House Chamber, Washington, D.C., January 27, 2009.  Mr. Chairman:

With this measure, the new administration seems bound and determined to continue the failed policy of the past administration.  This proves what I like to call “McClintock’s Second Law of Political Physics,” which is, the more we spend on our mistakes, the less willing we are to admit them.

This policy has failed everywhere and every time it has been tried for a simple reason: government cannot INJECT a dollar INTO the economy that it first has not taken OUT of the economy.

 If I take a dollar from Peter and give it to Paul, it’s true that Paul now has an extra dollar to spend.  And when he spends it, that dollar will ripple through the economy.

 But Peter now has one less dollar to spend in that same economy.  In short, it nets to zero.

 In fact, it nets to less than zero, because we are shifting enormous amounts of capital away from investments based on economic calculations and in favor of investments based on political ones.
 

House Chamber, Washington, D.C., January 27, 2009, Mr. Speaker:

 Much has been said about the chilling effect this legislation will have on our economy because of the endless lawsuits it makes possible – including for grievances that may stretch back 30 years or more.  And I certainly share those concerns.

But I want to express a deeper concern with this legislation: I believe it hurts the cause of equality and opportunity in the workplace by making it more difficult for people who most need jobs and most want jobs to get them.

 Any person’s labor is worth exactly what that person is willing to receive and what another is willing to pay.  The decisions that are made by both the employee and the employer are unique to those people and to those circumstances.

 Someone passionately wanting to break into a field, for example, or to stay in a region – or shorten a commute – or an infinite variety of other considerations – may be willing to accept less, in order to gain those non-economic advantages,  than someone who is equally qualified but indifferent to those advantages.

 Imposing rigid one-size-fits-all requirements into the relationship between an employee and an employer reduces the employee’s freedom to negotiate for the best set of conditions for his or her own unique circumstances. 

 And lest we forget, when all else fails there is a fail-safe and absolute protection the market provides to all:  it is the word, “no.”  “No, the pay isn’t acceptable;”  “No, the conditions aren’t satisfactory;”  “No, I can get a better offer elsewhere.”

 Freedom works.  It’s time that we put it back to work.

January 26, 2009.   Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge the President not to waive the Federal law on emission standards that is currently protecting Californians from Governor Schwarzenegger's crusade to save our planet by destroying our economy. Putting aside the highly questionable junk science behind the Governor's proposal, the net effect would add up to $5,000 to the price of a new car.

Automobile sales normally account for one-fifth of California's sales taxes, which have already fallen by $1 1/2 billion over the past 12 months. Ironically, the Governor's also asking the President to bail out California's growing budget deficit at the same time.

So I would respectfully suggest to the President that California's economic folly is not something that he should be copying.  
 

January 22, 2009 Speech in Support of House Joint Resolution 3, House Chamber, Washington, D.C.

M. Speaker:

This resolution presents the House with its last chance to admit that the Bush bailout has not worked.  And it will not work because of a simple and self-evident truth:

Government cannot inject a single dollar into the economy that it has not first taken out of the economy.

 It’s true that if I take a dollar from Peter and give it to Paul, Paul has one more dollar to spend and that dollar will ripple through the economy.

 But we forget the other half of the equation: Peter now has one less dollar to spend, meaning one less dollar to ripple through the economy.  In short, it nets to zero.

 In fact, it nets to less than zero, because you are shifting enormous amounts of capital from investments that would have been made strictly by economic calculations to investments that are made entirely by political calculations.

 We are not helping the economy with these bailouts – we are hurting it.

 If they actually worked, we should by now be enjoying a period of unprecedented prosperity and economic expansion.

To those who say, “Well, it’s just the way Bush administered it,” let me pose this simple question: when in the entire history of civilization have such bailouts actually worked?  

They didn’t work in Japan in the 1990’s.  They didn’t work in America in the 1930’s.  And they aren’t working today.

 Fortunately, we know what does work.  Reductions in marginal tax rates and reductions in taxes on investment consistently do stimulate the economy.

 They worked when John F. Kennedy used them in the early 1960’s and they worked when Ronald Reagan used them in the early 1980’s.

 When taxes are reduced on productivity, productivity increases.

 But how typical of government to resist what we know works and to embrace what we know doesn’t work. 

 This resolution offers the House one last, fleeting chance to admit its mistakes, to step away from rigid adherence to failed policy, and to offer the change that the people of this nation deserve.
 

Representative Tom McClintock issued the following statement on President Bush’s decision to free former Border Patrol officers Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean from prison:

“I am very pleased that President Bush acted to rectify one of the great injustices of our time: the imprisonment of former Border Patrol officers Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean.

Their imprisonment sent exactly the wrong message: that those on whom we count to defend the integrity of our border can be put behind bars for doing their jobs.”

Representative McClintock rose in the House last week to request pardons for the officers.

Congressman McClintock Urges President to Pardon Border Patrol Agents Compean and Ramos

Remarks by Congressman Tom McClintock
House Floor
January 14, 2009

Mr. Speaker:

I rise today to express my hope that this President will not leave office before using his pardon to correct one of the great injustices of our time: the imprisonment of Border Patrol officers Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean.  They’re the officers who wounded a drug smuggler as he tried to escape.  The drug smuggler got immunity; Ramos and Compean got lengthy prison sentences.

This injustice sends a chilling message to Border Patrol officers who are heroically trying to defend the integrity of our borders against enormous odds and with inadequate resources. 
It cannot be allowed to stand.

Congressman Tom McClintock today introduced a resolution honoring President Ronald Reagan on the 98th anniversary of his birth.  The resolution recognizes the significance of President Reagan’s accomplishments, such as winning the Cold War and communicating to the American people the self-evident truths of freedom, which made a lasting impact on the United States and the world.

“Like millions of Americans I was inspired by the example that President Reagan set. The principles upon which he stood inspired people around the world to fight to bring freedom and democracy to their own nations. I am proud to author this resolution to honor the anniversary of his birth as part of the effort to keep his memory, spirit, and legacy alive,” Rep. McClintock said. “Ronald Reagan believed that the America’s strength comes from the American people and not the government. That is an important lesson that we should remember as we face the enormous challenges ahead.”
 

Congressman Tom McClintock Appointed to Resources Committee and Education & Labor Committee

Congressman Tom McClintock achieved a key goal today and announced he has been appointed as a member of the House Natural Resources Committee.

“I have made my appointment to Natural Resources Committee a top priority because of the tremendous impact it has on our district. The 4th Congressional District is one of the most resource-rich districts in the United States,” McClintock said. “I will work hard to make sure those resources are used wisely to help restore economic prosperity to the people of our community. Too often the federal government has prevented our people from benefiting from the water, timber and mineral resources in our area, and I intend to work with local businesses and leaders to tap these assets and help create jobs and economic opportunity in these tough economic times.”

McClintock has also been appointed to the House Committee on Education & Labor. The committee has jurisdiction over education and workplace issues. “The Education and Labor Committee will be ground zero in the debate over federal encroachment into local schools and businesses and I look forward to joining that battle,” McClintock said.

-30-

The Natural Resources Committee has jurisdiction over key issues affecting resource management issues in the district including:
•    Fisheries and wildlife.
•    Forest reserves and national parks.
•    Irrigation and reclamation, including water supply for reclamation projects and easements of public lands for irrigation projects.
•    Native Americans, including the care and allotment of Native American lands.
•    Mineral land laws and claims.
•    Mineral resources of public lands.
•    Petroleum Conservation on public lands.
•    Preservation of prehistoric ruins.
•    Public lands including entry, easements and grazing.
•    Relations with Native Americans and Native American tribes.
The Committee on Education and Labor oversees federal programs and initiatives dealing with education at all levels -- from preschool through high school to higher education and continuing education. These include:
•    Elementary and secondary education initiatives, including the No Child Left Behind Act, school choice for low-income families, special education (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), teacher quality & teacher training, scientifically-based reading instruction, and vocational and technical education;
•    Higher education programs (the Higher Education Act), to support college access for low and middle-income students and help families pay for college;
•    Early childhood & preschool education programs including Head Start;
•    School lunch and child nutrition programs;
•    Financial oversight of the U.S. Department of Education;
•    Programs and services for the care and treatment of at-risk youth, child abuse prevention, and child adoption;
•    Educational research and improvement;
•    Adult education; and
•    Anti-poverty programs, including the Community Services Block Grant Act and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

The Committee also has jurisdiction over workplace issues including:
•    Pension and retirement security for U.S. workers;
•    Access to quality health care for working families and other employee benefits;
•    Job training, adult education, and workforce development initiatives, including those under the   Workforce Investment Act (WIA), to help local communities train and retrain workers;
•    Continuing the successful welfare reforms of 1996;
•    Protecting the democratic rights of individual union members;
•    Worker health and safety, including occupational safety and health;
•    Providing greater choices and flexibility (including "comp time" or family time options) to working women and men;
•    Equal employment opportunity and civil rights in employment;
•    Wages and hours of labor, including the Fair Labor Standards Act;
•    Workers' compensation, and family and medical leave;
•    All matters dealing with relationships between employers and employees.

The office launches a new website for district residents.

It is aimed to allow site visitors to have access to the latest information from Capitol Hill.

Constituents can make requests such as receiving assistance with Federal Agencies, apply for an appointment to one of the U.S. military academies, and request a Presidential greeting.

District residents can view the latest news by signing up for the website's RSS feed.