Republican Congress Declares War On Ordinary Americans


Well, not really, but they may just as well have. As Congress tries to wind up business before the holidays, it seems that they have nothing but bad bills that they want to pass. Please take a moment out of your week to call our senators (especially Gordon Smith), and tell them that you don’t support these citizen-hostile laws.

Energy Bill - dubbed the “Leave No Lobbyist Behind” act by John McCain, even the Oregonian editorial board is against this one. Billions in unneeded tax giveaways for oil and gas, blocks lawsuits against MTBE polluters, and guts the ability of states to regulate electrical rates (funny how Republicans are for state’s rights except when they are trumped by corporate rights?). The changes to the electrical regulation alone will make your hair stand on end: repeals the 1935 Public Utility Holding Company Act, allows utilities to cut rate deals with after-the-fact oversight by a toothless FERC. John Podesta of TomPaine.com writes :

The final form of the energy legislation being considered by congressional negotiators remains uncertain, but what has leaked out of the conference committee to date, if enacted into law, would be a giant step backwards for energy policy and for our nation. Any meaningful energy policy must meet three main goals: it must reduce dependence on unstable forms of energy, advance technologies that create jobs and reduce pollution, and help deliver reliable, affordable energy. The current energy bill fails on all counts. Largely the product of the still-secret 2001 Energy Task Force headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, the bill is a prime example of the dangers of opaque decision making--where the process is not subject to public scrutiny, key voices are denied a seat at the table and deals are cut in the proverbial smoke-filled backroom. What has been produced is not a cohesive energy strategy but a loose conglomeration of symbolic programs and massive political payoffs that, taken together, constitute a public fraud on the American people.

For more views on the subject of energy, visit http://www.crisispapers.org/topics/energy.htm

Medicare - Puzzled why AARP is supporting the Medicare Bill? Simple: they stand to make tens of millions of dollars via their insurance business if it passes. Rep. Bernie Sanders writes in “Why does President Bush want to double the cost of prescription drugs for one million Americans? ”,

The answer, of course, is money, money, MONEY! The pharmaceutical industry, the wealthiest and most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill, is funneling millions in campaign contributions and other forms of political help to the President and the Republican leadership. The White House and their Congressional allies are working diligently to protect the industry's record-breaking profits rather than the needs of the American people. Surprise, surprise.... If the American people want to see the prices of prescription drugs reduced, they had better start contacting their Senators - immediately. I can assure you that the drug companies' 675 well-paid lobbyists are already doing just that.

For more views on social welfare, see http://www.crisispapers.org/topics/social-welfare.htm

Patriot Act Expansion - yet another assault on our Constitution, this law is attached to a spending bill as a rider, and would give the FBI the ability to issue administrative subpeonas without judicial oversight. This is not what the framers of our Constitution intended; our country should retain its checks and balances on executive branch power. Jim Lobe of OneWorld US wrote this news article :

"I'm concerned about this," Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin, who tried unsuccessfully to limit the life of the new provision, told the New York Times. "The idea of expanding the powers of government gives everyone pause except the Republican leadership."

  The government wants these powers in order to more effectively prosecute the "war on terrorism," although critics warn that, once given these powers, the FBI may use them in cases that are not relevant to terrorism in order to gather evidence against other targets of investigation.

  Indeed, recent Senate hearings have covered incidents in which information about individuals was obtained by the FBI through the use of its counter-terrorism powers even though the such investigations were directed against what the ACLU called "garden-variety criminals."

  The provision not only permits the FBI to seize records from more kinds of businesses; it also forbids businesses from informing their clients about the seizures.

For on the Patriot Act, and its successors, visit http://www.crisispapers.org/topics/usa-patriot.htm

Overtime Pay - no, our hardworking Republican congress is not done yet. They still want to rewrite labor rules to make millions of American workers ineligible for over-time pay... yes, that’s really going to pull us out of this recession, cutting back worker’s pay. This odious move was voted out of Congress already once this year, but like the Energizer Bunny From Hell it keeps coming back.

To learn more about this, visit http://www.unionvoice.org/wfean/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=158556

Senate Contacts:
Senator Gordon Smith: Portland (503)326-3386
Washington (202)224-3753
http://www.senate.gov/~gsmith/
Senator Ron Wyden: Portland (503) 326-7525,
Washington (202) 224-5244
http://www.senate.gov/~wyden/

Posted: Sun - November 23, 2003 at 01:55 PM        

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