Action Alert - S. 1390: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010

This week, the Senate is considering S. 1390: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010. There are some members who are attempting to amend this bill with H.R. 1913: Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 or S. 909: Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act .

To track updates to this bills visit http://concernedinnepa.blogspot.com/.


WHAT CAN YOU DO TO STOP THIS?
Stop what you’re doing… and email, phone and/or fax all Senators now. Tell them NO Hate Crimes Legislation!
Go here to find your US Senate contact information: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Forward this alert to all your friends, family, neighbors and encourage them to do likewise.. now!

Here is a sample letter that you can email or fax to your Senators

Dear Senator:

I am very disappointed that the Senate is considering fast-tracking the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 (H.R. 1913) by attaching it as an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill. I respectfully request that you please Vote NO on any amendments to S. 1390 which are related to Hate Crimes Legislation, for the following reasons:
(1) This Hate Crimes Legislation is so controversial that it must be considered as a stand-alone bill, not rushed as an amendment.
(2) Hate Crimes legislation is unconstitutional. The 14th Amendment requires that all citizens be given equal treatment under the law. Hate crimes laws create special classes of victims and do not treat all victims fairly.
(3) Hate Crimes legislation could ultimately lead to prosecution for thoughts and restrictions on free speech and religious liberty. Although it prosecutes only “acts of violence” and does not prosecute expressions or opinions, it opens the door to examining the thoughts of not only a criminal, but everyone with whom he may have come into contact. This bill could be used to advance the politically correct agenda by providing greater protections for certain classes of people. Future legislation could expand these protections and place restrictions on religious liberty and free speech.
(4) Hate Crimes are unnecessary. Many states already have a hate crimes law and there is no evidence that the states are failing to prosecute hate crimes. States which do not have hate crimes laws still prosecute the crimes under existing criminal laws. A federal hate crimes bill would only increase the control and scope of the federal government.
(5) All crimes are hate crimes!
Additionally for these reasons, I respectfully ask that you honor the Constitution, and respect States rights in future Hate Crimes legislation and vote NO in the future. I look forward to hearing your position in this matter, and will continue to follow your actions and record!
Sincerely,

-Name-
-Address-
-City State Zip-
- Email/Phone -

Northeastern Pennsylvania 10th & 11th Congressional Updates July 15, 2009

Upcoming Congressional Bills/Votes

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 - S.1390
The Senate is scheduled to work on this bill to set funding levels for the military and authorize Department of Defense programs.

Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 - H.R.___
The House is scheduled to vote on this bill funding the Department of Energy, Army Corps of Engineers and related agencies and programs.

Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2010 - H.R.3170
The House is expected to vote on this bill funding the Treasury Department, the executive branch, the judicial branch, the District of Columbia and independent agencies.


Recent Senate Votes
Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2010 - Vote Passed (67-25, 7 Not Voting)The Senate passed this $3.1 billion bill to fund the legislative branch, which includes a provision to post Senate expenses online for the public to access.
Sen. Arlen Specter voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
Sen. Robert Casey Jr. voted YES......send e-mail or see bio

Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2010 - Vote Passed (84-6, 10 Not Voting)On Thursday, the Senate passed this $42.9 billion bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security for Fiscal Year 2010, which includes a provision requiring at least 700 miles of a border fence with Mexico be completed by 2010.
Sen. Arlen Specter voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
Sen. Robert Casey Jr. voted YES......send e-mail or see bio


Recent House Votes
Enhancing Small Business Research and Innovation Act - Vote Passed (386-41, 5 Not Voting)On Wednesday, the House voted to reauthorize two federal programs that provide research and development grants to entrepreneurs.
Rep. Christopher Carney voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
Rep. Paul Kanjorski voted YES......send e-mail or see bio

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 - Vote Passed (266-160, 6 Not Voting)The House approved this $123.8 billion bill to fund the USDA, FDA and other related agencies and programs.
Rep. Christopher Carney voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
Rep. Paul Kanjorski voted YES......send e-mail or see bio

Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriation, 2010 - Vote Passed (318-106, 8 Not Voting)This $48.8 billion bill funding the Department of State, foreign operations, and related programs for Fiscal Year 2010 was passed on Thursday.
Rep. Christopher Carney voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
Rep. Paul Kanjorski voted YES......send e-mail or see bio

Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2010 - Vote Passed (415-3, 14 Not Voting)The House passed this $133.7 billion bill funding veterans programs and military construction.
Rep. Christopher Carney voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
Rep. Paul Kanjorski voted YES......send e-mail or see bio

Power of 5 USA

ACTION ALERT: PA HB 300 Pennsylvania Human Relations Act

Less than three hours ago, the Pennsylvania House State Government Committee passed HB 300 by a 12 to 11 vote. The votes fell along party lines, with 12 Democrats voting “Yes” and 11 Republicans voting “No.” Members tell us they received many emails and phone calls about this issue.

HB 300: Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, is a radical gay-rights bill that would add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the state’s Human Relations Act.

This bill now is likely headed to a floor vote, perhaps as early as Wednesday, March 18th. Gay rights groups have scheduled a lobby day in support of HB 300 at the Capitol for Tuesday, with lobbying training being held at a nearby church!

It is laws like this one in other states (like Massachusetts and California) that paved the way and greased the skids for courts to legalize same-sex marriage. And it is laws like this one that are being used as hammers to force Christian ministries and charities to either operate in ways contrary to their faith and doctrine, face fines and/or prison, or cease the ministry work. It will force business owners and landlords to violate their faith and conscience.

Proponents of the “gay agenda” are systematically setting the stage for same-sex marriage and the silencing of those who would call their lifestyle immoral or sinful. HB 300 would be a key and very dangerous foundation to their efforts, and it must not be allowed to pass.

Our greatest impact comes from having citizens within the district make direct contact with your state representative. The next several days are vital. Here’s what you can do:

Legislators are now returning to their districts, and are typically in the district office Thursday and Friday. Call their district office and ask them to oppose HB 300.

To Find and Contact Your PA State Rep: www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/representatives_alpha.cfm

Remaining Positive...

The fastest way to loose friends and blessings is to be negative. When we loose faith or project negativity, we reverse the blessings that that can come from the encouragement of others. Let us always be reminded that God places lights along our path when the fog comes or when darkness descends upon us.

I take a moment to thank my mentors for the encouragement over the years. Thank you!

It is with those words and lessons that I hope I can continue to provide encouragement and inspiration to others.

Always remain positive (+). It is the only tool to add anything of value to our lives.

Confidence drops in February - BIGresearch

Economy

With Obama’s Washington welcome wearing off and the recession wearing thin on consumers, confidence takes a nosedive in February…one in five (19.4%) is confident/very confident in chances for a strong economy, lowering more than five points from last month (24.7%) as well as February ’08 (26.2%)…back in the good ‘ole days – February ’07 – confidence was a robust 53.2%. Stay tuned in March for the resonance from the stimulus bill…

President Obama's decision to shutter Gitmo doesn't appear to have done too much to allay consumer concerns regarding political and national security issues…one in four (24.8%) contend they continue to worry, down slightly from January (26.7%), but remaining heightened from a year ago (20.6%).

We witnessed a new high in practical spending last month, and consumers seemed to have relaxed this sentiment in February (perhaps because shoppers just aren’t headed to stores right now)…half (50.0%) of consumers indicate they’ve become more practical/realistic in purchasing, down seven points from January (57.3%), though still a substantial hike from a year ago (40.2%).

Likewise, consumers tempered in February when it comes to choosing needs over wants…although more than half (57.6%) still contend they zero in on necessities when spending, this figure drops from 66.0% last month, though remains on an incline from February ’08 (48.0%).

BIGresearch's Consumer Intentions & Actions Survey monitors over 8,000 consumers each month providing unique insights & identifying opportunities in a fragmented and transitory marketplace. www.bigresearch.com

Crestwood taxpayers overwhelmingly defeat expansion

Mountain Top taxpayers rejected the Crestwood School District's proposed $55.75 million school expansion project during Tuesday's special election, forcing the school district to come up with another plan to combat overcapacity issues throughout district schools.

With all 10 precincts reporting, the proposal received support from only 15.5 percent, or 814, of those casting ballots. A total of 4,437 voters, or 84.5 percent, voted no. Absentee ballots have not been counted

A 40-Year Wish List

A 40-Year Wish List
You won't believe what's in that stimulus bill.

"Never let a serious crisis go to waste. What I mean by that is it's an opportunity to do things you couldn't do before."

So said White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in November, and Democrats in Congress are certainly taking his advice to heart. The 647-page, $825 billion House legislation is being sold as an economic "stimulus," but now that Democrats have finally released the details we understand Rahm's point much better. This is a political wonder that manages to spend money on just about every pent-up Democratic proposal of the last 40 years.

We've looked it over, and even we can't quite believe it. There's $1 billion for Amtrak, the federal railroad that hasn't turned a profit in 40 years; $2 billion for child-care subsidies; $50 million for that great engine of job creation, the National Endowment for the Arts; $400 million for global-warming research and another $2.4 billion for carbon-capture demonstration projects. There's even $650 million on top of the billions already doled out to pay for digital TV conversion coupons.

In selling the plan, President Obama has said this bill will make "dramatic investments to revive our flagging economy." Well, you be the judge. Some $30 billion, or less than 5% of the spending in the bill, is for fixing bridges or other highway projects. There's another $40 billion for broadband and electric grid development, airports and clean water projects that are arguably worthwhile priorities.
Add the roughly $20 billion for business tax cuts, and by our estimate only $90 billion out of $825 billion, or about 12 cents of every $1, is for something that can plausibly be considered a growth stimulus. And even many of these projects aren't likely to help the economy immediately. As Peter Orszag, the President's new budget director, told Congress a year ago, "even those [public works] that are 'on the shelf' generally cannot be undertaken quickly enough to provide timely stimulus to the economy."

Most of the rest of this project spending will go to such things as renewable energy funding ($8 billion) or mass transit ($6 billion) that have a low or negative return on investment. Most urban transit systems are so badly managed that their fares cover less than half of their costs. However, the people who operate these systems belong to public-employee unions that are campaign contributors to . . . guess which party?

Here's another lu-lu: Congress wants to spend $600 million more for the federal government to buy new cars. Uncle Sam already spends $3 billion a year on its fleet of 600,000 vehicles. Congress also wants to spend $7 billion for modernizing federal buildings and facilities. The Smithsonian is targeted to receive $150 million; we love the Smithsonian, too, but this is a job creator?

Another "stimulus" secret is that some $252 billion is for income-transfer payments -- that is, not investments that arguably help everyone, but cash or benefits to individuals for doing nothing at all. There's $81 billion for Medicaid, $36 billion for expanded unemployment benefits, $20 billion for food stamps, and $83 billion for the earned income credit for people who don't pay income tax. While some of that may be justified to help poorer Americans ride out the recession, they aren't job creators.


As for the promise of accountability, some $54 billion will go to federal programs that the Office of Management and Budget or the Government Accountability Office have already criticized as "ineffective" or unable to pass basic financial audits. These include the Economic Development Administration, the Small Business Administration, the 10 federal job training programs, and many more.

Oh, and don't forget education, which would get $66 billion more. That's more than the entire Education Department spent a mere 10 years ago and is on top of the doubling under President Bush. Some $6 billion of this will subsidize university building projects. If you think the intention here is to help kids learn, the House declares on page 257 that "No recipient . . . shall use such funds to provide financial assistance to students to attend private elementary or secondary schools." Horrors: Some money might go to nonunion teachers.

The larger fiscal issue here is whether this spending bonanza will become part of the annual "budget baseline" that Congress uses as the new floor when calculating how much to increase spending the following year, and into the future. Democrats insist that it will not. But it's hard -- no, impossible -- to believe that Congress will cut spending next year on any of these programs from their new, higher levels. The likelihood is that this allegedly emergency spending will become a permanent addition to federal outlays -- increasing pressure for tax increases in the bargain. Any Blue Dog Democrat who votes for this ought to turn in his "deficit hawk" credentials.

This is supposed to be a new era of bipartisanship, but this bill was written based on the wish list of every living -- or dead -- Democratic interest group. As Speaker Nancy Pelosi put it, "We won the election. We wrote the bill." So they did. Republicans should let them take all of the credit.

Desperately Seeking Joy...

It is not difficult to smile and see a bright future, if you look to God and the joy and sunshine that He gives you within. When you speak negative things, you breath life into them and their existence. The Women helping Women note I posted yesterday speaks of happiness and wrath. "As God is the wellspring of true happiness, so we are the channel or pipe that brings happiness to others. Read it and meditate on these things.

Proverbs 11:23 says: 'The godly can look forward to Happiness, while the wicked can expect only wrath.' In all your dealings, your walk with Christ is a light to others. Make sure that your light is not hid. And share good news with others. There is always good news in everything that happens. What is done is in the past and cannot be changed. The future is ALWAYS bright in the Lord! No matter how I am treated, I will never get tired of doing what is good. I know that I continue to reap harvest after harvest of blessings! Because my joy comes from God, not man...

When we worry and fret about the future, we are saying "God, I know I told you about this problem, but I just don't think that you are faithful and just to deliver what is your perfect will for me."

Because the Lord has given us free will, it is in our hands, to either:

Have the faith,& trust that he will deliver in his time.
Or
Try to handle it ourselves. But know that if you decide to do it, then you are responsible for the end results.

I think it is much easier to Give it over to God and let him be accountable...

What about you????