Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Marsha Blackburn wants more surveillance on American Citizens and wishes to set up a Federalized Police State.

Electronic Surveillance.

The warrantless electronic surveillance bill (H.R. 5825) would allow electronic surveillance of
communications with suspected terrorists without first obtaining approval from the secret courts established by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. Furthermore, the bill would authorize unwarranted surveillance for up to 90 days in some instances if a threat was considered “imminent.” Intelligence agencies would be allowed to conduct warrantless surveillance for seven days prior to gaining court approval if the threat was considered an “emergency situation.” This controversial bill had full support of the Bush administration as a means to provide greater national security in a post-9/11 world. The House passed H.R. 5825 on September 28, 2006 by a vote of 232-191 (Roll Call 502). Such a law would violate the Fourth Amendment by subjecting U.S. citizens to unreasonable searches and seizures.

Marsha Blackburn voted FOR this bill.
(Source: The New American - October 30, 2006)

COPS Funding.

This bill (H.R. 1700) would provide the annual funds for the Community-Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program for fiscal 2008 through 2013. The bill would authorize $1.15 billion per fiscal year to aid in the hiring of law enforcement officers. The funding would include up to $600 million each year for “officers hired to perform intelligence, anti-terror or homeland security duties.” The House passed H.R. 1700 on May 15, 2007, by a vote of 381-34 (Roll Call 348). Providing federal aid to local law enforcement programs is not only unconstitutional, it also further federalizes the police system. The Senate passed a similar provision in March.

Marsha Blackburn voted FOR this bill.
(Source: The New American – July 23, 2007)


Funding the REAL ID Act (National ID).

During consideration of the Homeland Security appropriations bill, Representative Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.) offered an amendment to reallocate $150 million of the bill’s funding to provide grant money for assisting states in conforming to the REAL ID Act of 2005. The REAL ID Act requires all states to issue standardized driver’s licenses that would serve as national ID cards. It was supposed to go into effect three years after the enactment of the act, but because of resistance from the states, the deadline has been extended to 2010 for states that request an extension. Once enacted, a federal agency would not be allowed to accept for any official purpose a driver’s license or ID card issued by a state that fails to meet the act’s requirements. The House rejected the Bilbray amendment by a vote of 155-268 (Roll Call 479) on June 15,
2007. The act would effectively create a national ID card.

Marsha Blackburn voted FOR this bill.
(Source: The New American – December 10, 2007)

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance.

This bill (S. 1927) would allow warrantless electronic surveillance (eavesdropping) of targets outside the United States regardless of whether they are communicating with someone within the United States. This surveillance had been conducted illegally by the CIA. Under this legislation, communications companies would be required to comply with surveillance requests and would be provided lawsuit protections. The House passed S. 1927 by a vote of 227-183 (Roll Call 836) on August 4, 2007. Warrantless surveillance of American citizens is a violation of the Fourth Amendment provision against “unreasonable searches and seizures.” Although the bill includes a sunset provision causing it to expire after six months, President Bush has already called for making the bill permanent.

Marsha Blackburn voted FOR this bill.
(Source: The New American – December 10, 2007)


Thought Crimes.

This bill (H.R. 1955), known as the “Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007,” could more aptly be titled the “Thought Crimes Act.” The bill would establish a National Commission on the Prevention of Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism and establish a grant program to prevent radicalization in the United States. However, critics charge that the bill is a thinly disguised attempt to criminalize dissent, based on the bill’s vague and open-ended language that could be used to trample basic rights to free speech and assembly, and turn legitimate dissent into thought crimes. For instance, the bill defines “violent radicalization” as “the process of adopting or promoting an extremist belief system for the purpose of facilitating ideologically based violence to advance political, religious, or
social change.” The bill does not define either “extremist belief system” or “facilitating ideologically based violence.” The bill also states that “the Internet has aided in facilitating violent radicalization, ideologically based violence, and the homegrown terrorism process in the United States by providing access to broad and constant streams of terrorist-related propaganda to United States citizens.” The House passed H.R. 1955 by
a vote of 404-6 (Roll Call 993) on October 23, 2007. The bill threatens legitimate dissent.

Marsha Blackburn voted FOR this bill.
(Source: The New American – December 10, 2007)


Warrantless Searches.

H.R. 6304, the bill to revamp the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), would allow warrantless electronic surveillance, including monitoring telephone conversations and e-mails, of foreign targets, including those communicating with American citizens in the United States. The final version of the bill would not explicitly grant immunity to telecommunications companies that have assisted President Bush’s warrantless surveillance program. But it would require courts to dismiss lawsuits against such companies if there is “substantial evidence” they were insured in writing the program was legal and authorized by the president. The provision would almost certainly result in the dismissal of the lawsuits. The House passed H.R. 6304 on June 20, 2008 by a vote of 293-129 (Roll Call 437). Warrantless searches are a violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects Americans against unreasonable searches and seizures, and requires that any searches be conducted only upon issuance of a warrant under conditions of probable cause. Moreover, Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution forbids “ex post facto laws” — laws having a retroactive effect.

Marsha Blackburn voted FOR this bill.
(Source: The New American – October 27, 2008)


Employee Verification Program.

H.R. 6633 would reauthorize the EVerify (Internet-based) pilot employment eligibility verification program allowing employers to verify employment eligibility of new hires. The program is administered by the Department of Homeland Security, which would be required to provide funding to the Social Security Administration for checking Social Security numbers submitted by employers under the program. The House passed the bill on July 31, 2008 by a vote of 407-2 (Roll Call 557). Social Security numbers were not intended to be used and should not be used as the basis for a national ID database. An alternative measure (H.R. 5515) would have the screening for employment eligibility verification provided by stateadministered
private companies that already track employee verification for child-support enforcement.

Marsha Blackburn voted FOR this bill.
(Source: The New American – October 27, 2008)
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Body Imaging Screening.

During consideration of the Transportation Security Administration Authorization bill (H.R. 2200), Rep. Jason Chaffetz (RUtah) offered an amendment that would prohibit the use of Whole-Body Imaging (WBI) as the primary method of screening at airports. The amendment would allow passengers the option of a patdown search rather than being subjected to a WBI search that shows extremely intimate details of one’s body. The Chaffetz amendment would also prohibit TSA from storing, copying, or transferring any images that are produced by WBI machines. Since its creation, TSA has become infamous for its meddlesome searches and disregard for an individual’s right of privacy. Evidence shows that corruption and
mismanagement have been commonplace within the relatively new federal department for years. The Chaffetz amendment would do very little to scale back the power held by the TSA, but it does offer some hope that our representatives are not wholly unaware of how the TSA and its policies would threaten the privacy of American citizens through a process that has been called a “virtual strip-search.” The House adopted the Chaffetz amendment by a “Committee of the Whole” on June 4, 2009, by a vote of 310-118 (Roll Call 305). Such technology is obtrusive for American citizens and violates our right of protection against unwarranted searches and seizures.

Marsha Blackburn voted AGAINST this bill.
(Source: The New American – July 20, 2009)

Marsha Blackburn wants to put a “Radio Frequency Identification Device” (RFID) in your animals.

Defunding the NAIS.


Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) introduced this amendment to the fiscal 2007 agriculture appropriations (H.R.

5384). Paul’s amendment would bar the use of funds in the bill to implement the National Animal

Identification System (NAIS), a government program that would electronically track farm cattle and

poultry in hopes of preventing the spread of disease. Writing about the program, Paul stated, “NAIS means

more government, more regulations, more fees, more federal spending, less privacy, and diminished

property rights.” The House rejected Paul’s amendment on May 23, 2006, by a vote of 34-389 (Roll Call

184).

Marsha Blackburn Voted AGAINST this bill.

109-3 (Source: The New American, July 10, 2006)

Marsha Blackburn has voted to reauthorize the Patriot Act which in essence makes any ordinary American citizen a terrorist.

Patriot Act Reauthorization.

In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Congress passed the so-called Patriot Act, which gave law enforcement and intelligence agencies vast new powers to combat terrorism. The act expanded the list of crimes deemed terrorist acts; increased the ability of law enforcement to secretly search homes and business records; expanded the FBI’s wiretapping and surveillance authority; and provided for nationwide jurisdiction for search
warrants and electronic surveillance devices, including the legal extension of those devices to e-mail and the Internet. The bill included a “sunset” provision under which the new surveillance powers “shall cease to have effect on December 31, 2005.” The Patriot Act reauthorization bill (H.R. 3199) considered by the current Congress would make permanent 14 of the 16 provisions set to expire at the end of this year and extend for 10 years the remaining two provisions. The House passed the reauthorization on July 21, 2005 by a vote of 257-171 (Roll Call 414).

Marsha Blackburn Voted FOR this bill.
109-2 (Source: The New American, December 12, 2005)

Patriot Act Reauthorization.

This is the final version (conference report) of the Patriot Act reauthorization (H.R. 3199). In the weeks following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Congress quickly passed the so-called Patriot Act, which gave law enforcement and intelligence agencies vast new powers to combat terrorism. The act increased the ability of law enforcement to secretly search home and business records, expanded the FBI’s wiretapping and surveillance authority, and expanded the list of crimes deemed terrorist acts. When passed in 2001 the bill included a “sunset” provision under which the new surveillance powers “shall cease to have effect on December 21, 2005.” The Patriot Act reauthorization bill (H.R. 3199) considered by Congress last year would make permanent 14 of the 16 provisions included in the bill, and extend for four years the two remaining provisions. The House passed the final version of the bill to reauthorize the Patriot Act on December 14, 2005 by a vote of 251-174 (Roll Call 627).

Marsha Blackburn Voted FOR this bill.
109-3 (Source: The New American, July 10, 2006)


Patriot Act Without Reforms, Passes House.

An extension of the Patriot Act with no reforms of its abusive powers of unreasonable search and seizure against American citizens has passed the House of Representatives. The vote was 315 in favor of extending the Patriot Act without reform, 97 against, and 20 not voting.

Search for information about the roll call of this vote online tonight, and you’ll just find this nameless tally of numbers. You won’t find the names. Why?

The reason is that the House Democratic leadership voted on the renewal of the Patriot Act in such a way as to hide the vote from the American people. Go to the web site of the Clerk of the House, and you’ll see no vote from today about the Patriot Act at all. What you will see is Roll Call 67, “On Motion to Concur in Senate Amendments” for H.R. 3961, the Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act.

That’s the vote on whether to extend the Patriot Act without any reforms of its abusive spying programs. It doesn’t look like it, of course, but the Patriot Act extension is what’s referred to by “Senate Amendments”. The Senate Democrats sneaked the Patriot Act extension into a Medicare reform bill, and then voted by voice vote to approve the amendment so that no politician would have to have their name attached to this shameless abandonment of liberty. The House Democrats benefited from the maneuver as well, being able to vote on unnamed amendments related to Medicare reform, rather than having it on the record for everyone to see that they voted to renew the worst abuses of the Patriot Act without any effort to protect Americans from their spying powers at all.


Marsha Blackburn Voted FOR this bill.
(Source "Irregular Times" )

Military Tribunals.

This bill (H.R. 6166) would authorize a new system of military tribunals to try persons designated “unlawful enemy combatants” by the president. The bill defines an unlawful enemy combatant to include a person who “has purposely and materially supported hostilities against the United States or its cobelligerents.” Once designated an unlawful enemy combatant, a defendant’s rights would be curtailed: he would be denied the right of habeas corpus; he could be detained indefinitely; and evidence obtained through coercion could be used against him — so long as the coercion falls outside the administration’s definition of torture. Critics of the tribunals bill are planning to file suit in order to test the constitutionality of the legislation. This legislation was in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 29 ruling on the case of Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, which declared that the administration’s current system for trying military detainees was unconstitutional. The House passed the military tribunals bill on September 27, 2006 by a
vote of 253-168 (Roll Call 491). This bill would curtail defendant rights. The Senate passed this legislation the following day.

Marsha Blackburn voted FOR this bill.
(Source: The New American - October 30, 2006)

Marsha Blackburn has been consistently voting to send your hard earned income overseas with various Foreign Aid deals.

Foreign Aid.


This appropriations bill (H.R. 3057) would provide $20.3 billion for U.S. foreign aid programs in fiscal

2006. The House passed the foreign aid bill on June 28, 2005 by a vote of 393-32 (Roll Call 335).


Marsha Blackburn Voted FOR this bill.

109-2 (Source: The New American, December 12, 2005)


Foreign Aid.


The final version (conference report) of this appropriations bill (H.R. 3057) would provide $21 billion for

U.S. foreign aid programs in fiscal 2006. The House passed the final version of this legislation on

November 4, 2005 by a vote of 358-39 (Roll Call 569).


Marsha Blackburn Voted FOR this bill.

109-3 (Source: The New American, July 10, 2006)


Foreign Aid.


The fiscal 2007 foreign aid appropriations bill (H.R. 5522) would authorize $21.3 billion for foreign

operations and economic assistance in fiscal 2007. Though foreign aid is supposed to help the poor and

suffering in other countries, it instead has served to prop up economically deficient socialist regimes and to

transfer wealth from American taxpayers to third-world elites. The House passed H.R. 5522 on June 9,

2006 by a vote of 373-34 (Roll Call 250). Foreign aid is unconstitutional and unworkable.

Marsha Blackburn Voted FOR this bill.

(Source: The New American - October 30, 2006)

Marsha Blackburn supports large agri-business with your money.

Agriculture Appropriations.

This bill (H.R. 2673) would appropriate $77.5 billion for agriculture, rural development and nutrition programs in fiscal 2004. Over half of the money appropriated by this “agriculture” bill is earmarked for socalled mandatory spending on nutrition programs, including $28 billion for food stamps and $16 billion for school lunch and other nutrition programs. Total spending for traditional agricultural programs is $26.8 billion, a 5 percent increase. The House passed H.R. 2673 on July 14, 2003 by a vote of 347 to 64 (Roll Call 358).

Marsha Blackburn Voted FOR this bill.
108-2 (Source: The New American, December 29, 2003)


Agriculture Appropriations.

This bill (H.R. 4766) would appropriate $83.7 billion for agriculture, rural development, and nutrition programs in fiscal 2005. Over half ($50.2 billion) of the funding in the so- called agriculture appropriations bill would be for domestic food and nutrition programs, including $33.6 billion for the food stamp program and $11.3 billion for child nutrition programs. Another $27 billion would be for agriculture programs, including $16.5 billion for the Commodity Credit Corporation. The House passed H.R. 4766 on July 13, 2004 by a vote of 389 to 31 (Roll Call 370).

Marsha Blackburn Voted FOR this bill.
108-4 (Source: The New American, November 1, 2004)

Farm Bill (Veto Override).

H.R. 6124 would authorize the nation’s farm programs for the next five years, including crop subsidies and nutrition programs. The final version of the legislation provides $289 billion for these programs, including a $10.4 billion boost in spending for nutrition programs such as food stamps. After this legislation was vetoed by President Bush, the House passed the bill over the president’s veto on June 18, 2008 by a vote of 317-109 (Roll Call 417). A two-thirds majority vote is required to override a presidential veto. Federal aid to farmers and federal food aid to individuals are not authorized by the Constitution.

Marsha Blackburn voted FOR this bill.
(Source: The New American – October 27, 2008)

Marsha Blackburn supports using your Social Security contributions as a way of offsetting the Federal Deficit.

Fiscal 2005 Budget Resolution.


This resolution (House Concurrent Resolution 393) would establish broad spending and revenue targets

over the next five years. It calls for $871.3 billion in “discretionary” spending (including $50 billion for

supplemental funding of operations in Iraq) and another $1.5 trillion in “mandatory” spending for fiscal

2005. Based on these targets, the “mandatory” spending portion of the budget would increase by 5 percent

over last year, and the total budget — a whopping $2.4 trillion — would increase by 3 percent This

resolution projects that the budget deficit would be cut significantly by fiscal 2009 (from $376.8 billion in

fiscal 2005 to $234 billion in fiscal 2009); however, according to a Congressional Quarterly Fact Sheet,

“Budget Resolution for FY 2005,” these projected deficits are deceptively low due to an accounting sleightof

hand whereby “these deficits are calculated by using the surpluses in the Social Security trust funds to

offset spending on other programs. If these Social Security surpluses are not counted, the projected deficits

in each fiscal year would be $550.7 billion in FY 2005 and $471.8 billion in FY 2009.” The House adopted

this resolution on March 25, 2004 by a vote of 215 to 212 (Roll Call 92).

Marsha Blackburn Voted FOR this bill.

108-3 (Source: The New American, July12, 2004)

Marsha Blackburn Supports Sending Your Jobs Overseas

U.S.-Singapore Trade.

This bill (H.R. 2739) would implement a trade agreement to reduce tariffs and trade barriers between the United States and Singapore. A similar bill, the U.S.-Chile Trade Agreement (H.R. 2738), was presented to Congress at the same time as the U.S.-Singapore Trade Agreement. These are the first in a series of bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs) that the Bush administration is negotiating, which will culminate in 2005 in the largest and most significant FTA of them all, the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). The model for the FTAA is the European Union (EU), formerly the “Common Market,” which has grown by design from a supposed free trade agreement into a supranational government for Europe.
The world order architects intend for the FTAA to follow the same trajectory for the Americas. The House passed H.R. 2739 on July 24, 2003 by a vote of 272 to 155 (Roll Call 432).

Marsha Blackburn Voted FOR this bill.
108-2 (Source: The New American, December 29, 2003)


U.S.-Chile Trade.

This bill (H.R. 2738) would implement a trade agreement to reduce tariffs and trade barriers between the United States and Chile. The significance of this trade agreement is like that of the U.S.-Singapore Trade Agreement described above. The House passed H.R. 2738 on July 24, 2003 by a vote of 270 to 156 (Roll Call 436).

Marsha Blackburn Voted FOR this bill.
108-2 (Source: The New American, December 29, 2003)

WTO Withdrawal.

Representatives Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Ron Paul (R-Texas) sponsored this measure (House Joint Resolution 27) to withdraw the United States from the World Trade Organization. The WTO is often portrayed as a “free trade” arrangement by its supporters, but it is actually an international bureaucracy that manages trade and imposes its rulings on member nations including the United States — even when those rulings are contrary to U.S. laws. In fact, U.S. membership in the WTO is unconstitutional, since under our Constitution, Congress — not an international body — “shall have the power … to regulate foreign commerce.” That power cannot be transferred short of a constitutional amendment. The House rejected the WTO withdrawal measure on June 9, 2005 by a vote of 86-338 (Roll Call 239).

Marsha Blackburn Voted AGAINST this bill.
109-1 (Source: The New American, August 8, 2005)

CAFTA.

This bill (H.R. 3045) would implement the proposed Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), thereby expanding the devastating consequences of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), including the job losses wrought by NAFTA. CAFTA is intended by the Power Elite to be a steppingstone from NAFTA to the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), which would include all of the countries of the Western Hemisphere except (for now) Cuba. Like NAFTA, which has already begun imposing its trade rulings on America, CAFTA
and the FTAA would not be genuine free trade arrangements; they would instead manage trade and would gradually exercise more powers on the road to a supranational government modeled after the European Union.

The House passed CAFTA on July 28, 2005 by a vote of 217-215 (Roll Call 443).

Marsha Blackburn Voted FOR this bill.
109-2 (Source: The New American, December 12, 2005)

Oman Trade Agreement.

The Oman Free Trade Agreement (H.R. 5684) would reduce most tariffs and duties between Oman and the United States H.R. 5684 was considered under fast track authority, which requires Congress to expedite consideration of presidentially negotiated trade pacts without offering amendments. The Oman agreement is just one steppingstone in the White House’s effort to form a Middle Eastern Free Trade Area (MEFTA) by 2013. These so-called free trade agreements have historically failed because they encourage the relocation of U.S. jobs to foreign countries so that the companies can get cheap labor. Meanwhile, they don’t provide the United States with trade benefits — largely because the people in those countries cannot afford to buy our products — hereby harming the U.S. economy. The agreements also put our economic
destiny in the hands of unelected foreign bureaucrats, such as those at the World Trade Organization. The House passed H.R. 5684 by a vote of 221-205 on July 20, 2006 (Roll Call 392). Such trade agreements damage the U.S. economy and threaten U.S. sovereignty by the imposition of international regulations.

Marsha Blackburn Voted FOR this bill.
(Source: The New American - October 30, 2006)

Peru Free Trade Agreement.

The Peru Free Trade Agreement (H.R. 3688) is another in a series of free-trade agreements to transfer the power to regulate trade (and other powers as well) to regional arrangements. Other examples include the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). However, the Committee on Ways and Means Report accompanying H.R. 3688 noted that “the Peru FTA has become the first U.S. free trade agreement to include, in its core text fully enforceable commitments by the Parties to adopt, maintain, and enforce basic international labor standards, as stated in the 1988 ILO
Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.” The ILO, or International Labor
Organization, is a UN agency. The House passed the bill by a vote of 285-132 (Roll Call 1060) on
November 8, 2007. The Peru FTA and other so-called free-trade arrangements threaten our national independence and (as we’ve seen with NAFTA) harm our economy.

Marsha Blackburn voted FOR this bill.
(Source: The New American – December 10, 2007)

Marsha Blackburn Supports the United Nations.

Ban on UN Contributions.


This amendment to H.R. 1950 (Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2004 and 2005) by Rep

Ron Paul (R-Texas) stated that “none of the funds authorized … by this Act may be obligated or expended

to pay any United States contribution to the United Nations or any affiliated agency of the United Nations.”

The House rejected this amendment to H.R. 1950 on July 15, 2003 by a vote of 74 to 350 (Roll Call 364).


Marsha Blackburn Voted AGAINST this bill.

108-2 (Source: The New American, December 29, 2003)


UN Dues Decrease.


During consideration of the Commerce-Justice appropriations bill (H.R. 2862), Rep. J.D. Hayworth (RAriz.)

offered an amendment to cut the U.S. “contribution” to the United Nations by $218 million. The

House rejected Hayworth’s amendment on June 15, 2005 by a vote of 124- 304 (Roll Call 253).


Marsha Blackburn Voted AGAINST this bill.

109-1 (Source: The New American, August 8, 2005)


UN “Reforms.”

On the surface, this United Nations “reform” bill (H.R. 2745) appears to be a conservative” get tough

response to UN corruption. It would withhold up to 50 percent of U.S. dues to the UN unless the UN makes

certain operational changes, and many “conservatives” voted for it. In reality, the legislation calls for

strengthening the UN in the name of “reform.” Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) warned in his June 13 Texas

Straight Talk column that the “reform” bill supports creation of a “Peace building Commission,” which

“will serve as the implementing force for the internationalization of what were formerly internal affairs of

sovereign nations.” The House passed the UN “reform” bill on June 17, 2005 by a vote of 221-184 (Roll

Call 282).


Marsha Blackburn Voted FOR this bill.

109-1 (Source: The New American, August 8, 2005)

Marsha Blackburn Likes To Spend Your Money

Fiscal 2003 Omnibus Appropriations.

The final version (conference report) of House Joint Resolution 2 would provide $397 billion in fiscal 2003 for all Cabinet departments and government agencies covered in 11 unfinished spending bills from the 107th Congress. The bills included are: Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-State, District of Columbia, Energy and Water Development, Foreign Operations, Interior, Labor-HHS-Education, Legislative Branch, Transportation, Treasury-Postal Service, and VA-HUD. The problem with the omnibus approach is that thousands of unconstitutional activities are lumped together with legitimate legislation in one massive bill.
Thus, big government is perpetuated with a minimum of accountability. The House adopted the conference report on H. J. Res. 2 on February 13, 2003 by a vote of 338 to 83 (Roll Call 32).

Marsha Blackburn Voted FOR this bill.
108-1 (Source: The New American, July 14, 2003)


Budget Resolution —Final Version.

The final version (conference report) of the budget resolution (House Concurrent Resolution 95) would authorize federal spending for fiscal 2004 of $1,861 billion dollars with a deficit of $558 billion and an increase in the public debt ceiling of $984 billion. This planned deficit of $558 billion dwarfs the previous record federal deficit of $290 billion in 1992. The $984 billion increase in the public debt ceiling authorized in this bill constituted, under Rule XXVII of the House, approval of the debt limit increase bill (House Joint Resolution 51) without having to cast a separate vote just on increasing the debt ceiling. Subsequently the Senate passed H. J. Res. 51 and President Bush signed it into law, increasing the public debt ceiling by $984 billion (for a new total of $7.4 trillion) and giving Congress a green light to continue its fiscally irresponsible ways. This resolution also includes $400 billion for a Medicare prescription drug benefit for 2004-2013. The House adopted the conference report on H. Con. Res. 95 on April 11, 2003 by a vote of 216 to 211 (Roll Call 141).

Marsha Blackburn Voted FOR this bill.
108-1 (Source: The New American, July 14, 2003)

Supplemental Appropriations.

The final version (conference report) of this supplemental appropriations bill H.R. 1268) would add another $82 billion to the federal budget for fiscal 2005. The supplemental pending, even if needed and constitutional, should not have been added on to the annual federal budget after the fact, but should have been included as part of the regular appropriations process. The supplemental spending in this bill includes $75.9 billion for defense-related purposes, most of it for the military occupation of Iraq, and $907 million for tsunami victims, the latter clearly unconstitutional. One particularly objectionable element of this legislation is the REAL ID Act, which was added to the supplemental appropriations bill by the conference
committee. The REAL ID Act would authorize the federal government to impose national standards for driver’s licenses and thereby develop a national ID system. The House adopted the final version of H.R. 1268 on May 5, 2005 by vote of 368-58 (Roll Call 161).

Marsha Blackburn Voted FOR this bill.
109-1 (Source: The New American, August 8, 2005)

Supplemental Appropriations.

The Fiscal 2009 Supplemental Appropriations bill (H.R. 2346) would provide an additional $96.7 billion in “emergency” funding for the current fiscal year over and above the regular appropriations. Included in the funds for H.R. 2346 is $84.5 billion for the ongoing operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, $10 billion for foreign aid programs, and $2 billion for flu pandemic preparation. The House passed H.R. 2346 on May 14, 2009, by a vote of 368-60 (Roll Call 265). The spending is over and above what the federal government had already budgeted, the United States never declared war against Iraq and Afghanistan, and some of the spending (e.g., foreign aid) is unconstitutional.

Marsha Blackburn voted FOR this bill.
(Source: The New American – July 20, 2009)

Conservatives Vs. Liberals

What is the difference between a conservative and a liberal?????

A conservative is someone who can count.
A liberal is liberal with the truth,
liberal with someone else’s money and child’s life.

What do we really have here??????