Free Republic

The Senate gave final approval to a housing bill to help struggling homeowners and support struggling mortgage giants Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) Saturday.

"There's clearly nothing more important in the country for Congress to deal with ... than the price of gas at the pump," said Sen. Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.). The minority leader said his party would continue to hold up business on the Senate floor until Democrats allowed them to offer a series of amendments on expanded offshore drilling, oil-shale development, nuclear power and other energy alternatives. Republicans have been trying to use a swell of public support for increased petroleum production -- including areas currently closed on the Outer Continental Shelf -- to break Democrats' opposition to lifting a decades-old...

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn underwent tests Friday for what was described as an irregular heartbeat. His office told news outlets that the 60-year-old Oklahoma Republican was expected to return to work at the Senate over the weekend. An aide said Coburn was at a hospital for the tests for "common arrhythmia.'' He was not admitted to the hospital, the aide said. Coburn's office would not comment further. A physician, Coburn describes himself as a two-time cancer survivor. In 2003, just months before deciding to run for the Senate, he confirmed that he had undergone surgery and treatment for...

Rep. Charles Rangel asked the House Ethics Committee yesterday to investigate allegations that he improperly received sweetheart deals on four rent-stabilized apartments at Lenox Terrace in Harlem. While denying any wrongdoing, Rangel is taking the matter seriously. He has tapped hot-shot Washington defense lawyer Lanny Davis to try to handle the controversy. In a letter to House ethics-panel chair Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio), Rangel requested a review of "unfounded allegations against me with respect to apartment units that I have rented in my congressional district in Harlem." "Some in the press have repeatedly - and erroneously - insinuated wrongdoing...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senate lawmakers on Saturday overwhelmingly passed a broad package of housing legislation, hoping to send a calming message to financial markets and voters amid the ongoing deterioration of the housing market and a growing number of bank failures. Meeting in a rare weekend session, the Senate voted 72-13 in favor of the bill, which includes tax breaks for homeowners, a $300 billion program to refinance loans for struggling borrowers, and a dramatic rescue plan for embattled mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Other provisions include an increase in the federal debt limit to $10.6 trillion...

Blame the government – then fix it BY ZACHARY HUBBARD I hear a lot of folks complaining about the government these days. I don’t mean Harrisburg, although there are many problems there. I’m talking about the U.S. Government, the Fed, Big Brother! “The government needs to do something about gas prices,” they say. “The government needs to do something about food prices.” Or, “The government is invading our right to privacy.” One that strikes close to home for me is, “The government is mortgaging the futures of our grandchildren.” So true! People are always blaming the government. With congressional approval...

The average American voter understands no more about the contributing factors of the current price of gasoline, than they do the falling value of their national currency. That makes them easy targets for political manipulation in a very important election year. Simple Supply and Demand Economics Most Americans kind of get this one, though they are often misled about the ups and downs of natural free market cycles and how much impact government has, or should have, on the matter. In short, the cost for one gallon of gas (or one loaf of bread) is dramatically increased when there is...

The U.S. Senate soon could debate whether you, your spouse and each of your children – as well as your in-laws, parents, grandparents, neighbors and everyone else in America – each will spend $2,500 or more to reduce poverty around the world. The plan sponsored by Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, is estimated to cost the U.S. some $845 billion over the coming few years in an effort to raise the standard of living around the globe. Barack Obama S.2433 already has been approved in one form by the U.S. House of Representatives and now has been...

Like all the great nations and societies of history the United States is rapidly coming to the end of its existence as a great and powerful country. The shackles of our nearly 70,000 page tax code are making us less and less able to compete in the global economy. Our tax on capital is cutting our businesses off at the knees. Our highest earners have half their income confiscated by the IRS. All of these taxes along with the cost of complying with nearly unfathomable tax regulations put us at a severe disadvantage as competitors in the global economy since...

Leadership: When it comes to giving relief at the pump by drilling for more oil, this is truly a "do-nothing" Democratic Congress. President Bush should give 'em hell like Harry Truman did. Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution states that the president "may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both houses" of Congress. On more than two dozen occasions in our history, presidents have done just that, forcing the Senate and House of Representatives to meet on extraordinary matters of defense or economic peril. Sixty years ago this month, President Truman called such a special session to shame into action what...

The congressional plan to bail out the U.S. housing and mortgage industries, which could be approved by Congress and signed by the president as early as this weekend, actually endangers Americans' housing, according to the director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. "Of all the unintended consequences of the housing bill that passed the House – of which there will likely be many – one of the most ironic and far-reaching may be this: that whatever security marginal homeowners have from foreclosures, their homes will be far less safe from being taken by a bureaucrat through...

Federalism, a system of dual sovereigns and multiple levels of government, was envisioned by the founders a method of protecting and securing individual rights. The concentration of power in a single sovereign was viewed with much skepticism by the founders, inasmuch as concentrated power was apt to be abused (which is what they’d fought a revolution over, after all). Federalism has also offered the benefit of spurring competition amongst the states, whose differing policies offer a variety of attributes to attract (or repel) potential residents. Among these competitions is if and how taxes are collected. Florida and Texas, for instance,...

If you are ignoring the housing bailout bill because you think it benefits only troubled homeowners, you may miss out on a windfall. The housing bill, expected to be passed by the Senate in the next few days and then signed by President Bush, does offer incentives to certain overextended borrowers and their mortgage lenders. But it also includes many handouts to first-time homebuyers, longtime homeowners, returning veterans and senior citizens seeking to tap their home equity without getting hit with big fees. Millions of people have the potential to benefit in some way. Huge numbers of people buying homes...

WASHINGTON — When three-quarters of House Republicans balked Wednesday at a housing bill certain to become law, they were signaling three things at once: an ideological opposition to government involvement in the markets, a fiscal objection to writing a blank check that could cost taxpayers dearly if the condition of the mortgage finance system turns much worse and a political judgment that this was a moment to demonstrate their independence from President Bush. Since Mr. Bush had already abandoned his threat to veto the bill, it was clear that their resistance was futile. The measure had overwhelming support in the...

Well, well, well. About those leased cars that congressionals push off onto us taxpayers -- I've been doing a little looking up and found some very interesting tidbits. For instance, Jesse Jackson, Jr. leases (at taxpayers expense) a Ford Expedition for $1,161 a month. Bobby Rush likes his Lincoln Navigator that costs $746 a month. And John Shimkus has a Jeep Commander that costs $627/month. But then there's Dan Lipinski (D-Ill). Lipinski pays for his own vehicle. He says charging taxpayers raises too many questions. You can see more on the list. Not all the congressionals fleece us taxpayers by...

California Democrat Nancy Pelosi, the first woman speaker of the House, will promote her upcoming book, “Know Your Power: A Message to America’s Daughters” in three television appearances Monday: NBC’s “Today”, ABC’s “The View” and Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” Something to watch for: will the ladies of the “The View” be able to keep it clean? During a 2007 Pelosi appearance on the program, Barbara Walters and Whoopi Goldberg fawned over Paul Pelosi, the speaker’s husband, who was sitting in the audience. The banter between the two hosts got a bit bawdy with the well-mannered Pelosi.

WHY NOT have a vote on offshore drilling? There's a serious debate to be had over whether Congress should lift the ban on drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf that has been in place since 1981. Unfortunately, you won't be hearing it in the House of Representatives -- certainly, you won't find lawmakers voting on it -- anytime soon. Instead of dealing with the issue on the merits, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a staunch opponent of offshore drilling, has simply decreed that she will not allow a drilling vote to take place on the House floor. Why not? "What...

The voters say one thing, congress does another. It's the same story over and over again on topics like border security, drilling for domestic oil and so on. Why is this? "Geeks On Caffeine" MAY just have the answer to this perplexing problem, and it isn't that surprising. NOTE: The author requests that you visit his web site and refrain from pasting the cartoon within the thread. Thank you very much!

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego Republican Congressman, Duncan Hunter's name was popping up in blogs and cable news shows Thursday. Hunter's staff was reported to have contacted the U.S. embassy in the African country of Chad to see if Hunter could distribute food at a refugee camp. Hunter also wanted to hunt Wildebeest in Chad and distribute the meat to refugees. The embassy staff reportedly said they were happy to hear about the Congressman's interest in helping refugees, but as far as hunting goes, there are no Wildebeest to hunt in Chad and the government there does not permit the...

Drill ANWR by Paul Driessen Issue 112 - July 23, 2008 “We can’t drill our way out of our energy problem.” This daily mantra underscores an abysmal grasp of economics by the politicians, activists, bureaucrats and judges who are dictating US policies. If only their hot air could be converted into usable energy. Drilling is no silver bullet. But it is vital. It won’t generate overnight production. But just announcing that America is finally hunting oil again would send a powerful signal to energy markets … and to speculators – many of whom are betting that continued US drilling restrictions...

When folks in Washington want to find out what's on the mind of the American people, they tune in to CNN or Fox News and listen to the best of the Washington talking heads. Not me. I have breakfast at my favorite diner in Eufaula, my hometown in Oklahoma. Last week, the folks at J.M.s Restaurant weren't talking about senators Obama and McCain, or the fact the Iraqi government has al Qaeda on the run. They were talking about energy prices. They were talking about the fact it costs $80 to fill up their cars and $120 to fill up...

House Republican leaders are threatening to attempt to keep the chamber in session beyond next week if they do not get a vote on the energy package they introduced last week. In a memo circulated to the GOP caucus, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) implored his members to vote against adjournment for the August recess if the minority cannot secure a vote on offshore drilling or their “all of the above” energy plan. Since June, Democrats have used the suspension calendar to attempt to move their own energy bills, but have not been able to win enough Republican votes....

Republicans on Thursday filed a discharge petition to bring a gun bill to the House floor, putting pressure on conservative Democrats to buck their leadership on the issue. Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.) filed the petition to bring to a vote a bill by Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.) that would erase many of the District of Columbia’s gun laws. Sounder’s move is a follow-up to the recent Supreme Court ruling rejecting the District’s gun ban. The National Rifle Association plans to use House members’ willingness to sign the discharge petition in their scoring for this year’s election. Conservative Democrats who don't...

Last month the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the District of Columbia had violated the Second Amendment by making armed self-defense in the home impractical and banning the most popular weapons used for that purpose. Last week the D.C. Council responded by unanimously approving a law that makes armed self-defense in the home impractical and bans the most popular weapons used for that purpose.

Leadership: When it comes to giving relief at the pump by drilling for more oil, this is truly a "do-nothing" Democratic Congress. President Bush should give 'em hell like Harry Truman did.Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution states that the president "may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both houses" of Congress. On more than two dozen occasions in our history, presidents have done just that, forcing the Senate and House of Representatives to meet on extraordinary matters of defense or economic peril. Sixty years ago this month, President Truman called such a special session to shame into action what he...

WASHINGTON — House Democrats failed Thursday in their efforts to force the Bush administration to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to lower gasoline prices as Republicans stuck to their demands for a vote on an expansion of offshore drilling. Despite winning majority support, the measure to draw 70 million barrels of light crude oil from the reserve for sale in the commercial market did not receive the two-thirds support needed under special rules. The vote was 268 to 157, 16 short of the margin needed.Republicans held together to stall the measure, which Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the Republican...

As Planet Gore readers likely know, Congress currently prohibits the federal government to sell leases for energy production along the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). As the Congressional Research Service Office has put it, “OCS moratoria, which prohibit leasing on most federal offshore lands, have been an important issue in the debate over energy security and the potential availability of additional domestic oil and gas resources. Congress has enacted the moratoria for each of fiscal years 1982-2006 [NB: now 2008] in the annual Interior Appropriations bill.” This prohibition expires at the end of this (and every other) fiscal year. It...

(The Politico) On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid criticized the Washington press corps for failing to report what he believes is unprecedented Republican obstruction. So Friday afternoon, Reid reached out to the liberal blogosphere. "You need to keep doing the job you're doing, but you need to move on," Reid said in a Webcast hosted by a handful of progressive bloggers. "We need your help to push back against the Republican harangue ... that we're not allowing votes" on oil drilling amendments. The Webcast was hosted by meetthebloggers and included bloggers from HuffingtonPost, OpenLeft and thesmogblog.com. Reid seemed flustered...

WHO'S ZOOMIN' WHO?: The House has passed a housing bill that is designed to encourage delinquent mortgage borrowers to refinance into FHA-insured mortgages and to stimulate sales of empty houses, among other things. The Senate is expected to pass the bill, called the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (H.R. 3221), and the president is expected to sign it. As a taxpayer, there's some stuff you won't like, and some stuff that you'll appreciate. (That's a pun, one that I'll explain shortly.) I also recommend that you read Kay Bell's tax blog today, too. She addresses some of these...

* Refers to the rated R language that was changed from the original text * And its about time! According to The Hill Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is ready to go balls to the wall to stop surging fuel prices and hold Democrats accountable for the obstruction on drilling in the outter continental shelf (OCS). What are they planning to do? Well, play some hardball: Senate Republicans have threatened to block nearly all other bills pending before the August recess if Democrats refuse to vote with them on expanding offshore drilling. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said bills...

Declaring that "there is no task more important for this Congress than to seriously consider whether our nation's leaders have violated their oath of office," Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin on Friday morning told the House Judiciary Committee, "I now firmly believe that impeachment hearings are the appropriate and necessary next step."The Madison Democrat's opening statement to the Judiciary Committee's "Hearing on Executive Power and Its Constitutional Limitations" was one of many pointed and at times passionate declarations delivered during an extraordinary session that saw both Democratic and Republican representatives engage in serious discussions about how best to address what committee chair...

One of U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler’s election opponents is seeking state and federal investigations into the growing controversy surrounding his residency in Florida. Former Broward Mayor Ben Graber will hold a press conference at noon at the Broward County Governmental Center. Graber, who is running against Wexler in November, wants investigations into whether Wexler violated Florida and Maryland tax and voter registration law as well as whether he has improperly used congressional housing benefits. Wexler is Florida's only member of Congress who does not own a home in his congressional district. The Democratic congressman has admitted the only house he...

Energy Made In America by: Audra Taylor, July 25, 2008 Representative John Boehner (R-Ohio) believes that the solutions to our nation’s energy crisis can be found right here at home. The House Republican Leader addressed this and other energy issues before a group of reporters and bloggers during a meeting Tuesday. The event was hosted by Americans for Tax Reform and The American Spectator. Boehner said that the use of “American-made energy” and further exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) will help to resolve the current state of affairs in the energy sector. He also described an energy-focused...

Gitmo Merry-Go-Round by: Emily Miller, July 25, 2008 The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission) held a congressional hearing last week to revisit Guantanamo policies in the wake of Boumediene v. Bush, a recent Supreme Court decision that extends habeas corpus rights to detainees in Guantanamo Bay. Co-Chairman Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD) says that in light of Boumediene the U.S. should “reopen entirely the question of how we handle terrorism suspects.” Calling Guantanamo a “lightning rod for international human rights criticism of the United States,” he encourages the U.S. to look abroad to see how...

The Other Michele by: Rachel Paulk, July 25, 2008 Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger once said, “Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation.” U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann, R-Minn, might be in that put-upon tenth. A freshman congresswoman representing the 6th district of Minnesota, Representative Bachmann is committed to a political transparency rarely seen in Washington—perhaps that is why she is a Republican elected for the first time in a Democratic year from a blue state. Moreover, contrary to popular wisdom, that dynamic did not lead her to shift left. A frequent blogger, Representative...

As most of Washington met last week to fret over the economy, Harry Reid was attending a less-noticed summit. The Senate majority leader had summoned the titans of more than a dozen industry trade groups to a Capitol Hill meeting, where he delivered a crisp message: Get with our program, or get demolished. Anyone remember the "K Street Project"? Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and conservative activist Grover Norquist designed it to pressure the business community into hiring GOP lobbyists, supporting GOP causes, and giving money to GOP candidates. The press was shocked, shocked, to discover such behavior, and...

(The Politico) On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid criticized the Washington press corps for failing to report what he believes is unprecedented Republican obstruction. So Friday afternoon, Reid reached out to the liberal blogosphere. "You need to keep doing the job you're doing, but you need to move on," Reid said in a Webcast hosted by a handful of progressive bloggers. "We need your help to push back against the Republican harangue ... that we're not allowing votes" on oil drilling amendments. The Webcast was hosted by meetthebloggers and included bloggers from HuffingtonPost, OpenLeft and thesmogblog.com. Reid seemed flustered...

Yes, We Can Drill Our Way out of This Mess by J.D. Longstreet You know what is frustrating? Having a problem and having the answer to that problem within reach but being prevented, by the government, from utilizing that answer to solve the problem. And it happens to be right where we Americans find ourselves today. We don't have enough oil. Well, actually we do have enough oil, only the government won't let us get at it. You see, we currently have a bunch of intellectual midgets in charge of the U.S. government and they are driving our country to...

The ayatollahs continue to enrich uranium, despite the high profile meeting on July 19, in Geneva between Tehran's top nuclear negotiator and senior western diplomats representing the Group of 5+1. No surprise there. They are banking their regime's survival on nuclear capability. Ali Larijani, Iran's former nuclear negotiator, once said that giving in to the West's demands that Iran suspend its enrichment would be suicide. But, however much their regional role is tied to developing a nuclear weapon, domestically their grip is being challenged on a daily basis. Indeed, the backbone of the ayatollah's regime, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps...

Pelosi: Dems saved Bush’s 'chestnuts' By: David Rogers July 25, 2008 11:51 AM EST After driving a hard bargain, Speaker Nancy Pelosi is now taking credit for pulling President Bush’s “chestnuts out of the fire” in winning House approval of a landmark home mortgage bill expected to clear Congress this weekend. “We pulled the president’s chestnuts out of the fire,” Pelosi told Politico. “Without the Democratic votes he would have had no bill… He would have had no bill.” On an 80-13 vote Friday morning, senators moved to cut off debate, and final passage is expected early Saturday. Thirty-one Senate...

(BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss.) - Some people receiving FEMA assistance admitted to NBC 15 cameras thet they are getting a free ride and not looking for work. We asked one of the nation's top democrats, Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, where your tax dollars are really going. When NBC 15 News first met Gwenester Malone a month ago, she was receiving three catered meals a day, while housekeepers made sure her hotel room stayed clean. None of it was costing her a dime. "Since the storm, I haven't had any energy or pep to go get a job," Malone...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's advice to reporters who don't get his energy agenda: Check your hearing. Reid, D-Nev., may look like a mild-mannered man, but when he's backed into a corner, this former boxer comes out swinging. On Thursday, the object of his ire was the Fourth Estate as he lashed at reporters quizzing him over stalled Democratic energy proposals. At a "pen and pad" — a more casual, off-camera chat with reporters — Reid attacked and scolded correspondents in attendance, telling them he's "really disappointed" in how they have been writing his energy plans, which include a bill...

WASHINGTON, July 25 (Reuters) - U.S. legislation to rein in excessive energy speculation failed a key procedural vote on Friday to move forward in the Senate, and now lawmakers will set aside the bill to consider other legislation. The House of Representatives may take up its own anti-speculation bill next week, and then lawmakers will get ready to leave for their month-long recess in August. Sixty "yes" votes were required in the 100-member Senate for the bill to move forward, but the measure received only 50 "yes" votes and 43 lawmakers were opposed.

Sweetheart mortgages given by Countrywide Financial, the nation’s biggest mortgage lender, to elected officials and government bureaucrats seem tailor-made for an ethics inquiry by Congress, especially as the country is seeing a rising tide of voter anger in this presidential election year due to the massive $300 bn bailout of the housing industry at taxpayers’ expense. The mortgages at issue were allegedly given to Congressional members and staffers championing this record bailout, a bailout that now surpasses the taxpayer cost of the S&L crisis in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. But Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Rep. Mark Souder...

Big crowd gathers for House Judiciary hearing on Bush "impeachment" A boisterous crowd has already gathered for today's hearing in the House Judiciary Committee on the case for impeaching Presidnent Bush and Vice President Cheney. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) has been leading the charge on the issue

H.R. 3221*, the American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, was passed by the House 272-152 on Wednesday, July 23, 2008. (*The government website may not yet be updated following yesterday’s vote.) The Senate is expected to vote on the housing bill on July 25th or 26th. Enactment of this legislation would be a victory for socialism and big government, but a travesty for U.S. taxpayers and limited government. This one-time energy bill was transformed into a vehicle for mortgage foreclosure prevention, then very recently revised again to include plans for preventing the failure of Fannie Mae and...

WaPo: Why not have a vote on offshore drilling? There's a serious debate to be had over whether Congress should lift the ban on drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf that has been in place since 1981. Unfortunately, you won't be hearing it in the House of Representatives -- certainly, you won't find lawmakers voting on it -- anytime soon. Instead of dealing with the issue on the merits, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a staunch opponent of offshore drilling, has simply decreed that she will not allow a drilling vote to take place on the House floor. Why not?

Code Pink, an anti-war group known for its frequent and sometimes raucous protests on Capitol Hill, meets regularly with Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), who serves on the Armed Services Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence, according to his staff. “He meets regularly with people who have disparate views on foreign policy,” Eric Kleiman, Bayh’s director of communications told CNSNews.com. Bayh met with the Indiana branch of Code Pink last August and plans to meet with them again in his home state in October, in addition to the meeting held behind closed doors on Thursday, Kleiman said. “All of our...

The Rasmussen Reports latest congressional approval tracking data has shown that paltry 9% of Americans believe that Congress is doing a good job. A closer exploration of the numbers reveals that the Democrat controlled Congress is getting abysmal marks not just among Republican voters and independents, but also among their own party loyalists. A mere 13% of those identifying themselves as registered Democrats are willing to give the Congress high marks. The Democratic Party leadership will surely attempt to shift the blame upon the Republican minority or the President, but a cursory examination of their legislative accomplishments sheds the light...

WASHINGTON — Rep. Dennis Kucinich's quest to impeach President Bush will get an official airing in the House Judiciary Committee on Friday. The fact that the hearing is taking place was almost as improbable as its intended outcome — the ouster of the president. Under the Constitution, impeachment powers lie in the House. But despite deep divisions between the House Democratic Caucus and White House on a broad swath of issues — the Iraq war, the economy, energy, climate change, to name a few — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has pointedly said impeachment is off the table. The hearing Friday,...