Instead of states making a mad dash to the front of the line, we need an orderly primary and caucus system that combines the need to bring Americans truly into the decision-making process with the need to allow candidates the opportunity to interact meaningfully with citizens throughout the nation. This legislation spaces out the primary dates over several months, requiring candidates to establish themselves in multiple states.  At the same time, each primary date will include at least one state from every region in the country, which will ensure that a broad spectrum of Americans' views is accounted for in the selection process.

The current nomination system unfairly gives a small number of states - far from fully representative of the nation as a whole - a head start and has led to a number of states rushing to the front of the line to rectify this unbalance.  The result is a front-loaded, frantic primary calendar so disorganized that it could minimize rather than maximize a real testing of our candidates. Such testing is an important part of our vital Presidential selection process.

State legislatures around the country are scrambling to move up their primary or caucus dates to give their states more of a say in the presidential nominee selection process - known as "front-loading."  In 2008, the Party nomination race may well be over by February 5th.
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In 34 of the last 38 years, the federal government has spent more money than it has taken in.  Over the last 40 years, federal spending has increased by 60 percent, to more than $22,000 per household.  In 40 years, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are projected to consume the entire federal budget.  The current share of the national debt for each American is nearly $30,000.

I think everyone can agree that these figures are startling and that we cannot allow such a broken process to continue unabated. Yesterday, my colleagues and I at the Republican Study Committee heeded these warnings and rolled out an ambitious fiscal reform agenda. Known as the "American Taxpayer Bill of Rights" this proposal will lay the foundation for resolving the fiscal nightmare that is our current budgetary and spending process. Click here for the full proposal.

The kind of irresponsible behavior we have seen over the last 40 years can no longer be sustained by raising taxes or simply passing our debts on to future generations.  We must resolve the systemic shortfalls in the fiscal process.  Americans deserve a system that is based on responsible budgeting, smart decision making, and more transparency. Read more...

This has been a troubling week.

We have all watched with concern the slow drip of revelations regarding the fishy dismissal of U.S. Attorneys in seven states.

Like many of you, I suspect that dirty politics clouded the judgment of senior White House and Department of Justice officials in this affair.  It appears that the Attorneys were fired for refusing to indict Democratic candidates during last year's election.

The most revealing quote uncovered this week, as reported in Tuesday's Washington Post:

"[I]f we don't ever exercise it then what's the point of having it?"

--that from former Alberto Gonzales Chief of Staff Kyle Sampson.

He was referring to the presidential power, newly granted by The PATRIOT Act, to appoint interim U.S. Attorneys following the removal of incumbents.  Previously, interim U.S. Attorneys were appointed by the judiciary in order to deter exactly this sort of scandalous political maneuver. Read more...

In an animated speech from the Senate floor Wednesday, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) castigated the President for what he views as an "utterly incompetent" Iraq policy.

"Mr. President," Biden said, "you have not only put us in harms way, you have harmed us. You have no policy, Mr. President."

"Did anyone count on the utter incompetence of this administration when they were given the authority they were given," he said, "Absolute incompetence."

"You're leading us off a cliff," he added. "Stop."

The video of the speech is included below.

As we all know, pernicious spyware is growing exponentially. Very few are still unaware of this problem because almost everyone's computer - your father's or mother's or brother's or daughter's -- has become infected by unwanted applications that are noticed when they slow or even cripple your machine. These programs not only monitor a person's Internet usage, but can steal your Social Security and credit card numbers and even use your own webcam to keep an eye on you and your family.

To my mind, invading a personal computer and planting spyware is not much different than breaking and entering a person's house. This bill encourages regulators to slam the window closed on the spies, cheats and thieves who sneak into people's computers.

America seems to be at the dawn of a golden age of citizen-journalism, that great democratic tradition tracing its historical roots to our founding generation.  As the Internet matures and evolves, thousands of activists, enthusiasts and entrepreneurs continue to be empowered to scrutinize the operations of government and report back to their fellow citizens.  They often build on, borrow from, adapt or amplify the investigative work of traditional journalists, who are the backbone and basic muscle in enforcing the public’s right to know.

The investigative reporting of fiscal hawks, campaign finance watchdogs, and consumer advocates has increased in both quality and quantity in recent years.  American democracy can grow healthier as these 21st Century citizen-journalists (exemplified by the new generation of bloggers) contribute to the marketplace of ideas.  And we believe that open and transparent government is a key component to helping usher in the goals of more efficient, more responsive, and — ultimately — cleaner government.

Congress can and must do more to keep the windows open and the sunshine pouring in.  The President’s 2006 executive order on implementing the Freedom of Information Act was a necessary first step.  But the FOIA backlogs and other barriers to obtaining information remain, and this problem can and must be addressed by additional legislation. Read more...

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) discussed legislation she has introduced to provide health care to all children in her Hillcast Wednesday.

The Children's Health First Act, Clinton said, would remedy the problem of the 9 million children that have no health coverage. "Health care is something that I've fought for my entire life. And I think you all know that I have the scars to prove it, " the presidential hopeful said. "I've worked for quality, affordable health care for everyone.

"When I'm President we will have universal health care coverage in our country so that every American has the quality health care they deserve," she added.

You can find the video below.

America's Border Patrol agents are on the front line of protecting us from terrorists, illegal immigrants, and drug-smugglers.  This is a dangerous assignment and one that shouldn't be taken lightly.

I was disappointed to see the recent situation involving two U.S. Border Patrol Agents who caught a drug-smuggler in the act but are now behind bars.  The two agents, Jose Compean, and Ignacio Ramos, were sentenced last October to multi-year prison terms for shooting Mexican citizen Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila two years ago, believing the suspect had brandished a gun during the encounter. As Aldrete-Davila fled back across the border to Mexico, he left behind a van he was driving, filled with over 740 pounds of marijuana.

In exchange for immunity and at the request of the U.S. Attorney's Office, Aldrete-Davila testified that Compean and Ramos had violated his civil rights in the shooting and had failed to follow Border Patrol procedures. While no illegal actions are beyond the law, this case has gone too far and sets a dangerous precedent for our nation's Border Patrol agents. Read more...

In a hearing today with NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, I referenced the fact that we are not very popular around the world, and that one of the unquestioned and positive programs that we have is the space program. It’s universally well thought of around the world, and it gives us a great opportunity to cooperate and collaborate with other nations.

When the Jet Propulsion Lab in my district landed its rovers on Mars, there were nine billion hits in the first two months on the NASA web page. This is one great enterprise that captures the world’s imagination and really shows off what’s best about our country, so I was exploring with the NASA administrator how we can use the space program as an instrument of our public diplomacy. Read more...