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Congressional Outlook
Inside the Mountain
November 1, 2006
Arise, cry aloud in the night At the beginning of the night watches;
Pour out your heart like water Before the presence of the Lord;
Lift up your hands to Him For the life of your little ones
(Lamentations 2:19).
Welcome to November 1st, All Saints Day, the day after Reformation Day. There are five days until the first Monday in November, and election day is the first Tuesday after the first Monday. This day was chosen so that it would not fall on All Saints Day, and perhaps in part so that it would fall right after a day of prayer.
Today we want to look at state ballot issues and then the record of Congress present, past and future:
- Present - The 109th Congress
- Past - Since President Bush Took Office
- Promoting a Culture of Life
- Shaped by Major Events
- Other Major Legislation of Previous Congresses
- Future - The 110th Congress
- Under the Current Majority
- Under the Current Minority
Some consider abortion and gay marriage as below the belt issues. On the contrary, these are both issues of the mouth: the right to breathe, and the right to speak. The Life debate is more than abortion, as big as that is; it's about the beginning of life, the very beginning, and the end of life. The Marriage debate is ultimately about our religious liberty and our ability to speak the truth. Not passing the Marriage Amendment could be as consequential as passing the Equal Rights Amendment would have been during the late 1970s.
I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth (Isaiah 49:6).
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Present - The 109th Congress
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These are selected highlights of Public Laws and major legislation passed by what the current assistant Senate majority leader called "the 'most productive Congress' he has been a part of in 22 years on the hill," ABC News Political Radar reports. Even just a brief glance over this list demonstrates why!
The Good
Domestic Issues
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Financial
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Bankruptcy Reform (P.L. 109-8) - Implications for Tithing
Owe no man any thing (Romans 13:8).
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Energy bill (P.L. 109-58) - increase fuel economy standards; Daylight saving time extension (119 Stat. 615) - Last weekend was the last time we will switch our clocks back off Daylight Saving Time in October. Next year we won't do this until November, and we will already be back on DST by mid-March 2007.
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Pension Reform (P.L. 109-280)
According to Hillsdale College, "One provision of this new legislation allows traditional and Roth IRA owners, age 70 1/2 and older, to transfer directly up to $100,000 from their IRAs to public charities."
"Although no charitable deduction would be allowed for this donation, the amount of the distribution ... would also be excluded from your 2006 adjusted gross income." They also note "this provision expires on December 31, 2007" and "state and local tax laws may differ significantly."
While some in the aspiring majority deride certain tax cuts as loopholes for the rich, clearly some of these are incentives for the rich to help those less fortunate.
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Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act (P.L. 109-347, Title VIII)
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Life
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Fetus Farming Prohibition (P.L. 109-242)
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Adult Stem Cell Research (P.L. 109-129) - To provide for the collection and maintenance of human umbilical cord blood stem cells for the treatment of patients and research
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Relief for Terri Schiavo (P.L. 109-3)
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Social Issues
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Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act (P.L. 109-235) - increase FCC indecency penalties
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Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (P.L. 109-248) - Sex offender registration and notification
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Reauthorize Welfare Reform (TANF) through FY2010 (P.L. 109-171, 120 Stat. 135-140)
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Personal Freedom
Relating to other Branches of Government
- Supreme Court
- Spending - FY 2007 Appropriations
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Department of Defense (P.L. 109-289)
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Department of Homeland Security (P.L. 109-295)
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Holding the Line on Spending - Under the new House Majority Leader, the President actually threatened to veto a spending bill for not spending enough (CQ Today, 9/24/2006)--as much as he requested--instead of too much as has often been the case.
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Earmark Reform - House Rules modified by H.Res. 1000
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Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (P.L. 109-282) - create public database to track Federal funding
- Military
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Military Chaplains (P.L. 109-364, Conference Report 109-702) - On Congressional Record Page H8412, instead of prescribing that military chaplains "shall have the prerogative to pray according to the dictates of their conscience," both the Air Force and the Navy were instructed to rescind the policies that were put in place earlier this year that caused the problem, and go back to the policies that were put in place in 1999 and 2000.
Relating to other Nations
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Human Rights
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Immigration
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Secure Fence Act (P.L. 109-367)
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Raise cap on number of H-2B visas for seasonal workers (P.L. 109-13)
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REAL ID Act (P.L. 109-13, 119 Stat. 302-323) - establish driver's license regulations and ID security standards for Immigrants
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Terrorism-Related
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9-11 Commission - Report Card on 41 Recommendations (PDF) - Half implemented so far
Should the current minority take control of the House, they say full implementation of these recommendations will be one of their top and earliest priorities.
However, several calls to key offices and committees showed they could not even list the recommendations. They could not point to any legislation they have introduced for any of these recommendations, much less all of them at once.
When informed that the Oman Free Trade Agreement (P.L. 109-283) was passed as part of the 9-11 Commission recommendations, staff in the Senate minority leader's office had no idea there was a connection. Yet Democrats increasingly oppose free trade agreements. (Think: rhetoric about "outsourcing jobs.")
There are vast differences of interpretation among members of Congress when it comes to translating these recommendations into law.
Who says these recommendations should automatically become law in some form? Congress would do well to quit outsourcing its job to commissions every time it comes to a controversial issue. Put aside the partisanship!
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Radio Spectrum: Digital Transition and Public Safety Act (P.L. 109-171, Title III)
If you ever hear our leaders talk about "first responders" being able to "talk to each other," they're talking about kicking broadcast television off the airwaves from its current frequencies, and forcing it to go all digital television. This law has already been passed requiring full implementation by 2009.
Members of the 9-11 Commission are calling for this to be done by next year. As important as communication is, would every TV station and every household in the country be ready to buy new equipment by next year?
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Military Commissions (P.L. 109-366)
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Reauthorize PATRIOT Act (P.L. 109-177) and Additional Amendments (P.L. 109-178)
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SAFE Port Act (P.L. 109-347) - Remaining issues
The Bad
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Debt Limit Increase (P.L. 109-182) - increases the public debt limit from $8.184 trillion to $8.965 trillion.
| Year | National Debt Amount |
| 2006 | $8,506,973,899,215.23 |
| 2005 | $7,932,709,661,723.50 |
| 2001 | $5,807,463,412,200.06 |
| 1991 | $3,665,303,351,697.03 |
| 1981 | $1,028,729,000,000.00 |
| 1943 | $136,696,090,329.90 |
| 1918 | $14,592,161,414.00 |
| 1863 | $1,119,772,138.63 |
| 1835 | $33,733.05 |
Students are following their leaders into debt at an alarming rate. CBS News reports with the increasing cost of higher education "the average debt since 1993 has doubled from $9,250 to $19,200" among students with loans. Now with private loans the amount of student debt is increasing even faster. One student "just hopes she's not paying off her loans with her Social Security checks." (Well, if she gets a Social Security check by then.)
Students are finding out that debt hits hard. When will our leaders figure this out? More to the point, will our leaders figure this out before it hits our economy hard? Reuters reports that Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan recently observed that some "private investors and central banks were shifting away from the U.$. dollar and toward the €uro."
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Embryonic Stem Cell Research (H.R. 810) - Human Embryo Destructive Experimentation - Fortunately the President vetoed this bill so that it did not become law.
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Past - Since President Bush Took Office
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Promoting a Culture of Life
Last month, the U.S. Population Clock crossed over 300 million. The Chicago Tribune reported, "When the U.S. population hit 200 million in 1967--52 years after it hit 100 million in 1915--experts predicted that the nation would hit 300 million as early as 1990."
Of course, little more than five years separated the population marker in November 1967, and the Supreme Court's population-reducing Roe v. Wade decision in January 1973. One has to wonder how much sooner we would have crossed this milestone had the United States not embraced the systematic shedding of innocent blood.
Since 1973, only six standalone pro-life bills have been signed into law. Three were in the 109th Congress (mentioned above), and the other three earlier. All were signed by President Bush.
- Born Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-207)
- Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-105)
- Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-212)
No other pro-life standalone legislation has been signed in 33 years. Any other pro-life provisions in the United States Code were enacted as part of another piece of legislation such as an appropriations bill--a practice not without its legitimate detractors.
Major Events
It's safe to say there have been more events of major proportions for this President than any since FDR and World War II. They have shaped his presidency and shaped him. We have huge reasons to hold him up in prayer.
The legislation listed here is but a small sampling of the numerous legislative actions Congress has taken to accommodate these events.
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107th Congress
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108th Congress
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109th Congress
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Tsunami
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Katrina
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Hurricane Katrina Relief Appropriations (P.L. 109-61) - $10 billion
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Hurricane Katrina Tax Relief Act (P.L. 109-73) - To provide emergency tax relief for persons affected by Hurricane Katrina.
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Hurricane Education Recovery Act (P.L. 109-148, Title IV, Subtitle A) - Education assistance for students and schools impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
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Hurricane Katrina Emergency Assistance Act (P.L. 109-176) - extension of unemployment assistance
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Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act (P.L. 109-295, Title V, Sec. 706) - prohibits the confiscation of guns from law-abiding citizens during emergencies
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Iraq
Other Major Legislation of Previous Congresses
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107th Congress
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Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (P.L. 107-16) - the across the board tax cut that will expire, or "sunset," in 2011.
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No Child Left Behind (P.L. 107-110) - the President's education bill
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Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (P.L. 107-155) - campaign finance reform which required candidates to say "I'm ... and I'm responsible for the content of this ad." It included additional encroachments on the free speech rights of non-profit groups during an election--like now.
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Sarbanes-Oxley Act (P.L. 107-204) - corporate disclosure law passed in the wake of the Enron and Worldcom scandals
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Help America Vote Act (P.L. 107-252) - passed in the wake of the historically close 2000 election, and the legal challenges in Florida
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108th Congress
In addition to two pro-life bills mentioned above, this Congress also passed:
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Do-Not-Call Implementation Act (P.L. 108-10) - for the implementation and enforcement of a "do-not-call" registry
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Medicare Prescription Drug Program (P.L. 108-173)
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Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act (P.L. 108-175)
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Future - The 110th Congress
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Under the Current Majority
Domestic Issues
Relating to other Branches of Government
Relating to other Nations
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"Reform"
Reform is almost always about eliminating something. Even in Church history, the Reformation was about eliminating extra-Biblical practices such as the sale of indulgances.
In politics, this can be both good or bad. Bankruptcy Reform is about eliminating bankruptcy. Pension Reform was about eliminating pension corruption. Earmark Reform is about eliminating or reducing earmarks. Emergency Appropriation reform is about cutting back on emergency appropriations. These are the good examples.
Consistent with the reform-as-elimination theme, Campaign Finance Reform is about eliminating money from politics. However, taking private money out of politics implicitly eliminates free speech rights, and the latest "reform" actually explicitly restricted free speech.
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Lobbying Reform (S. 2349, H.R. 4975) - attempts to eliminate corruption in lobbying, including disclosure requirements by non-profit groups. John McCain put the need for lobbying reform on the same level as the need for immigration reform.
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Welfare Reform - Reauthorizing the rest of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-193) - the work requirements, in particular, need to be reauthorized - Find out more about the success of 10 Years of Welfare Reform from the Heritage Foundation
Welfare Reform is also about marriage. Marriage was in the news recently with the news that 49.7% of households are headed by married couples. In contrast, 84% of households were headed by married couples in 1930, NBC News reported. CBS News reported on an odd pattern emerging in marriage called "living apart together."
Clearly, marriage is in need of some structural support by the government. We need to eliminate the penalties on marriage and increase the incentives for marriage.
Under the Current Minority
The current Senate minority leader looked at legislative efforts with respect to Terri Schiavo, gay marriage, flag burning and the estate tax and declared "Congress has wasted 20 months" (Congressional Record, Page S9666). The minority has other priorities.
NBC's First Read reports on the aspiring majority's "election-year agenda, which says what they will do if the voters put them back in charge of Congress, would seek to overturn or change just about everything President Bush and the Republicans have done since 2001," including "repealing the bulk of the administration's tax cuts, ending the ban on federal funding for new lines of [embryonic] stem-cell research and limiting some of the investigative, prosecutorial and surveillance methods in the counterterrorism USA Patriot Act," quoting the Washington Times.
Domestic Issues
No matter who prevails on election day, the Washington Post reports the elections may bring a "new accord" in the Senate as both McConnell and Reid "have history of deal-making." One of those two will likely be the incoming majority leader.
Did you know? On average, individuals who reported participating in religious groups and organizations as adolescents were more likely to register to vote and to vote in a presidential election as young adults when compared to those who reported not participating in religious groups and organizations. From FamilyFacts.org
Google Earth and Election Day
From Google's October 2006 update: "November 7th is election day across the U.S., and now's the time to get informed about all the Congressional races. The Google Earth team has gathered information on every candidate running for office from all 436 congressional districts. You can find this geo-reference guide in the "2006 US Election Guide" folder in the Google Earth Layers sidebar."
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All Legislative Updates are produced by Timothy T.C. McGhee
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