Government dependency is on the rise according to a new Heritage Foundation study.  Americans can thank President Barack Obama for a huge spike in the numbers of Americans dependent on government resources, but both parties can share in the blame.  If the federal government does not make government smaller and less intrusive, then there may not be much private sector wealth creation for government bureaucrats to take to redistribute to dependent Americans. 

American are relying on government handouts rather than hard work for many of the necessities of life.  One in five Americans rely on the federal government for housing, health care, food, college tuition and retirement resources.  The 10th year of The Heritage Foundation government dependency study, the 2012 Index of Dependence on Government, proves that members of both parties need to take a hard look in the mirror and figure out a way to slow, then end, the creeping expansion of the federal government into every aspect of our lives.

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The Obama Administration has to be in shock as a result of the Gallup poll released last week indicating that Obama would lose his re-election according to state-by-state approval ratings.  According to Conn Carroll of the Washington Examiner if the election were held today:

Obama would lose the 2012 election to the Republican nominee 323 electoral votes to 215.

Expect desperation from Senate liberals.  Senate Democrats will accelerate a highly partisan agenda to create the fallacy that Senate Republicans and a House controlled by Republicans are slowing economic growth by not rubber stamping President Obama’s big government agenda.  The first argument they will make is that the upcoming highway bill does not spend enough of your tax dollars.  Remember, liberals are married to the idea that only government can create jobs.

The House and Senate are expected to work on competing versions of a transportation bill this week.  The House is going to take up the Senate passed so called “insider trading” bill.  The House will also tackle the issue of line item veto authority for the President.

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Senators Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) learned a valuable lession today about member’s desire to go back to the practice of earmarking pet projects.  Toomey and McCaskill offered an Amendment to the STOCK Act that would have created a new Senate point of order against earmarks in bills.  They were met with bipartisan opposition to this common sense idea. 

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Cheers for Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) for standing up to President Obama on his unconstitutional recess appointments.  Finally, one member of the United States Senate is standing up for the Constitution.  Where are the rest of them?

The House and Senate kick into second gear this week.  The first two weeks of the session were light on legislation and heavy on retreats.  Expect the STOCK Act to be the item for debate in the Senate.  The House is expected to consider two bills dealing with budgetary matters and repeal of CLASS Act.

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This is a short week in the House of Representatives.  The Senate does not come back into session full time until next week. 

The House and the Senate readies the start the second session of the 112th Congress with very low expectations.   The next big decision point for Congress will be the expiration of the payroll tax deal in the end of February.  There is a vote this week in the House to reject the President’s request for a $1.2 trillion increase in the borrowing authority of the Obama Administration.  The Wednesday House vote is really for show, because the process was designed for failure. 

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Reagan Attorney General Ed Meese and Todd Gaziano, both with my employer The Heritage Foundation, have written an excellent piece in the Washington Post explaining why the installation of Richard Cordray as head of the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Richard Griffin, Sharon Block and Terence Flynn to be on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) are unconstitutional acts.The president claimed to use the constitutional power of the president to make recess appointments.

As another Heritage colleague, Hans von Spakovsky, explains for Pajamas Media, Congress is not in recess. The Senate actually conducted some very important business during one of the “pro-forma” sessions the White House has called a “gimmick”: On Dec. 23, it passed the payroll tax extension that caused such a political uproar in Washington.

Congress has five options to respond to this power grab by the executive branch of the federal government:

1. Filibuster all nominations and deny unanimous consent to the waiver of any rule with regard to nominations until these four unconstitutional appointments are rescinded
2. Condition passage of all must-pass legislation on the rescission of these unconstitutional appointments
3. Conduct vigorous oversight to demand the production of witnesses and documents supporting the president’s legal theory justifying this unprecedented power grab
4. Make major cuts in funding of the NLRB and the Department of the Treasury where the CFPB was placed by its authorizing statute
5. Pursue legal remedies to get those unconstitutionally appointed officials out of office. 

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Congress is scheduled to end the year this week with a flurry of legislating, suprises, new spending and deal making.  Conservatives need to watch Washington, D.C. this week to see how many bills pass in the waning hours of this session of Congress that spend more of your tax dollars.

The battle over the extension of the payroll tax will play out this week in the Congress.  A massive megabus spending package should be voted upon in the House and Senate this week, because the government runs out of Continuing Resolution cash and authority this Friday.  This will be a week full of last minute sweet heart deals for lobbyist and special interests.

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Senate filibusters over nominations often have more to do with policy issues than the qualifications of a nominee.  That’s the case now with the nomination of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to be the first Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).  Much has been written about Cordray’s history as a liberal activist, yet the real motivation behind the Republican filibuster is an effort to protect consumers from the CFPB. 

The Senate is scheduled to vote tomorrow on ending debate on the nomination. Republicans are expected to block cloture, effectively killing the nomination.  Senate Republicans say they won’t confirm Cordray, or any other nominee, unless they get three reforms to the CFPB.  Until the Obama Administration sits down with them to work out the details of reform, don’t expect anyone to get confirmed to the post for at least 12 months. 

The senators’ main beef is that the CFPB was established as an independent agency with vast regulatory and no exposure to Congressional oversight.  Conservatives view that as akin to giving a loaded gun to a child and then walking away.  

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Expect the next few weeks to be loaded with deals on a year end spending package and expiring tax provisions.  This is the time of year when controversial items are snuck into massive spending bills, so keep your eyes on Washington, D.C.

The Senate is debating a controversial judge — Caitlin Halligan.  The House is considering a long list of items including regulatory reform.  Jon Corzine has been requested to testify before the House about his role the billion dollar bankruptcy of MF Global.

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After a week to digest the Super Committee Turkey, Congress is back.  The Senate will debate the Defense Authorization bill this week and tax issues.  The House will consider a bill to stop the National Labor Relations board from rubber stamping a pro-union proposed rule.  A Senate committee will have a hearing on a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (BBA).

The ideas discussed in the Super Committee are dead in Congress and now move to the political side of the debate.  Expect all the issues that came up during the Super Committee debate to bleed into the Presidential battle between President Obama and the Republican nominee to be named later.  Also, Senate Democrats are expected to push for an extension of a tax holiday paid for by raising taxes on job creators.

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The Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution and a bill to allow Americans to use conceal carry firearms permits over state lines are scheduled for votes in the House this week.  The Senate is expected to schedule a vote on the second ”Mini-Bus” appropriations measure this week.  The Super Committee gets closer to the date they need to vote on a plan and they may increase taxes.

This week shall be very important for the conservative movement.

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This will be a slower week than usual in Washington.  The Senate is in session while the House of Representatives is out of session this week.  Expect the Super Committee to meet and debate tax policy behind closed doors. 

The Senate will vote on another Trickle-Down Obamanomics plan.  Trickle-Down Obamanomics is the practice of creating government programs and increasing government employment with the idea that the massive new federal spending will trickle down to the poor.  This theory is a failure.

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This week, conservatives need to monitor the details of any appropriations measure to fund the federal government for the remainder of the fiscal year that ends in October of 2012.  Also, conservatives need to keep a close eye on the Senate to monitor progress by liberals to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.

The House and Senate are expected to convene a conference committee on a “Minibus” appropriations bill later this week.  A Senate Committee is going to vote on repealing a law that defends traditional marriage. The Super Committee is moving toward the Thanksgiving deadline to report a package of debt reductions and tax increases may be on the table.

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The Senate is in session this week working on a package of appropriations bills called the “Minibus.”  The House is out this week, but will be meeting in pro forma session to block the Obama Administration from making recess appointments.  No Child Left Behind is starting to wind through the committee process in the Senate.

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The President’s ideas on creating government funded jobs and three free trade agreements are two big issues for Congress this week.  This week is shortened by the Columbus Day holiday.

The House is expected to sent three free trade agreements this week to the Senate and Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) to the President’s desk.  TAA is a liberal welfare program that provides resources and job traning to those who lose jobs as a result of trade.  Expect a battle in the Senate on a version of the President’s so called American Jobs Act and a Republican bill addressing job creation bill. 

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is so terrified of a vote on the President’s American Jobs Act that he used the “Nuclear Option” to block a Senate vote tonight.   The Senate was poised to vote on the President’s jobs plan, yet Reid used a tactic to obliterate the legislation without a vote.

This is a dangerous game that Senate Democrats play, because Republicans could use the same strong arm tactics in 2013 if they get a simple majority.  Liberals should brace for anti-union, pro-life, regulatory reform, tax cut and pro-gun legislation to be passed by a simple majority vote if they continue down the Reid road and further change the rules to abolish the filibuster.  Reid set a new precedent in the Senate that will further ristrict the rights of members in the minority.

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A vote is scheduled today on the nomination of Richard Cordray to be the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in the Senate Banking Committee.  This nomination battle is a proxy fight over Dodd-Frank, also known as the “Wall Street Reform Bill,” and regulatory excess.  Expect Republicans to fight the Cordray confirmation as a means to slow a regulatory behemoth that imposes a hidden tax and narrowing of choices for American consumers.

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The House and Senate have another Continuing Resolution (CR) on the agenda that would fund the federal government into next month.  The House will consider a measure aimed at over regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  The Senate will debate a bill addressing China’s currency and trade issues.  The Super Secret Committee marches on behind closed doors to cut a deal on $1.2 trillion in cuts over 10 years.

The President is expected to keep pushing his so called jobs bill, yet the evidence from his own Administration proves that each job created is costly for the taxpayer.  Watch this week for the rhetoric of class warfare to heat up as desperate Obama Administration officials try to reverse terrible approval ratings.  Real Clear Politics has the President at 43% approval and 52% disapproval.

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There is only one issue this week in Washington - a Continuing Resolution (CR).  Both the House and Senate were scheduled to be out of session this week, so there are no major hearings or markups scheduled in committees.  Friday is the deadline to pass a CR, therefore expect the House and Senate to convene off and on this week to cut a deal to keep the government running from September 30 to November 18.

A version of the CR failed last week after it passed the House and was killed on a motion to table in the Senate.  Expect a week of blaming the Tea Party and Republicans for an approaching government shutdown as we approach Friday. The President is using this standoff to continue his blame the Tea Party Strategy for everything from a potential government shutdown, a dismal economy and the President’s awful poll numbers.

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The President will be making a speech today from the Rose Garden (echoes of Carter?) mapping out proposed savings of $3 trillion over the next 10 years.  According to the AP, the President’s new plan contains an old idea — massive tax increases:

$1.5 trillion in new revenue, which would include about $800 billion realized over 10 years from repealing the Bush-era tax rates for couples making more than $250,000. It also would place limits on deductions for wealthy filers and end certain corporate loopholes and subsidies for oil and gas companies. 

The President is going to propose his deficit reduction plan for the Super Committee heavy on tax increases and light on actual cuts.  According to Politico, “$1 trillion in savings would be achieved by winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”  Another accounting gimmick used to is to count $430 billion in savings from lower interest payments as a debt savings.  The Senate is going to attempt to reauthorize another welfare program for those supposedly displaced by free trade agreements called TAA.  The House is going to commence the process of getting a continuing resolution passed to keep the federal government running after September 30.  The Super Committee will meet again. 

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