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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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| 2 - |
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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| 3 - |
Kyoto Treaty
By a vote of 43 to 55 the Senate rejected an amendment offered by Sen.
Joe Lieberman (D-CT) that would require the United States to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions to 2000 levels by 2010. The legislation
attempts to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, however it limits
the United States' energy use and stymies economic growth. A no vote is
a vote for taxpayers.
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| 4 - |
Tort Reform
By a vote of 59 to 39 the Senate failed to invoke cloture on S. 1751,
the Class Action Fairness Act. Passage of the motion would have
prevented a Democrat led filibuster of the legislation. 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. An aye vote was a vote for taxpayers.
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| 5 - |
Income Tax Reduction Repeal
By a 57 to 42 vote the Senate tabled an amendment offered by Sen. Joe
Biden to S. 1689, the Iraq Supplemental Appropriations, FY 2004 bill.
The amendment would have suspended the tax cut for the highest
individual income taxpayers. The amendment sought to ensure small
business owners, investors, and individuals would be denied tax relief.
An aye vote was a vote for taxpayers.
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| 6 - |
FCC Media Ownership bill
By a 55 to 40 vote the Senate passed S.J. Res. 17. The legislation
would have reversed the June 2, 2003 decision of the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) to raise the cap on broadcast ownership
from 35 percent of national audience reach to 45 percent, and to end
the ban on newspapers purchasing television stations in the same city.
The resolution was brought to an expedited vote pursuant to the
Congressional Review Act. ATR supported the FCC's decision and opposed
this legislation because deregulation would allow the market -- as
opposed to government regulations -- to have a greater say in the
limits of media ownership. The old rules had been adopted as far back
as 1941, when only three networks existed, and with the existence of
hundreds of cable television channels and the Internet these rules had
become obsolete. A no vote is a vote for taxpayers.
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| 7 - |
Overtime Modernization
By a 54 to 45 vote the Senate passed an amendment offered by Sen. Tom
Harkin (D-IA) that would have prevented 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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| 8 - |
United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act
By a vote of 66 to 31 the Senate passed S. 1416, the United
States-Chile Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act. The bill 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 was a vote for
taxpayers.
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| 9 - |
Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE)
By a vote of 32 to 65 the Senate rejected an amendment offered by
Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) to S. 6, the Energy Policy Act. The
amendment mandates higher corporate average fuel economy (CAFE)
standards. The CAFE program has done nothing to curb reliance on
foreign oil, does not benefit the environment, and has forced drivers
into compact cars that have compromised their safety and strained their
pocketbooks. A no vote was a vote for taxpayers.
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| 10 - |
Medical Malpractice Reform
By a vote of 49 to 48 the Senate failed to invoke cloture on S. 11, the
Patients First Act of 2003. 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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| 11 - |
Small Business and Investor Tax Increase
By a vote of 48-52, the Senate rejected an amendment offered by Sen.
Ted Kennedy (D-MA). The amendment would have removed tax relief for all
taxpayers from the President's tax cut package. The amendment sought to
ensure small business owners and investors would be denied tax relief.
A no vote is a vote for taxpayers.
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| 12 - |
Judicial Nominations
By a vote of 52 to 45 the Senate failed to invoke cloture on the
nomination of Priscilla Owen to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth
Circuit. Priscilla Owen was included in the first group of Court of
Appeals nominees sent to the U.S. Senate by President Bush on May 9,
2001. More than two and a half years later, Ms. Owen still has yet to
receive a vote for confirmation. Instead, a minority of senators have
mounted a filibuster of her nomination, requiring the votes of 60
senators to move to a vote. Ms. Owen enjoys the support of a majority
of the U.S. Senate, the standard set out in the Constitution for the
confirmation of nominees, but the seat on the Fifth Circuit --
classified as a "judicial emergency" by the Administrative Office of
the U.S. Courts -- remains vacant as a minority of senators obstruct
her nomination. An aye vote was a vote for taxpayers.
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| 13 - |
Breaux Amdt. No. 420; FY2004 Congressional Budget Resolution
By a 51 to 48 vote the Senate passed an amendment offered by Sen. John
Breaux (D-LA) to the fiscal year 2004 Congressional Budget. The
amendment cut in half the size of President Bush's $726 billion tax cut
to $350 billion. The ultimate result of this amendment was to scale
down the size and effectiveness of the tax cut. Because of the
importance of this vote to taxpayers, ATR double rated a no vote as a
vote for taxpayers.
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| 14 - |
Breaux Amdt. No. 420; FY2004 Congressional Budget Resolution
By a 51 to 48 vote the Senate passed an amendment offered by Sen.
John Breaux (D-LA) to the fiscal year 2004 Congressional Budget. The
amendment cut in half the size of President Bush's $726 billion tax cut
to $350 billion. The ultimate result of this amendment was to scale
down the size and effectiveness of the tax cut. Because of the
importance of this vote to taxpayers, ATR double rated a no vote as a
vote for taxpayers.
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| 15 - |
AMTRAK Funding
By a vote of 51 to 49 the Senate voted on an amendment offered by
Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) to the fiscal year 2004 Congressional Budget
Resolution. The amendment would have increased funds for the National
Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak). Created 30 years ago to
modernize passenger rail travel and to make it profitable, Amtrak has
operated in the red every year, receiving over $15 billion in taxpayer
subsidies. In 2001 alone, Amtrak lost $1.1 billion. Its 13 separate
unions and mandated service on unprofitable routes destroy flexibility
and drain money out of the few profitable lines in the system. A no
vote was a vote for taxpayers.
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| 16 - |
Reduction of Tax Cuts
By a vote of 58 to 42 the Senate voted to table an amendment offered by
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) to the fiscal year 2004 Congressional Budget
Resolution. The amendment would have decreased the tax cuts to $980
billion. A yea vote was a vote for taxpayers.
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| 17 - |
Death Tax Elimination Permanency
By a vote of 51-48, the Senate voted on an amendment offered by Se. Jon
Kyl (R-AZ which would have immediately repealed the Death Tax starting
in 2005. However, the vote failed due to the 60-vote requirement for
budgetary votes in the Senate. A yea vote is a vote for the taxpayers
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| 18 - |
Energy Independence (ANWR)
By a vote of 52-48, the Senate accepted an amendment offered by
Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) that removed a provision that would have
allowed the Interior Department to grant leases for oil and gas
exploration, development, and production in the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge in Alaska as part of the budget process prevented.
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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Competitive Sourcing
The Mikulski amendment defunds and prohibits the initiation or
continuation of any competitive sourcing. Public-private competition,
or competitive sourcing, is the process for determining if the
government's commercial jobs, like computer services, food services, or
maintenance, should be performed by federal agencies or by private
sector companies. President Bush's Management Agenda focuses on
public-private competition to create a performance-based management
initiative designed to improve performance and efficiency. His plan has
worked to make government more efficient by streamlining federal
regulations and holding government bureaucracies accountable to the
American taxpayer who funds their departments.
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| 20 - |
Tax Cut Repeal
The Byrd amendment attempted to invalidate across the board reductions
contained in the fiscal year 2003 omnibus. A yea vote was a vote
against taxpayers.
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