Jack Kingston

In the first sentence of his first executive order, President Obama stated that “my Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government.�  In November 2006, Speaker Pelosi pledged to lead the “most honest� and “most open� Congress in history.

Despite these promises, Democrats have time and again rammed through costly bills with devastating consequences for America’s families that no member of Congress has read.  For example, the 1,073-page, trillion-dollar stimulus bill was posted online at 10 p.m. the night before it came up for a vote.  A 300-page amendment was tacked on to the 1,200-page national energy tax bill at 3 a.m. the morning it came up for a vote.

It’s just common sense: the American people should be given time to read major bills before they come to a vote.  Previous Congresses, including Republican ones, have failed to live up to this standard.  Now is the time for Congress to change, and House Republicans are committed to leading this unprecedented effort to bring sunlight and transparency to the entire legislative process:

• READ THE BILL. Put all bills online for at least 72 hours before they come to a vote. (H. Res. 554, Reps. John Culberson, R-TX & Brian Baird, D-WA; Discharge Petition by Rep. Greg Walden, R-OR)
• BAN “PHANTOM AMENDMENTS.â€�  Require committees to post bill text online within 24 hours of adoption. (H. Res. 835, Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-KS)
• SHOW THE VOTES.  Post Members’ committee votes online within 48 hours. (Rep. Dave Reichert, R-WA)
• OPEN HEALTH CARE NEGOTIATIONS TO THE PUBLIC . Prevent secret deals behind closed doors and ensure a full and open debate.  (H. Res. 847, Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-FL)
• BRING SUNLIGHT TO THE RULES COMMITTEE. Allow cameras in the secretive Rules Committee, which decides which bills come to a vote.  (Rep. Charlie Dent, R-PA)

Speaker Pelosi should allow these proposals to be brought to the House floor for an up-or-down vote. Only House Democrats stand between the American people and these common-sense reforms to protect their hard-earned tax dollars.
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The Oneida Bingo and Casino outside of Green Bay, Wisconsin used a federal grant they received through the Stimulus package, to send their staff to a customer service seminar. The two day seminar was held at a local technical college to teach the casino staff how to handle confrontations with customers. It was clear to the instructors, however, that the casino staff was already well trained at handling confrontations.

With Wisconsin’s unemployment rate at just below 9%, the Federal government chose to spend $67,726 to retrain a casino staff, rather than using the money to create jobs.

Under the House Republican Stimulus Alternative, tax dollars would not have been spent to teach staff something they already knew how to do. Instead, Republicans would have created twice as many jobs at half the cost. To learn how visit: http://republicanwhip.house.gov/Jobs/

 Source of information: http://republicanwhip.house.gov/blog/2009/09/weekly-waste-watch-week-18.html

It is important for the American people to know the numbers relevant to the House Democrats 1,018-page “Americas Affordable Health Choices Act”, H.R. 3200. All Americans deserve access to affordable healthcare; however, the answer to high healthcare costs does not lie with government involvement, increased regulation, or mandates. In fact, those steps often depress the efficiency of programs and create additional costs. The video below shows just a few of the ways this bill will impact the American people if passed.

Energy and Commerce worked until midnight last night, and will reconvene at 10am this morning.  They are expected to finish their health care markup sometime this afternoon.

Last night’s most heated debates in E&C revolved around publicly-funded abortions.  Lois Capps was able to pass an amendment permitting the Democrats’ government plan to cover elective abortions.  Reps. Pitts and Stupak followed that up with an amendment of their own, prohibiting abortions from being covered under the government plan.  That amendment passed.  Finally, Chairman Waxman reconsidered the vote–switched Bart Gordon’s vote–and defeated the amendment.  The result of all of this dizzying maneuvering?  Taxpayer-funded abortions are indeed covered by the Democrats’ bill.

President Obama changes course on the stimulus. Where are the jobs? House Republicans offer a real plan to create jobs and get our economy moving again. To view the Obama vs Obama video click here.

  

Since taking office just seven months ago, the president has skirted the Senate confirmation process and given unprecedented power to individuals, allowing them to oversee major offices within the federal government. Many of whom operate only under the supervision of the White House itself and do not report to a cabinet secretary or Congress. Congressman Kingston has introduced H.R. 3226 to ban czar funding. For more information visit kingston.house.gov/czar

Yesterday Jack was on NewsTalk1059 WVGA talking about different legislative issues that are being debated in Congress. He talked about everything from healthcare to Cap and Tax - and even Sarah Palin and President Obama competing in a foot race. You can listen to the interview in it’s entirety by clicking here clicking here.

The leg staff put together this fact sheet to help people understand what’s really in this bill.  To view the fact sheet, click below:

Jack, along with Congressmen Elton Gallegly, Ken Calvert, and Brian Bilbray sent a letter today to President Obama calling on him to immediately implement Executive Order 12989 which President Bush issued in June 2008.  The order, which was set to take effect on January 15, would require all federal contractors to participate in E-Verify, a program that would allow them to easily ensure that all their employers are legal workers.  The Department of Homeland Security, in the face of a lawsuit brought forth by five industry associations, has halted implementation.

As Congress debates a near-trillion dollar make-work “stimulus” package and millions of Americans are unemployed, we cannot allow the taxpayers to employ illegal workers.  Companies that wish to do business with this government must abide by the regulations put forth by this government.

To read the full text of the letter, click here.

Free market labor reform group presents Congressman with worker-friendly award based

Congressman Jack Kingston (R/GA-1) today was honored by the Alliance for Worker Freedom (AWF) in being named a “Guardian of Worker Freedom.�  The free-market, worker-rights presented the award for Congressman Kingston’s work in favor of worker’s rights and free and open labor markets.

Read the rest of this entry »

In today’s The Hill, it is revealed that conservative Democrats continued defiance of House leadership includes their desire to block illegal immigrants from getting tax breaks.  According to the article:

“Twenty-one Democrats voted for the measure that would have changed the tax bill to prevent illegal immigrants from getting tax breaks.” (click here for full article)

The article goes on:

“The Republican motion would have tried to stop illegal immigrants from claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit and sought to block subsidies from going to so-called ’sanctuary cities’ that don’t enforce immigration laws.”

Not only did Democrat leaders block Republican efforts to cut off those who are in our country illegally from benefitting from the hard earned tax dollars of the American people, they had to break their own rules to do it!

“The tie vote came with some procedural wrangling. The vote was held open with the clock at 0:00 as the narrow margin fluctuated by a vote or two…The vote was gaveled closed by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) in the Speaker’s chair after someone on the Democratic side shouted, ‘Shut it down, Sheila.’â€�

For a list of members who voted in favor of allowing illegal immigrants to recieve tax benefits, check out the “Nays” on this page.

According to CongressDaily, the House Administration Committee proposed that Federal Express be used to deliver ballots from military and overseas voters.  This comes on the heels of an Election Assistance Commission report that many of their votes are not counted because they arrive too late.

Dan Lungren (R/CA) got it right by saying, “it isn’t rocket science.”  Everyone’s vote should be counted, especially those serving our Nation overseas.  While our home state loyalties may go to UPS, nothing should stand in the way of these people’s voices being heard.

John Fund’s piece in the Wall Street Journal today show’s just what the Colombia Free Trade agreement means to our future:

“If Congress rejects it, the loss wouldn’t be just measured in dollors or pesos. It could have profound geopolitical effects that would hurt the U.S.

“Colombia is a democratic ally of the U.S. in a tough neighborhood. Alvaro Uribe, its president, has been battling a left-wing insurgency that has used kidnapping, murder and drug trafficking in an attempt to overthrow his government. An impressive body of evidence shows the insurgents, known as the FARC, have been encouraged and financed by Venezuela’s strongman, Hugo Chavez. Mr. Chavez, who already has allies in charge of Bolivia, Ecuador, and Nicaragua, would love to extend his influence in Latin America.”

He also does a good job of countering the tired Democrat attacks on the agreement.

“…the Uribe government has made great strides in reducing violence in Colombia. Since 2001, the number of kidnappings has dropped by over 80%, acts of terror are down over 75%, and the murder rate associated with trade unionists is down almost 80%.”

“The simple truth is that the opposition to the trade agreement–from the Democratic presidential contenders to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi–has nothing to do with reality. Rep. Charles Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, admitted as much recently: ‘It’s not the substance on the ground–it’s the politics in the air.’”

To read the full article, click here.

President Bush has sent the Colombia Free Trade Agreement to Congress.  As we have seen over and over again, free trade agreements are highly beneficial to the health of our Nation’s economy.  According to statistics provided by the Department of Commerce, more than 90% of Colombia’s exports enter the U.S. duty free while less than 10% of U.S. exports are given the same treatment in Colombia. For information on how the agreement would impact Georgia, check out these fact sheets:

• From the International Trade Administration: How the Colombia FTA helps Georgia workers and businesses
• From the Foreign Agriculture Service: How the Colombia FTA helps Georgia farmers

Also here’s a fact sheet from the White House on how the agreement is essential to our national security. 

From the AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush on Monday signed a letter sending Congress a controversial free trade agreement with Colombia — a move that will force lawmakers to vote within 90 days.

The agreement, which would tear down trade barriers between the two nations, is heavily opposed by Democrats in Congress.

Democrats contend that Colombia has not done enough to halt violence, protect labor activists and demobilize paramilitary organizations. The president disagrees, saying Colombia has addressed the issues.

“The need for this agreement is too urgent, the stakes for our national security are too high to allow this year to end without a vote,” Bush said.

Bush signed a document to transmit the trade agreement to Congress, but Congress won’t formally receive it until lawmakers return on Tuesday. Bush’s action will force Congress to take up the proposal under a fast-track process that requires votes within 90 days. Officials said Bush is acting now in order to force a vote before Congress leaves in the fall for the campaign season.

“If Congress fails to approve this agreement, it would not only abandon a brave ally, it would send a signal throughout the region that America cannot be counted on to support its friends,” Bush said.

Bush, who has staked out free trade as one of his top legacies, is also hoping to win congressional approval before he leaves office on pending free trade agreements with Panama and South Korea.

Bush’s action was coming one day after Mark Penn quit as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s chief campaign strategist after it was reported that he had met with Colombia’s ambassador to the United States to discuss the free trade agreement, which Clinton opposes.