Freedom of Choice in Media - The Information Source of the Revolution! - Recent posts

June 23, 2008

I am pleased to report that last week we received notice that the Texas Department of Transportation will recommend the I-69 Project be developed using existing highway facilities instead of the proposed massive new Trans Texas Corridor/NAFTA Superhighway.  According to the Texas Transportation Commissioner, consideration is no longer being given to new corridors and other proposals for a new highway footprint for this project.  A major looming threat to property rights and national sovereignty is removed with this encouraging announcement.

I have been very pleased with the progress of my legislation, HR 1207, which calls for a complete audit of the Federal Reserve and removes many significant barriers towards transparency of our monetary system.   This bill now has nearly 170 cosponsors, with support from both Republicans and Democrats.  Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced a companion bill in the Senate S 604, which will hopefully begin to gain momentum as well.  I am very encouraged to see so many of my colleagues in Congress stand with me for greater transparency in government.

Some have begun to push back against this bill, and I am very happy to address their concerns.

In the past few months, American workers, consumers, and businesses have experienced a sudden and dramatic rise in gasoline prices. In some parts of the country, gasoline costs as much as $4 per gallon. Some politicians claim that the way to reduce gas prices is by expanding the government’s power to regulate prices and control the supply of gasoline.  For example, the House of Representatives has even passed legislation subjecting gas stations owners to criminal penalties if they charge more than a federal bureaucrat deems appropriate. Proponents of these measures must have forgotten the 1970s, when government controls on the oil industry resulted in gas lines and shortages. It was only after President Reagan lifted federal price controls that the gas lines disappeared.

Last week the House passed another budget that increases federal power, raises taxes, and increases the national debt.  I voted against it, and was pleased to see that not a single Republican representative voted for it.  Legislators often see bipartisanship as constructive, but I disagree especially where the destruction of our economy or our liberty is concerned.  There has been too much bipartisan consensus on expanding government far beyond the bounds of the Constitution which we all swore to defend and uphold.  Because of this, I have never been able to vote for a budget.  However, it was good to see Republicans come together on this important vote, even if their alternative budget was almost as bad.

In my last column, I joked that with public spending out of control and the piling on of the international bailout bill, economic collapse seems to be the goal of Congress.  It is getting harder to joke about such a thing however, as the non-partisan General Accounting Office (GAO) has estimated that the administration’s health care plan would actually cost over a trillion dollars.  This reality check may have given us a temporary reprieve on this particular disastrous policy, however an equally disastrous energy policy reared its ugly head on Capitol Hill last week.

The Cash for Clunkers program has received a lot of attention this week on Capitol Hill and across the country. The program offers a voucher of up to $4500 in federal funds to anyone who trades in a working used car for a new one with better fuel economy.  Congress was shocked at how quickly people responded to promises of free money and drained the program, while car dealers have been equally shocked at how slow and arduous the government’s website to claim the rebates has been.

It has been over 6 years since the atrocities of September 11 were committed and there are still some very basic measures that need to be taken to bring the perpetrators to justice and make America safer.  I have proposed legislation to help with these efforts and will continue to fight in Congress for the safety and security of the American people.

Earmarks seem to be the hot topic this week, and as a fiscal conservative I am dismayed so many people deliberately distort the earmarking process and grandstand to make political points.  It is an easy thing to do with earmarks.  It takes a little more time and patience to grasp the reality of what earmarks really are.

This past week in Washington there has been much talk about the economy.  It seems by their actions the leadership and the Fed is finally willing to admit we have a problem, and we need to do something about the economic mess we are in.  This is a good thing.  However, they are still not being honest about the root cause of our impending crisis and want to deal only with symptoms, not the disease.

There are some positive aspects of the highly lauded economic stimulus package that has been negotiated.  I am in favor of taxpayers getting some of their money back, however temporary tax cuts and one-time rebates will not “fix” the economy.  What we desperately need right now is real deep significant tax cuts that are enabled by big spending cuts and reduction of government waste that is so rampant.  Unfortunately, too many in Washington still believe we can spend our way into prosperity, which does not work and never has.

The Latin term “fiat” roughly translates to “there shall be”.  When we refer to fiat money, we are referring to money that exists because the government declares it into existence.  It is not based on production or earnings, and not backed by any commodity.  It is solely based on trusting the government.  Fiat money is exchanged in the economy as long as there is faith in the government that issues it.

Taxes are the issue this week as Americans struggle to make the April 15^th deadline to file their returns. It is a good time to contemplate the effects of big government and what it does to our country.  The income tax is one of the most egregious encroachments on our liberties today.  It is a form of involuntary servitude, which was supposed to have been outlawed by the 13^th Amendment. 

President Obama signed an executive order last week continuing the faith-based initiatives program created by former President Bush.  When the program was created, I warned that giving taxpayer money to private religious organizations would eventually lead to political control and manipulation of them.  This week has provided some evidence that this was a justified concern.