Vote Notes on Legislation
HR 1806 – America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015: No. This is a $33 billion authorization for the next two years (paid out over the next four) for a grab-bag of grants administered mainly by the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy. If you are an average family, that accounts for about $262 of your taxes.
5/14/15 - H.R. 1191 – Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act: NO. The Congress is correct to distrust the President in his negotiations with Iran, but this measure misses the point.
3/26/2015 - HR 2 – Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act: NO. In 1997, Congress passed legislation to control Medicare spending by establishing a "Sustainable Growth Rate" (SGR) that limits the annual increase for physician reimbursements, but Congress never had the stomach to actually implement it. The result: every year Congress passes a "doc fix" to avoid the accumulated SGR cuts, often by cutting spending in other areas. This bill does away with the SGR altogether, which would be a good thing if it were actually offset by equal spending reforms. Regrettably, it isn't.
3/3/15 HR 240 - Motion to Recede and Concur in the Senate Amendment to H.R. 240: No. This motion bypassed the conference process and sent the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill to the President without ANY provision forbidding him from funding his unlawful and unconstitutional amnesty orders. I believe that short-term funding of DHS to avert a shutdown while the two houses resolve their differences over the amnesty orders was the best course to take.
2/25/15 H.R. 1020 - STEM Education Act: NO. STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education is an important field, but should not be funded by federal grant programs for which there is virtually no accountability. Individual districts should assess their own students' unique needs; tailor their programs to meet those needs and fund them accordingly.