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Archive for the ‘Foreign Relations’ Category

Silly Season, Part Deux

Sunday, September 28th, 2008

While a financial bailout proposal is debated among congressional leaders, silly season continues. The House has been passing bills hand over fist. Here are the bills that went to the floor on Friday, including a bill to spend more than $500 per U.S. family. Up later today, the bills that raced through the House Saturday . . .

S. 2982
The Runaway and Homeless Youth Protection Act

Costs $6.64 per family

H.R. 7112
To impose sanctions with respect to Iran, to provide for the divestment of assets in Iran by State and local governments and other entities, and to identify locations of concern with respect to transshipment, reexportation, or diversion of certain sensitive items to Iran

H.R. 7081
To approve the United States-India Agreement for Cooperation on Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, and for other purposes

H.R. 7110
Making supplemental appropriations for job creation and preservation, infrastructure investment, and economic and energy assistance for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other purposes

Costs $547.01 per family

S. 1046
The Senior Professional Performance Act of 2007

Costs $0.05 per family

H.R. 4120
The Effective Child Pornography Prosecution Act of 2007

S. 2932
The Poison Center Support, Enhancement, and Awareness Act of 2008

S. 1382
The ALS Registry Act

Costs $0.62 per family

H.R. 7060
The Renewable Energy and Job Creation Tax Act of 2008

H.R. 3068
The Federal Protective Service Guard Contracting Reform Act of 2007

Costs: $0.00 per family

H.R. 6045
The Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2008

Iraq has a Budget Surplus . . .

Saturday, August 16th, 2008

. . . and someone in Congress wants them to pay their own way.

H.R. 6812 would prohibit United States foreign assistance to countries with budget surpluses.

Here’s the current vote. Click to vote, comment, learn more or edit the wiki article.

Which Would Make China Look Better? Hosting the Olympics or Paying Its Debts?

Sunday, August 10th, 2008

“If China wants to ‘look good’ for the Olympics they should ‘pay up.’”

So says commenter “Bob” on the page for Senate Concurrent Resolution 78, which would express the sense of Congress that the People’s Republic of China should disclose the selective default status of certain bonds to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

This refers to a long-standing dispute between China and the holders of bonds issued by the pre-communist government of China. These bonds, referred to as “Chinese Government 5% Reorganization Gold Loan” bonds, were due to mature in 1960. The government of China apparently has refused to acknowledge demands for payment by the bondholders and says it has no obligation to compensate these creditors.

So maybe China should have taken some of that money from the drummers and the dancers and used it to pay these bond obligations!

Here’s the current vote on Senate Concurrent Resolution 78. Click to vote, comment, learn more, and edit the wiki article on the bill.

Fighting Between Russia and Georgia

Friday, August 8th, 2008

Georgia has been at odds with its larger neighbor, Russia, since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. The country has a population of about 4.5 million, some of whom may have a stronger allegiance to Moscow than the Georgian capitol, Tblisi. Fighting broke out today between the two countries.

A number of bills dealing with the Republic of Georgia have been introduced in the current Congress, and at least one has passed.

Public Law 110-17 is called the “NATO Freedom Consolidation Act of 2007.” It endorsed further enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and sought to facilitate the timely admission of new members to NATO. The law authorized spending to give security assistance to Georgia, among other countries.

Many more bills would affect Russia, which is much larger, and with which our country has a much more complex relationship.

Here’s the current vote on Public Law 110-17, the NATO Freedom Consolidation Act of 2007. Click to vote, comment, learn more, or edit the wiki article on the bill.

. . . Referred to the Committee on Sarcasm

Saturday, July 26th, 2008

I had to do a double-take when I first saw this bill.

H.R. 6615 would “provide for the transport of the enemy combatants detained in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Washington, D.C., where the United States Supreme Court will be able to more effectively micromanage the detainees by holding them on the Supreme Court grounds . . . .”

OK, I get it.

Some member of Congress doesn’t like the Supreme Court’s rulings on treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and decided to introduce a bill to makes a symbolic point: “Well if the dang Supreme Court wants these guys treated well, they should have to serve ‘em sandwiches and sweet tea right there in their own offices!”

I like sarcasm and irony and all, but on balance I think this annoys me. For a symbolic gesture, this guy put his staff to work, he put the House parliamentarian to work, he put the Government Printing Office to work, and the committees of jurisdiction too (Armed Services and Judiciary).

This is taking the legislative process very unseriously. It wastes a lot of people’s time and money.

So, Louie Gohmert, leave it out next time. There are people who differ with the Supreme Court’s rulings, and they offer serious legislation and serious arguments. They’re doing they’re jobs as they see them, not monkeying around with taxpayers’ money on stunts that they think will make cheap political points.

Reserving my right to applaud abuses of the legislative process that are actually clever, here’s the current vote on the bill. Click to vote, comment, learn more, or edit the wiki article on the bill.

“Coburn Omnibus” Cost Estimate: $70 per U.S. Family

Friday, July 25th, 2008

The Congressional Budget Office came out with a cost estimate today for S. 3297, the Advancing America’s Priorities Act, which has also been called the “Coburn Omnibus.” It combines 36 pieces of federal legislation into one.

Yesterday, adding up all the pieces of the Coburn Omnibus, we came up with about $65 per U.S. family. When we crunch the CBO estimate into its per-family cost, we get just over $70.00.

If you’re curious, more on our methodology is here.

What do people think of all this? Here’s the current vote on S. 3297. As always, you can click to vote, comment, learn more, or edit the wiki article about the bill.

The “Coburn Omnibus” - 36 Bills in One!

Thursday, July 24th, 2008

Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma didn’t come to Washington, D.C. to grow the government.

A long time critic of federal spending and power, he has made prolific use of “holds” to prevent legislation he doesn’t like from moving forward.

Now Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has reached his wit’s end. He has cobbled together into one bill a long list of measures that Coburn has been working to slow or stop. He’s hoping to roll over Senator Coburn and move them all forward. The bill is S. 3297, the Advancing America’s Priorities Act. But the nickname it has gotten is the “Coburn Omnibus.”

Majority Leader Reid is expected to try to bring the bill to the Senate floor later this week.

We have done our best to figure out which bills have been rolled into the Coburn Omnibus, using a copy of the bill he posted on his Web site. Thirty-six bills are listed below. The last would authorize the construction of a greenhouse in Suitland, Maryland.

Coburn has reportedly said the bills in the Coburn Omnibus would create 77 new federal programs. By our count, passage of the Coburn Omnibus would spend just under $65 per U.S. family, though six of the bills do not have cost estimates.

[UPDATE: Staff for Senator Coburn have noted to me that they count 35 programs the bill would create. The 77 number reported on FoxNews.com is the number of total programs Coburn has been holding up. Our count of 36 comes from treating an ocean exploration bill and an ocean mapping bill as separate.]

HEALTHCARE PROVISIONS

JUDICIARY PROVISIONS

ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS PROVSIONS

FOREIGN RELATIONS PROVISIONS

COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION PROVISIONS

HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS PROVISIONS

RULES AND ADMINISTRATION PROVISIONS