Lawmakers pushing for the creation of a federal insurance regulator say the country’s banking industry shows that a two-tiered system benefits consumers.

“That regulatory competition between state regulators and federal regulators has served consumers quite well,” Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) argued at a policy breakfast hosted by The Hill on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), one of the most vocal advocates for the legislation and a sponsor of the breakfast, unveiled a study concluding that an optional federal charter would boost competition and innovation in the insurance industry. Earlier this year, the trade group released a study finding that a federal regulator would generate up to $5.7 billion in savings for the 284 life insurers analyzed.

Speaking at the breakfast, ACLI president and former Republican governor of Oklahoma Frank Keating argued that those savings would be passed on to consumers, reducing prices by “an average of 2 percent on each policy.” Read more...

Labels: Congress, Frank Keating

Posted at 6:50 AM |   

By Kevin Bogardus and Manu Raju

Following in the footsteps of their House counterparts, Senate GOP budget hawks have targeted more Democrats than Republicans in their hunt for earmarks.

Based on a review of the amendments filed to the six appropriations bills brought to the Senate floor so far, Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) have targeted 13 specific earmarked projects — nine of which were sponsored solely by Democrats.

This includes the successful attack on a high-profile earmark backed by the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). In a vote last week, Coburn won a vote to cut $1 million in funds for a museum detailing the 1969 Woodstock music festival. The request was co-sponsored by Clinton and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).

Only three of the 13 earmarks targeted were sponsored exclusively by Republicans.

In the House, earmark critic Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and other fiscal conservatives targeted 20 earmarks in the first six spending bills, with only four sponsored exclusively by Republicans.

Despite these figures, Coburn insisted his quest to cut spending was not about party but about spending priorities. “We never look at who they are, we look at what it is,” Coburn said. “I’m equally grievous towards both groups that want earmarks.” Read more...

Related:

The Hill Blog: Coburn’s Awesome Victory for Taxpayers

Time Herald-Record: (NY)

A senator from Oklahoma has squashed a $1 million earmark to billionaire Alan Gerry's Woodstock-era museum in Bethel.

In a rare rebuke of a pet projects, senators, including Democrats, pulled monies last week earmarked by Sen. Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton, and shifted that money to provide health care for pregnant woman and homeless children.

"I'm pleased my colleagues took a bold stand... in defense of common sense and rejected the self-interested parochial politics that have disillusioned millions of Americans," said Sen. Tom Coburn, the Republican who organized the effort to kill the earmark, saying public monies shouldn't be given to a private museum backed by a man worth $1.3 billion according to Forbes.
"Maybe this is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius for taxpayers." Read more...

Labels: Congress, Sen. Tom Coburn

Posted at 6:49 AM |   

U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (L) speaks as Senator Tom Coburn look on during a news conference. Alex Wong / Getty

By JAY NEWTON-SMALL

Senator Tom Coburn spent a good part of last Wednesday trying to stop the federal government from building bike paths. He wanted to redirect the $12 million allotted for them to shoring up U.S. bridges following the collapse of a highway bridge in Minneapolis that killed 13 people. The amendment failed 80-18. Undeterred, Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican, immediately introduced his second amendment of the day: a motion to suspend all earmarks — or pet projects often attached in secret to funding bills — until structural integrity of all U.S. bridges can be verified. There were $2 billion in earmarks in the bill, which, if passed, will fund the Transportation Department next year; the amendment failed 82-14. That same day Senator Jim DeMint, a South Carolina Republican, added his own amendment to suspend a rule that requires the government to use unionized workers to make emergency repairs to bridges, which DeMint says raises the cost by as much as 35%. That amendment also failed, 56-37. Read more...

Related:

An anonymous Republican Senator, identified by Think Progress as Tom Coburn (R-OK), has placed a secret hold on a law that would restore public access to presidential records. Two other senators were initially suspects but their offices have denied involvement while Coburn’s office has refused comment. The secret hold is part of an attempt to undermine the Democratic bill nullifying Bush’s executive order of 2001 that called for many executive materials to be kept secret “in perpetuity.” (Think Progress and The Dallas Morning News)

CQ.com: Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said Thursday he will force a roll-call vote on raising the debt limit.

Labels: Congress, Sen. Tom Coburn

Posted at 2:47 PM |   

"I'm hearing more and more frequently a sense of rage with the Democratic leadership in Congress. From failing to stop the war to expanding Bush's wiretapping authority, the swing vote of conservative Democrats in the House are forming an effective conservative majority that is enabling Bush to govern as he wishes."

"Bush's Dogs"

Jason Altmire, PA-04
John Barrow, GA-12
Melissa Bean, IL-18
Dan Boren, OK-02
Leonard Boswell, IA-03
Alan Boyd, FL-02
Chris Carney, PA-10
Ben Chandler, KY-06
Jim Cooper, TN-05
Jim Costa, CA-20
Bud Cramer, AL-05
Henry Cuellar, TX-28
Lamar Davis, TN-04
Joe Donnelly, IN-02
Chet Edwards, TX-17
Brad Ellsworth, IN-08
Bob Etheridge, NC-02
Bart Gordon, TN-06
Stephanie Herseth, SD
Baron Hill, IN-09
Nick Lampson, TX-22
Dan Lipinski, IL-03
Jim Marshall, GA-08
Jim Matheson, UT-02
Mike McIntyre, NC-07
Charlie Melancon, LA-03
Colin Peterson, MN-07
Earl Pomeroy, ND
Ciro Rodriguez, TX-23
Mike Ross, AR-04
John Salazar, CO-03
Heath Shuler, NC-11
Vic Snyder, AR-02
Zack Space, OH-18
John Tanner, TN-08
Gene Taylor, MS-04
Tim Walz, MN-01
Charlie Wilson, OH-06

Read more...

Labels: Congress, Iraq War, Rep. Dan Boren

Posted at 11:44 AM |   

From The Hill:

By Daphne Retter

A battle between the offices of Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) over a controversial earmark intensified earlier this month, displaying how debates on Capitol Hill sometimes can turn personal.

The senators had been at odds over the matter for much of the summer, but it would reach a new level when John Hart, communications director for Coburn, forwarded a news article detailing his boss’s request for an investigation of a defense contractor.

The target of the would-be investigation, 21st Century Systems Inc. (21CSI), employs Patrick Nelson, the son of the centrist senator.

Sen. Nelson had requested an earmark for 21CSI, triggering a heated battle between the senators that has raged for weeks.

“This will shut that f---er up,” Hart stated in an Aug. 1 e-mail sent from his Senate account to several of his colleagues. “I can’t wait to send an In Case You Missed It to Nebraska press that will be forwarded to a--face.” Read more...

Related

Huffington Post: "Nasty E-mails Fly As Senate Earmark Battle Gets Personal"

Labels: Congress, Sen. Tom Coburn

Posted at 10:29 AM |   

Mickey Hepner is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Central Oklahoma. He regularly writes and comments on policy issues.

Mickey's Musings:

A few weeks ago U.S. Rep. Mary Fallin wrote a guest column for The Oklahoman criticizing House Democrats for their budget proposal (I mentioned this here). At the time I also drafted this letter to the editor and hoped The Oklahoman would publish it. Since it has been 2 1/2 weeks since submission, I think it is safe to assume that it won't be published. So, I thought I would post it here: Read more...

Labels: Congress, Rep. Fallin

Posted at 12:06 PM |   

By John Gizzi

One case in point that was cited to me was the President’s veto of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which is an authorization rather than a spending measure. In taking the action he did, the President did not talk to Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe (Okla.), former chairman of the Senate Environment Committee and now its ranking Republican.

Mr. Bush’s apparent refusal to talk to Inhofe before the veto was something I brought up at yesterday’s press briefing at the White House. I also asked Press Secretary Tony Snow whether the President consults with ranking Members of any Senate committees before he issues a veto.

“Well, how do you know he didn't consult Senator Inhofe?” Snow retorted.

I replied: "Senator Inhofe told me.” Read more...

Related:

Muskogee Phoenix Editorial: "Spend Senate time judiciously"

Labels: Congress, Sen. Inhofe

Posted at 12:07 PM |   

Former 5th district Congressman and Heritage Foundation scholar Ernest Istook offers this editorial in the Washington Times today.

Some of the politicians who propose withdrawing our troops from Iraq have an ulterior motive. They want to stop spending money on the military so they can start spending it on social programs.

If they succeed, an army of social workers may prove the only force in the world capable of beating America's military. Funding that "army" is a revival of the "peace dividend" doctrine that brought us a hollowed-out military during the Clinton administration.

Sen. Barack Obama, Illinois Democrat, has claimed first dibs on the money to create a new $6-billion-a-year program against urban poverty "funded by savings from ending the Iraq war." Fellow presidential candidate John Edwards certainly will want a chunk, considering that his central theme is a mega-billion-dollar expansion of the "War on Poverty."

Congress is already on a spending spree. During the first six months of the new majority, the House and the Senate approved almost $200 billion in new spending, mostly to be financed with tax increases, with a little left over to lower the deficit. But raising taxes carries political risks, so tapping a "peace dividend" is an alternative justification for higher spending. It's a tempting target, because the five-year cost of our operations in Iraq and Afghanistan is officially calculated at $758 billion. Read more...

Labels: Congress, Ernest Istook

Posted at 11:57 AM |   

Senator Coburn:

“Rather than opening the secret chambers of government to the public, this new Congress has opted to change the locks. This bill, which was negotiated in secret, guts key earmark reforms that both houses of Congress approved overwhelmingly. Unfortunately, this process shows that Congress’s 28 percent approval rating is well-deserved. (Chart below from Sen. Coburn)

“The problem in Washington is not lobbyists, but members of Congress. This bill solves the wrong problem and creates new ways to hide earmarks. For example, it is ludicrous to give the Majority Leader of either party, not the objective Senate parliamentarian, new unilateral powers to police earmarks. It is also obscene that the Senate gutted a key reform preventing senators from directing earmarks to family members. The new language mirrors existing Senate rules which have done nothing to prevent these serious conflicts of interest.


“In the last election, the American people said they wanted the earmark favor factory to be shut down, not turned over to new management [emphasis added mine]. As our Republican majority learned, breaking promises has consequences. Congress first broke its promise to impose an earmark moratorium by offering 32,000 earmarks. Now Congress has signaled its determination to continue the secretive earmark favor factory.”

Related:

The Hill: "Dems unveil ethics plan" (Comments by Sen. Coburn)

Ernest Istook: "Congressional Spending: Past Abuse Is No Excuse for Today's Excess"

Labels: Congress, Sen. Tom Coburn

Posted at 9:07 AM |   

Labels: Congress, Ernest Istook

Posted at 8:54 AM |   

By Robert Novak

WASHINGTON -- When Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid picked up his ball and went home following his staged all-night session last week, he saved from possible embarrassment one of the least regular members of his Democratic caucus: Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska. Reform Republican Sen. Tom Coburn had ready a Defense authorization bill amendment to remove Nelson's earmark funding a Nebraska-based company whose officials include Nelson's son. Such an effort became impossible when Reid pulled down the bill.

When the Defense authorization bill came up last week, Coburn prepared amendments to eliminate the Nelson earmark and the most notorious earmark now pending in Congress: Rep. John Murtha's proposed $23 million for the National Drug Intelligence Center in his Pennsylvania district. Reid's game plan to satisfy anti-war activists with an all-night debate averted debate for now on these two earmarks. Read more...


Related: "Medical Marijuana under attack by fascists..."

Labels: Congress, Sen. Tom Coburn

Posted at 12:07 PM |   

From Wonkette and Roll Call:

"Senate handyman Tim McClintock might have saved a man from drowning, but it took a lowly intern to rescue Sen. Tom Coburn’s aide Drew Berky from an eternity of being locked in the conference room"

Related

The Hays Daily News: Oklahoma senator criticizes government mascots

Labels: Congress, Sen. Tom Coburn

Posted at 12:39 PM |   

Washington was buzzing over a heated meeting between President Bush and 11 moderate Republicans who told the president that their support for the war was slipping fast. That same day in May, Rep. Dan Boren and a group of fellow moderate-to-conservative Democrats made the trip to the White House to hear Bush out on Iraq. The tone, according to Boren, was quite different.

"Over the last six or seven years, he's really been knocked as someone who does not try to build bridges with Democrats, and I think over the last six months to a year, his office has really tried to reach out to members like me," Boren said. The congressman even has his own dedicated White House liaison officer, Marty McGuinness, whose phone line is always open.

The White House knows that Boren is a man trapped between the conservative constituents of his eastern Oklahoma district and a Democratic Party pushing hard to seize control of the war in Iraq and bring it to a close. Read more...

Labels: Cong. Dan Boren, Congress

Posted at 11:52 AM |   

Senate leaders reached agreement yesterday to move a massive bill implementing unfulfilled recommendations of the 9/11 commission to a conference with the House, paving the way for negotiators to wrap up work on the legislation as early as this week, according to lawmakers and their aides.

"Republicans did drop their objection to taking the bill into conference," said a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., had objected to going to conference, saying the bill did not include a provision for auditing how billions of dollars in homeland security grants are spent. Democratic aides said Coburn's concerns would be addressed in the underlying bill. Coburn's office acknowledged an agreement was reached to go to conference but declined further comment. Read more...

Labels: Congress, Sen. Tom Coburn

Posted at 11:22 AM |   

From Bloomberg News:

Pelosi has "lost some confidence on the left,'' costing "energy, money and enthusiasm,'' said Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. "At the same time, she's put her own members on the right, who our targets are, in a very precarious position.'' Read more...

Labels: Cong. Tom Cole, Congress, Spkr. Pelosi

Posted at 12:31 PM |   

Labels: Congress, Sen. Inhofe

Posted at 12:09 PM |   

"It is hypocritical for the Senate to grand stand for political purposes while ignoring its own shortcomings that threaten the solvency of Social Security and Medicare and the standard of living of future generations."

The Senate has a responsibility to be good stewards and secure the future for our children and grandchildren. We must, therefore, first hold Congress accountable for its failures, before pointing fingers at the shortcomings of others, by acknowledging and accepting the lack of confidence that the public has in Congress’ unwillingness to cut wasteful spending and balance the budget."

Labels: Congress, Sen. Tom Coburn

Posted at 11:55 AM |   

Labels: Congress, Ernest Istook, Iraq War

Posted at 1:51 PM |   

U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas has come up with some interesting ideas concerning alternative energy and rural America.

He has introduced a bill — his eight-point Rural America Energy Bill — that seeks to expand the use of energy sources that can be utilized in rural areas, such as wind energy and cellulosic ethanol. It also would help farmers participate in energy development, through small wind tax credits and dedicated funding for renewable energy projects.

With gas prices over $3 a gallon you won’t find many people who say we shouldn’t do something. Read more...

Labels: Congress, Rep. Lucas

Posted at 12:43 PM |   

By Kelly McCormack


If you could fire one lawmaker, who would it be?

“I can’t think of anybody I’d fire. I have a great respect for [all lawmakers] even though I may differ. They are representing their districts.”

If you could be one other lawmaker, who would you want to be?

“[There are] many lawmakers that I have a great [amount of respect for]. They each have strengths in [their] various individual personalities. I can’t name one I’d want to be exactly like.”

What five people, dead or alive, would you want to go to dinner with?

“[Secretary of State] Condoleezza Rice. I really admire her. She’s smart, capable, savvy and has a good heart. Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi (D-Calif.). Although we come from different political parties, I respect her elevation as a woman to Speaker of the House. [House Minority Leader John] Boehner (R-Ohio). He’s got knowledge to share. Margaret Thatcher — one of the early women to work in a man’s world. First lady Laura Bush.”

What’s your middle name?

“Oh, don’t ask me that! My daddy’s name: Newt. Whenever I see Newt Gingrich I tell him that we have something in common.”

Have you ever had a near-death experience?

“No, not to the point of being injured. I came close in car wrecks. Last year, [I was on a flight that] almost had a midair collision [with another plane]. I haven’t had any injuries.”

What do you do to stay in shape?

“I like to walk, work out and lift weights. It’s very important for one’s health and alertness, [especially] working the congressional hours that we do. My mom became ill at 73 and was bedridden. [It’s important] to enjoy life in the golden years.”

Labels: Congress, Rep. Fallin

Posted at 7:17 AM |   

By Ernest Istook
Special to washingtonpost.com's Think Tank Town

There's about to be a mugging, and American taxpayers are the unsuspecting victims. Worse, the cop on the beat is looking the other way.

The mugging will lift $3.3 trillion from purses and wallets because the 2003 tax cuts will begin expiring soon. That means the average American family will have to pay an extra $2,641 each year, according to Heritage Foundation analyst Brian Riedl. Congress could stop it by renewing the tax cuts -- but it's looking the other way instead.

The budget resolution moving through Congress is the blueprint for what's coming. Higher spending -- by hundreds of billions -- is in the plan. Renewing tax cuts isn't. The 2003 tax cuts, which President Bush wanted to be permanent, were approved only as "temporary" tax relief. Permanent relief was blocked by the very group that now denies responsibility. The old higher-tax policies will make their comeback unless Congress acts to prevent it, something the new majority says it won't do. Eventually, a small fraction of the tax relief might be renewed, but that will still be a net loss to taxpayers and a damper on America's economy.

Personal and business income tax rates will climb. Capital gains taxes will go up. The death tax will have new life. The marriage penalty will once more punish husbands and wives. Child tax credits won't continue. And the AMT (alternative minimum tax) will hit more and more middle-income workers.

The sneaky thing is that instead of voting to raise taxes and going on the record -- something even liberal members of Congress are loathe to do -- Congress won't have to do a thing. No tough committee vote. No pesky taxpayer revolt to deal with. Fewer angry calls from constituents.

No, the budget resolution itself doesn't raise taxes. What it actually does is fail to halt higher taxes. And the reason that lower taxes are expiring is because Democrats last year blocked the Republican majority from making the 2003 tax cuts permanent. The budget resolution accepts -- with approval -- the fact that tax rates will rise as the tax cuts expire, and then endorses those higher taxes while trying to deny blame.

What will the average American family get after it starts paying this extra $2,641 each year? The revenue is being treated as a spending windfall -- enabling a $3.3 trillion spree of new and expanded government programs during the next 10 years. The goal of balancing the budget takes a back seat.

Unfortunately, the issue is being obscured by typical party bickering over whether higher taxes are "in" the bill. And not enough attention is being paid to the higher spending that's proposed. Many conservatives have a credibility problem in attacking spending because of our behavior when Republicans held the majority. But the GOP is playing to its strength by talking about the need to keep taxes low, because that has spurred significant economic growth and more jobs.

Washington is a busy place. Confrontations over Iraq, hearings about U.S. attorney firings and subpoenas, and a pork-filled emergency war spending bill that declares the 2008 political conventions are a $100-million "emergency."

Crafty politicians, like magicians, always keep their audience distracted so they don't notice the sleight of hand, such as this back-door tax increase.

Taxpayers should keep their eyes focused on their own pockets. They're about to get picked.

Ernest Istook, a former Republican congressman from Oklahoma, is a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation (heritage.org). He was principal sponsor of the Balanced Budget Amendment.

Labels: Congress, Ernest Istook

Posted at 6:21 AM |   

Before their recess, Sen. Tom Coburn introduced an amendment to successfully strip a $2 million supplement inserted in the emergency war appropriations bill by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. The $2 million dollars was to set up an institute at the University of Vermont named after former Sen. James Jeffords.

Leahy aides claim the proposal should have been considered an emergency because of Jeffords' failing health. Leahy said on the floor of the Senate that Sen. Coburn's effort to strip this non-emergency supplement from the emergency war supplemental bill a "disgrace."

"Senator Leahy has agreed to work again on that later this year, in the regular appropriations process," said David Carle, a spokesman for Leahy. A $3 million measure for the same UVM institute was in an appropriation bill last year that died, Carle said.

Labels: Congress, Sen. Tom Coburn

Posted at 7:45 AM |   

Tecumseh Countywide News & Sun:

Fifth District U.S. Rep. Mary Fallin called the budget which the House of Representatives passed this week “the largest tax increase in American history.” The budget allows the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts to expire while introducing $392.5 billion in new spending. It also fails to address the looming entitlement spending crisis for social security and Medicare.

“This Congress has a duty to allow American families to thrive,” Fallin said. “The budget we voted on today, brought forward by the liberal, tax and spend leaders of this Congress, does just the opposite. You cannot say you support our families while draining their bank accounts.” Read more...

Labels: Congress, Rep. Fallin

Posted at 12:56 PM |   

JOHN FUND ON THE TRAIL


The Congressional Research Service is helping its masters hide wasteful spending.

Nothing highlighted Congress's spending problem in last year's election more than earmarks, the special projects like Alaska's "Bridge to Nowhere" that members drop into last-minute conference reports leaving no opportunity to debate or amend them. Voters opted for change in Congress, but on earmarks it looks as if they'll only be getting more smoke and mirrors.

Democrats promised reform and instituted "a moratorium" on all earmarks until the system was cleaned up. Now the appropriations committees are privately accepting pork-barrel requests again. But curiously, the scorekeeper on earmarks, the Library of Congress's Congressional Research Service (CRS)--a publicly funded, nonpartisan federal agency--has suddenly announced it will no longer respond to requests from members of Congress on the size, number or background of earmarks. "They claim it'll be transparent, but they're taking away the very data that lets us know what's really happening," says Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn. "I'm convinced the appropriations committees are flexing their muscles with CRS."

Indeed, the shift in CRS policy represents a dramatic break with its 12-year practice of supplying members with earmark data. "CRS will no longer identify earmarks for individual programs, activities, entities, or individuals," stated a private Feb. 22 directive from CRS Director Daniel Mulhollan.

When Sen. Coburn and Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina submitted earmark inquiries recently, they were both turned down. Each then had heated conversations with Mr. Mulhollan. The director, who declined to be interviewed for this article, explained that because the appropriations committees and the White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) were now preparing their own lists of earmarks, CRS should no longer play a role in the process. He also noted that both the House and Senate are preparing their own definitions of earmarks. "It is not appropriate for us to continue our research," his directive states. Read more...

Sen. Coburn Discusses Earmarks with John Gibson of Fox News Channel

Labels: Congress, Sen. Tom Coburn

Posted at 7:57 AM |   

By Elana Schor

Fresh from his face-to-face tussle with former Vice President Al Gore, Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) is vowing to stall Gore’s hotly anticipated Capitol concert to draw attention to global warming.

Inhofe’s belief that climate change is “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people” is common knowledge in the capitol, and environmental groups cheered the new prospects for carbon-capping legislation when he ceded the Environment and Public Works Committee gavel this session. But Inhofe’s parliamentary powers can block indefinitely the resolution that would permit Gore to choose the capitol’s West Front for the U.S. leg of his seven-continent Live Earth concert tour — a collaboration between Gore and promoter Kevin Wall, who masterminded previous blockbuster charity concerts Live Aid and Live 8.

“There has never been a partisan political event at the Capitol, and this is a partisan political event,” Inhofe said yesterday. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) attempted late last week to pass the authorizing measure for Live Earth by unanimous consent. But Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) raised an objection on the floor, seeking more time for his side to look at the resolution.

Inhofe appeared to see little room for an accommodation that could allow the concert to go forward. “There’s no compromise. Either we change the rules or we don’t.” Read more

Labels: Congress, Sen. Inhofe

Posted at 6:30 AM |   

Clever headline, but how long has Fallin been in Congress - two months?


Mickey Hepner
The Edmond Sun

EDMOND — A few months ago, Mary Fallin seemed to be the ideal congressional candidate as she was both likable and experienced. She had served for four years in the state Legislature, another 12 years as lieutenant governor, and through all that she remained likable. Her popularity even prompted this observer to claim that Fallin was a tougher opponent for Democrats than her predecessor Ernest Istook. As appealing as “candidate Fallin” was in November, it is apparent that Congresswoman Fallin has been a disappointment. Read more...

Labels: Congress, Rep. Fallin

Posted at 7:58 AM |   

Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla) claimed victory Friday in his continued battle against rampant federal spending. For three years, Inhofe has proposed a simple, one sentence amendment to the annual Congressional Budget Resolution requiring a supermajority (3/5) vote to exceed the previous fiscal year’s non-defense, non-trust-fund, discretionary spending.

After years of effort, Inhofe’s language was incorporated into the fiscal year 2008 Congressional Budget Resolution (S.Con.Res.21) that passed the Senate by a 52-47 vote. Due to increased pressure for fiscal responsibility in Washington, Congress proactively included Inhofe’s language.

“The Democrats have once again lived up to their ‘tax and spend’ reputation,” Inhofe said. “My language will help to protect our nation from future irresponsible spending binges.”

Inhofe’s language saves taxpayers a projected $9 billion in this year’s budget alone. By comparison, the entire fiscal year 2008 Oklahoma state budget, as passed by state House and Senate, is just over $7 billion.

“Though the Democrats’ budget includes essential items that I fought to preserve including essential funding for BRAC and my fiscally conservative language, I cannot support this legislation because of the unnecessary over-spending it contains.” Inhofe said. “In addition to hiking spending by more than $150 billion, the Democrats’ budget calls for a $736 billion tax increase that will ultimately have devastating effects on our economy. Their budget also fails to address entitlement reform, leaving Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid on a path to bankruptcy.”

Labels: Congress, Sen. Inhofe

Posted at 7:08 AM |   

March 6, 2007

Boren Bulletin

Boren Recognized As One Of Most Centrist House Members - National Journal, a national publication covering politics and policy in Washington, D.C. on Friday released an analysis of last year's recorded votes. With a liberal score of 49 percent and a conservative score of 51 percent, I join three other Democrats and three Republicans at the ideological center of the House of Representatives....

Labels: Cong. Dan Boren, Congress

Posted at 9:12 AM |   

From the "Down With Tyranny" Blog:

Yesterday Dem4evr posted a diary at Daily Kos about Oklahoma Congressman Dan Boren, appealing to progressives to mount a primary against the reactionary Democratic rep, Oklahoma's last.

A quick blog search shows me that DWT has over a dozen mentions of Boren, although no stories on him. All the mentions concern his status as one of the 2 or 3 most reactionary Democrats in the House, someone as likely to vote with Republicans on substantive matters as with Democrats. The latest on DWT-- and the cause of Dem4evr's diary-- concerned how Boren was only one of two Democrats, along with Mississippi Republicrat Gene Taylor, to vote against a worker's right to join a union last week, a position so inherently un-American and vile that even 13 Republicans joined the House Democrats to beat back the Republican opposition.

As Dem4evr points out, there may be virtually no difference between the way Taylor and Boren come down on the issues-- they are, respectively, the #1 and #2 most reactionary Democrats in the House-- but that there is a significant difference in the nature of the districts that the two men represent. Taylor has been elected in a solid Republican seat. MS-04 has a +16 Republican rating on the Cook Partisan Voting Index. Taylor's constituents, while returning him to office with massive majorities (75% in 2002, 64% in 2004, 80% in 2006), gave Bush 65% in 2000 and then liked what they saw so much that they gave him 68% in 2004.

Boren's district (OK-02), the poor, mostly rural eastern third of Oklahoma (including Muskogee), is a traditional Democratic district that has been trending Republican in national elections. It is considered a competitive district that leans Republican, although Brad Henry carried every single county in the district when he ran for governor in 2002 and two years later Brad Carson carried every county in the district except two when he ran for Senate. Gore and Kerry did better in OK-02 than in any of Oklahoma's other congressional districts, with Bush getting 52% in 2000 and 59% in 2004. Boren was first elected in 2004 with 66% of the vote and in November he was re-elected with 73% against Republican wingnut Patrick Miller. Read more...

Labels: Congress, Rep. Dan Boren

Posted at 5:30 PM |   

Rep. Mary Fallin wrote on the Hill Newspaper's Blog that the non-binding resolution passed by Congress Friday was the "product of a political game." Fallin warned her fellow legislators that the "situation before us is deadly serious".

"If we pass this resolution, we will send precisely the wrong message at precisely the wrong time to one of the most dangerous and sinister enemies we have ever faced." She concluded the post saying:

"Our soldiers deserve real answers to the problems they face in Iraq, not political posturing which risks emboldening their enemies. I sincerely hope that the House of Representatives rejects this resolution and begins working in a bipartisan fashion towards a plan for victory in Iraq."

UPDATE: Passing of Iraq Resolution Lacked Substantive Debate

"I’d rather have seen the resolution fail. But I was pleased that there were so few Republicans that supported it. I just wish we had the opportunity on the floor to actually debate these issues. A few minutes from each person to speak isn’t enough.

As a freshman, I’m very disappointed. I was elected to come to Congress to voice the concerns of my Oklahoman constituents. But we can’t speak freely because of constant suspension of House rules and closed debates."

Labels: Congress, Iraq War, Rep. Fallin

Posted at 6:08 AM |   

U.S. Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.) yesterday praised the inclusion of his legislation requiring parental consent for non-emergency intrusive physical examinations in the Head Start Reauthorization Act of 2007 (S.556). Sen. Inhofe has introduced his legislation (S.174) to amend the Head Start Act in the 108th, 109th, and 110th Congresses.

“Young children attending Head Start programs should not be subjected to these intrusive physical exams without prior knowledge and consent of their parents,” Inhofe said. “As a father and a grandfather, I believe it is vital for parents to be informed about what is happening to their children in the classroom. I am pleased that after my continued efforts there will finally be definitive language in federal law prohibiting these exams without parental consent.”

Senator Inhofe first introduced this legislation when several constituents raised concerns about their children receiving intrusive exams without their consent. While the Department of Health and Human Services administered general exam guidelines to agencies, the U.S. Code is not clear about prohibiting them without parental consent, thus leading to the problem the parents encountered.

Below is an excerpt from the Tulsa case that motivated Sen. Inhofe to sponsor this legislation:

Dubbs v Head Start Inc.

In this civil rights action, parents of eight pre-school children enrolled in the Head Start program in Tulsa, Oklahoma, complain that their children were subjected to intrusive physical examinations, including genital examinations and blood tests, on school premises without parental notice or consent. They claim that the Head Start agency, defendant Tulsa Community Action Project, falsely represented to medical personnel that consent forms had been obtained for each of the children and insisted on examinations even for children with up-to-date physicals supplied by their own doctors. They claim that these examinations violated their rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and under state law.

On November 5, 1998, Peggy Terry, a registered nurse and a CAP employee, entered a classroom of pre-school children participating in the Head Start program at Roosevelt Elementary in Tulsa. She announced that the children were to be taken to a another classroom in the building for physical examinations. One parent, Misti Dubbs, who was employed as an aide in the Head Start program, protested that CAP had not obtained consent for the examinations and that many of the families had already turned in physical examination reports from their own doctors. When nurse Terry insisted on examinations for all the children, Mrs. Dubbs approached a KD supervisor who in turn consulted the supervisor of employees at KD's Roosevelt site. Neither of these supervisors intervened.

CAP had previously told the County Health Department that CAP would obtain the requisite consent from parents prior to the medical examinations. Relying on that representation, the Health Department conveyed this information to nurses Strayhorn and Baker. On November 5, Strayhorn and Baker arrived at Roosevelt before the appointed time for the exams and queried the CAP Head Start representative, Peggy Terry, about whether the children's parents had completed consent forms. Strayhorn and Baker looked for consent forms in the students' file folders and found none. The nurses raised concerns about the absence of consent forms with nurse Terry, but Terry assured them that CAP had previously obtained consent and that the proper forms were on file. Strayhorn and Baker relied on that information and proceeded with the exams.

The central question in this case is whether CAP and the other defendants had a reasonable basis for believing that the parents had consented to the examinations.

In a series of orders, the district court disposed of all claims against all defendants, either on dismissal for failure to state a claim on which relief may be granted or on summary judgment. The district court then ordered the plaintiffs to pay the costs of the litigation.

Read the full opinion.

Labels: Congress, Sen. Inhofe

Posted at 6:33 AM |