McHugh Watch

In his own words:

And we can, we must have, a different approach, one that especially places responsibility for success where it rightfully lies, and I have heard my colleagues tonight speak about that, with the Iraqi people. I propose an amendment to the supplemental appropriations bill that will just do that, require the Iraqis to step forward, to stand up, to stop the talking, and to begin to act.
– John McHugh, February 13, 2007 before the House during H. Con. Res 63 debate.

Today’s vote on the supplemental appropriations bill was one of the most disturbing votes that our congressman has cast in his tenure as our representative. It is not a surprise that he once again voted to continue this war and support the President – he’s consistent – but rather he voted against what he publicly told us he stood for on the floor of the house. What is most disturbing is that he voted against the tenets of the very bill, HR 775, that he introduced on January 31, 2007 and called the Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense and for the Reconstruction of Iraq.

The very actions that he called for in his bill were each addressed in today’s supplemental appropriation. See here for a line by line comparison of his bill HR 775 and today’s bill. You will find that every single item of concern to Mr. McHugh was addressed in today’s bill – and still he votes against it. Continue Reading »

This past December, Mr. McHugh proudly announced that he was elected by his Republican colleagues to serve on the House Republican Steering Committee. By his own description the Steering committee “is responsible for making assignments to standing committees for the 110th Congress, … [and] naming Republicans to Committee Ranking Member positions.”

The Republican Steering Committee has now found it appropriate (no pun in intended) to appoint Jerry Lewis(R-Calif) as ranking member of the powerful Appropriations Committee even though he is under investigation by the FBI for steering millions in appropriation contracts to staffers, friends, and family in return for campaign contributions. Reportedly there were a number of Republican members who were quite worried if the leadership had learned the lessons of the November elections. Continue Reading »

Votes Against Before voting For: Hedging at its best.

H. Res. 6 set standards for the 110th congress regarding ethical behavior, the proper conducts of votes, and fiscal responsibility. The different sections or “Titles” address the most egregious behaviors that the prior congresses and their leaders indulged in for the past 10 years.

TITLE 2 Ethics
a. Ends the K Street Project: where the Republican Party pressured Washington lobbying firms to hire Republicans in top positions, and to reward loyal GOP lobbyists with access to influential officials. It was launched in 1995, by Republican strategist Grover Norquist and House majority leader Tom DeLay.
b. Bans lawmakers from flying on corporate jets and accepting gifts and meals from lobbyists.
c. True value of sporting & entertainment tickets must be declared.

for more details see here.

TITLE 3 Conduct of Votes
Ends holding votes open for the sole purpose of changing the outcome: a reaction to the 2003 Medicare Prescription Drug bill where the floor was left open for over three hours during which time arms were twisted to pass the bill when it was going down to defeat. Originally passed the House by one vote. McHugh was the one vote.

TITLE 4 Fiscal Responsibility
a. Congressional earmarks and limited tax benefits or tariffs (for 10 or less people are now to be declared with the name of the member inserting them and the beneficiaries who will gain from them.
b. Pay as You Go Point of Order: Bill out of order if measure will have the net effect of increasing the deficit or reducing the surplus

Before our congressman voted “Yes” on TITLES 1 – 4, he tried as hard as possible with parliamentary moves to kill the bill. He voted against voting on the bill (Ordering the Previous Question) and then voted against the bill to allow voting (special rule). Finally, having exhausted all the parliamentary moves, he voted for the first four sections.

Notably he voted against the last section to allow consideration of the subsequent bills proposed for the first 100 hours: Drug Prescription Negotiation, Minimum Wage, Student Loan Relief, Long-Term Energy Alternatives and Stem Cell Research.
His parliamentary maneuvering belies his real intentions: you just can’t been seen to vote against ethics reform – but he does everything he can to scuttle it.

Hopefully the readers of this bog will learn something of house procedures and how their use really tells the true intentions of our representatives.