Vote Notes on Legislation
7/23/15 H.R. 1599 – Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015: YES. This bill creates a uniform system across the U.S. to govern the labeling of so-called “genetically modified” foods. Mankind has genetically modified crops and livestock since the dawn of recorded history (it’s called cross-breeding, and it gives us seedless grapes and sweeter corn).
7/15/15 HR 3038 – Highway and Transportation Funding Act: NO. This bill is a five month extension of highway and transit spending, paid for over the next TEN YEARS. This is the J.
H.R. 2576 – The TSCA Modernization Act: NO. This is a well-intentioned bill that accomplishes the opposite of what it is designed to do. Its purpose is to expedite and standardize the evaluation of toxic chemicals.
H.R. 805 - Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters (DOTCOM) Act of 2015: NO.
HR 2577 - Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriation: No. Although this appropriation fits within the overall architecture of the budget, it is so stuffed with wasteful spending that I cannot vote for it.
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.
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.