Yesterday, the Daily Caller posted a story on its website about the confusion on Capitol Hill on both sides of the aisle about the future of Obamacare. It featured a quote from Congressman Heath Shuler (D-NC) on the White House’s healthcare strategy: “I was actually surprised that they’re pushing it again. The most important thing is jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs. We need to focus on jobs,” said Rep. Heath Shuler, North Carolina Democrat and a leader of the 54-member Blue Dog coalition of conservative Democrats. Rep. Shuler is right. Finding …
When skyrocketing energy prices took hold of America last summer, it became clear that developing alternative sources of energy was important to our nation’s economic and national security. Although talk of solar, wind, and biofuels have often dominated alternative energy discussions in the past, today more and more people are recognizing that clean coal and nuclear energy are both key to our nation’s energy future. As the representative of Pennsylvania’s Fourth Congressional District, I represent an area that has long been a national leader in America’s nuclear industry. Westinghouse Electric …
Congress is rumored to be considering passing a cap-and-trade plan through budget reconciliation, which is a process that is only completed if there are special instructions passed in the budget resolution and requires a simple majority, rather than a 2/3rds vote to pass the Senate. Unfortunately, this action sets a very low bar for a high-cost, big-government bill such as cap-and-trade, but fortunately the Blue Dogs, a group of fifty-one fiscally conservative House Democrats, have warned that the reconciliation strategy is a bad idea. The budget reconciliation “is utilized when …
Has the Blue Dog Coalition given up on their version of fiscal responsibility? Jim Cooper (D-TN), leader of the Blue Dogs – the self-described fiscally-conservative group of congressional Democrats – was quoted in a Wall Street Journal op-ed announcing, “I’m not sure the old rules are relevant anymore… It would be unfair to the new President to put him in a budget straitjacket.” This effectively kills any plans for PAYGO budgeting in the 111th Congress. Apparently budgetary trade-offs no longer apply when liberals occupy the oval office. Interestingly enough it …
Rep. Baron Hill, a Blue Dog Democrat from Indiana, voiced concern today about the rush for Congress to pass an economic stimulus plan. During the question-and-answer portion of this morning’s hearing before the Joint Economic Committee, Hill noted that Democrats violated PAYGO rules when they passed a one-year freeze for the Alternative Minimum Tax. Hill said he feared the same would be true with the stimulus. Hill complained about how much a stimulus package might add to the budget deficit and suggested a short-term fix might not be best for …
