U.S. Senators Mike Enzi, John Barrasso and U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis keep us informed on the issues effecting Wyoming and the Country. Their speeches on the Senate and House floor, their voting on the issues in Washington and their communications with various U.S Agencies help Wyoming remain a great State to live, work and play. The Committees they are assigned to are: Senator Enzi; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Budget, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Social Security, trade, health care programs, taxes, energy and transportation. Senator Barrasso; Foreign Relations, Energy and Natural Resources, Environment and Public Works (EPW), Indian Affairs, and Senate Republican Whip Team Member. Representative Lummis;
Natural Resources Committee, Budget Committee,Energy and Mineral Resources, National Parks, Forests and Public Lands and Agriculture Committee...
07/01/09 — Senator Enzi talks health care reform on The Jason Lewis Show Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, discussed health care reform on the nationally syndicated Jason Lewis Show on Tuesday, June 30 with former Senator Rod Grams.
06/25/09 — Barrasso, Wyden Legislation Will Improve Access to Rural Health Clinics WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ensuring that Americans in rural areas have access to quality health care, U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) have introduced the Rural Health Clinic Patient Access and Improvement Act of 2009, which addresses long standing underpayments to rural health clinics, introduces a quality improvement program to RHCs, and provides incentives to recruit and retain medical professionals to rural areas.
07/01/09 — Barrasso, Inohofe Question EPA Commitment to Transparency WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a letter sent yesterday to EPA Administrator Jackson, U.S. Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and Senator John Barrasso (R-Wy.) questioned the transparency governing the development of EPA's endangerment finding. Senator Inhofe noted, "Having clearly articulated your commitment to transparency, one would expect Agency officials to uphold your commitment through its actions."
06/24/09 — Western Senate Republicans Unite WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Republicans from Western states have united to form the Senate Western Caucus. …“America deserves an all-of-the-above energy strategy. We must make more American energy and use less.”… The Senate Western Caucus (SWC) is made up of Senators from Western and rural states who are committed to upholding the fundamental principles of the West. Western Republicans on both sides of Capitol Hill are unified behind a Western approach to solving America’s problems.
06/26/09 — Lummis Votes to Protect Wyoming Jobs, Consumers From Energy Tax WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., issued this statement following her vote against the Democrat’s national energy tax proposal, H.R. 2454…“All over the United States, families are struggling to pay their bills and put food on the table,” Lummis said. “…
06/18/09 — “Washington Wants Wyoming's Water” WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) believes that the “Clean Water Restoration Act” is nothing more than another government takeover.…“This measure will harm Wyoming’s economy, directly impacting ranches, farms, and mining operations. Expanding Washington’s reach to include all water currently under state control is a flawed approach,” Barrasso said.
Senator Enzi talks health care reform on The Jason Lewis Show 07/01/09 Click here to listen to the full radio interview —
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, discussed health care reform on the nationally syndicated Jason Lewis Show on Tuesday, June 30 with former Senator Rod Grams. Click here
Washington is dumping a colos–sal amount of debt into the laps of our children and grandchildren. Between 2008 and 2013, the budget will add $5.7 trillion ($48,000 per U.S. household) in new government debt. The annual interest on this debt would nearly equal the entire U.S. defense budget by 2019. Moreover, given the unsustainable costs of paying Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits to 77 million retiring baby boomers, the federal debt will continue expanding after 2019. Without real reforms, the result may be devastating tax increases for decades to come.
Place: Three Crowns Golf Club - 1601 King Boulevard. Dust off those clubs and join the Natrona County Republican Party for a 9-Hole golf scramble while enjoying the views of Three Crowns Golf Club and Casper mountain, (Golf & Social $75 ea.) Don't Golf? Join your fellow Republicans for fabulous food and drinks while relaxing and enjoying the views from the clubhouse decks.(Social Only $25 ea.) Register Early
Cantor On The National Energy Tax And The Cost And Consequences Of The Democrats’ Agenda 06/25/09
“I think going forward what the Republican Party is focused on right now is the disconnect between what the Obama administration and Speaker Pelosi are promoting here in Washington, and the reality on the ground for working families and small businesses. We’re spending money at a clip faster than we’ve ever spent before, amassing debt more than we ever have before, while people across this country are out of a job. We just saw the jobless numbers. They continue to go up. Why aren’t we focusing on trying to do something about this economy? Instead, priority one for Nancy Pelosi this week is imposing a huge national energy tax. There’s just a huge disconnect.” – House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA)
Senate Passes $106B War Spending Bill, Sends to Obama 06/23/09
The $106 billion emergency war bill also branches off to provide money for programs ranging from pandemic flu preparedness($7.7 billion) to a "cash for clunkers" ($1 billion) initiative to encourage drivers to switch to more fuel-efficient vehicles.
The Senate passed the measure on a one-sided 91-5 vote despite complaints from several senators about the add-ons that pushed the total more than $20 billion above the funding request made two months ago. The House approved the bill on Wednesday by a much closer 226-202 vote.…FOXNews
…H.R.2647 - Votes Senate - Votes House
Congress Approves 'Cash for Clunkers' Program 06/23/09
Auto state senators said the program would help hard-pressed car dealers and automakers by bringing buyers into showrooms, and they got help from President Obama and Vice President Biden, who made calls to wavering Democrats urging them to keep the plan alive.
Four Republicans -- Kit Bond of Missouri, Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Susan Collins of Maine and George Voinovich of Ohio -- voted with two independents and 54 Democrats in favor of the clunker measure, while Democrat Ben Nelson of Nebraska was opposed along with 35 Republicans.…FOXNews
House Democrat Draft Health “Reform” Legislation 06/22/09 At 852 pages, the released discussion draft sets the tone for a Washington takeover of the health care system—one defined by federal regulation, mandates, myriad new programs, and higher federal spending. The bill would ensure the heavy hand of federal bureaucrats over the United States health care system, levying costly new taxes on individuals and businesses who do not comply. Many Members may question how additional federal mandates and bureaucratic diktats raising costs appreciably for all Americans would make health care more “affordable.” Members may also note that while the bill’s provisions could cost as much as $2 trillion, few provisions in the draft would finance this bureaucrat-run program.… Highlights of major provisions likely to cause Member concern include:… read more at… GOP.gov
Waxman-Markey Electricity Consumer Allocation Map Consumers in red colored states will pay more for electricity to make up for the shortfall in allowances (dollars in millions). 06/22/09 Based on the allowance allocation formula in H.R. 2454 for electricity consumers, the red states will not have enough allowances to cover their emissions from electricity generation. The shortfall in allowances to the red states will lead to higher electricity costs for consumers, the total of which will roughly correlate with the dollar losses noted on the map. For example, Texas electricity consumers will see electricity costs go up by roughly $1 billion. To make up the shortfall, red states will have to seek high-cost, non-CO2 emitting electricity sources, reduce electricity production and consumption, or purchase allowances from the green states, or purchase domestic and international offsets, likely a combination of the three. GOP.gov
Wyoming GOP Chairman Questions Gov.’s Nomination of Wife 05/15/09 Casper – Wyoming Republican Party Chairman Diana Vaughan today questioned Governor Freudenthal’s nomination of his wife to the federal bench and said that elected officials should hold themselves to a higher standard of accountability. “The governor said that he didn’t want to penalize his wife for being married to him, but the fact is that elected officials and their families have to hold themselves to a higher standard,” Vaughan said. “This nomination doesn’t pass the smell test. The governor submitted these names two months ago but it was kept quiet until now. If this was a decision he was proud of he would have released the names when he submitted the letter to the White House back in March.” Gov. Freudenthal nominated his wife for a seat on the U.S. District Court in Cheyenne. The appointment carries a lifetime term, and the annual salary for a U.S. District Court Judge is $162,500. “The governor knows the people of Wyoming demand fair dealing,” Vaughan said. “The governor’s decision to campaign for Barack Obama all over the country, then to nominate his wife to the bench, and then to keep it quiet for a couple months, seems to me to be an admission that the governor has decided not to run for his office again. Whether that’s the case or not, the Wyoming GOP is ready to win the governor’s office back in 2010.” … WYOgop
Tracking Earmarks and Taking Names
One of the most bi-partisanly problematic and controversial issues in Washington is that of earmarks and pork-barrel spending. Several organizations exist to track this -- often irresponsible and secret -- spending of taxpayer dollars. Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) keeps painstaking tabs on each bill and appropriation so you don't have to. Today, they released their 2009 Congressional Pig Book, especially relevant due to the recent omnibus spending bill and huge stimulus package passed in the House and Senate.… GOP.gov
“No freeman shall be debarred the use of arms.” —Thomas Jefferson
“It is not hyperbole to describe [the Supreme Court’s] decision in [District of Columbia v.] Heller as the most significant opinion of this century, and likely, of the last two generations. Two particular thoughts immediately come to mind. First, the extent to which [the] decision effectively opens the door for future litigation regarding the Second Amendment to further clarify the extent of the now confirmed, but long understood, individual right to keep and bear arms. Second, this is an election year. This decision, closely divided as it is, will likely provide a rallying cry for the millions of the Americans who recognize that their Second Amendment rights came down to a single vote. In reading Justice Scalia’s opinion, there is an overwhelming theme that to interpret the Second Amendment as not protecting an individual right would gut the amendment of meaning and defy logic. It is, after all, the Second Amendment, not the two hundredth. This is not an obscure line buried among thousands of pages of text. It is inconceivable that the framers would have given it the priority they did, placing it ahead of so many other critical rights, if they only meant it to apply to militias as the dissenting justices suggest.” — David Schenck
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