| April 2010 |
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Right Now Times Square Bombing Attempt Shows Jihadist Threat Remains The attempted bombing in New York City’s Times Square by Faisal Shahzad, a domestic terrorist who may have been trained by the Taliban, was a stark reminder of the threats our nation faces every day. By all accounts, hundreds of people could have been killed if the plot was successfully executed. I commend U.S. law enforcement for identifying and detaining Shahzad in just over two days. With that said, our nation dodged this planned assault on our homeland because of the incompetency of the terrorist, not because our law enforcement and intelligence communities detained the suspect before he attempted the attack. They must examine their work to determine whether they missed key signs that an attack was looming. It is also deeply troubling that Shahzad was able to board an aircraft to flee the United States after being placed on the no-fly list earlier that day. This communication failure between homeland security officials and airline personnel should never happen. Additionally, I believe this attempted terrorist attack is further evidence that the trial of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed should not be held in New York City. The people of New York are already under constant threat and there is absolutely no reason to needlessly subject them to even greater danger. I continue to call on President Obama to move the trial off of American soil and back to the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Medicare Report Confirms Health Care Law Bad for Americans, Especially Seniors The nonpartisan experts at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released an analysis on the government takeover of health care and the basic facts of the report are disturbing. It provided concrete evidence that the health care bill will raise, not lower, health care costs, put Washington in charge of health care decisions, and threaten seniors’ access to care and their ability to keep their Medicare plans. The American people deserved to know these facts before the bill was passed. That’s why I offered a resolution (H.Res. 883) to postpone consideration of the bill until the Medicare actuaries’ analysis had been public for at least 72 hours. Unfortunately, Congressional Democrats rushed this bill through the House, and now the non-partisan experts at CMS have confirmed our worst fears. It’s clearer than ever that our first order of business should be to repeal and replace this government takeover with commonsense solutions that will actually bring down health care costs without growing government. Share your thoughts
Supreme Court Affirms Religious Expression of Veterans I’m very pleased to report that the Supreme Court recently blocked the removal of a cross at the Mojave Desert Veterans Memorial in San Bernardino, California. As I noted last October, a lower court had ruled that the placement of the cross on the preserve violated the so-called “separation of church and state.” The Supreme Court focused primarily on the failure of the lower court to adequately consider legislation passed by Congress to address the church-state concern, but a majority of Justices also suggested that they believe the cross is permissible under the Constitution. Justice Anthony Kennedy, author of the Court’s main opinion, wrote, “The goal of avoiding governmental endorsement (of religion) does not require eradication of all religious symbols in the public realm.” He also noted that the cross can have more than religious meaning, arguing that “it evokes thousands of small crosses in foreign fields marking the graves of Americans who fell in battles, battles whose tragedies are compounded if the fallen are forgotten.” I believe the Court’s decision honors the sacrifices made by our troops who fought and died for our nation, and recognizes that public expressions of faith are consistent with our nation’s spiritual heritage. Share your thoughts
House Pushes Forward Bill to Impose Tough Sanctions on Iran The House of Representatives has passed a motion calling on the House and Senate to reach an agreement by May 28, 2010 on legislation that would place significant pressure on Iran to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons by reducing its supply of imported gasoline. Iran currently relies heavily on gasoline from other nations to meet its demand. The Housepassed its version of the legislation in December and the Senate passed a similar bill the following month. The two chambers will now work to resolve the differences between the measures. The floor action occurred as the New York Times reported on a January 2010 memo in which Secretary of Defense Robert Gates expressed concern that the Obama Administration does not have a long-term plan to deal with Iran’s nuclear program. Share your thoughts
Recent Past Tax Day Already Painful, Will Get Worse with Democrats' Tax Hikes April 15th, or Tax Day, served as an important reminder that the American people thrive when government reduces their tax burden and allows our nation’s families and small businesses to keep more of their own money to invest in their own prosperity. In sharp contrast, high taxes discourage work, investment and entrepreneurship, undermining economic growth and job creation in our nation. I offered the following statement to the Congressional Record on Tax Day on the dangers of new and higher taxes. Mr. Speaker, Tax Day is always a painful time for taxpayers, and it’s about to get a lot worse. This Democratic Congress has already enacted $670 billion in tax increases, including 14 different tax hikes that will hit middle-class families. Now, several of President Obama’s top advisors are saying America needs a European-style value-added tax. A VAT is a hidden tax on all production in our economy. It’s a regressive tax that will fall most heavily on the middle class. Adding a VAT to our current income tax would be taxpayers’ worst nightmare. This Tax Day, Congress should stand with hardworking Americans and say no to this new stealth tax. Share your thoughts
Administration Policy on Federal Contracts Boon to Big Labor But Costly to Taxpayers The Obama administration recently implemented a rule that encourages federal agencies to require contractors be unionized before bidding on federal projects. The specific requirement is that contractors use a “project labor agreement” (PLA), which allows unions to negotiate wages and hours up front in exchange for promises not to strike or disrupt work. The rule was drafted after President Obama issued an executive order that overturned Bush administration policy requiring neutrality on federal government contractors. It opens the door for agencies choosing to award construction contracts solely to unionized companies, granting projects to the 15% of the industry that is unionized while unfairly shutting out 85% of construction workers from projects funded by their tax dollars. During these difficult economic times when the construction industry is suffering from 27% unemployment, we should seek out policies that will increase the number of jobs available to all workers instead of a select group favored by special interests. Furthermore, we should not be encouraging contracts that studies show will drive up costs by as much as 10-20% as we face trillion dollar budget deficits. The Obama administration should focus on reviving the economy for everyone rather than promoting overpaid contracts at taxpayer expense. Share your thoughts
Clean Water Act Power Grab Chairman Jim Oberstar of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has reintroduced legislation to amend the Clean Water Act by replacing the term “navigable waters” with simply “waters of the United States.” I have long been opposed to this legislation – previously dubbed the “Clean Water Restoration Act,” now called the “America’s Commitment to Clean Water Act” - because it would give the federal government unprecedented control over private property. Simply changing the name of this bill does not change the fact that it would give the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency unprecedented regulatory authority over any puddle, ditch or other form of standing water across the nation. Not only would this bill represent one of the most significant intrusions on private property rights in history, I believe that it will only further hurt our economy by greatly expanding regulation, killing jobs and needlessly delaying critical infrastructure projects. I believe Congress should be focusing on balanced solutions to our nation’s water issues instead of trying to expand command and control regulation over American farmers and property owners. I will continue to strongly oppose this legislation. Share your thoughts
Northern California News and Events Tour of Cache Creek
Chamber of Commerce Last week I was presented with the “Spirit of Enterprise” award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The award is given annually to members of Congress that have supported legislation that promotes small businesses and job growth. As a rancher and small businessman, I came to our nation’s capital to stand up for small businesses and working families. This is still at the root of my service in Congress. As someone with a small business background, I believe that it is essential that government stands behind our entrepreneurs instead of getting in their way. I will continue my efforts to keep taxes low and ensure that American small businesses have the freedom to grow and create jobs. Share your thoughts
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In early April, I was able to tour the Cache Creek settling Basin in Woodland. Along with Colonel Thomas Chapman, District Engineer of the United States Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District, and officials from Yolo County, the City of Woodland, and the Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, I got a firsthand look at the challenges that the City of Woodland and County of Yolo face. 
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