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Legislative Committee Bi-Monthly Action List - August 24, 2010
BAD BILLS: The Legislative Committee has identified the following legislation, executive actions, or judicial actions, that are....(1) unconstitutional, (2) against our national interests, and/or (3) just plain stupid.
If you have comments or additions to this list, contact: legislative@loveland912project.org
CONTRACT FROM AMERICA & RELATED BILLS
STATEMENTS AND BILLS |
ACTION YOU CAN TAKE |
#1 PROTECT THE CONSTITUTION: Require each bill to identify the specific provision of the Constitution that gives Congress the power to do what the bill does.
S.1319/HR.450 Enumerated Powers Act requires a statement explaining why Congress thinks it has authority to pass laws. |
Telephone, fax and/or write to your Senators and Representatives to support these bills. |
| #2 REJECT CAP & TRADE: Stop costly new regulations that would increase unemployment, raise consumer prices, and weaken the nation's global competitiveness with virtually no impact on global temperatures. |
See "Cap & Trade" and "EPA regulations on ozone" below. Go to www.environmentviews.com to get informed. |
| #3 DEMAND A BALANCED BUDGET: Begin the Constitutional amendment process to require a balanced budget with a two-thirds majority needed for any tax hike. |
We have nothing yet. |
| #4 ENACT FUNDAMENTAL TAX REFORM: Adopt a simple and fair single-rate tax system by scrapping the internal revenue code and replacing it with one that is no longer than 4,543 words ... the length of the orignial Constitution |
We support the Fair Tax Act HR.25/S.296, see below |
| #5 RESTORE FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY & CONSTITUTIONALLY LIMITED GOVERNMENT: Create a Blue Ribbon taskforce that engages in a complete audit of federal agencies and programs, assessing their Constitutionality, and identifying duplication, waste, ineffectiveness, and agencies and programs better left for the states or local authorities, or ripe for wholesale reform or elimination due to our efforts to restore limited government consistent with the US Constitution's meaning. |
We support this idea, but doubt if any meaningful reforms will happen under the Obama administration. |
| #6 END RUNAWAY GOVERNMENT SPENDING: Impose a statutory cap limiting the annual growth in total federal spending to the sum of the inflation rate plus the percentage of polulation growth. |
We need a Taxpayer Bill of Rights on the Federal level. This won't happen under the Obama administration. |
| #7 DEFUND, REPEAL & REPLACE GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTH CARE: Defund, repeal and replace the recently passed government-run health care with a system that actually makes health care and insurance more affordable by enabling a competitive, open, and transparent free-market health care and health insurance system that isn't restricted by state boundaries. |
We support S.3152 Repeal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but don't have any hope of it getting past Obama (see below) |
| #8 PASS AN "ALL-OF-THE-ABOVE" ENERGY POLICY: Authorize the exploration of proven energy reserves to reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources from unstable countries and reduce regulatory barriers to all other forms of energy creation, lowering prices and creating competition and jobs. |
We oppose all of the Cap & Trade bills.
DRILL HERE, DRILL NOW |
#9 STOP THE PORK: Place a moratorium on all earmarks until the budget is balanced, and then require a 2/3 majority to pass any earmark.
HRes.1177 bans earmarks; S.3335 requires transparency (searchable database on a public website for congressional earmarks); HR.113 provides for audits of programs, projects and activities funded through earmarks. |
Telephone, fax and/or write to Senators and Representative to support these bills. |
| #10 STOP THE TAX HIKES: Permenently repeal all tax hikes, including those to the income, capital gains, and death taxes, currently scheduled to begin in 2011. |
We have nothing yet. |
| BAD FEDERAL BILLS |
ACTION YOU CAN TAKE |
1. Amnesty Bill HR.4321 - introduced Dec 15, 2009 and refered to nine committees. DREAM Act S.729 and HR.1751: allows illegal aliens who came here before age 16 to go through 6 year conditional citizenship program as long as then complete 2 years of college or a minimum of 2 years in the US military.
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Visit NumbersUSA.com, view the videos on immigration, view immigration report cards on legislators, read articles on issues and laws, register as a member, and send free faxes to voice your opinions. This website prepares proposed faxes tailored to your specific representatives. This website is authored by experts and is highly recommended by the Legislative Committee. Also go to the website Immigration Counters to see the financial damage to our economy.
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2. Cap & TradeAmerican Clean Energy and Security Act HR.2454 (House version) was passed 7/7/09, cost $4159/person. Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act S 1733 is Senate version, cost $4059/person. American Clean Energy and Security Act HR 2998, cost $4206/person. Cap & Trade looks dead at the moment, but a smaller energy bill well be introduced or HR2454 will be pushed in lame duck session.
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Keep spreading the word about Climategate. For a great recap of the climate science, click here.
Keep a look out for the new energy bill. |
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3. Consolidated Land, Energy, Aquatic Resources (CLEAR) Act HR.3534 passed the house 7/30/2010. A multi-billion dollar entitlement for environmental groups and would force millions of acres of private land into government ownership. Includes the old CARA bill and would set up a huge trust fund for government acquisition of private lands through eminent domain. Will be funded off the books and not subject to appropriations - $900,000 million/year. It is a response to the Gulf oil spill.
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Telephone, fax and/or write your Senators to oppose this bill. |
| 4. Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act S.3480; Cybersecurity Act of 2009 S.773: creates new Cybersecurity Advisory Panel within the White House and gives President authority to shut down the internet |
Telephone, fax and/or write your Senators to oppose this bill |
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5. Employee Free Choice Act HR.1409 (Senate version is S.560) This is the card check legislation... eliminates secret ballot votes for unionization, forces mandatory binding arbitration if not agreement between employer and union within 120 days.
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Telephone, fax and/or write to your Senators and Representative to oppose this bill. |
6. Disclose Act HR.5175, S.3295: Would limit political speech by bloggers: this is a serious attack on the 1st Amendment and designed to protect incumbents. NRA endorsed this .. getting lots of heat. House passed on 6/29/2010. Cloture vote failed today in the Senate.
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Telephone, fax and/or write your Senators to oppose this bill |
| 7. Gun Show Background Check Act S.843/HR.2324: redefines gun shows to include everything from hunting or shooting events to private homes and intimidates gun owners by putting redefined "show promoters" under a mountain of red tape and legal liability. |
Telephone, fax and/or write your Senators and Representative to oppose this bill |
8. Police and Firefighters Monopoly Bargaining Bill S.3194, S.1611, HR.413: would force police, fire, ambulance, and corrections departments across the country to create collective bargaining units to cover employees. The House attached this bill to a war funding bill.
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Click here to better understand unions in the public sector. Telephone, fax and/or write your Senators to oppose this bill. This was defeated once .. it's back again. |
| 9. S.3157 Create Jobs & Save Benefits Act: $165 Billion bailout for union pension funds |
Telephone, fax and/or write your Senators - tell them no more bailouts - especially for poorly managed labor union pensions |
| 10. Phantom Budget: As part of a procedural vote on the emergency war funding ill a document was attached that "deemed as passed" a non-existent $1.12 Trillion budget. Now they can start spending money for fiscal year 2011 without a budget. |
This is too corrupt for words. Call your Representative, say we demand a budget. |
| GOOD FEDERAL BILLS |
ACTION YOU CAN TAKE |
| 1. Audit the Federal Reserve Bill HR 1207 and S 604 (note: House attached HR 1207 as amendment to Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act HR 4173 that was passed by House on 12/11/09) |
An Audit the Fed amendment was offered to S 3217 - strips out all audits except for an audit of the Fed's emergency lending during the 2008-2009 financial crisis. This one-time audit passed in the Wall Street Reform Bill, but we want all of the audits.
See Campaign for Liberty - Action Items for more suggestions. |
| 2. SAVE Act HR 3308: requires employers to use E-Verify to ensure that their employees are not illegal aliens |
Join NumbersUSA for more information |
3. The Fair Tax Bill HR24
(S296 is the Senate version).
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Get informed and support the FairTax |
| 4. Save Our Energy Jobs Act (HR.4396) amends the Clean Air Act to provide that greenhouse gasses are not subject to the Act (and prevents the EPA from regulating greenhouse gasses) |
Telephone, fax and/or write your Representative to support this bill |
| 5. Medicare Physicians Fairness Act S.1776: doctor fix that was omitted from Obamacare so the numbers looked better - cost $600/person |
Absent real reform, we reluctantly support this bill so that there are sufficient doctors to care for seniors on Medicare, call your Senators. |
| 6. Repeal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act S.3152 - repeals Obamacare |
This bill will go nowhere, but about 10 repeal bills have been introduced |
| 7. Stationary Source Regulations Delay Act (S.3072, HR.4753) suspends for 2 years any EPA action under the Clean Air Act regarding carbon dioxide or methane (other than for motor vehicles) |
Telephone, fax and/or write to your Senators and Representative to support these bills |
| 8. H.Res.615 - Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Members who vote in favor of the establishment of a public, federal government run health insurance option are urged to forgo their right to participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) and agree to enroll under that public option. |
What's good for the goose ... call you Representative and urge her to suport this bill. |
| 9. Reduce and Cap the Federal Workforce Act: will reduce and limit the number of civilian federal workers to February 2009 levels (except the Dept. of Defense and Dept. of Homeland Security) |
Senator Hatch announced that he introduced this bill on 8/5/2010, but we were unable to locate a copy. However, we support the reduction of our bloated federal government. More details later. |
| 10. $600 Million border security Bill: Zipped through the House & Senate and signed by the President. Will add 1,000 Border Patrol agents, 250 Immigration & Customs Enforcement agents, 250 Customs & Border Protection agents. The best part ... it is paid for by raising fees on foreign-based personnel companies that use U.S. Visa Programs to bring skilled workers to the U.S. |
This is an election-year bone thrown to voters who insist that the federal government must protect our borders. It is not enough, but we'll take it. If you are wondering about the math, the U.S. issues about 125,000 foreign worker visas EACH MONTH. |
Executive Branch
| BAD EXECUTIVE BRANCH ACTIONS |
ACTION YOU CAN TAKE |
1. Recess appointment of Donald Berwick to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services by President Obama. UPDATE: Obama sent Berwick's nomination to the Senate for confirmation.
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Berwick is an advocate of rationed health care, and praised Britain's nationalized health care system. Berwick will be in charge of implementing the $500 billion cut to Medicare. Telephone, fax and/or write your Senators to oppose his confirmation.
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| 2. New EPA Regulation on ozone: This regulation is unconstitutional, extremely costly, and is relying on scientific remedies that don't even exist yet. Larimer County will not be in compliance and will face millions in fees that will have to be paid to the state. |
Go to EnvironmentViews web site, and get informed.
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| 3 . EPA plans to implement Cap & Trade without the law |
Monitor the EPA's actions in trying to implement Cap & Trade by regulation. Go to EnvironmentViews web site, and get informed. See Americans for Prosperity site. |
| 4. FCC is planning to place broadband and internet under regulations designed for telephone monopoies |
Submit comments on the Notice of Inquiry. Click here for instructions for filing your comments. |
Senate Action
| BAD SENATE CONFIRMATIONS |
ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE |
| START Treaty confirmation. This Treaty is really bad for national defense. President Obama gave away the store. |
Telephone, fax and/or write your Senators to oppose this Treaty |
School Board Actions
| BAD SCHOOL BOARD ACTION |
ACTION YOU CAN TAKE |
| The Thompson School Board voted to give $15,000 of taxpayer money to sue the taxpayers of Colorado in Lobato v. State of Colorado |
Vote out the 4 school board members that are up for re-election in 2011 and the three that are up for re-election in 2013. |
Judicial Actions
| BAD JUDICIAL ACTION |
ACTION YOU CAN TAKE |
| The U.S. District Court in San Francisco overturned California Prop. 8 ... a voter approved ban of gay marriage |
Pay attention to the appointment and confirmation of federal judges .. we are stuck with them for a very long time |
Do You Know?
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DO YOU KNOW ..Colorado law requires that unemployment benefits be denied to illegal aliens. Hovever, officials in the Dept of Labor told employees to disconnect a computer function that provided the required eligibility check for unemployment benefit applicants .. in essence, the computer program ignores the questions asked about citizenship.
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OBAMACARE FACTS: The ad by Andy Griffith to sell Obamacare is costing the taxpayers $700,000. How many hip replacements will be forfeited to pay for this?
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| SHAMELESS STIMULUS WASTE: President Obama set the record for the biggest earmark in history ... $1 Billion of stimulus money to FutureGen Alliance, Ameren Energy Resources, Babcock & Wilcox, and Air Liquide Process & Construction Inc. in Illinois to create 1,900 jobs ... that is $526,315.79 per job. The money is for a dubious "green" project. |
Contact Information
President Barack Obama, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20500, Phone (202) 456-1111
Senator Mark Udall: Washington, D.C. Office: Hart Office Building, Suite SH-317, Washington, D.C. 20510
P: 202-224-5941, F: 202-224-6471, Toll Free for Coloradans: 877-7-MUDALL (877-768-3255)
Greeley Office: 801 8th Street, Suite 140A, Greeley, CO 80631, P: 970-356-5586
Email through website: http://markudall.senate.gov/?p=contact
Senator Michael Bennet: Washington, D.C. Office 702 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Phone: (202) 224-5852 Fax: (202) 228-5036
North Central Office 1200 South College Avenue, Suite 211 Fort Collins, CO 80524 Phone: (970) 224-2200 Fax: (970) 224-2205
Email through website: http://bennet.senate.gov/contact/
Representative Betsy Markey: Washington, DC Office: 1229 Longworth Building, Washington, DC 20515, p. 202.225.4676, f. 202.225.5870
Northern Regional Office: 123 N. College Ave., Suite 220, Ft. Collins, CO 80524, p. 970.221.7110, f. 970.221.7240
Email through website: http://betsymarkey.house.gov/Contact/
Governor Bill Ritter: 136 State Capitol, Denver, CO 80203-1792, Phone (303) 866-2471, Fax (303) 866-2003
Colorado Attorney General John W. Suthers: Department of Law, 1525 Sherman St., Denver, Colorado 80203
P: 303-866-4500, F: 303-866-5691, Attorney.General@state.co.us
Colorado Secretary of State Bernie Buescher: 1700 Broadway, Denver, CO 80290, phone 303-894-2200
secretary@sos.state.co.us
For more information about individual committees and Colorado House and Senate activity use these links:
Colorado General Assembly - Home Page
You can find links on this page to Colorado House and Senate activity, Contact Information, general legislative resources, and more.
Colorado House and Senate Committee Information, you will find a list of committees - click on the committee link to get information about the committee, a list of committee members, meeting dates, and more.
House Committees of Reference Page - Gives a list of each house committee and committee members (including party affiliation - Democrat or Republican)
Senate Committees of Reference Page - Gives a list of each senate committee and committee members (including party affiliation - Democrat or Republican)
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Legislation Action List
