ARSEWHOLES (congress)

[DrLeftover]

February 2, 2014

Congress‘ mammoth farm bill restores the imposition of an extra fee on home heating oil, hitting consumers in cold-weather states just as utility costs are spiking.

The fee — two-tenths of a cent on every gallon sold — was tacked on to the end of the 959-page bill, which is winding its way through Capitol Hill. The fee would last for nearly 20 years and would siphon the money to develop equipment that is cheaper, more efficient and safer, and to encourage consumers to update their equipment.

It’s just one of dozens of provisions tucked into the farm bill, which cleared the House on a bipartisan 251-166 vote last week and faces a key filibuster test in the Senate on Monday. It is expected to survive and face final passage Tuesday before heading to President Obama’s desk.

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/feb/2/fee-planted-in-farm-bill-could-increase-costs-of-h/#ixzz2sICQZeWA

 

[DrLeftover]

2 Feb 2014

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), however, supports an idea that would expand the role of the U.S. Postal Service from just mail delivery to financial services as well. In an op-ed for the Huffington Post published Saturday, Warren cited an Office of the Inspector General report pointing out that 68 million Americans have no checking or savings account and rely on non-bank financial services like payday loans and check cashing to the tune of $89 billion in 2012.

Warren sees this as an area for the Postal Service to get a foothold in order to see some have access “to affordable and fair financial services.”

“[T]he OIG explored the possibility of the USPS offering basic banking services—bill paying, check cashing, small loans—to its customers,” Warren wrote. “With post offices and postal workers already on the ground, USPS could partner with banks to make a critical difference for millions of Americans who don't have basic banking services because there are almost no banks or bank branches in their neighborhoods.”

The senior Massachusetts senator argued for “nothing fancy, just basic bill paying, check cashing, and small dollar loans.” She says that countries that have instituted a similar system with the postal services have “seen their earnings increase dramatically.”

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/02/01/Elizabeth-Warren-Allow-Post-Office-to-Offer-Checking-Accounts-Small-Loans

 

[DrLeftover]

Feb. 3, 2014
Lawmakers and their staff broke a record for taking the most privately funded trips since 2007, when reforms came into effect after a major lobbying scandal.

In 2013, members of Congress and their staff made nearly 1900 trips costing $6 million, breaking the record for the most privately sponsored travel since rules were tightened in 2007. By comparison the previous post-reform high was 2011, when privately financed travel cost $5.8 million for 1600 trips.

The Congressional Institute, a group that bills itself as non-partisan but is run by top Republican lobbyists and former staff, was the biggest sponsor of trips in 2013. The organization sponsored large retreats for top staff, paying for 474 Republicans to go in all.

...
The travels of Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) cost private sponsors the most in 2013. His trips to Ethiopia, Turkey and Sudan totaled about $70,000. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) took the most trips of any lawmaker last year with 11 trips, mostly to appear on ABC News shows or at Progressive Institute events.

http://www.legistorm.com/pro_news/view/id/740.html

 

[DrLeftover]

02/04/2014

Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee said that the new Congressional Full Employment Caucus will “give President Obama a number of executive orders that he can sign.”

Jackson Lee added that writing up executive orders “should be our number one agenda.”

“We will be answering the call of all of America because people need work and we’re not doing right by them by creating work,” the Texas congresswoman said. “I believe this caucus will put us on the right path and we’ll give President Obama a number of executive orders that he can sign with pride and strength,” Jackson said Jan. 29 at a press conference where she and fellow Democrats launched the Full Employment Caucus.

“In fact, I think that should be our number one agenda. Let’s write up these executive orders — draft them, of course — and ask the president to stand with us on full employment,” Jackson Lee added.

President Obama has declared 2014 a “year of action” despite facing a Republican-controlled House of Representatives opposed to most of his potential legislative reforms.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2014/02/04/sheila-jackson-lee-writing-executive-orders-for-obama-to-sign-our-number-one-agenda/#ixzz2sUI2c4xU

 

[DrLeftover]

debt up $2.7 T in 2.5 years.

This week’s debt-limit drama ended as it began: with House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), standing alone before his colleagues, seeking consensus but receiving only silence and stares in return.

Video: Why debt ceiling deniers say there's no limit

VIDEO:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/02/11/how-john-boehner-decided-to-give-up-on-the-debt-limit-fight/

 

[DrLeftover]

13 March

FBI agents working alongside Utah state prosecutors in a wide-ranging corruption investigation have uncovered accusations of wrongdoing by two of the U.S. Senate’s most prominent figures — Majority Leader Harry Reid and rising Republican Sen. Mike Lee — but the Justice Department has thwarted their bid to launch a full federal investigation.

The probe, conducted by one Republican and one Democratic state prosecutor in Utah, has received accusations from an indicted businessman and political donor, interviewed other witnesses and gathered preliminary evidence such as financial records, Congressional Record statements and photographs that corroborate some aspects of the accusations, officials have told The Washington Times and ABC News.

But the Justice Department’s public integrity section — which normally handles corruption cases involving elected figures — rejected FBI agents’ bid to use a federal grand jury and subpoenas to determine whether the accusations are true and whether any federal crimes were committed by state and federal officials.

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/13/fbi-blocked-in-corruption-probe-involving-sens-rei/#ixzz2vx1sT1jO

 

[DrLeftover]

26 March

Forced by the Federal Election Commission to explain where $17,000 from his campaign went, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid acknowledged giving the money to his granddaughter for “holiday gifts” in late 2013, and finally reimbursed the money to his campaign. The FEC sent the treasurer for Friends of Harry Reid a letter asserting that the treasurer “must include a brief statement or description … to clarify the following description: ‘holiday gifts.’” Reid’s campaign operation had listed the “holiday gifts” as two separate payments to Ryan Elisabeth of Berkley, Calif., on Oct. 23, 2013. One payment amounted to $5,416.93; the other was $11,370.00.

“Ryan Elisabeth” refers to Ryan Elisabeth Reid, 23, Reid’s granddaughter. Reid released a statement in which he said, “I thought it would be nice to give supporters and staff thank-you gifts that had a personal connection and a Searchlight connection. But I have decided to reimburse the campaign for the amount of the expenditure.”

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/03/25/Harry-Reid-to-Return-Campaign-Funds-Paid-to-Granddaughter-for-Holiday-Gifts

 

[DrLeftover]

4 April

WASHINGTON -- Members of Congress make $174,000 a year, but retiring Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., says that's not enough.

Moran tells CQ Roll Call that members need bigger paychecks because they have to maintain two residences -- one in their home district, and one in Washington.

"I think the American people should know that the members of Congress are underpaid," Moran told Roll Call.

"I understand that it's widely felt that they underperform, but the fact is that this is the board of directors for the largest economic entity in the world."

Moran says some members live out of their offices to save money and others have little apartment units.

http://www.wtop.com/120/3596224/Moran-174K-a-year-is-not-enough

 

[DrLeftover]

They can't pass a new budget, or fix the health care mess, or control their own spending, but they CAN do THIS:

Apr 18, 2014
A new bill introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives aims at curbing overzealous photoshopping of models and celebrities in advertisements.

Called the “Truth in Advertising Act,” the bill was co-sponsored by Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen from Florida and Democratic Rep. Lois Capps of California.

Advocates for the bill want more regulation for photoshopped images that appear in advertisements and other media.

“An increasing amount of academic evidence links exposure to such altered images with emotional, mental, and physical health issues, including eating disorders, especially among children and teenagers,” reads an excerpt of the bill. “There is particular concern about the marketing of such images to children and teenagers.”

Members of the Eating Disorder Coalition (EDC) met with lawmakers last month to lobby for the bill.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2014/04/18/new-bill-aims-to-curb-overzealous-photoshopping/

 

[DrLeftover]

Talk about the crook calling the criminal a bad guy!

24 April
Senators Denounce Obama for Threatening 'Entire Constitutional System' By 'Nullifying' Immigration Laws

On Thursday, 22 Republican senators, including even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), denounced President Barack Obama in a scathing letter for threatening America's "entire constitutional system" with his immigration "enforcement review" that threatens to "nullify" the nation's immigration laws.

"Your actions demonstrate an astonishing disregard for the Constitution, the rule of law, and the rights of American citizens and legal residents," the senators wrote in a letter to Obama. "Our entire constitutional system is threatened when the Executive Branch suspends the law at its whim and our nation’s sovereignty is imperiled when the commander-in-chief refuses to defend the integrity of its borders."

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/04/24/Senators-Denounce-Obama-for-Threatening-Entire-Constitutional-System-By-Nullifying-Immigration-Laws

 

[Evil Eye]

That's the point isn't it? The person shouting the loudest over what the previous government did wrong gets to be president, no?

They can't pass a new budget, or fix the health care mess, or control their own spending, but they CAN do THIS:

This is far easier and probably carries about as much public perception behind it. Small effort, high reward.

 

[DrLeftover]

Durbin, Reid among lawmakers seeking to bring back earmarks
6 May

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday that earmarks should be put back on the table as a tool for Congress, becoming the latest voice in a growing chorus to return to the days when pork-barrel spending dominated the annual appropriations process.

“I have been a fan of earmarks since I got here the first day,” Mr. Reid, Nevada Democrat, told reporters. “Keep in mind, that’s what the country has done for more than 200 years, except for the brief period of time in recent years that we haven’t done these.”

He and other supporters said earmarks were part of the founders’ vision of government and that they served to help get bills passed, making them an attractive antidote to the gridlock in Congress over the past four years.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/may/6/wheres-the-pork-durbin-reid-among-lawmakers-seekin/

 

[DrLeftover]

Nancy Pelosi blames George W. Bush for Veterans Affairs scandal

May 22, 2014

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., repeatedly put the blame for the Veterans Affairs scandal on former President George W. Bush, while arguing that her party has worked hard for veterans in recent years.

Pelosi took a shot at Bush while saying that the scandal is a high priority for Obama. "He sees the ramifications of some seeds that were sown a long time ago, when you have two wars over a long period of time and many, many more, millions more veterans," she told reporters during her Thursday press briefing. "And so, I know that he is upset about it."

The Democratic leader never mentioned Bush by name, but she alluded to him early and often in the press briefing.

"Maybe when we go into war, we should be thinking about its consequences and its ramifications," Pelosi said while discussing the scandal. "You would think that would be a given, but maybe it wasn't. And so, we go in a war in Afghanistan, leave Afghanistan for Iraq with unfinished business in Afghanistan. Ten years later, we have all of these additional veterans. In the past five years, two million more veterans needing benefits from the VA. That's a huge, huge increase."

http://washingtonexaminer.com/nancy-pelosi-blames-george-w.-bush-for-veterans-affairs-scandal/article/2548784

 

[DrLeftover]

Can you name one thing you like LESS than Congress?

A new Gallup poll shows only 7 percent of those asked have "a great deal" or "quite a bit of confidence" in Congress. That's the lowest percentage since Gallup began asking the question in 1973, when 42 percent expressed confidence in Congress.

Gallup said the figure isn't just the lowest for Congress, it's the lowest recorded for any institution in the 41-year trend.

Currently, 4 percent of Americans say they have a great deal of confidence in Congress, and 3 percent have quite a lot of confidence. About one-third of Americans report having "some" confidence, while half have "very little," and another 7 percent said they have "none."

Here's how Congress stacks up against other institutions. Percentages are for those saying they have a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in the institution:

Military – 74 percent

Small business – 62 percent

Police – 53 percent

Church/organized religion – 45 percent

Medical system – 34 percent

U.S. Supreme Court – 30 percent

Presidency – 29 percent

Public schools – 26 percent

Banks – 26 percent

Healthcare system – 23 percent

Criminal justice system - 23 percent

Newspapers – 22 percent

Organized labor – 22 percent

Big business – 21 percent

News on the internet – 19 percent

Television news – 18 percent

Congress – 7 percent

The poll was taken June 5-8.

http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2014/06/can_you_name_one_thing_you_lik.html