H.R. 2608 - THE CALLOUS REPUBLICAN CONFERENCE IS ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL

House Republicans have sunk to a new all time low.  Violating their much ballyhooed transparency rules Republicans pitted auto workers against the victims of natural disasters.  No one wins. An expression from my youth comes to mind.  "Robbing St. Peter to pay St. Paul" is an idiom about making choices, stretching money, and making ends meet.  Once again Republicans want to make ends meet by making the economy worse, killing more jobs, and not bothering their rich patrons.

The bill is H.R. 2608, the Small Business Program Extension and Reform Act of 2011.  Republicans chose this as the vehicle to increase funding for FEMA to pay for our national obligation to respond to natural disasters.  H.R. 2608 isn't a new kid on the block.  Missouri Republican Sam Graves introduced it on July 21st with New York Democrat Nydia Velázquez.  Five days later the bill passed the House and was sent to the Senate.  On July 28th the Senate passed an amended version of the bill and returned it to the House.

To Representative Velázquez's credit, she did not vote for the bastardized version of H.R. 2608. 

On September 21st the bill failed to pass the House.  Democrats opposed the drastic cuts being imposed by the Republicans looking for heartless ways to pay for the additional FEMA funding.  Tea Party Republicans opposed the bill that day because it did not contain enough heartless ways to pay for the additional FEMA funding.

On September 21st the cuts included repeal of the Central European Small Business Enterprise Development Commission, the Paul D. Coverdell Drug-Free Workplace Program, the Pilot Technology Access Program, the Small Business Institute; AND FROM THE NATIONAL VETERANS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, the following are repealed: Lease Guarantees and Pollution Control.--Part A of title IV of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, Alternative Loss Reserve.--Paragraph (7) of section 508(c) of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, Small Business Telecommuting Pilot Program - .--Subsection (d) of section 1203 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.  Finally, THE ONGOING REPUBLICAN ASSAULT ON COLLEGE STUDENTS CONTINUES with the gutting of the Emerging Leaders Program, which provides for competitive federal internships transitioning the best and brightest American college and university students from academia to their eventual careers.

Yet those intent on destroying the fabric of the Republic said these cuts did not cut deeply enough.  So an another astounding Republican vote favoring advancement of China's new green alternative energy industry and favoring jobs in China over jobs in America came last night.  Representative Norm Dicks [D-Wa] said Republicans "take $1.5 billion from the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing [ATVM] program at the Department of Energy to pay for $1 billion in disaster relief, disaster and emergency relief."  That program, according to Dicks has created 39,000 jobs in California, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, and Tennessee.  Many of those jobs are in Sam Graves' District.

Dicks went on to defend the ATVM program. 

By the way, the company in question, Tesla, employed about 400 workers before receiving the loan. Today, they have 1,400 employees in the fields of engineering research and development, design, manufacturing, assembly, maintenance, service, sales, and support.


The ATVM program has an additional 18 loan applications in progress that are projected to create 50,000 to 60,000 more jobs, in total, in California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio. One pending application would support investments at 11 plants in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. The company employs over 56,000 workers, and they are adding nearly 9,000 new workers since 2009. Some of the jobs will be at risk by using this offset.

So this is the Republican plan, defeat President Obama by driving up the unemployment rate.  Burn the seed corn.  Take $1.5 Billion from a job creating program [creating private sector jobs] and use that to pay for $1 Billion in FEMA funding.  Kill tens of thousands of jobs.

The Republican tax policy favors the wealthiest Americans, those Americans are not job creators.  If they were, with a decade of Bush Era tax cuts and Wall Street Deregulation, we'd be at full employment.  Now the Republicans are proving that they are the JOB DESTROYERS!

Somewhere, somehow, this callous Republican Conference has managed to channel the ghost of the great French Princess.  "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche" which translates to "Let them eat cake" expressing the lack of care and compassion this callous Republican Conference has for the victims of their economic policies.  When things are bad you can count on these Republicans to make them worse.

THE CASE AGAINST LYNN JENKINS CHAPTER 45 - SHE VOTES AGAINST AMERICA'S NATIONAL SECURITY AND FOR CHINA, AGAIN!!!

This is Lynn Jenkins, she does not represent us

H.R. 6160 is the Rare Earths and Critical Materials Revitalization Act of 2010. What, you may ask, does that have to do with the price of tea in China? That is the exact correct question. China is dominating the world supply of "rare earths" and directly undermines our national security.

Representative Kathleen A. Dahlkemper

The author of the legislation is Pennsylvania's Democratic Representative Kathleen A. Dahlkemper. Her remarks on H.R. 6160 can be found at http://dahlkemper.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=319:dahlkemper-statement-on-fighting-chinese-currency-manipulation-and-chinese-dominance-of-rare-earths&catid=9:press-releases&Itemid=9. I have excerpted Representative Dahlkemper's remarks here.

“What would happen to our national defense if we could no longer build a jet engine? Vehicle batteries? Advanced targeting systems? What are the chances that we become energy independent if we cannot produce hybrid cars, wind turbines and other alternative energy products? What would happen to our economy if the technologies we depend on to make businesses work are no longer available? 

“These are questions we would have to answer if China cut off our supply of rare earth materials—vital components to nearly every piece of advanced technology we use in our national defense and throughout businesses and industry.

“For the past decade, the United States has been almost entirely dependent on China for its supply of rare earth materials, despite the fact that we have an abundant reserve of these materials within our own borders. China currently accounts for as much as 97 percent of the world’s available supply of rare earth materials.

“But they are reducing the amount of these materials going into the global market. Just this summer, China announced it would cut its rare earths exports for the second half of 2010 by 72 percent.

“The bottom line is this: China is cornering the market on rare earth materials and we are falling behind. That is why we need to act now to begin the process of creating our own domestic supply of rare earth materials so the United States is never dependent on China—or on any other country—for crucial components for our national security.

“My bill is a bipartisan plan to jump start U.S. research and development in rare earth materials to improve our ability to find, extract, process and use rare earths to improve products. We want to ultimately create a domestic supply of rare earths.

“My legislation will foster a strong rare earths industry here in the United States. The scope of this bill spans the full supply chain, from exploration to mining to manufacturing. It will reduce risk in financing new rare earths production facilities by guaranteeing loans to companies with new processing and refining technologies.

“China has stated clearly that foreign firms that move their manufacturing capacity onto Chinese soil will have no trouble procuring rare earth materials. That’s just another way American manufacturing jobs are being lured overseas.

“That has to stop. We need to make things right here in our country and give those great manufacturing jobs to American men and women here.

“This legislation is both urgent and timely. Just last week, China reportedly cut off Japan’s supply of rare earths in the wake of a territory conflict.

“This is a clear warning sign, and we would be foolish to ignore it. The GAO reports that it may take up to 15 years to rebuild the U.S. rare earth supply chain. Delaying the seed money to begin this process only prolongs our dependency on China.

“I am pleased that representatives on both sides of the aisle supported my plan to jump start our own rare earths supply chain, promote U.S. global competitiveness and ensure our national defense is Made in America.

“So, yesterday was a very good day for manufacturers in Western Pennsylvania and a good day for U.S. global competitiveness.” 

Lynn Jenkins voted against our national security on roll call vote 555. The Rare Earths and Critical Materials Revitalization Act of 2010 passed the House by a vote of 325 to 98.

On back to back votes, roll call votes 554 and 555, Lynn Jenkins has stood with China against America's economic and national security. Lynn Jenkins does not represent us.



THE CASE AGAINST LYNN JENKINS CHAPTER 44 - SHE VOTES AGAINST DUTIES AGAINST ARTIFICIALLY INFLATED CHINESE PRODUCTS COSTING AMERICAN JOBS

This is Lynn Jenkins, she does not represent us

China has been propping up its currency. Lynn Jenkins apparently thinks that is okay. What are the effects of China's currency policies? First a little detail about Chinese money. The Chinese yuan is like the British pound, it is the unit of accounting. The Chinese renminbi is like the British sterling, it is the unit of currency.

According to the International Monetary Fund, China's exchange rate policy contributes to large trade deficits in the United States. The overvalued Chinese currency has a negative impact on economic growth and job creation. The Chinese are placing a drag on international trade policies, making it more difficult for countries to import and export goods. The overvalued Chinese yuan depresses interest rates and may be a contributing, if not exacerbating, factor in the recent global economic crisis. The Chinese policy distorts investment patterns as China looks for overseas investments of accumulated American dollars to keep the renminbi undervalued.

One economist, Peter Morici, formerly the chief economist of the International Trade Commission, said the U.S. trade deficit with China will reduce American Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by more than $400 billion.

The 2008 Nobel Prize winner in Economics, Paul Krugman, estimates that China's exchange rate policy reduces American GDP by 1.4 to 1.5 percentage points each year and equals 1.4 to 1.5 million fewer American jobs each year.

The budgetary implications of H.R. 2378 estimate that this bill will produce $125 million in revenue, from increased customs duties, for the period of fiscal years 2011 - 2020, while costing $41 million for salaries, expenses, & benefits for additional staff. The bill does not trigger the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. The pay-go considerations show the bill increases revenues and does not involve direct spending .

Although discussions have been held on this topic with China, they refuse to budge from their position.

So what part of Chinese monetary policy does Lynn Jenkins favor? Does she like the cheap lead laden toys dumped on our kids? Does she like America being a debtor nation to China? Does she favor Chinese people working rather than American people working?

To summarize China's monetary policy gives the United States large trade deficits which means it is costing us more money than it is worth to do business with China; economic growth and job creation are stunted; international trade is negatively impacted restricting the flow of goods between nations; Chinese monetary policy made the global economic crisis worse; China is investing American dollars to keep the Chinese renminbi artificially cheap.

So what to do? The House of Representatives has answered with H.R. 2378, the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act, which contains sections amending Title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930 to clarify that countervailing duties may be imposed to address subsidies relating to a fundamentally undervalued currency.

What could keep a fiscally responsible incumbent Republican Representative to Congress from voting for H.R. 2378? Maybe it is the Chamber of Congress' China Connection.

The U.S. Chamber of Congress endorsed Lynn Jenkins' candidacy on June 29th.

The problem with the Chamber's endorsement is that the Chamber lobbied for TARP and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, as that legislation was necessary to keep Chamber members on life support until the most critical part of the economic crisis passed. Lynn Jenkins is opposed to the Stimulus, and the TARP predates her tenure in the House.

The other huge problem with the Chamber's endorsement is that MSNBC and other sources were reporting last night that Chamber membership is now open to foreign corporations. Those corporations are sending their checks directly into the same Chamber of Commerce checking account the Chamber uses to pay for attack ads against Democratic candidates.

Remember when Associate Justice Sam Alito retorted to President Obama's remark that the decision in Citizen's United would not permit foreign corporations from influencing American elections? Well here it is. The Chamber of Commerce needs to be investigated by the Department of Justice for being a front for Chinese, Indian, and other foreign corporations attempting to buy influence in American politics.

The Republicans are voting to keep tax credits that encourage shipping American jobs offshore. The Republicans are voting to keep the import duties down on Chinese products, costing America direct revenues from customs and duties, costing America at least $400 billion in GDP, and costing America close to a 1,500,000 American jobs each year.

Ironically, Lynn Jenkins claims she should be reelected because she has been fighting for jobs. Well, she voted against American jobs when she voted against H.R. 2378, roll call 554. She voted against keeping American jobs in America when she voted closing tax loopholes that let American jobs get shipped overseas, that was H.R. 1586 the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act of 2010. Some record!