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Taxpayer Protection Pledge
This is not a vote, but a rating on whether or not members of the House
and Senate have signed ATR's Pledge, which reads, "I pledge to the
taxpayers of my state and to the American people that I will 1) oppose
any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rates for
individuals and/or businesses; and 2) oppose any further reduction or
elimination of deductions and credits unless matched dollar for dollar
by further reducing tax rates." To get a "+", all a member of the House
or Senate has to do is sign the pledge. ATR consider the pledge to be
so important that we double rate the vote.
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Taxpayer Protection Pledge
This is not a vote, but a rating on whether or not members of the House
and Senate have signed ATR's Pledge, which reads, "I pledge to the
taxpayers of my state and to the American people that I will 1) oppose
any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rates for
individuals and/or businesses; and 2) oppose any further reduction or
elimination of deductions and credits unless matched dollar for dollar
by further reducing tax rates." To get a "+", all a member of the House
or Senate has to do is sign the pledge. ATR consider the pledge to be
so important that we double rate the vote.
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District Of Columbia- School Choice
By a vote of 205 to 203 the House passed and amendment introduced by
Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA) that provides private school tuition scholarships
of up to $7,500 to low-income children in the District of Columbia. The
amendment provides low-income parents residing in the District of
Columbia with scholarships to be used for enrolling their children in
higher-performing schools in the District. The scholarships these
students receive can be used to pay for transportation, fees, and
tuition costs. An aye vote is a vote for taxpayers.
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Highway Beautification Program
By a vote of 327 to 90 the House passed an amendment introduced by
Thomas Petri (R-WI) that eliminates a provision that allows states to
decide how to allocate their transportation funds to meet their
transportation needs. Current federal law forces each state to spend 10
percent of all surface transportation program funds on "transportation
enhancements." Funding for these enhancements can go to build and
maintain bicycle and pedestrian trails. However, they are also used to
restore old buildings, construct and sustain transportation museums,
and several other extraneous projects that do not help states meet
their transportation needs. A nay vote is a vote for taxpayers.
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Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Offset for FY 2003
By a vote of 111 to 300 the House rejected an amendment offered by Rep.
Pat Toomey that would have fully offset the $964 million Emergency
Supplemental Appropriations bill by requiring and across-the-board cut
in federal spending. The amendment forces a simple 0.29%.
across-the-board reduction of all discretionary programs, EXCEPT for
Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans spending. That means for every
$100 a government program is spending bureaucrats must to find a way to
cut 29 cents. In addition, the amendment specifically states that if
the President determines that the reduction in a particular program is
excessive, then he can postpone part or all of the reduction until
Fiscal Year 2004 and make the reduction out of the new funds
appropriated for the program. A aye vote is a vote for taxpayers.
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United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act
By a vote of 270 to 156, the House passed HR 2738, the United
States-Chile Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act. The legislation
was the implementing legislation for the free trade agreement between
the U.S. and Chile, the first between the U.S. and a South American
country. This agreement was an important first step toward a Free Trade
Area of the Americas (FTAA) and the larger goal of a tariff-free world.
ATR supports the eliminations of tariffs (which are taxes) around the
world, which will open new markets for American businesses and offer
more choices and lower prices for consumers. An aye vote is a vote for
taxpayers.
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Excessive Congressional Spending
By a vote of 210-212 the House rejected an amendment offered by
Representative Pat Toomey (R-PA0 that would have prevented funding for
five specific grants of questionable value, and allowed the funding to
be used for other research. The combined value of these grants is
roughly $1.7 million for FY 2004. The grants were Grant Number
RO1HD043689: "Mood Arousal and Sexual Risk Taking," Grant Number
RO3HDO39206: Study on Sexual Habits of Older Men, Grant Number
R01DA01386: Study on San Francisco's Asian Prostitutes/Masseuses, Grant
Number R01MH065871: Study on American Indian Transgender Research, and
Grant Number R01HD039789: National Institute for Child Health and Human
Development Study on Pandas. An aye vote was a vote for taxpayers.
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| 8 - |
Overtime Modernization
By a vote of 210 to 213, the House rejected an amendment offered by
Rep. David Obey (D-WI) that prevents the U.S. Department of Labor (DoL)
from modernizing the 50-year-old regulations defining exemptions from
the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for "white-collar" employees. By
enacting the new proposed rule Department of Labor Secretary Chao will
guarantee overtime pay for 1.3 million more low-wage workers. In
addition, enactment of this proposal will help small businesses grow
and save the U.S. economy between $870 million to $1.5 billion by
reducing regulatory red tape and litigation costs for business. A no
vote was a vote for taxpayers.
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Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act
By a vote of 264 to 163 the House voted to pass H.R. 8, the Death Tax
Repeal Permanency Act. The bill would make repeal of the death tax,
that is scheduled to sunset after 10 years, permanent.
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Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act
By a vote of 264 to 163 the House voted to pass H.R. 8, the Death Tax
Repeal Permanency Act. The bill would make repeal of the death tax,
that is scheduled to sunset after 10 years, permanent.
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Class Action Fairness Act of 2003
By a vote f 253 to 170 the House passed H.R. 1115, the Class Action
Fairness Act. The Class Action Fairness Act will streamline the ability
of the courts to deal with class action lawsuits by making it easier
for those involved in the case to transfer suits from the state courts
to the federal courts. Frivolous lawsuits that have blossomed under the
current tort law system have created a new "tort tax" on the United
States. The costs are passed onto the consumer in the form of higher
prices, while a handful of trial lawyers have manipulated a system to
earn millions of dollars in settlement fees. Americans for Tax Reform
double rated the aye vote as a vote for taxpayers.
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Jobs and Growth Tax Reconciliation Act
By a vote of 222 to 203 the House passed H.R. 2, the Jobs and Growth
Tax Reconciliation Act. The bill provided the most significant tax cut
to American taxpayers in over twenty years. The new tax law accelerated
income tax rate reductions, expanded business depreciation, increased
small business expensing amounts, slashed the capital gains tax and
significantly reduced the double taxation of dividends. An aye vote is
a vote for taxpayers.
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Jobs and Growth Tax Reconciliation Act
By a vote of 202 to 240 the House rejected an amendment offered by Rep.
Dennis Moore (D-KS) motion to recommit the Jobs and Growth Tax
Reconciliation Act to the Committee on Ways and Means with instructions
to promptly report the bill back to the House with an amendment that
provides that the bill's provisions will not take effect until the
Federal budget is in balance. A no vote is a vote for taxpayers.
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DeMint of South Carolina Amendment; Improving Education Results for Children With Disabilities Act of 2003
By a vote of 182 to 240 the House rejected an amendment offered by Rep.
Jim DeMint that would have expanded educational choice for parents of
disabled students by ensuring that IDEA funds should be available for
parents to choose services or schools for their children, particularly
for parents whose children are trapped in schools that can not meet
their special academic and/or physical needs. The amendment allows Part
D, research and innovation dollars, to be voluntarily used by states to
research and develop new education systems that promote customization
and choice. In addition, it amends Part B to allow states that already
provide parental choice programs to let their federal money follow the
child along with the state money to their selected school. An aye vote
is a vote for taxpayers.
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Energy Independence (ANWR)
By a vote of 197 to 228 the House rejected an amendment offered by
Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) that would have prevented the Interior
Department from granting leases for oil and gas exploration,
development, and production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in
Alaska. According to a study conducted by the Competitive Enterprise
Institute, opening ANWR to exploration and drilling could boost
domestic U.S. oil production by 14 percent. In order to decrease the
United States dependence on foreign oil and to improve our economic and
energy security, allowing exploration of ANWR for oil and gas
exploration is vital. A no vote was a vote for taxpayers.
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Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act
By a vote of 285 to 140 the House passed H.R. 1036, the Lawful Commerce
in Arms Act. The legislation protects gun manufacturers from frivolous
lawsuits instigated by gun control advocates, unable to convince
democratically elected legislators that removing guns from the hands of
law-abiding citizens will reduce crime. Through numerous court cases,
exorbitant court costs, and the threat of ruinous judgments, anti-gun
activists are attempting to bankrupt a lawful industry. On average, the
gun industry makes only about $200 million in profit, one large
judgment, such as the $400 million sought in the city of Chicago's
lawsuit, could bankrupt the entire industry. An aye vote was a vote for
taxpayers.
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Congressional Budget for FY 2004
By a vote of 215 to 212 the House passed H. Con. Res. 95, the
Congressional Budget for fiscal year 2004. The bill established the
congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year
2004 and setting forth appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years
2003 and 2005 through 2013.
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Bankruptcy Reform
By a vote of 315 to 113 the House passed H.R. 975, the Bankruptcy
Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2003. The legislation
slows the rise of bankruptcy cases in the United States by placing
restrictions on those who qualify to file for bankruptcy and educating
debtors on how to better handle their financial responsibilities. An
aye vote was a vote for taxpayers.
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Medical Malpractice Reform
By a vote of 229 to 1267 the House passed H.R. 5, the Help Efficient,
Accessible, Low-Cost, Timely, Healthcare (HEALTH) act. The legislation
comprehensively reforms the medical malpractice system by enacting caps
on damages, allowing for the inclusion of collateral source payments in
jury considerations, imposing time limits on filing of lawsuits, and
other reforms. Rising jury awards and settlements are increasing
physician malpractice insurance premiums. The costs from malpractice
suits are having a taxing effect on society by increasing the practice
of defensive medicine and decreasing physician productivity, and have
the potential to increase costs for specific patient groups and hinder
patient access to quality healthcare. An aye vote was a vote for
taxpayers.
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Welfare Reform
By a vote of 230 to 192 the House passed H.R. 4 the Welfare Reform
bill. The bill reauthorizes and improves the program of block grants to
states for temporary assistance for needy families and encourages
families to move from welfare to work, and ensure equitable treatment
of married, two-parent families. An aye vote is a vote in favor of
taxpayers. An aye vote was a vote for taxpayers.
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