HR 5297 skewed by SA 4595 and ObamaCare—episode of ‘Democrats Gone Wild’

One reason Congress slides so many nasty surprises onto Main Street like an electric car crushed by a big rig is the haphazard—perhaps intentionally so—manner by which they create legislation. The latest episode in what I call the series ‘Democrats Gone Wild’ relates to two bills and an amendment. It’s complicated, so I’m not going to try to do this in a writerly way.

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Government and some universities should offset carbon emissions and avert US consumer tax

The Guardian (UK), a self-declared left of center newspaper often quoted by status quo pundits and wire services, featured a story on Friday about President Barack Obama’s refusal to restore President Jimmy Carter’s solar panels on the White House roof. The panels heated water for the kitchen.

Obama’s refusal is bizarre, considering his support for legislation to limit and tax carbon (Cap and Trade/HR 2454) and the fact the small business loan package (possibly HR 5297—Obama does not cite the bill he’s promoting) he’s touting is geared directly to energy tech and enviro-tech companies—those are two of the targeted industries in addition to others like photonics and digital media. Obama gives the impression the bill is some sort of boon to mom and pop businesses. It isn’t.

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GOP urges 72 hour window so Congress and public can read bills before a vote

A reader recently quibbled with a column I wrote about HR 5297, the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010. I called the bill a legislative boondoggle because it is. I read most of it, but I doubt most supporters in Congress have. The reader seemed blasé about my position that members of Congress should read bills they pass, taking the position that members rarely do read them (“a basic fact of political life”).  I also believe the public should have the same opportunity.

A bipartisan effort has regained momentum to force a vote on Resolution 554 to make sure congressmen and the public have a chance to read bills before a vote is taken. Republicans and Democrats have been vocal about the issue, but a Democrat was key in getting the ball rolling.

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Conservative journalist Hayes goes to war with White House—on Twitter

(Photo by Kay B. Day)This is one for the history books. Conservative journalist Stephen Hayes went to war with the White House—a war of words, that is. And the political jousting occurred on Twitter. Is this the first time in history a president’s spokesperson engaged in a political duel via Twitter? Who knows?

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Small Business Jobs and Credit Act a legislative boondoggle

President Barack Obama returned from vacation and quickly lambasted Republicans for holding his so-called small business lending bill “hostage.” The US Report took a look at HR 5297, the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010. Many pundits are railing against the GOP for holding up a small business lending and jobs bill. Not a single newspaper or online publisher I scanned mentions the bill number or the bill specifics—the reader is basically offered political fact. The bill is a boondoggle in the truest sense of the word—a government effort with little practical value enacted to reward cronies.

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