I. No More Czars

Three new bills will provide accountability, oversight, and transparency:
The controversies surrounding several of the President’s Czars (including Van Jones, the Green Jobs Czar who recently resigned) has highlighted the need for a complete reform of the process of executive appointments of high level officials who make policy, act outside of their statutory authority, and do not undergo the process of Senate confirmation. To be sure, President Obama is not the first President to appoint Czars, however, he has appointed no less than 34 Czars including: Border Czar; Stimulus Accountability Czar; Guantanamo Closure Czar; Compensation Czar; WMD Czar; New TARP Czar; Car Czar; Great Lakes Czar; and TARP Oversight Czar – to name a few. I have cosponsored three bills which will reign in this process of appointing czars. H.R. 3227 Czar Accountability & Reform Act (authored by Rep. Jack Kingston, R-GA) would prohibit funds from being used to fund salaries or expenses of a task force or council headed by a person who has been appointed to the position without the advice and consent (confirmation) of the Senate. Congressman Kingston has a website where you can read the bill and find out more about the czars: http://kingston.house.gov/czar/. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has authored H.Con.Res. 185 which calls for oversight hearings on the czars and requests the President report to Congress on the responsibilities, authorities, and qualifications of the czars. Finally, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) has authored H.R. 3569, the SAC (Sunset All Czars) Act which provides sunset dates for all appointed Czars and requires Senate confirmation for those positions.

II. ACORN Cracks

ACORN shouldn’t receive one more penny of taxpayer money:
Many of you have contacted me wondering why ACORN has continued to receive taxpayer funding in light of the fact that current/former employees of ACORN are under indictment for voter registration fraud in several states. For several years now, House Republicans have repeatedly offered amendments (in the bailout, stimulus, and appropriations bills) to strip funding from ACORN, but each time the amendments were defeated on party line votes. On my committee, we’ve offered amendments stating that no taxpayer funding should go to ACORN and each and every time, those amendments were also defeated. Fortunately, in light of the recent scandals plaguing ACORN, two important things have happened. First, the Census Bureau has decided against working with ACORN during the 2010 Census. Second, the Senate voted 83-7 to strip funding from ACORN in the Transportation-HUD Appropriations Bill. I believe that the American people deserve to know that their money is not being spent to fund illegal activity. I have therefore cosponsored H.R. 2715 Taxpayer Protection & Anti-Fraud Act which prohibits any HUD financial assistance to: (1) any organization that has been indicted for a violation under federal or state law relating to an election for federal or state office; or (2) any organization that employs an individual indicted for such a violation. With recent events simmering, I have joined as a cosponsor of Rep. John Boehner’s bill H.R. 3571 Defund ACORN Act which would terminate all federal funding to ACORN and its affiliates. This is not the end. I have joined Rep. Spencer Bachus (Ranking Member on the Financial Services Committee), Rep. Darrell Issa (Ranking Member on the Oversight & Government Reform Committee), and Rep. Lamar Smith (Ranking Member on the Judiciary Committee) in calling for oversight hearings and a thorough investigation by the Justice Department into ACORN’s activities. 

III. This week’s votes on the floor, hearings, and markups

Each week I get the opportunity to represent you in Congress by: 1) voting on legislation that comes to the House floor; and 2) participating in committee hearings and markups for the Committee on Financial Services. 

Key House Floor Votes

Remembering the Attacks of September 11, 2001:
On Wednesday, September 9th, The House unanimously passed H.Res.722 which:
• Recognizes September 11th as a day of mourning and remembrance
• Extends sympathies to friends, families, and loved ones of the victims
• Honors the heroic service and sacrifices of first responders, law enforcement personnel, state and local officials, and others who risked and, in some cases, sacrificed their lives to provide aid to the victims
• Expresses gratitude to foreign leaders and citizens for assisting the U.S. in fighting terrorism
• Recognizes the heroic service, actions, and sacrifices of the U.S. Armed Forces and civilian personnel to defend our country against terrorists
• Vows to continue to identify, intercept, and defeat terrorists

Committee on Financial Services

Making Homes Affordable Program
On Wednesday, September 9th, the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity held a hearing entitled “Progress of the Making Home Affordable Program: What Are the Outcomes for Homeowners and What Are the Obstacles to Success?” Testifying before the Subcommittee were representatives from: the U.S. Treasury Department; the U.S. Dept. of HUD; Cato Institute; Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Servicing; National Consumer Law Center; Credit Loss Mitigation Strategies, Bank of America; Credit Home Lending, JP Morgan Chase; and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

The World Bank and Global Development Outcomes
On Thursday, September 10th, the full Committee held a hearing entitled “The World Bank’s Disclosure Policy Review and the Role of Democratic Participatory Processes in Achieving Successful Development Outcomes.” Testifying before the Committee were representatives from: Columbia University; Harvard Business School, George Washington University, the Center for Global Development; and the National Research Council.

IV. Recommended Reading

There have been many articles written in newspapers and on websites about the problems with the current health care reform proposals. An editorial by Investor’s Business Daily on 9/11/09, however, is the most succinct, lucid, erudite, and systematic treatment of the problems confronting the bill which the President spoke of in his address to Congress. The editorial methodically rebuts all of points made by the President in an easy-to-read format. Please take the time to read this article here.

V. Great Quotes in History

“The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups.”
-Henry Hazlitt, author of Economics in One Lesson and The Failure of the New Economics

“Governmental subsidy systems promote inefficiency in production and efficiency in coercion and subservience, while penalizing efficiency in production and inefficiency in predation.”
-Murray Rothbard, author of America’s Great Depression and Money, Economy & State

“Manufacturing and commercial monopolies owe their origin not to a tendency imminent in a capitalist economy but to governmental interventionist policy directed against free trade and laissez faire.”
-Ludwig von Mises, author of Human Action: A Treatise on Economics

I am honored to represent the 24th District of Texas, and appreciate your interest in my e-newsletter.  Please contact my District or DC office with any further questions you may have or visit my website at www.marchant.house.gov. You can also become my Facebook friend here or follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/RepKenMarchant.