Boozman

As Congress returns to business this week, there is new documented proof that House Democrats are breaking promises they made on the campaign trail, the latest example coming in the forms of earmarks.

After promising unprecedented openness regarding Congress’ pork barrel practices, House Democrats are moving in the opposite direction as they draw up spending bills for the upcoming budget year.

Democrats are sidestepping rules approved their first day in power in January to clearly identify “earmarks” - lawmakers’ requests for specific projects and contracts for their states.

Rather than including specific pet projects, grants and contracts in legislation as it is being written, Democrats are following an order by the House Appropriations Committee chairman to keep the bills free of such earmarks until it is too late for critics to effectively challenge them.

We are wondering what parts of the following Speaker Pelosi and her crew have failed to understand:

• “Honest leadership is not just a partisan goal. It is the key to putting the interests of all Americans ahead of the special interests. It is what the American people sent us here to do…” (Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 1/05/07)
• We put the interests of all Americans ahead of the special interests by passing tough Congressional ethics reform, restoring “pay-as-you-go” budgeting, and restricting spending earmarks.” (Pelosi, 6/01/2007)
• “This New Direction of fiscal soundness, pay-as-you-go, audit the books is the guiding principle.” (Pelosi, 6/14/2006)
• “The American people have every right to expect more from us. And, we should expect more from ourselves, as well.” (Rep. Steny Hoyer, 9/15/2006)
• “… we will help bring back fiscal responsibility by holding members accountable for their earmarks and reinstating the pay-as-you-go policies …” (Hoyer, 1/3/2007)
• “We will restore civility and integrity to our legislative process, and transparency and accountability to our government.” (Hoyer, 11/25/2006)

It took 105 days, but PAYGO is now not worth the paper it was written on.

Remember last month when the Democrat Leadership pulled the DC Voting bill off the floor after Republicans offered an amendment to repeal the DC gun ownership ban? (Never mind that it would have restored the 2nd Amendment rights to people who Democrats said demanded the right to vote.) The fact that parts of the bill came under the PAYGO rules allowed the GOP to amend the bill.

Well, today it is back on the floor and, in order to prevent the GOP from amending the bill, House Democrats have waived the PAYGO rules, coming up with:

H.Res. 317, which waives the rules much heralded by Democrats in last year’s campaign. Why does PAYGO matter when it comes to DC voting? Here you go:

The new D.C. voting bill would increase mandatory spending by about $200,000 in FY2008 and by about $2.5 million over the FY2008-FY2017 period (for the salary and operating expenses for the new at-large representative). Thus, the Democrat bill violates PAYGO (House Rule XXI, Section 10 - since it would increase the deficit without offset during the periods stated in House Rule XXI).

Normally, the rules of the House of Representatives would require that the bill be subject to a PAYGO point of order on the House floor. However, the Democrats are eliminating the possibility for Members of Congress to question their waiving of PAYGO in order to pass the bill.

Rep. Boozman voted for PAYGO, siding with a bipartisan majority to do so.

“This is a common-sense step to require the House of Representatives to pay-as-we-go when it comes to money matters,” Boozman said. “The American people demanded we begin down the road to fiscal responsibility, and this rule is a good first step.”

And, just as a reminder, here is some of the rhetoric about PAYGO spouted by members of the Democrat Leadership:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi

“After years of historic deficits, this new Congress will commit itself to a higher standard: pay as you go, no new deficit spending. Our new America will provide unlimited opportunity for future generations, not burden them with mountains of debt.”

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer

“Democrats propose a new direction on the economy that includes a commitment to fiscal discipline. We would restore common sense “pay as you go” rules that say any increase in spending or decrease in revenue, such as tax cuts, must be offset by decreases in spending elsewhere or increases in revenue. Democrats believe that fiscal responsibility will help put America back on the right track”

Ways & Means Chairman Charlie Rangel

“It’s not good for me to have pay-go, but it’s good for the country. At this point, nobody . . . has convinced me that there should be exemptions from pay-go.”

Democrat Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel

“I worked for an administration that had pay-as-you-go rules. It created discipline not just for Republicans, not just for Democrats. For the government. For the American people’s money.”

The new Democrat position on PAYGO: Good for America unless it’s bad for Democrats.

Congratulations to the United States Senate, passing an increase of the minimum wage, while protecting the businesses which will have to pay the increased wage.

Senate Republicans praised the measure as a responsible package that would help workers who earn the minimum wage and the businesses that employ them. They implored House leaders to accept the compromise and send it to President Bush, who put out a statement yesterday praising the Senate bill.

“I want to reiterate our hope that the House will not derail this bipartisan approach,” said Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) “Middle-class relief is in their hands.”

This is truly an example of the bipartisan approach which the people want out of Congress. The Senate bill is a winner for those who want to help workers, a winner for those who want to help business, a winner for those who want to help both, and - more importantly - a winner for the American people who do the work and own the small businesses which employ the majority of minimum-wage workers.

You may remember Rep. Boozman (who voted for the House bill) signing-on to a GOP-backed minimum-wage bill which called for the tax relief in order to give employers an opportunity to follow the PAYGO rule followed in the House.

“I believe if you increase costs in one area, you must reduce costs to balance it all out. Instead, Speaker Pelosi and the Democrats have ignored their own rhetoric by forcing small businesses to increase costs without providing them a way to balance it out with tax relief,” (Boozman said).

It probably also helped things out in the Senate when you had a fellow Arkansan say the tax relief was needed following the House vote.

“It makes sense that we look for ways to provide relief for our small businesses as we work to pass a minimum wage increase,” said Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark.

Now, it is up to the House to take a lesson from the bipartisanship shown in the Senate and give workers a higher rate of pay.

Rep. Boozman appeared this afternoon on the Fort Smith FM dial, on the The Steve Duigan Show on KFSA 950 AM.

Click here to listen to this afternoon’s interview.
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Here is this week’s update from the office of Congressman John Boozman.

This is a regular weekly email to subscribers to our list every weekend. If you wish to subscribe, click here.

Winter Storm

This week, Rep. Boozman has been keeping tabs on the weather in the 3rd District, and how last weekend’s ice and snow affected everyone.

He is very proud of the efforts by city and county leaders, in addition to Governor Beebe’s staff, to find shelters for people and to begin the process of repair.

This past Wednesday, two members of the Congressman’s Lowell office staff toured the damage in Benton County with Judge Gary Black. Rep. Boozman received updates on the situation in case the state asked for a federal disaster declaration. So far, no request has been made, but the office remains ready to assist any way it can.

100 Hours

This week, the “100-hour” lockdown of the House ended (we think, since no one was sure how time was kept*) with Rep. Boozman siding with bipartisan majorities on over half of the votes taken.

Here is a snippet of what he had to say at the end of the “100 Hours”:

* U.S. News and World Report found four ways to count it. Based on different calculations, start times, and pauses, 100 hours would elapse on:

• Jan. 9 at 4 pm
• Jan. 18 at 3 pm
• Jan. 23 at 8:30 pm
• Jan. 31 at 3 pm

GOP Leadership

We learned early this week that Rep. Boozman was named a Deputy Republican Whip, joining the Whip Team headed by our neighbor just over the Missouri border, Rep. Roy Blunt.

To learn what others are saying about the appointment, click here.

Working for the 3rd District

This week, Rep. Boozman learned which subcommittees he will be serving on as part of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

He received three assignments on each committee, which is a rare feat considering the changeover in the House majority.

On “T&I,” he received three assignments which have a direct affect on the 3rd District. His assignments are:

• Aviation – Focusing on improving air travel, and security in Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley.
• Highways and Transit – Where he can focus on the completion of Interstate 49 through Western Arkansas
• Water Resources and Environment – Working to address the minimum-flow issues on the District’s water ways

On Foreign Affairs, Rep. Boozman’s assignments will allow him to focus on international issues grabbing today’s headlines:

• Africa and Global Health – Ending the genocide in Darfur and stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria on the continent
• International Terrorism and Nonproliferation – Winning the Global War on Terror, stopping the rampant spread of nuclear technology to rogue nations
• Western Hemisphere – Working with our neighbors to stem the tide of illegal immigration to the United States, and to open up trade markets for products produced in Arkansas.

Arkansas World Trade Center

On Saturday, Rep. Boozman hosted Chinese Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong for lunch and a tour of the Arkansas World Trade Center in Rogers. The focus of the visit by the Ambassador was to speak with District business leaders and tour the new WTC, announced in September.

Pro-Family…

Rep. Boozman signed on to co-sponsor legislation this week which will make permanent a $10,000 tax credit for parents who adopt children physically or mentally incapable of caring for themselves.

Monday is national Walk for Life Day. On the occasion of millions of Americans taking to the streets to affirm human life, Rep. Boozman will join Rep. Duncan Hunter in introducing the Right to Life Act, which will once and for all protect our unborn children from harm.

Rep. Boozman will also be speaking about the bill, and other issues, on the radio Monday afternoon at 4 p.m. (CT). You can hear him on Spirit Radio, 106.3 FM, KZKZ in Fort Smith.

… Lower and Simpler Taxes

Rep. Boozman added his support to legislation which will ABOLISH the Internal Revenue Code by the end of the decade, so Congress will have a firm deadline to fix the 5.6-million-word tax law which is seven times the length of the Bible.

Also this week, Rep. Boozman voted against Democrat-sponsored “Energy Bill,” which is nothing more than a tax increase on business.

More People in College

Rep. Boozman voted for the Student Loan bill this week which, while a good start toward making college more affordable for all students, only helps graduates who still have loans to pay off.

The Congressman, a former member of the Rogers School Board, looks forward to working with Republicans and Democrats on a college bill which will benefit actual students, and those preparing to head to college.

As always, we welcome your input as to the issues you are interested in the 3rd District. Make sure to visit our website at http://boozman.house.gov, or contact us at (202) 225-4301.

We all know Speaker Nancy Pelosi is receiving criticism from the GOP in the early days of the 110th Congress.

After all, that is to be expected.

However, in case you missed it, did you know she is getting criticism from some powerful members of her own party?

Let’s review:

1. The Dean of the House, Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), is taking the Speaker to task over her creation of a special select committee to “deal with global warming.” Specifically, he doesn’t enjoy Madam Speaker treading on his turf:

“We should probably name it the committee on world travel and junkets,” said Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which overseas the Clean Air Act and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Indeed. Furthermore, Rep. Dingell doesn’t think much about the potential members of the committee (which is expected to be run by Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) - but we really don’t know because we’re unsure if the Speaker will staff the committee with people who agree with her, or allow the GOP to pick members)

“‘We’re just empowering a bunch of enthusiastic amateurs to go around and make speeches and make commitments that will be very difficult to honor’ said Dingell, a champion of the auto industry, which could be required to producing cleaner-burning and more fuel efficient vehicles. …

2. Meanwhile, the ramming-through of legislation during the “100-Hour” lockdown of the House is drawing the ire of not only Republicans. The Speaker is also getting grief from her compatriot in the Democrat Leadership: Senate Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).

“There are also certain to be tensions with the Democratic House, where the rules give Speaker Pelosi far more power. In private, Senate sources say, Reid has been critical of the Speaker for what he believes was unnecessary roughness in ramming through her first-100-hours agenda, refusing to allow Republicans to propose amendments and breaking her campaign promise to open up the lawmaking process. There may also be some gavel envy; Pelosi will be able to pass one hard-line piece of legislation after another out of the House–putting Reid in the impossible spot of trying to find 60 votes for these bills in the Senate.”

3. Finally, the Head of the Ways and Means Committee, the estimable Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) is apparently not a fan of the House lockdown, and thinks the Speaker’s choice to bring monetary bills to the floor without committee hearings was a mistake.

Sources say Rangel went to Pelosi urging that his committee be allowed to review legislation allowing the feds to negotiate with drug companies over prices and taking away tax breaks for big oil companies - but she refused.

With friends like these…

Plenty of news Friday about the Congressman, here is a quick look at the headlines:

The Morning News keeps the Fort Smith U.S. Marshals Museum in the news by focusing on possible funding ideas to offset the expected $20 million tab.

Third District Rep. John Boozman, R-Rogers, said he hopes Congress will provide some money for the project.

“Our commitment is to kind of turn the rocks over and see what’s out there,” Boozman said.

Meanwhile, KFSM in Fort Smith had the Congressman on the phone during the 6 p.m. news talking about a bill he is cosponsoring that would abolish the Tax Code by the end of the decade.

“This is something the American people want us to address. We’re going to move forward and we’ve got to start now so we can meet this deadline.”

Speaking of Taxes, a tax increase was passed on the last day of the “First 100 Hours.” KTHV in Little Rock has coverage of the vote.

Paul Barton from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette spoke with Rep. Boozman as part of a delegation-wide story on Iraq. The question: what is the mood of the people?

Even the group’s lone Republican, Rep. John Boozman, says his office gets a small but steady number of calls daily opposing President Bush’s plan to add 21, 500 troops, mostly in Baghdad.

The ADG’s Alex Daniels wraps up the latest out of Washington, detailing Boozman’s three subcommittee assignments on the Transportation Committee.

Here is more from the Benton County Daily Record:

“I am pleased with my assignments and the opportunity to continue working on the infrastructure needs of the 3 rd District. These assignments will allow my office to continue its work to create Interstate 49 through Arkansas, address minimumflow issues affecting the state, and improve air travel in and out of the 3 rd District,” Boozman said.

And that’s a wrap…

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