(Originally appeared in the Telluride Daily Planet on 04/08/2005)
Stop Congressional Spending Spree
Dear Editor,
A "Continuity of Government" federal report made public on June 4, 2003 called for a constitutional amendment that would allow the expedient appointment of members of the U.S. House of Representatives in case of vacancies, vaguely worded "extraordinary circumstances."
A few members of Congress are concerned about preserving the unique role of the House as the part of the federal government closest to and most accountable to the people. They believe that true elected representatives and not persons hand-picked by state executives are better guardians of the people's liberty. The Continuity of Representation Act was introduced as an alternative to the COG proposal. This legislation would require states to promptly hold special elections of U.S. House members and not appoint new members.
On March 3, 2005, H.R. 841 was passed by the House by a vote of 329 to 68. The San Miguel County Libertarian Party wants to thank our representative John T. Salazar (D-Colo. Third District) for voting in favor of this bill.
Unfortunately for Americans, Salazar voted two weeks later in favor of the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief: H.R. 1268, a bill that passed in the House on March 16, 2005 by a vote of 388 to 43. At no less than $87.5 billion, this is the second largest appropriations bill in the history of the world, second only to the one passed last year by the U.S. government.
The funds are classified as "emergency" so spending caps can be ignored and the billions in new spending will not need to be offset by reducing other federal government spending. All of this money will be borrowed and will add to our deficit. Included in the long list of emergency funds in this bill are the millions needed to build a new baseball stadium in D.C. and other politicians' non-emergency pet projects. Billions of dollars are being given to foreign governments to aid in peacekeeping, fighting the drug trade, aiding in defense, economic aid, etc. The House has also added unrelated provisions for a national ID within the bill. The SMCLP finds the passage of this legislation by Salazar and the House irresponsible and unacceptable.
DownsizeDC.org has argued that this bill, like most, was not even read by members of Congress. In fact, they point out that the writers of the bill have argued over language in the bill that they deny writing. The organization explains that The Patriot Act was made law before a single copy was printed for review by our representatives. The National Intelligence Reform Act was 3,364 pages long and only two copies were printed for review two hours before the vote by the House. Downsize DC is suggesting a simple law requiring members of Congress to hear the entire wording of the laws on which they wish to vote.
The San Miguel County Libertarian Party encourages you to contact our senators to vote into law H.R. 841 and keep the U.S. House of Representatives the People's House and to vote down the massive money-grab appropriations bill, H.R. 1268.
Sincerely,
The San Miguel County Libertarian Party