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

“No” to Ill-Conceived Economic Stimulus Bill:
On Friday, February 13th, I opposed H.R. 1. A mere 15 hours after this 1,000-plus page bill was made available for review, the largest spending bill in the history of the United States was rammed through without a single member being able to read the entire bill. There are a number of reasons why I opposed the bill, but I must ask why, if this bill was such an emergency, was it not signed Friday evening when the Senate passed it? Instead, the President signed the bill into law four days later in Denver. There was not one hearing to discuss new federal programs included in this bill. And, when we succeeded in getting 3 bipartisan amendments approved by the committees of jurisdiction, they were arbitrarily taken out of the bill by the Speaker before they reached the floor – something that has never happened before in my four years as a Congressman. Many people often say that the perfect should not be the enemy of the good, but I believe, in this bill, the wasteful is the enemy of the effective. H.R. 1 had too much unnecessary (and non-stimulative) items that should have been considered during the regular budget and appropriations process.

No one I know believed that inaction was an option. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected, however, that the long-term impact of H.R. 1 will not only be a slow down in economic growth, but a contraction of our economic output. I did support an alternative that I believe would have had a great stimulative effect on our economy. The earmark-free proposal would:

• Lower the lowest individual tax rates from 15% to 10% and from 10% to 5%;
• Allow small businesses to take a tax deduction equal to 20% of their income;
• Make unemployment benefits tax free;
• Extend unemployment benefits through December 2009;
• Gives a $7,500 home-buyers credit for those making a minimum 5% down-payment;
• Expands the New Operating Losses (NOL) carryback rules for 5 years rather than 2 years;
• Extends bonus depreciation / small business expensing from 2008 Stimulus Package;
• Repeals the 3% withholding requirement for government contractors; and
• Provides a new above-the-line deduction for those who do not receive tax-preferred, employer-sponsored health coverage. This would be available to those who must purchase the own insurance regardless of whether they itemize or take the standard deduction.

I believe this bill would reignite the economy and provide more stimulus (at a lower cost) to families, small businesses, job-seekers, and home-buyers.

Committee on Financial Services

Federal Reserve Bank and Liquidity:
On Tuesday, February 10th, the Committee on Financial Services held a hearing entitled, “An Examination of the Extraordinary Efforts by the Federal Reserve Bank to Provide Liquidity in the Current Financial Crisis.” Testifying before the Committee was Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke. Bernanke’s main point was that he felt lending by the Federal Reserve Bank had helped lower interbank lending rates and would unfreeze consumer credit in the near term. Now that the Fed has lowered the benchmark interest rate as low as possible, it will be up to the many liquidity facilities the Fed has created to provide liquidity and lending in the many credit markets important to businesses and consumers. 

TARP Oversight and Accountability:

On Wednesday, February 11th, the Committee on Financial Services held a hearing entitled, “TARP Accountability: Use of Federal Assistance by the First TARP Recipients.” Testifying before the Committee were the CEOs of Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of New York Mellon, Morgan Stanley, and State Street Corporation. Republicans on the Committee were unsure about why this hearing was scheduled since the second half of TARP money ($350 billion), which I opposed, had already been released. Even so, this hearing was constructive because we were able to hear 1) how the first half of TARP money was spent, 2) when they plan to pay back the money, and 3) what their overall exit strategy is. They all expressed optimism that the credit markets have stabilized, yet there are many issues yet to be addressed. In the coming weeks and months, the Committee will step up efforts to oversee increased lending and increased oversight of TARP expenditures. We must know where every cent of taxpayer money goes and have a clear plan for how it will be paid back. While Americans are hurting and angry at our banks, getting credit flowing again is one of the keys to pulling out of this recession.

Guantanamo Detainees Should not be Brought to Texas

Any effort to ship dangerous enemy combatants to Texas will be vigorously opposed:
On February 11th, I joined 19 of my colleagues from the Texas delegation in signing a letter to President Obama expressing our concerns that he may be considering moving Guantanamo Bay terrorists to facilities in Texas. This comes after he signed an Executive Order on January 22nd, which mandates that the Guantanamo facilities be closed “as soon as practicable, and no later than 1 year from the date of this order.” It goes on to further state that the detainees “shall be returned to their home country, released, transferred to a third country, or transferred to another United States detention facility[…].” Under no circumstance is it acceptable for any detainees to be released to facilities in Texas, particularly when there are compelling reasons and legal justifications for keeping them at Guantanamo. Furthermore, any effort to bring them to U.S. soil would likely grant them constitutional rights and access to highly-classified information simply because of their location on American soil. I opposed the Executive Order when it was first issued because the President had not – and still as not – laid out a plan for what he plans to do with the detainees. Ironically, the order came days after it was learned a detainee who had been released to Yemen is now Deputy Chief of Al-Qaeda in Yemen.

Parental Rights must be Recognized and Respected

Explicit constitutional protection is necessary:
The right of parents to raise their children without interference from the state is essential. Many, however, argue that because the Constitution does not explicitly grant such a right, one must be created through Constitutional Amendment. For this reason, I have joined as a co-sponsor of H. J. Res. 97 “The Parental Rights Amendment” authored by Pete Hoekstra (R-MI). If adopted, the Amendment states that parents’ liberty to direct the upbringing and education of their children is a fundamental right. It goes on further to clarify that any effort by the federal government or state government to infringe upon this right is unconstitutional unless it is demonstrated that its governmental interest as applied to the person is of the highest order and not otherwise served. It also states that no treaty may be adopted nor shall any source of international law be employed to supersede, modify, interpret, or apply to the rights guaranteed by this amendment.

This week in history

In 1889, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is established as a cabinet-level agency.

In 1923, Texas Tech is founded.

In 1964, the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show for the first time.

In 1969, the Boeing 747 flies its first flight.

In 1990, Nelson Mandela is released after 27 years in prison.

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.