Anthony Weiner has a good day in Congress & Every Republican voted AGAINST funding the Military and Food Safety

H.R. 5987, the Seniors Protection Act of 2010, failed to get a ⅔ majority vote on roll call 611. The supermajority was required because the bill was brought up under a suspension of the rules. A similar bill was defeated in the Senate, S. 3985, when the upper chamber failed to invoke cloture on Record Vote 267.

These measures were designed to provide a modest measure of relief to senior citizens receiving Social Security. There will be no cost of living [COLA] although expenses for seniors continue to rise. H.R. 5987, introduced by North Dakota Democratic Representative Earl Pomeroy, and S. 3985, introduced by Vermont's Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, provide for a onetime payment of $250.00 to seniors.

The vote margin for H.R. 5987 was 254 in favor and 153 against with 27 Members not voting. Twenty-six Republicans voted for this bill while twelve Democrats voted against passage. Had the Democrats held together this bill would have easily passed, 272 votes were needed to satisfy the supermajority requirement.

We may see H.R. 5987 again but I wonder why the Majority's Leadership didn't wait until later in the day to present the measure. The House took up H. Res. 1752 which waives the ⅔ majority requisite; a requirement of clause 6(a) of rule XIII with respect to consideration of certain resolutions reported from the Committee on Rules, and providing for consideration of motions to suspend the rules.

H. Res 1752 passed on roll call 615 by a margin of 215 to 194 with 24 Members not voting. Twenty-seven Democrats opposed this rules change. It will be interesting to see which resolutions are forthcoming under the provisions of H. Res. 1752.

H.R. 6495, the Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act of 2010, still required the ⅔ supermajority on roll call 616. It didn't get it. This measure failed by a vote of 214 to 193 with 26 Members not voting. Twenty-seven Democrats voted against the bill which needed 272 votes to satisfy the supermajority requirement.

H.R. 6495 would require operators of underground coal mines, underground metal mines, or other underground mines containing specified concentrations of flammable gasses to improve employee safety measures and comply with new standards regarding employee rights. The CBO reported that the budgetary effect of H.R. 6495 would be a reduction in the deficit of $115 million from fiscal year 2011 through 2020.

New York's fiery Democratic Representative Anthony Weiner's H.R. 4501, the Guarantee of a Legitimate Deal Act, passed the House on roll call vote 620. This bill also required a ⅔ supermajority, and it got it. The margin of victory was 324 in favor to 81 against with 28 Members not voting, 270 was needed for passage. No Democrats voted against H.R. 4501 while 85 Republicans voted for the bill.

I am astonished that Weiner didn't call this the "Glenn Beck Deceptive Gold Advertising Act." Glenn Beck has notoriously served as the huckster in chief for one of the worst gold rip off businesses. This bill defines an "online purchaser of precious metals" as a person who is in the business of purchasing jewelry or other precious metals directly from consumers and maintains a website through which such person solicits such transactions.

The legislation, if passed in the Senate, will make it unlawful for any online purchaser of precious metals to: (1) refine or otherwise permanently destroy an item of jewelry or precious metal before receiving an affirmative acceptance of such purchaser's offer from the consumer to whom the offer was made; (2) fail to promptly return to the consumer any jewelry or other precious metal if the consumer declines the purchase offer; or (3) fail to insure any shipment in an amount equal to either 60% of the melt value or the amount the consumer insured the shipment for.

Violations under this bill will be treated as unfair and deceptive acts or practices under the Federal Trade Commission Act. The Federal Trade Commission [FTC] will be required to enforce this Act as though all applicable terms and provisions of that Act were incorporated into and made a part of this Act.

Each and every House Republican voting in roll call 622 said no to America's troops. H.R. 3082, the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011, was back before the House after passing the Senate with an Amendment. This bill funds America's military. This bill is also the vehicle for passing the Food Safety legislation. The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, S. 510, is incorporated as Division "D" of H.R. 3082.

H.R. 5281, the Removal Clarification Act of 2010, was back from the Senate with Amendments. This bill clarifies the judicial code about when and how to remove cases from state court to federal court when suit is filed against the United States, a federal agency or officer, or specified others; or a criminal prosecution is commenced in a state court against any of them.

This bill passed the Senate by unanimous consent. It is not controversial, it's just housekeeping. That didn't stop the House from being deeply divided. The bill passed on roll call 625 with 216 in favor and 198 against.

THE HOUSE IS GETTING READY TO GET BUSY. COMING UP - 1. H. RES. 1752, WAIVING THE "SAME DAY" REQUIREMENT WHICH TRIGGERS ⅔ SUPERMAJORITY VOTES; SENATE AMENDMENTS TO H.R. 5281; 2. THE DREAM [DEVELOPMENT, RELIEF, AND EDUCATION FOR ALIEN MINORS]ACT, 3. H.R. 3082. THE MILITARY CONSTRUCTION AND VETERANS AFFAIRS AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT OF 2010

It is obvious the House intends to finish the lame duck session of the 111th Congress on a strong note. They are preparing to waive the "same day: requirement which says if a bill is introduced on a given day, and it is brought to a vote on that same day, then it takes a ⅔ supermajority to pass the bill. Time is running out and the House leadership wants to get the business out the door.

H. Res. 1752 has three major provisions. First this will waive clause 6(a) which requires the ⅔ vote on same day bills considered under suspension of the rules. Second it applies the waiver through the legislative day of December 18th. Finally it provides that the Speaker or her designee will consult with the Minority Leader or his designee on matters for consideration by the House under H. Res. 1752. The House is planning to clear the decks and unload the ship. It ought to be an interesting few days.

The DREAM ACT is about to be appended to H.R. 5281, the REMOVAL CLARIFICATION ACT OF 2010. Removal is a legal term of art that says the lawsuit will be removed from one court and placed with another court which has superior jurisdiction. H.R. 5281 provides for the removal of cases from state courts to federal courts under two circumstances. First, any civil action against the United States or a federal agency or officer, or other persons specified by law. Second, in criminal prosecutions commenced in a state court against any of the persons or entities described above.

The DREAM Act is a whole different ball of wax. Several versions of the DREAM Act have been introduced, they are: H.R.6327, H.R.1751, H.R.6497, S.729, S.3827, S.3962, S.3963, and S.3992.

You can read the complete version of the DREAM ACT at the House Rules Committee website: http://www.rules.house.gov/111/rule/dream.pdf, it is on the second page of the pdf.

The proposed provisions apply to children brought to the United States when they were 15 years old or younger and sets a ceiling on those persons now being no more than 29 years old. These persons will be given conditional nonimmigrant status, which sounds like a societal version of equitable adoption. That means we are going to treat them like our own kids. They are excluded from excluded from receiving government subsidies to participate in the health insurance exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act. They cannot get Pell Grants.

They can get benefits by participating, that includes federal work study and student loans as well as social insurance programs to which they have contributed, as this would require them to earn or repay the money they need for their education.

Good behavior is required. Conditional nonimmigrant status must be terminated if the participant fails to continue to meet the conditions for receiving that status, including having good moral character, keeping a clean criminal record, and staying self-sufficient. If they join the military they must be discharged honorably.

After 10 years in conditional status, the Dream Act then gives this limited group of individuals the chance to earn lawful permanent resident status, but only if the applicant meets additional standards such as having paid taxes; having demonstrated the ability to read, write, and speak English and demonstrates knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of the history, principles, and form of government of the United States.

H.R. 3082 passed the House on July 10, 2010 by a vote of 415 to 3, that was roll call vote 529. It cleared the Senate on November 17, 2009 by a vote of 100 to 0, that was Record Vote Number 348. The Senate insisted on its Amendments and the bill went to conference.

The House is accepting the bill as amended by the Senate and adding the following Amendment.

"The House amendment freezes FY 2011 discretionary appropriations at the FY 2010 level; providing $45.9 billion less than the President requested for the year. Within that ceiling, the resolution adjusts funding between programs and accounts to deal with current demands and workloads and avoid furloughs. Overall, the resolution includes $513 billion for the Department of Defense, $4.9 billion above 2010; $75.2 billion for military construction and veterans, $1.4 billion below 2010; and $501.4 billion for all other appropriations, $3.5 billion below 2010. It also includes $159 billion for the war, as the President requested; prohibits funding for Congressional earmarks; freezes non-military Federal pay for two years, as requested by the President; and allows fee funded programs to continue to be financed from fees.

The FDA Food Safety and Modernization Act grants the Food and Drug Administration authorities it needs to better oversee the safety of the nation’s food supply. The bill includes expanded authority for FDA to inspect records relating to food, and requires FDA to increase inspections of high-risk food facilities. In addition, it provides for the creation of a more accurate registry of all food facilities serving American consumers, improved traceability of the history of food in the event of a foodborne illness outbreak, certification of certain foreign food imports as meeting all food safety requirements, and protection for whistleblowers that bring attention to important food safety information.

The Senate recently passed the Food Safety and Modernization Act with one major problem. Parts of that bill, as originated and passed in the Senate, raise revenue. All bills which raise revenue must originate in the House of Representatives. That is a Constitutional provision found in Article I § 7.