" after they voted overwhelmingly for the huge stimulus (which is not paid for), the Cap and Tax (which is going to have huge costs to taxpayers, consumers and businesses) and they also appear to be overwhelmingly in support of the unbelievable cost of this health care bill? Isn't it kind of late to talk about pay-as-you-go? Watch what they do....not what they say. .....The Senate has not yet voted on this bill.


There were so many new bills introduced on 7/21 that I can't possibly cover them all here. A few to watch for or to laugh/cry about.....
H.R. 3274: Military Voters' Equal Access to Voter Registration Act of 2009
H.R. 3271: Green Routes to Work Act
H. Res. 663: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that any savings under the Medicare Program should be invested back into the Medicare Program, rather than creating new entitlement programs.
H. J. Res. 61: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to equal rights for men and women. (Which country is Carolyn Maloney living in?)
H.R. 3272: Corporate Governance Reform Act of 2009 (control of executive compensation)
H.R. 3269: Corporate and Financial Institution Compensation Fairness Act of 2009 (more control over executive compensation)

I must admit that, when reading all of these newly introduced bills, you come to realize what a mis-guided group of people we have running this country. They don't know when to stop and the amount of control that they're trying to exercise over our lives is profound.

Moving on to health scare...
Did you watch President Obama on TV last night speaking about health care legislation? I couldn't stomach it because I've seen him lie outright to the American people about this issue too many times.

The Blue Dogs (TN members: Gordon, Cooper, Davis, Tanner) have issued a new statement. Here it is (here).

Nancy Pelosi says that she has the votes to pass the socialized medicine bill. Read the article here. Interestingly, Rep. Henry Waxman says that he's trying to meet the Blue Dogs request to create an independent commission that would set reimbursement rates for Medicare providers each year. IF THAT IS ALL THAT THE BLUE DOGS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT IN THIS BILL, THEY'RE TRAITORS TO THIS COUNTRY! They act as though they're fiscally responsible but they're not. Even the CBO says this will cost a fortune and, oops, they forgot to include almost $300 billion in payments to physicians.

Reading:
Obama Backs Health Surtax

White House Releases List of Health Care Officials Paying Visits

Fact Check: Obama on Health Care


Obama watching out for your back with more governmental control:
Obama Proposes New Transaction Fees for Financial Firms' Riskiest Investments

Kerry Panel Looks at Climate Change and National Security