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.

John Merline of Investor’s Business Daily writes that that the Obama presidency can take credit for 23% of the surge in dependency. 

The American public’s dependence on the federal government shot up 23% in just two years under President Obama, with 67 million now relying on some federal program, according to a newly released study by the Heritage Foundation.

Merline points out that the Obama increase is the largest two-year jump since the Presidency of Jimmy Carter.  The reason for the stimulus in government dependency was President Obama’s and Congress’ efforts to increase housing subsidies, expand Medicaid and more welfare spending including food stamps. 

If more people become reliant on government, expect Americans to go down the road of our European friends who have relied on big welfare states for years.  With a big welfare state and less people working to pay for big government, the federal government’s natural inclination is to raise taxes on job creators to engage in wealth redistribution.  The take away from this study is that big government and a shift to a dependent society will be the death of free markets and the idea of a relatively unencumbered version of capitalism.  Get ready for the slow walk to socialism that we can see every day destroying Europe.

As Patrick Tyrrell of The Heritage Foundation, my employer, puts it “Dependence on Government at All-Time High.”  Tyrrell points to some facts in the new study that should shock Americans.

• Dependent Americans – One in five Americans—the highest in the nation’s history—relies on the federal government for everything from housing, health care, and food stamps to college tuition and retirement assistance. That’s more than 67.3 million Americans who receive subsidies from Washington.
• Government Stimulus for Dependency – Government dependency jumped 8.1 percent in the past year, with the most assistance going toward housing, health and welfare, and retirement.
• Record High Dependency Spending – The federal government spent more taxpayer dollars than ever before in 2011 to subsidize Americans. The average individual who relies on Washington could receive benefits valued at $32,748, more than the nation’s average disposable personal income ($32,446).
• Almost 50% of Americans Don’t Pay Income Tax – At the same time, nearly half of the U.S. population (49.5 percent) does not pay any federal income taxes.
• Future Dependency Spending Projected to Explode – In the next 25 years, more than 77 million baby boomers will retire. They will begin collecting checks from Social Security, drawing benefits from Medicare, and relying on Medicaid for long-term care.
• 70% of  Federal Budget Dedicated to Dependency – As of now, 70 percent of the federal government’s budget goes to individual assistance programs, up dramatically in just the past few years. However, research shows that private, community, and charitable aid helps individuals rise from their difficulties with better success than federal government handouts. Plus, local and private aid is often more effectively distributed.

Government debt stands at about $15.2 trillion; a number higher than the economic output of the United States for an average year.  Dependency is growing as government grows.  These trends are bad for freedom and the future of America.

Although this trend toward government dependency has accelerated under President Obama, he is not wholly to blame.  Both parties have supported a massive expansion of welfare programs over the past few years.  The food stamp program is the fourth largest entitlement program and stands at about $89 billion for this year.  There are 72 means tested welfare programs that grow in size and scope every year. 

Bailouts have made big corporate America dependent on government money when they can’t make ends meet.  Medicare Part D was a creation of a Republican administration that expanded dependency of the elderly on government subsidized prescription drugs.  If both parties don’t stop promising more government largess in an effort to buy off American voters, our nation is endanger of insolvency.

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.

The House will be in later today for votes on three suspension bills:  H.R. 306, a wild horse protection bill; H.R. 1162, an Indian tribal bill; and, H.R. 2606, a natural gas bill.  The House also will begin consideration today of H.R. 1734, the “Civilian Property Realignment Act.” 

The remainder of the week, the Hosue will consider H.R. 3521, a line item veto bill sponsored by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and H.R. 3581, a budget and accountability bill.  The House will take up S.2038, the STOCK Act at some point this week.  The “Public Corruption Prosecution Improvement Act” was dropped into this bill as an amendment by Senator Pat Leahy (D-VT).  It does not seem as if Congress has had enough time to study this very important expansion of federal law to make sure the new proposed law is not overbroad and vague.

 The Senate is expected to take up H.R.658, the FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act.  This is a conference report that the House has already passed.  The remainder of the week is set aside to consider a two-year transportation bill.  Now that the Senate has voted to go back to their earmarking ways, the big question is how big can they make this bill and will they start earmarking again.

Last week, the House worked up a five year version of a transportation bill.  Also, last week, the Senate voted to go back to earmarking special home state projects.  This will be a competing measure to the Senate plan. 

Daniel Horowitz describes the House version as the highway to cave city.

Last week, several House committees favorably reported the $260 billion 5-year House GOP highway bill to the full body.  This 846-page behemoth is now headed to a floor vote sometime next week.  Simply put, conservatives oppose the House leadership’s highway bill (H.R. 7) because it continues the failed top-down federal approach to transportation spending, while precluding devolution to the states for at least another five years.  Moreover, it eschews the pay-as-you-go funding mechanism of the Highway Trust Fund (eerily similar to the Social Security Trust Fund!) by permanently authorizing a higher level of spending than the fund’s corresponding revenue source; the federal gas tax.

Conservatives need to watch the House and Senate to see if they will hold the line against earmarking and the big spending ways of the past.  This highway bill could become a bidding war between House and Senate proponents of federal highway spending.  This will be a good test of conservatives to see if they hold the line or if they will cave to pressure to go back to the big spending ways of the past.

The Earmark Elimination Act of 2011 offered by Toomey and McCaskill in the form of an amendment creats a point of order against language in a bill or report that was specifically requested by a Senator or House member for either a tax provision, narrow eligibility criteria benefitting a specific entity or a targeted tarriff that would fit the below definition.

Providing, authorizing, or recommending a specific amount of discretionary budget authority, credit authority, or other spending authority for a contract, loan, loan guarantee, grant, loan authority, or other expenditure with or to an entity, or targeted to a specific State, locality or Congressional district, other than through a statutory or administrative formula-driven or competitive award process.

Basically, if a Senator or Representative sends a letter to request a new bridge or highway in the district, they would need 67 votes to move forward with this project.  Toomey and McCaskill lost this vote 40-59 with thirteen Republicans siding with porkers to reinstate the practice that allows members to funnel projects to the home state.

Brian Baker, President of Ending Spending said today thhat we was disappointed in this vote.

I am disappointed that the Senate has failed to pass a permanent earmark ban.  We appreciate the efforts by Senators McCaskilland Toomey to end earmarks.  The American people are frustrated that their elected officials can’t stop spending their hard-earned tax dollars on boondoggles, such as a bridge to nowhere. With the current earmark moratorium expiring at the end of 2012, if Congress does not end this destructive practice once and for all, the earmark favor factory will re-open for business.

These inside the beltway elites just don’t understand that earmarks are the gateway drug to overspending.  When will they prove to the American people that they can control their appetite for spending borrowed cash on projects that are not necessary for the future of America?   The Tea Party may need to send another strong message to the members of both parties in Washington that they will not tolerate members who refuse to cut the size and scope of the federal government.

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.

The House has a pretty heavy schedule this week.  They are out today and will come in on Tuesday to debate a motion to go to conference on H.R. 658, the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act.  A vote on H.R. 1173 the Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement Security Act, is also scheduled for Tuesday.  This bill repeals a provision of ObamaCare known as the “CLASS Act.” 

Senator John Thune (R-SD) argued in a Washington Times Op Ed last August that the CLASS Act, a long term insurance program for those in rehabilitation for serious injuries or disabilities, was not sustainable because of the massive under measured cost of the program.

Yet just last month, President Obama’s former budget director, Peter Orszag, changed course, suggesting that Congress should impose another mandate on the American people. Writing about the CLASS Act – a long-term care program created in Obamacare – Mr. Orszag admitted that the program suffers from a “serious risk” that only sick people will participate, making it unsustainable. He said the solution to this problem “may be to make the purchase of such insurance mandatory.”

Some conservatives worry that repeal of the CLASS Act will make it less likely that the full repeal of ObamaCare will go forward in 2013 with a new President.

On Wednesday, the House will consider three pieces of legslation on the suspension calendar: H.R. 3835, a congressional and federal worker pay bill; H.Res. 496, a bill adjusting committee expenses; and, H.R. 3567, Welfare Integrity Now for Children and Families Act.  There is also a vote expected on H.R. 1173, the Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement Security Act.

On Thursday, votes may happen on a bill by Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), H.R. 3582, the Pro-Growth Budgeting Act, and a bill by Rep. Rob Woodall (R-GA), H.R. 3578, the Baseline Reform Act.  These are two bills dealing with the budgeting process.  It will be interesting to see if the Senate fails for another year to pass or even consider a budget for FY 2013.

The Senate is scheduled to commence a debate on S. 2038, the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK Act). This is an attempt by politicians to ban insider trading by Members of Congress.   The AP made the following common sense observation:

The Senate is opening debate on legislation to ban insider financial trading by members of Congress, though the Securities and Exchange Commission says lawmakers already are subject to the same prohibitions as other investors.

Congress is very good at overreacting and doing nothing.  If this legislation empowers the executive branch to punish Members of Congress for what they define as “Insider Trading” then the executive branch will be able to punish Members of Congress for official conduct.  This may be offensive to the idea of separation of powers as embodied in Article 1, Sec. 5:

Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.

Don’t expect the prospect of this legislation being unconstitutional to slow down the Senate one bit. 

Senator Mike Lee has promised to slow down the Senate’s confirmation of Obama appointees over the President’s unconstitutional appointments to the CFPB and the NLRB.  Good for him. This should be an interesting 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. 

The House will swear in a Sergeant-at-Arms tonight.  His first duty will be be to lock up Occupy Wall Street protesters who have decided to storm the Capitol on one of the lightest legislative work days on record.  On Wednesday, the House will vote on a resolution of disapproval for the President to increase the debt ceiling, H.J. Res. 98.  The resolution of disapproval is structured so that the House and Senate would have to override a Presidential veto to block an increase in the debt ceiling.  This process was designed for conservative failure.  The House is out on Thursday and Friday of this week.

The Senate is out all week, but will come back next week to deal with cloture on the motion to proceed to S.968, SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act).  The House counterpart H.R. 3261 and the Senate version are the subject of a Wikipedia blackout protest tomorrow.  This bill is very controversial and Congressional Quarterly reports that many of the most offensive provisions in the bill are being pre-negotiated out of the bill before the Senate commences debate next week.

Neil Stevens wrote in his Tech and Night post that the House leadership has declared SOPA DOA in the House.

SOPA is dead in the House, says Majority Leader Eric Cantor, until there is consensus. Since there’s never going to be consensus on Internet censorship, Cantor seems to be saying the issue’s dead in this Congress.

Although the Senate may end up passing a watered down version of the bill, it will be difficult to see a version of SOPA coming up for a vote in the House this year.

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. 

As Meese and Gaziano point out, “if Congress does not resist, the injury is not just to its branch but ultimately to the people.”Separation of powers exists to protect liberty and to protect the rights of democratically elected senators to participate in the nominations process.This is a “tyrannical usurpation of power” by President Obama, and Congress must act quickly to restore an appropriate balance between the executive and legislative branches of the federal government.

Meese and Gaziano write about a 1985 precedent for strong action by the Senate and the options on the table for Congress.

Senators could filibuster all presidential nominations, as Sen. Robert C. Byrd did in 1985 over a lesser recess appointment issue, until Obama rescinds these wrongful appointments. The House or Senate could condition all “must-pass” legislation for the remainder of 2012 on an agreement to rescind these appointments. The House also could require the attorney general to produce legal justification and testify at oversight hearings.

The legislative branch of government has the power to “Advice and Consent” to presidential nominations.  President Obama has violated circumvented that provision in the constitution by falsely claiming that the senate is out of session when they are in session.  Even the Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) of early 2009 would disagree with President Obama today.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in January of 2009 used pro-forma sessions to block President George W. Bush from making last minute recess appointments.

Senate Majority Leader  Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) accused Bush of slow-walking the Democratic picks for those commissions. In addition, Democrats grew fearful that Bush would use recess appointments to install nominees that Democrats had been rejecting for confirmation. So for a two-week break around Thanksgiving 2007, Reid ordered up the pro forma sessions, calling on Sen.  James Webb (D-Va.), who lives closest to the Capitol, to oversee the sessions.

Evidently, Reid has changed his position on this important constitutional issue.  Many lefties are cheering from the cheap seats the actions of President Obama by claiming that the current “pro-forma” sessions of Congress are the functional equivalent of a recess.  Ezra Klein of the Washington Post is one of those justifying this unprecedented exercise of executive power.

The Obama administration is taking the position that, legally speaking, pro forma sessions are recesses — the Constitution is very vague on what is and isn’t a recess — and is making recess appointments anyway.

Andrew Grossman of The Heritage Foundation points out that President Obama’s actions speak louder than words when he signed a bill passed in “pro-forma” session which commenced on December 17, 2011.

Proof is that on December 23, President Obama signed a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut.  He said that Congress passed the bill “in the nick of time” and that it was “a make-or-break moment for the middle class in this country.”  The compromise extension really did come through at the last minute, but in a different sense: most members of the Senate had already departed Washington, D.C.

According to the Obama Administration, the two month extension of payroll taxes was passed during a recess.  Does that mean that the law is invalid?  The Obama Administration is clearly trying to have it both ways by signing a bill that passed in what they would deem a recess, yet later claiming that a following pro-forma session is a recess. 

The President is not empowered by the Constitution to decree when the Congress is or is not in recess.  This tyrannical power grab must not stand. 

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.

The Senate starts the week with a very controversial nomination.  At 4:30 pm today, the Senate will vote on the nominations of Norman Eisen to be Ambassador to the Czech Republic and Mari Carmen Aponte to be Ambassador to El Salvador.  The Aponte nomination is very controversial because of her radical past.

Daniel Horowitz writes that the “GOP Must Block Maria del Carmen Aponte” because of her relationship to a Cuban spy years ago.

Last August, stymied by Jim DeMint’s Senate hold, Obama used a recess appointment to name Maria del Carmen Aponte ambassador to El Salvador.  She was originally selected as ambassador to the Dominican Republic during the Clinton administration, but she withdrew her name after refusing to take a polygraph test concerning her relationship with Cuban spy, Roberto Tamayo.  Nonetheless, radical rejects of the Clinton administration are the very people whom Obama loves to recycle.  Aponte’s recess appointment expires at the end of the year, and the Senate may vote on her permanent appointment as early as Monday afternoon.

After a vote on Aponte, according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), “the Senate expects to consider the following additional items next week: additional nominations, remaining appropriations bills, balanced budget amendments, and payroll tax, unemployment insurance, Medicare reimbursement, tax extenders, all of which are set to expire at the end of the year.”  Expect a flurry of bills to pass this week in the Senate.

The Senate is expected to a vote on a strong Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA) to the Constitution this week.  The strong BBA forces a supermajority vote for tax increases and sets government spending at 18% of the economic output of the United States.  The House dropped the ball of the BBA and forced a failed vote on a weakened BBA without protections against tax increases and a spending limit provision.   Human Events likes the Senate version of the BBA.

In the Senate, all the Republican senators have signed onto Senate Joint Res. 10, the Hatch-Lee Balanced Budget Amendment.  This is a strong bill.  It protects the taxpayers with supermajorities for tax increases, forbids courts from ordering tax increases in the case of an imbalance and holds revenues to 18% of Gross Domestic Product.

The House has a packed schedule for the week.  Eight suspension votes are scheduled for today, including five postal bills (S.384; H.R. 3220; H.R. 3246; H.R. 2158; and, H.R. 2767), H.R. 2845 (a pipeline safety bill), H.R. 2668 (Border Patrol naming bill for deceased agent Brian Terry), and H.R. 1264 (courthouse naming bill).  The remainder of the week is set aside for the legislation wrapping up business for the year.

Remaining bills in the House referenced on House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s (R-VA) web site are the following:

• H.R. 3421 – Fallen Heroes of 9/11 Act (Sponsored by Rep. Bill Shuster / Financial Services Committee)
• H.R. 886 – United States Marshals Service 225th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act(Sponsored by Rep. Steve Womack / Financial Services Committee)
• H.R. 1905 – Iran Threat Reduction Act of 2011 (Sponsored by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen / Foreign Affairs Committee)
• H.R. 2105 – Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Reform and Modernization Act of 2011(Sponsored by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen / Foreign Affairs Committee)
• H.Res. 306 – Urging the Republic of Turkey to Safeguard Its Christian Heritage and to Return Confiscated Church Properties (Sponsored by Rep. Ed Royce / Foreign Affairs Committee)
• H.Res. 376 – Calling for the repatriation of POW/MIAs and abductees from the Korean War(Sponsored by Rep. Charlie Rangel / Foreign Affairs Committee)
• H.R. 2719 – Rattlesnake Mountain Public Access Act of 2011 (Sponsored by Rep. Doc Hastings / Natural Resources Committee)
• H.R. 443 - To provide for the conveyance of certain property from the United States to the Maniilaq Association located in Kotzebue, Alaska (Sponsored by Rep. Don Young / Natural Resources Committee)
• S. 278 – Sugar Loaf Fire Protection District Land Exchange Act (Sponsored by Sen. Mark Udall / Natural Resources Committee)
• H.R. 313 – Drug Trafficking Safe Harbor Elimination Act of 2011 (Sponsored by Rep. Lamar Smith / Judiciary Committee)

The House version of the payroll tax cut is out and it would legislatively provide a permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline (H.R. 3630).  Remaining items are a megabus spending bill and a defense authorization bill.

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.  

Diane Katz of the Heritage Foundation writes that, if confirmed, the little known Cordray would overnight become one of the most powerful figures in Washington and in the financial sector.  He would wield unparalleled powers with virtually no accountability.

President Obama, of course, thinks such regulatory hegemony will benefit consumers, but those who embrace a balance of powers within government know better. All of which is to say that Cordray ought to occupy himself in some other way until Congress remedies the bureau’s structural flaws.

The Dodd-Frank bill creating the CFPB purported to remedy Wall Street abuses that contributed to the 2008 economic crisis.  Yet Katz argues  the bill fell victim to mission creep poking into issues and products that had nothing to do with the Wall Street melt down.

Spawned by the vast Dodd–Frank financial regulation statute, the CFPB enjoys sweeping powers over all manner of consumer credit, including consolidated and expanded authority over consumer financial products and services previously wielded by seven federal agencies. We’re talking credit and debit cards, mortgages, student loans, savings and checking accounts, and more. (None of which had anything to do with the financial crisis, by the way. But that didn’t prevent Messrs. Dodd and Frank from exploiting the recession for regulatory gain. If anything, the bureau’s meddling will make financial products and services harder to obtain and more expensive to use.)

Another big issue for Katz is that this new bureaucracy would have little to no oversight.

The problem is that the CFPB is ensconced within the Federal Reserve. Therefore, its budget is not subject to congressional control. The bureau’s status within the Fed also effectively precludes presidential oversight.

A May 5 letter from 44 Republican Senators to President Obama said the following three preconditions would have to be met before they would allow anybody to be confirmed as head of the CFPB.

1. Establish a board of directors to oversee the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  To prevent a single individual from dominating the actions of the CFPB it should be governed by a board of directors.  Diversifying the leadership of the CFPB would also reduce the potential for the politicization of the CFPB and ensure the consideration of multiple viewpoints in the CFPB’s decision-making.  This structure is consistent with the organization of the Federal Reserve Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
2. Subject the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to the appropriations process.  To ensure that the CFPB does not engage in wasteful or inappropriate spending and has effective oversight, the CFPB should be subject to the Congressional appropriations process.  The Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission have long been subject to the appropriations process for the same reasons.
3. Establish a safety-and-soundness check for the prudential regulators.  Federal bank regulators should be given meaningful tools to prevent the CFPB’s regulations from needlessly causing a bank failure.  After all, one of the best consumer protections is a safe and sound bank.  Such a check by the prudential regulators will provide a reasonable restraint on the CFPB’s authority and ensure that the CFPB’s regulations strike the right balance between consumer protection and safety-and-soundness.

 If, as expected, Richard Cordray’s nomination goes down in flames tomorrow, it will be interesting to see if the Obama Administration meets with Republicans to find some common ground on these three demands.  It is more likely that President Obama will use the Cordray nomination to beat up Republicans for defending Wall Street.  Either way, the CFPB is unlikely to start work until the Obama Administration negotiates in good faith with Senate Republicans to cut a deal.

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.

The Senate will consider five judicial nominations early this week including: Edgardo Ramos to be judge for the Southern District of New York; Andrew Carter to be judge  for the Southern District of New York; James R. Gilstrap to be judge for the Eastern District of Texas; Dana Christensen to be judge for Montana; and, Caitlin J. Halligan to be a Circuit Court  judge for the District of Columbia.  Halligan is the subject of a filibuster by Republicans concerned about her extreme record.

Halligan has drawn opposition from Family Research Council Action for appealing to “a theory of an evolving Constitution to attack the traditional understanding of marriage and the lawful activities of pro-life organizations.”  Gun Owners of America and the National Rifle Association oppose the nomination because of Halligan’s anti-Second Amendment views.  The Senate Republican Policy Committee argues that Halligan’s “well-documented record as a committed advocate of extreme liberal positions raises questions about whether she would be a fair and impartial jurist. These concerns are compounded by the fact that Ms. Halligan has been nominated to one of the most important courts in the United States.”  The vote is on Tuesday and will be close, because 60 votes will be necessary to pass this nomination over a Republican filibuster.

The remainder of the week in the Senate is in flux.  There will be an effort this week to marry up all nine remaining spending bills for FY 2012 into a massive spending plan.  Conservatives are expected to oppose this effort, because the bills will be budget busters and pro-life provisions may be stripped.  This bill may pass with a majority of Democrat support in the House, yet a majority of Republicans opposing.  Negotiations continue on this controversial year end spending bill, but expect the liberals to set up a scenario to blame conservatives and the Tea Party if they can’t get a deal.  It seems that the Tea Party is the favorite Straw Man for President Obama and liberal Democrats to blame when they can’t get the job done.

The House will vote on eight suspension bills on Monday including the following:  H.R. 2351, a fish stocking bill; H.R. 944, a lighthouse bill; H.R. 2360, the Providing Our Workforce and Energy Resources Act; H.R. 643, a land bill; H.R. 1560, a tribal membership bill, S. 683, a land bill; S. 535, a monument bill; and, S. Con. Res. 32, an enrollment resolution to change H.R. 470 a Hoover Dam bill. 

H.R. 2360, the POWER Act, is a bill that would forbid offshore renewable energy resources to be installed or services by foreign workers, according to Congressman Jeff Landry (R-LA).  Some free trade minded conservatives would argue this bill is protectionist.  This seems to be the only controversial bill on the Monday suspension calendar.

The remainder of the week, is reserved for House consideration of the following items: H.R. 1254, the Synthetic Drug Control Act; H.R. 2405, a pandemic and hazard bill;  H.R. 3237, an education bill, H.R. 2297, a DC waterfront bill, H.R. 313, a drug trafficking bill, H.R. 2471, a privacy bill; H.R. 1021, a bankruptcy judge bill; S.J. Res. 22, a Missouri/Illinois bond compact measure; S. 1639, an American Legion bill; S. 1541, a federal charter for Blue Star Mothers; H.R. 10, the REINS Act; and, H.R. 1633, Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act.

Jon Corzine, former CEO of MF Global and Democratic Governor of NJ, has been subpoenaed to testify before the House Agriculture Committee for this Thursday.  The Hill reports that the extensive fundraising ties Corzine has to many sitting members of Congress and President Obama puts them in a difficult position.

Jon Corzine, former CEO of MF Global, has given tens of thousands of dollars to the Democratic Party in recent months, putting Democratic lawmakers in awkward positions ahead of Corzine’s subpoenaed appearance before a House committee next week. The House Agriculture Committee wants Corzine to explain the financial collapse of MF Global and what may have happened to clients’ investments. A former U.S. senator from New Jersey and governor of that state, Corzine is a longtime leader of the Democratic Party who served as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2004.

Are House Democrats going to defend a CEO who may have lead to one of the biggest bankruptcies in U.S. history?  A corporate meltdown clouded by allegations of illegal use of client funds?  Should be an interesting week in Washington.

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.

The House will conduct four suspension votes on Tuesday including the following: H.R. 1801, Risk-Based Security Screening for Members of the Armed Forces; H.R. 2465, Federal Workers Compensation Modernization and Improvement; H.R. 3012, Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants; and, and H.R. 2192, National Guard and Reservist Debt Relief Extension. 

The remainder of the House week is scheduled to consider H.Res. 364, a room naming bill, H.R. 3094, Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act, H.R. 3463, a bill to terminate taxpayer financing of presidential elections and party conventions, H.R. 527, Regulatory Flexibilty Improvements Act, and H.R. 3010, Regulatory Accountability Act.

H.R. 3094 is the bill that would stop a proposed rule of the National Labor Relations Board pushed by unions.  Stephen DeMaura wrote on Red State in October about this bill when it was in committee.

The new bill, called The Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act and introduced by committee Chairman John Kline of Minnesota, empowers and protects employers and employees in the face of NLRB rules supported by labor bosses.  The bill ensures a reasonable period of time for workers to consider union proposals, and protects the time-honoredtradition of voting in union elections by secret ballot.

H.R. 3463 is a bill that would stop the federal government from paying for Presidential campaigns and party conventions.  These activities should not be financed by the taxpayers and it is a welcome idea to cut spending by getting rid of taxpayer subsidized campaign activity.

This week, the Senate will continue consideration of S.1867, the Defense Authorization Act.   The Defense Authorization Act is always a magnet for controversial issues, therefore expect many issues unrelated to defense to come up this week.  Tax issues may be dropped onto this bill if the Democrats use the DOD Auth bill as a means to force another vote to raise taxes on the rich.  Senate Democrats have promised a vote on extending an expiring tax provision so expect a tax debate to break out this week in the Senate.  At 5 p.m. today, the Senate will conduct a vote on the nomination of Christopher Droney to be a Judge on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. 

There are two interesting hearings scheduled for this week.  The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution will have a hearing on the BBA.  On Thursday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will have a hearing on Iran.

This week shall be very important for the conservative movement.

The House is considering two very important items this week – the Second Amendment and balancing the budget.  On Monday, the House has nine suspension votes scheduled on the following pieces of legislation:  H.R. 1791 – Courthouse naming bill; H.R. 588 – National wildlife refuge renaming bill; H.R. 2079 – Post office naming bill; H.R. 3004 Post office naming bill; S. 1412 – Post office naming bill; H.R. 298 – Post office naming bill; H.R. 2422 – Post office naming bill; H.R. 2660 – Post office naming bill; and, H.R. 2415 – Post office naming bill. 

On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday the House will be in to consider H.R. 2838 - Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act, H.R. 674 – 3% withholding tax bill as amended by Senate, H.R. 822 - National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act, H.J. Res. 2 – Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution (BBA) and potential action on the conference report accompanying H.R. 2112. 

H.J Res. 2 is a weakened version of a BBA and House Republicans have settled on the weak BBA in an attempt to pick up a few Democratic votes.  By weak BBA I mean one that strips the supermajority requirement to increase taxes and removes a cap on government spending at 18% of the economic output of the United States. 

I wrote in Human Events today that the weak BBA may be an example of the GOP snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Last week, House Republicans tentatively agreed to put on the floor a weakened version of a BBA, H.J. Res. 2, sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R.-Va.).  They are trying to get enough Democrats to support a weaker BBA so that they can get some BBA passed by the needed two-thirds vote.  Conservatives may want to consider fighting this.

Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform told Human Events that a squishy BBA will provide protection for moderate Democrats going into a tough re-election year.

While many moderate Democrats will vote for a weak BBA, most Democrats will vote against a robust BBA, and that opens those in moderate districts to the possibility of defeat on this issue.

H.R. 822 is a conceal carry bill introduced by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) and Heath Shuler (D-NC) would allow citizens to carry firearms out of state.  Gun Owners of America has some concerns about the Stearns-Shuler bill and prefers the approach in H.R. 2900 introduced by Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA).  This will be a fascinating Second Amendment vote in the House and we shall see if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) will schedule a vote on this bill when it passes the House.

The Senate will be debating a Mini-Bus appropriations measure.  On Tuesday, the Senate will vote on the nominations of Sharon Gleason to be U.S. District Judge for Alaska and Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to be U.S. District Judge for Northern California.  The Senate will then be considering H.R. 2354, the Energy and Water Appropriations measure, and that bill is expected to carry another bloated Mini-Bus appropriations spending bill. 

The Super Committee has just over a week to find common ground to cut between $1.2 and $1.5 trillion over the next ten years.  President Obama admonished the Committee to “bite the bullet” and raise revenue (i.e. taxes).  Conservatives need to watch the Super Committee closely to see if they agree to tax increases as part of any deal.

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.

The Senate will vote on a motion to proceed to H.R. 674, the 3% Withholding Repeal and Job Creation Act, today.  This bill passed the House 405-16 on October 27, 2011.  This non-controversial bill will become a vehicle for another piece of the Obama “jobs” agenda relating to veterans.  According to Congressional Quarterly, the Senate is expected to cobble together the Energy-Water, Financial Services, and State-Foreign Ops appropriations bills for Senate consideration later this week.

Senate Committees are expected to be busy this week.  The Senate Environment and Public Work Committee is having a markup on Wednesday of a two year authorization for transportation projects, MAP-21.  Expect liberals to try to attach the Infrastructure Bank, a union project slush fund, to this proposal when it is rolled out on the Senate floor.  The Senate Judiciary Committee is voting on a bill to repeal a law that protects a state from being forced to recognize gay marriages, S.598.

The Super Committee is fast approaching the Thanksgiving deadline to produce a bill that will reduce the deficit by between $1.2 and $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years. 

According to the Wall Street Journal, Democrats on the Super Committee are insisting on massive tax increases in consideration for moderate entitlement reforms.

Insiders on the panel say that the deal being offered by Democrats is less than $1 of spending cuts for every $1 of new taxes. Democrats want to count the $900 billion of discretionary spending cuts already agreed to in the debt bill and $1 trillion in troop withdrawals from Afghanistan and Iraq, which may not happen. Meanwhile they are insisting on close to $1.2 trillion of tax increases in exchange for less than $1 trillion in entitlement reforms.

This week we should know more as to whether a deal may be struck.  The proceedings of the Super Committee have been super secret, yet the members of the c0mmittee have engaged in selective leaking of information to update the public when they make progress.  A deal that includes tax increases would be a terrible deal for the American taxpayer.

Trickle-Down Obamanomics as defined in Human Events this week.

Here is how it works:  The President will propose massive tax increases on the American people, with the promise that some of the new spending that results will trickle down to the middle-class and poor.  Increased government money will be siphoned off to pay for new government bureaucrats to administer newly created programs.  It will also be funneled to union-controlled spending projects so they can fund left-wing political campaigns and pay people to protest violently in Occupy Wall Street.

President Obama is a practitioner of Trickle-Down Economics.  He believes that his Venture Socialism as exhibited by Solyndra and other projects funded from the $35 billion green energy program authorized by the Obama Stimulus I will lead to lower unemployment numbers and greater economic growth.  They believe that borrowed money dumped into the economy on short term infrastructure projects, an extension of unemployment benefits and green energy slush fund for friends of Obama is good for the economy.  They don’t favor policies that would reduce taxation regulation and deficit spending as a means to free up the free market.

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.

The Senate will have a vote this eventing on the nomination of Stephen Higginson of Louisiana to be a justice on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.  On Tuesday, the Senate will continue work on H.R. 2112, the Ag, CJS and THUD appropriations measures also known as the MiniBus appropriations bill.  Seven votes are expected on Tuesday on a Sen. Coburn Amendment (SA 800 – Rural Development Agency), Sen. Paul (SA 821 – elimination of small community air service development funding), Sen. DeMint (SA 763 – epinephrine), Sen. Crapo (SA 814 – Dodd-Frank WSR derivatives), Sen. Mike Lee (Motion to Recommit to cut spending to FY 2011 levels), and passage of the MiniBus as amended.  This measure is then expected to go to a Senate-House conference committee.

The Senate committees will have some hearings of interest to conservatives this week.  The Washington Times reports that the Senate Judiciary Committee is planning a vote on legisaltion to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.  It is unclear whether the Committee will schedule the vote this week or later in the year, but a vote is expected soon. 

On Wednesday, the Senate Homeland Security Committee will have a hearing titled “Ten Years after 9/11:  The Next Wave in Aviation Security.”   John Pistole, the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), is testifying and this would be a great opportunity to brag on the Federal Flight Deck Officers’ Program (FFDO).  The FFDO, commonly referred to as the armed pilots program, was put in place in the fall of 2002 to deputize and arm pilots against aviation terrorism.  The program is a success and has provided a strong deterrent to terrorists.  With all the controversy over the TSA screening procedures, there is one program that the TSA should promote.

The House has a full schedule this week.  On Tuesday, the House will consider three suspension votes including:  H.R. 1002  - ( Wireless Tax Fairness Act), H.Con.Res 13 (a resolution reaffirming “In God We Trust” as the official motto of the United States), and S. 1280 (Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act).  Four suspension votes are schedule for Wednesday, H.R. 2061 (Civilian Service Recognition Act), H.R.1070 (Small Company Capital Formation Act), H.R. 1965 (a bill that amends securities law), S. 894 (Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act).  Votes are expected later in the week on bills sponsored by Rep. Kevin McCarty, the Access to Capital for Job Creators Act H.R. 2940, and Rep. Patrick McHenry, the Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act H.R. 2930.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee announced that the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations is working on subpoenas for” internal white House communications relating to the Solyndra loan guarantee.” This will be an opportunity for the White House to come clean about efforts to funnel federal loan guarantees to favored green energy companies.

The Super Committee will continue work on a deficit reduction package containing $1.2 – $1.5 trillion in reductions.  Conservatives worry that Republicans will agree to raise taxes as part of this package.

I wrote in Human Events this week that liberal activists are taking a run at the Native Hawaiian bill again as part of the MiniBus appropriations measure.

The Senate Appropriations Committee released a draft of its appropriations bill for the Interior Department earlier this month.  Section 420 contains a provision allowing the secretary of the Interior Department to recognize “Native Hawaiians” as a federally recognized Indian tribe.  This is a version of the “Akaka Bill,” and an effort to create a race-based government for individuals classified as native Hawaiians.  This is a radical measure that would force even more separation on the American people into different ethnic groups.  This is also a measure that many native Hawaiians oppose, because they feel that the people claiming to represent their interests are enriching themselves at the expense of the true interests of those of Hawaiian heritage as wells as traditional fishing rights.

Conservatives have much to worry about this week.

The Senate is scheduled to take up H.R. 2112, legislation to carry appropriations for the Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) and Transportation/HUD appropriations bills (THUD).  The Agriculture appropriations bill passed the House on a 217-203 vote on June 16, 2011 and is being used by the Senate to carry two other appropriations bills CJS and THUD back to the House.

This is called a “Minibus,” because the package will combine different appropriations bills together into one.  The Senate will spend the week working through amendments to these appropriations bills before they break for a week this Friday. Expect conservatives to force multiple votes to cut some of the fat out of the federal budget.

The Senate will conduct a vote on Cathy Bissoon to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania.  Nominations have come back into focus as a result of a vote last week on liberal activist Alison Nathan to be U.S District Judge for the Southern District of New York.  Nathan’s nomination squeaked by on a 48-44 vote.  Conservatives need to keep a close eye on these votes.

A nomination that is expected to be a big fight in the Senate is the nomination of Richard Cordray to be the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).  Conservatives are blocking that nomination because they fear the expansive powers of the CFPB will be a job killer and will further slow a future economic recovery.

On Wednesday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) will markup a bill to reauthorize No Child Left Behind.  The Senate Finance Committee will have a hearing on tax reform options.  Embattled Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner will testify before the Senate Small Business Committee on the a small business law that passed Congress last year and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The Senate will recess for a week starting on Friday, as the House comes back into session next week.

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. 

The Senate is not taking up the same bill that President Obama submitted to Congress because of the tax provisions in the President’s plan.  Senate Democrats don’t want to vote for increased taxes on individuals making $200K and families making $250K. 

The AP has an excellent analysis explaining why the President’s rhetoric is not matching up with the reality of his American Jobs Act.

When Obama accuses Republicans of standing in the way of his nearly $450 billion plan, he ignores the fact that his own party has struggled to unite behind the proposal. When the president says Republicans haven’t explained what they oppose in the plan, he skips over the fact that Republicans who control the House actually have done that in detail. And when he calls on Congress to “pass this bill now,” he slides past the point that Democrats control the Senate and were never prepared to move immediately, given other priorities. Senators are expected to vote Tuesday on opening debate on the bill, a month after the president unveiled it with a call for its immediate passage.

The leader of the Senate is a Democrat, therefore it defies logic to accuse Republicans of holding up the President’s jobs bill.  Senate Democrats have refuse to introduce the President’s jobs bill containing the President’s ideas on tax increases. Senate Democrats are introducing a new version of the American Jobs Act with modifications to the tax language.  If the President’s bill were to come up in the Senate this week intact, it would not get a majority of support in the Democrat controlled Senate.

On Tuesday, the House will consider 6 items on the suspension calendar H.R. 2433 (Veterans Opportunity to Work Act),  H.R. 2074 (Veterans Sexual Assault Prevention Act), H.R. 2302 (a bill dealing with notification of Congress about conferences sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs), H.R. 2349 (Veterans’ Benefits Training Improvement Act),  H.R. 1263(a measure to provide surviving spouses of service members protections against mortgage foreclosure),  and H.R. 1025 (a bill to modify the definition of veteran). 

The House will finish consideration of an EPA regulatory reform bill, H.R. 2250, and then move on to the three pending free trade agreements.  The House is expected to pass the following free trade agreements this week: U.S. – Columbia Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act (H.R. 3078), U.S. Panama Promotion Agreement Implementation Act (H.R. 3079), and  - U.S. – Korea Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (H.R. 3080).  TAA (H.R. 2832) is expected to come up under a structured rule whereby TAA is not transmitted to the President until the three free trade agreements are passed by the House and/or Senate.

The Senate is scheduled to have three roll call votes today.  The first is on a nomination today, followed by a final passage on on the China currency bill (S. 1619) and cloture on the motion to proceed to the American Jobs Act (S. 1660). 

A debate is expected on a Republican version if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) allows debate on a competing version.  Last week, Senator Reid pulled the Nuclear Option trigger in order to abolish the opportunity for Republicans to offer amendments post cloture.  This strong arm move by Reid effectively shut off the power of individual Senators to offer amendments to bill, unless if they receive the consent of Senator Reid.

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.

First of all, it is important to note that the Nuclear Option was not used to abolish the filibuster in the Senate tonight.  What did happen is that Reid used a parliamentary maneuver to block Republican amendments to the China currency bill.  He set a precedent that grants him full control over when Amendments are allowed to be offered by Senators.

The Senate’s rules are very very complicated but I will do my best to explain why this maneuver by Reid is an epic power grab and may be a precedent for Reid to further remove rights from members not in the majority party. 

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) threatened last week to offer the President’s so called jobs bill on the China currency bill.  Reports have been coming out since the day the President rolled out his latest stimulus plan paid for completely by higher taxes that moderate and Senate Democrats up for re-election next year did not want to be on record in favor of tax increases for individuals making over $200K and couples making over $250K in the President’s plan. Even though the President has been crying for the House and Senate to vote on his plan, Reid took actions to block a vote.

Reid stopped the McConnell tactic of forcing a vote on the President’s plan as an amendment to the China currency bill by using a controversial tactic to fill the amendment tree as a means to block the McConnell amendment.  Filling the Amendment tree is when the Leader requests recognition and offers amendment after amendment as a means to eliminate any opportunity for other members to offer amendments.  After “filling the tree,” Reid files cloture and that puts the Senate in a position of voting on the bill without every having to vote on an amendment.

The Reid Amendments are not substantive.  They merely change the enactment date by one day and then another day as a means to block every opportunity to offer amendments with Reid’s fake amendments that don’t change the substance of the bill.  The way Reid can offer amendment after amendment without any other member being recognized to stop the process with another amendments, is that Reid has the tradition of being recognized first.  Once the Senate proceeds to consideration of a bill, he requests recognition over and over again until he has blocked every opportunity for an amendment by another member.

This is an abusive process and one of the reasons why Republicans have filibustered so much over the past 5 years.  Conservatives from DeMint to moderates like Sen. Olympia Snowe (D-ME) are not happy that they are not allowed to offer amendments and the only redress they have is to filibuster and vote no to have a final vote on a bill they have not been allowed to amend.

Senators Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) used a tactic to file a motion to suspend the rules as a means to offer amendments after cloture was invoked.  This is a recent tactic used by Republicans and a legal way to force votes on amendments when Reid abused his Leader status by filling up the amendment tree with fake amendments.  Reid ended that today.

Reid raised a point of order that the pending amendments, including the McConnell Amendment, amounted to a second filibuster and were dilatory.  The parliamentarian advised the Chair of the Senate at the time, Senator Mark Begich (D-Alaska), that the amendments were not dilatory.  Reid appealed the ruling of the chair and the Senate voted 48-51 to support the Chair.  In essence the Senate Parliamentarian advised Begich to rule against Reid, then Reid appealed Begich’s ruling to the whole body.  Without looking at the vote, I expect Begich voted to overturn his own ruling.

Alex Bolton at The Hill reports:

The maneuver is arcane but momentous. If a simple majority of the Senate votes with Reid and strikes down the ruling, the chamber’s precedent will be changed through the unilateral action of one party. Republicans had considered using this maneuver, dubbed the “nuclear option,” in 2005 to change Senate rules to prohibit the filibuster of judicial nominees. Democrats decried the plan and the crisis was resolved by a bipartisan agreement forged by 14 rank-and-file senators known as the Gang of 14.

This Nuclear Option was used tonight to block Republicans right to offer amendments.  It specifically was used to block a vote on the President’s jobs bill.  Yes, the same jobs bill that the President has been touring the nation and blaming Republicans for blocking.  How ironic.

This is not an abolition of the filibuster, but some worry that the events of this evening were a test run for Democrats to go all in on abolishing the filibuster so they can use the Senate as the primary messaging arm of the Obama talking point that House Republicans are the root of all political evil in the country.  Only by abolishing the right of Republican Senators to offer amendments and force 60 votes to shut off debate will liberals be allowed complete control over the Senate and a means to send unchanged messaging bills from the liberal Democrat controlled Senate to the House.

The Hill reports today Cordray is expected to pass in committee, yet his nomination is in doubt on the Senate floor:

The Senate Banking Committee will vote on whether President Obama’s selection to head the new agency should win the gig, but the vote will likely be the latest round in what has been a knock-down, drag-out partisan fight over the agency and how it should operate.  While it’s expected the former Ohio attorney general will advance on a party-line vote, Cordray’s nomination could get stuck on the winding yellow brick road instead of landing on the express lane to the full Senate.

Dodd-Frank has already hit consumers hard this month.  According to the Washington Times, Bank of America’s new $5 per month fee for debit card use is a direct result of the so called reforms imposed by the law.

New debit cardholder fees are a direct result of price controls mandated by Mr. Durbin’s legislative handiwork, Section 1075 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (aka the Durbin Interchange Amendment) which Mr. Obama signed into law on July 21, 2010. Debit-interchange fees that took effect Oct. 1 for banks with more than $10 billion in assets were capped at 50 percent below market rates, while small banks are exempted. Merchants, not banks, can now pick network transaction routes that enable them to drive down the revenue of both small and Goliath banks. But for the Fed’s charitable implementation, it would have been worse. The legislation was intended to reduce fees by more than 90 percent.

As usual, regulations have unintended consequences, a narrowing of consumer choice and increased consumer cost.  Republicans have been fighting to repeal regulations that impose a high cost on the economy while having little rational purpose.  It is consistent with that philosophy for Republicans to take action to slow the CFPB regulatory machine.  If allowed to march forward, the CFPB will mass produce a regulatory web that is expected to entangle Wall Street and further slow economic growth.

As I wrote in September on Red State, this nomination is expected to become a referendum on the CFPB and Republicans seem almost unified in blocking the creation of another regulatory monster:

The only way for Senators to stop regulations in the short term is to block the work of the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).  This bureau will be a regulation creating machine and an entity that will slow economic growth — much like Obama’s 191 pending regulations.  The only way for Senators to stop the bureau from mass producing new regulations is to refuse confirmation of the president’s nominee to head the Bureau, Richard Cordray.

After this nomination passes the Senate Banking Committee today on what is expected to be a party line vote, it moves to the full Senate for an expected filibuster.  Republicans have pledged to force a 60 vote threshold as a means to protect the economy from over-regulation.

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.

The House kicks off the week with 7 votes on the Suspension Calendar on Monday.  The bills are H.R. 686 (Utah National Guard Readiness Act), H,R, 765 (a bill dealing with ski areas), H.R. 489 (a Dept. of Interior jurisdiction bill), H.R. 473 (Access to land for Scouts bill), H.R. 470 (power allocation bill), H.R. 670 (land bill), and S. Con. Res. 29 (authorizing use of rotunda for event).  On Tuesday, the House will vote on the CR and a rule setting up debate for later in the week on H.R. 2681 (Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act) and H.R. 2250 (EPA Regulatory Relief Act).  One other item expected to be voted this week is H.R. 1343 (a bill to return unused Stimulus money to Treasury).

On Tuesday at 10am, the House Judiciary Committee will have an important hearing on the Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA).  It is important for conservatives to watch the debate in the House closely.  The strong versions introduced in the House by Reps. Joe Walsh (R-IL) and Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) seem to have been tossed aside for a so called “clean BBA.”  Both Walsh and Goodlatte introduced a measure that forces a balanced budget and requires supermajority roll call votes to increase taxes and to breach a constitutional spending limit.  These versions were similar to a strong version in the Senate, introduced by both Sens. Hatch (R-UT), S.J. Res. 10, and McConnell (R-KY), S.J. Res. 23. 

A “clean BBA” removes provisions that make it hard to raise taxes and spend more federal cash.  In an effort to pick up votes, some in the House want to toss aside the supermajority requirements to raise taxes and the requirement that the government can only spend a percentage of Gross Domestic Product.  This squishy idea of a new “Clean BBA” is not being introduced so that a BBA can pass the House,is merely is being rolled out in an effort to pick up a few votes of Democrats.  Conservatives need to hold the line and make sure that the House does not forever kill the effort to pass a strong BBA in an effort to pass a version of the BBA that might lead to mandatory tax increases in the name of debt reduction. 

The Senate is scheduled to vote on 6 judges today and spend the remainder of the week on S. 1619, a China Currency bill officially known as “the Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act.”  This measure is controversial because many free trade minded Members of Congress worry about kicking 0ff a new trade war.  They also worry that this measure may harm the economy by hiking prices for consumers of Chinese goods and companies that use Chinese products to manufacture other goods.  Members who still oppose free trade with Communist China are ok with trade sanctions.  There will be a split in the conservative movement.

The Obama Administration tossed the American people on the hook for billions in loan guarentees for struggling solar energy companies late last week.  According to one analyst, this investment will produce some job creation to the tune of $20 million per job.  This calculation was done after a billion dollar loan day last Wednesday.

The Energy Department on Wednesday approved federal loan guarantees for two green energy projects totaling more than $1 billion. It approved $337 million for a Mesquite Solar project in Arizona and $737 million for a Solar Reserve project in Nevada. The projects would create a total of 52-55 permanent jobs, according to earlier DOE figures and company statements. That’s about $20 million per permanent job.

On Friday, the last day for DOE to put up loan guarantees for alternative energy programs pursuant to the Obama Stimulus bill, the Obama Administration pushed another $4.8 billion in loan guarantees out the door.  This was a $ 6 billion dollar week for the solar industry in the wake of a massive scandal for Obama’s favored solar panel company Solyndra.

From Solar Energy News:

On the last day of its 1705 loan guarantees program, the US Department of Energy finalized support packages for four major solar projects on Friday, totaling almost $4.8 billion. US Energy Secretary Steven Chu confirmed awards for three huge solar power plants in California, and a “transformational” project installing solar panels on 750 warehouse rooftops. $1.46 billion in partial guarantees when to the 550MW Desert Sunlight project, a $1.237 billion guarantee for the 250MW California Valley Solar Ranch project, and a $646 million for the 230MW Antelope Valley Solar Ranch project.

This week in Washington, conservatives need to watch the debate over the BBA, loan guarantees and trade policy.

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.

Last week, the House passed a $1.043 trillion CR and sent it over to the Senate.  The bill contained $3.6 billion in disaster relief and that relief is offset by spending cuts to a green energy program.  The Senate voted to table the House passed CR and will be taking up a different version today.

The green energy offset makes sense with the recent scrutiny of President Obama’s Solyndra scandal.  Solyndra was the subject of President Obama’s praise for manufacturing solar panels and received just over a half billion dollars in loan subsidies.  The company declared bankruptcy and is now being investigated by the FBI.

According to Roll Call, the CR fight is over the level of disaster relief and cuts to pay for this new spending.

The current showdown centers on Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster funding. The GOP-led House passed a continuing resolution Thursday, but Democrats, who control the Senate, oppose it because they say the $3.6 billion for disaster aid is inadequate and they oppose cuts in the measure designed to offset about $1.1 billion of the emergency spending.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) brought up the measure and immediately killed it.  Reid now wants to take up his own bill that does not offset disaster aid.  A new wrinkle in the debate is that the Reid CR actually cuts spending for disaster relief because of a drafting error.

From Congressional Quarterly:

The text of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s fiscal 2012 continuing resolution, filed as an amendment to the version the House passed (HR 2068) earlier Sept. 23, says it would provide “$774,000,00” for the nation’s Disaster Relief Fund, and “$226,000,00” for the Army Corps of Engineers for flood control and coastal emergencies.

This is what happens when politicians slap together a bill and don’t use the regular order.  Reid is to blame for putting a bill up for a vote tonight that cuts disaster relief at a time when the fight on this measure is over the level of disaster relief and how to pay for it.

Only in Washington could politicians be voting on a bill containing a $696,600,000 error for the Disaster Relief Fund and a $203,400,000 error for the Army Corps of Engineers.  A $900 million dollar “drafting mistake” should lead to somebody getting fired, yet these federal politicians will merely shrug their shoulders and march on.

According to Roll Call the Senate will vote tonight on this flawed measure and will commence a week long negotiation before they pass a CR.

Making good on Reid’s threat to work through the recess to avoid a government shutdown, the Senate will vote Monday evening on its own CR, which is identical to the House version except that the bill does not offset the disaster spending.

I wrote in Human Events today that this whole fight is about one thing — politics.

The President and liberal members of Congress are going for broke on the Blame-the-Tea-Party strategy—and that strategy is playing out in the debate over funding the government into next year.

This fight has nothing to do with the content of the Cr.  It is all about implementing the President’s strategy to blame the Tea Party for everything under the sun.  The left is intent on shutting down the government then blaming Republicans for the shutdown.

Republicans have been blamed for Obama’s failed stimulus ideas.  The Tea Party has been blamed for holding legislation ”hostage.”  Expect the President, the leader of the free world, to do his best to shift blame to a handful of House and Senate conservatives for every Presidential failing.

$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.   

On Tuesday, the House will consider 5 suspension bills:  H.R. 2005 (Legislation dealing with Autism), H.R. 1852 (Legislation dealing with “Children’s Hospital GME Support), H.R. 2646 (a veterans health care measure);  H.R. 2944 - (U.S. Parole Commission Reauthorization); and, H.R. 2189 (Death in Custody Reporting).

On Wednesday and the balance of the week, the House is expected to consider three suspension bills and two bills under a rule.  The three suspension bills include: S.Con.Res. 28 (A concurrent resolution authorizing the use of Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center for an event to award the Congressional Gold Medal);  H.R. 2943 (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Extension – TANF); and, H.R. 2883 (Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act).  The bills to be considered under the regular order are a continuing resolution, H.J.Res. 79 and a regulatory transparency and scoring bill H.R. 2401 .

Conservatives are researching whether the TANF bill reauthorizes a provision in the President’s Stimulus bill that partial repealed the 1996 welfare reform bill.  The ’96 welfare reform measure removed an incentive for states to add people to the enrollment list for the purposes of securing more money from the federal government.  The potential reauthorization a welfare reform gutting provision should be considered in any debate to reauthorize TANF.

Markups are scheduled to be held in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Foreign Affairs, and Judiciary Committee.  The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, the Super Committee, is scheduled to have a hearing on “Revenue Options and Reforming the Tax Code.”  Expect the President’s ideas on tax increases to get an airing at the Thursday hearing. 

The Senate is scheduled debate a motion to proceed to H.R. 2832, a trade preference bill, that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid intends on using as a vehicle to carry Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) over to the House.  As Daniel Horowitz of Red State explains, “the TAA is a subsidy program created in 1962, which arbitrarily rewards job training, relocation allowances, loans, grants, and unemployment pay to workers who supposedly lost jobs from FTAs.” 

The Senate Finance Committee has a hearing on tax reform options.  Senate Appropriations subcommittees will markup the Transportation-HUD and Labor-HHS-Education approps measures.  Markups are scheduled in the Senate EPW Committee, Homeland Security, Commerce and Judiciary. 

Conservatives need to watch the Super Committee to see if they are predisposed to adopt the tax increasing ideas of President Obama.  Also, it will be interesting to see if House Republicans have the fight in the belly to use the continuing resolution for more spending cuts.  In the Senate, conservatives need to watch the TAA debate to see if Congress will terminate a program that duplicates other job assistance programs for the unemployed.