Real campaign finance reform should preclude candidates from paying salaries to their immediate families from their campaign war chests. This Congress, I have introduced the Candidate Anti-Corruption Act to and ban such payments from occurring.
I think Walter Reed is the tip of the iceberg. I think what happened there was we found out about the atrocious conditions in one of the buildings where so many of our combatants where warehoused and the deplorable conditions there. We’ve gotten reports from all around the country about veterans who haven’t gotten good care and returnees who haven’t been able to get follow up care after their medical services. We’ve got to find out why this isn’t the case.
The questions I have about the Walter Reed issue is they contracted out a lot of the work that was being done by employees of Walter Reed even though the employees had a lower bid, knew what they were doing and the Army wanted them to continue what they were doing.
It appears as if someone in the defense department wanted to make sure that this outside contractor had the job which ended up reducing the workforce from around 350 to less than 100 earlier this year.
I take very seriously the role of our veterans. Many of these guys are homeless now and have no place to go. We have to become more sensitive to them because when they come here, we almost ignore them. That is wrong. We should be very supportive of them because they're very supportive of us.
This moderate proposal to begin raising the standards for fuel economy deserves a serious look from the Senate. There are many good ideas out there and a healthy debate to be had about the best ways to do this. I hope the introduction of this bipartisan bill can spur the Senate to have this long-overdue discussion.
Yesterday, I signed on to co-sponsor H.R. 1314, the Photo Identification Security Act, authored by Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). This legislation would stipulate the specific forms of identification needed to attain a credit card or bank account. Some financial institutions have been issuing credit cards and open accounts for people who don't have Social Security numbers -- most of whom are thought to be illegal immigrants. The federal government cannot claim to be serious about addressing illegal immigration while at the same time; allowing loopholes to exist that encourage illegal immigration activity. Financial institutions have been taking advantage of a loophole in federal law that has allowed them to profiteer off of illegal immigration.
The Photo Identification Security Act will close that loophole so that the integrity of our banking process will remain in tact. Those forms of documentation listed in the bill are a Social Security card with a government-issued form of identification such as a state driver's license, or a U.S. or foreign passport, or a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services photo identification card. Matricula Consular cards, a form of identification issued by the Mexican government, would not be accepted for starting accounts or credit cards, since the Marticula Consular cards are not a secure form of identification.
In this video, apparently made covertly on Thursday by a member of the public in violation of congressional rules, a woman and a man confront House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wisc.) in the hallway of a House office building over military spending. The woman talks about her son, a Marine, and asks Obey why he hasn't cut off funding for the war. After a while, the man joins in their argument. Eventually, the lawmaker, leaves the discussion and shuts the door on the pursuing camera.
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) discussed the emerging scandal at the Walter Reed Medical Center Thursday, stating that "We're not doing enough to help [military personnel] transition into the next phase of their life."
Speaking at a forum sponsored by The Center for American Progress, the 2008 presidential hopeful was careful to define where the problem lies.
"The care that people receive at the battle field sight and during the evacuation and when they are first taken care of at any of our military hospitals in terms of the acute care they receive is very good," she said. "The problem comes when someone moves from the acute care setting to the outpatient care."
For too long American workers have suffered as a direct result of the unfair trade practices of countries like China and it’s time we act to protect the American businesses and the jobs of working families. I have worked hard in both the Banking and Finance Committees to analyze and address the unfair trade practice of currency manipulation and I believe this bill offers a viable solution to the problem by putting in place the tools and policies needed to level the playing field with our trading partners.
It’s time we put a stop to wasteful, abusive, and fraudulent use of government credit cards. The legislation I introduced would require all federal agencies to establish safeguards and internal controls for government charge card programs as well as establish penalties for violations. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) introduced companion legislation in the House.
We have found shockingly flagrant abuses like $2,443 in taxpayers’ money going to pay for a down payment on a sapphire ring and $1,935 in taxpayers’ money used to purchase two LA-Z-Boy reclining rocking chairs. Government travel cards, which are only to be used for legitimate travel-related expenditures, have been used to pay for everything from women’s lingerie to tickets to the Phantom of the Opera to a seven night Alaskan cruise for two.
Every time we open these GAO reports we find more outrageous spending. Internet gambling and a Yankees baseball game don’t seem to be appropriate uses of tax payer money. The federal agencies don’t seem to be stepping up, so this legislation helps put some common sense controls on these credit cards.
By
David Culp, Legislative Representative for The Friends Committee on National Legislation
Shortly after Joe Volk, Executive Secretary for the Friends Committee on National Legislation, returned from a week-long visit to Iran as part of a 13-member delegation of U.S. religious leaders, our Quaker lobby organized a series of meetings with members of Congress and their staff to talk about pursuing a diplomatic course in response to the current confrontation between the U.S. and Iranian governments.
In our lobbying this week, we talked about what the religious delegation learned when they traveled to Iran in late February. The leaders from the Mennonite, Quaker, Episcopal, Catholic, and United Methodist churches, as well as the National Council of Churches, Pax Christi, and Sojourners/Call to Renewal, met with the president and other Iranian political and religious leaders in an effort to build a dialogue between Iranians and Americans in the absence of direct government to government dialogue.
The trip to Iran and our meetings with members of Congress emerged out of our growing concern at FCNL about the possibility that the U.S. and Iran could stumble into an "accidental" war. In more than three dozen meetings on Capitol Hill this week we found great concern about the dangers of war and great interest in the possibility that active diplomacy could achieve results. The religious leaders learned that members of Congress had the same desire to prevent war that the delegation found in meetings with Iranian religious leaders and government officials.
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