Snap Fact #361 - PUNCH BACK: President Obama’s Plan Has Been Thwarted by a Republican Congress. Here Are the Actual Facts of What the Republican Congress Road Blocked

Snap Fact #361

PUNCH BACK: President Obama’s Plan Has Been Thwarted by a Republican Congress. Here Are the Actual Facts of What the Republican Congress Road Blocked.

The Republican candidate says the President has no plan for the next four years. Should the 2012 election give us the good fortune of Obama’s reelection with a Democratic partnership at his side, for a starter we will see much of the legislation that has been blocked by the Republican Congress these past four years come to fruition. This will be in addition to the new programs that an alert and informed President Obama will institute.

The Republican Party “has become an insurgent outlier in American politics. It is ideologically extreme; scornful of compromise; unmoved by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science; unmoved by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition.”*  

To get an idea of just how extreme the Republican Congress has become, read this list of 60 votes on final passage, amendments, and motions to recommit that House of Representative Republicans have taken during the 112th Congress that hurt middle class Americans and weaken the country.**

If you have any illusions that a Romney Administration will be promulgating laws in your interest, the following list of what the House Republicans of the 112th have voted for, as well as the roadblock mentality of the Senate, will wipe away any doubts. Arm yourself with the facts so you can be an informed voter and help others learn the truth before they vote:

HOW HOUSE REPUBLICANS VOTED IN THE 112TH CONGRESS

Putting corporations that ship American jobs overseas before American workers

1. Protect federal funding for corporations that offshored or outsourced American jobs overseas (H. Res. 38, Roll no. 19)

2. Protect corporations that outsource American jobs overseas in violation of the National Labor Relations Act (H.R. 2587, Roll no. 710)

3. Protect ability of foreign countries, like China, to engage in the unfair trade practice of currency manipulation that hurts American jobs (H.R. 3078, Roll no. 780)

4. Protect corporations that outsource or plan to outsource American jobs overseas in labor elections (H.R. 3094, Roll no. 869)

Protecting massive tax breaks for the wealthiest at the expense of middle class families

5. Protect tax breaks for millionaires instead of relief for middle class families (H.R. 491, Roll no. 922)

6. Hold hostage a tax cut for middle class families to protect tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% (H.AMDT 1475 to H.R. 6169, Roll no. 550)

Attacking Medicare, Social Security and programs that help older Americans

7. End the Medicare guarantee (H. Con. Res. 34, Roll no. 277)

8. Against prohibiting ending the Medicare guarantee and turning it into a voucher system (H.R. no. 5, Roll no. 41)

9. Against ensuring that no funds can be used to privatize and cut Social Security and Medicare (H.J.Res. 48, Roll no. 178)

10. End initiative to protect seniors who have worked a lifetime to own a home and earn financial stability (H.R. 830, Roll no. 170)

11. Against protecting preventative health care funding for seniors (H.R. 1217, Roll no. 263)

12. Against protecting seniors from abusive, predatory, unfair, and deceptive financial practices (H.R. 1315, Roll no. 620)

Attacking women’s health and safety

13. Limit the ability of women to access reproductive health care (H.R. 3, Roll no. 292)

14. Take away the right of women with private health insurance to choose how they spend their own money in purchasing health insurance covering reproductive health care (H.R. 358, Roll no. 789)

15. Weaken protections for battered immigrant women who are legally here (H.R. 4970, Roll no. 258)

16. Remove protections for LGBT victims of domestic violence (H.R. 4970, Roll no. 258)

17. Against access to life-saving health care for women (H.R. 358, Roll no. 788)

18. Against protecting the medical records of victims of rape and incest (H.R. 3, Roll no. 291)

19. Eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood (H.AMDT. 95 to H.R. 1, Roll no. 93)

20. Repeal protections to ensure that health insurance companies can’t discriminate on the basis of gender (H.R. 2, Roll no. 14)

Against giving middle class families a fair shake, weakening consumer protections

21. Decrease Americans ability to access to affordable health care, weaken protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions, and end health care benefits (H.R. 2, Roll no. 14)

22. Block restoring Pell grants that help millions of Americans afford tuition for higher education (H.R. 1, Roll no. 146)

23. Block requirement that charter schools conduct criminal background checks for felons, registered sex offenders, and child abusers (H.R. 2218, Roll no. 704)

24. Weaken and delay consumer protections against abusive, deceptive and unfair financial practices – including for credit cards, mortgages and student loans – putting Wall Street before Main Street families (H.R. 1315, Roll no. 621)

25. Abolish help for families who are underwater to refinance into lower-cost mortgages they can afford to repay (H.R. 830, Roll no. 171)

26. Eliminate short-term loans for up to 33,000 homeowners who lost their jobs through no fault of their own and are at risk of losing their homes (H.R. 836, Roll no. 174)

27. Eliminate efforts to strengthen neighborhoods that were hard hit by the housing bubble burst (H.R. 861, Roll no. 188)

28. Against protecting against gas price increases for American families (H.R. 1938, Roll no. 649)

29. Protect oil and gas speculators that drive up gas prices (H.R. 2112, Roll no. 458)

30. Restrict ability of agencies to protect consumer health and safety (H.R 10, Roll no. 901)

31. Jeopardize funding for Amber Alerts (H.R. 1076, Roll no. 191)

32. Slash funding for programs that put food on the table for low income families and repeal programs that help working families (H.R. 5652, Roll no. 247)

Putting special interests before a government of, by, and for the people

33. Increase the influence of secret special interest groups in campaigns by eliminating options for citizens to have a voice in elections (H.R. 359, Roll no. 25)

34. Weaken protections to ensure that every vote counts, including those of service members (H.R. 672, Roll no. 466)

35. Protect pay for Members of Congress during a government shutdown (H.R. 1255, Roll no. 223)

Putting Big Oil and Koch Brothers’ coal interests above the environment and middle class families

36. Protect unnecessary taxpayer subsidies for Big Oil (H.J. Res. 44, Roll no. 153)

37. Reward oil companies that owe fines and penalties for damage in the Gulf Coast (H.R. 1229, Roll no. 308)

38. Protect Big Oil and corporate jet owners at the expense of middle class families (S. 627, Roll no. 676)

39. Against protecting seniors and children from lung disease (H.R. 910, Roll no. 248)

40. Prevent the EPA from addressing serious health threats from carbon pollution, including increased childhood asthma (H.R. 910, Roll no. 249)

41. Make broad swaths of the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts automatically open to lease for offshore oil drilling (H.R. 1231, Roll no. 320)

42. Weaken the Clean Air Act (H.R. 2021, Roll no. 478)

43. Against safeguards that protect our drinking water from arsenic and perchlorate (H.R. 2018, Roll no. 572)

44. Cut water quality funding (H. Amdt 143 to H.R. 1, Roll no. 123)

45. Substantially cut environmental protection (H. Con Res. 34, Roll no. 277) 46. Protect polluters over children and pregnant women (H.R. 2681, Roll no. 763)

47. Protect polluters over people who live in nursing homes and assisted living facilities (H.R. 2250, Roll no. 790)

48. Against protecting the public from toxic dust know to cause cancer and brain damage (H.R. 1633, Roll no. 911)

49. Undermine clean air standards (H.R. 1633, Roll no. 912)

50. Weaken live-saving protection from cross-state pollution (H.R. 2401, Roll no. 741)

51. Block the EPA mercury and air toxics standards that are estimated to save 12,000 lives  every year and more than 1 million asthma attacks (H.AMDT.799 to H.R 2401, Roll no. 737)

National Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans

52. Block increase in combat pay for troops (H.R. 1540, Roll no. 374)

53. Block protection for Gold Star widows and members of the Armed Services facing foreclosure (H.R. 839, Roll no. 197)

54. Block protection to guarantee our troops will get paid during a GOP-led government shutdown (H.R. 1363, Roll no. 246)

55. Block ensuring air marshals are deployed on the highest-risk flights (H.R. 658, Roll no. 219)

56. Prevent the Department of Homeland Security from considering the natural security impact of climate change (H.AMDT. 378 to H.R. 2017, Roll no. 392)

57. Block additional funding to increase protection for public transit, rail lines, and buses considered vulnerable to attack (H.R. 2017, Roll no. 408)

58. Against protecting housing assistance for veterans and service members (H.R. 836, Roll no. 173)

59. Block additional funding to help veterans who are returning and mobilizing, as well as their families (H.R. 2219, Roll no. 531)

60. Protect predatory lenders who target veterans (H.R. 2940, Roll no. 827)

*Mann, Thomas E. and Norman J. Ornstein.  “Let’s just say it: The Republicans are the problem.” The Washington Post, 2012-04-27. This essay is adapted from their book It’s Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/lets-just-say-it-the-republicans-are-the-problem/2012/04/27/gIQAxCVUlT_story.html?tid=pm_opinions_pop

Mooney, Chris.  “Liberals and conservatives don’t just vote differently. They think differently.” The Washington Post, 2012-04-12. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/liberals-and-conservatives-dont-just-vote-differently-they-think-differently/2012/04/12/gIQAzb1kDT_story.html

Nader, Ralph.   “Capitol Hill’s Rabid, Ravaging Republicans -- Who Is Electing These People?” Alternet, 2012-10-27. http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/capitol-hills-rabid-ravaging-republicans-who-electing-these-people

**U.S. House of Representatives.  “The Do Nothing Congress: A Record of Extremism and Partisanship.” Democratic Caucus, 2012-10-25. http://www.dems.gov/blog/the-do-nothing-congress-a-record-of-extremism-and-partisanship

                                                                            ~

"Fascism - A system of government that exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the merging of state and business leadership, together with belligerent nationalism." - American Heritage Dictionary (1983)

This posting is for educational purposes.

It was produced by Beverly Bandler

bgbandler@yahoo.com

2012-10-31

Beverly Bandler’s public affairs career spans some 40 years. Her credentials include serving as president of the state-level League of Women Voters of the Virgin Islands and extensive public education efforts in the Washington, D.C. area for 16 years. Bandler attended Sarah Lawrence College (‘59) and has a master’s degree in Public Administration from George Washington University (‘82). She writes from Mexico.

ADDENDUM – SHORT LIST OF SENATE FILIBUSTERS

While we’re at it, here is a short list of filibusters on the Senate Side. This selected list is representative of the highest number of filibusters in American history. During the president's first two years in office, the 111th Congress, there were 137 cloture motions filed to end Republican filibusters. During the president's second two years, the 112th Congress, there were 109 motions filed to end Republican filibusters and we still have a few more months to go. 246 total cloture motions. Compare this to George W. Bush's first term when there were a total of 133 cloture motions filed. Not even a handful of "sensible" Republicans had the guts to break ranks and vote with the Democrats. Meanwhile, on the House side, the Republican majority has voted in near-lockstep against almost everything as we have seen above.

What bills have the Senate Republicans filibustered? To name a few:

H.R. 12 - Paycheck Fairness Act

H.R. 448 -- Elder Abuse Victims Act

H.R. 466 - Wounded Veteran Job Security Act

H.R. 515 - Radioactive Import Deterrence Act

H.R. 549 -- National Bombing Prevention Act

H.R. 577 - Vision Care for Kids Act

H.R. 626 - Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act

H.R. 1029 - Alien Smuggling and Terrorism Prevention Act

H.R. 1168 -- Veterans Retraining Act

H.R. 1171 - Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program Reauthorization

H.R. 1293 -- Disabled Veterans Home Improvement and Structural Alteration Grant Increase Act

H.R. 1429 -- Stop AIDS in Prison Act

H.R.5281 -- DREAM Act

S.3985 -- Emergency Senior Citizens Relief Act

S.3816 -- Creating American Jobs and Ending Offshoring Act

S.3369 -- A bill to provide for additional disclosure requirements for corporations, labor organizations, Super PACs and other entities

S.2237 -- Small Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act

S.2343 -- Stop the Student Loan Interest Rate Hike Act

S.1660 -- American Jobs Act of 2011

S.3457 -- Veterans Jobs Corps Act

What else? Here's an astonishing one. The Republicans filibustered the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act -- basically, healthcare for 9/11 heroes. Every Republican senator voted to filibuster this bill. I suppose the Republicans are only interested in 9/11 heroes when they're used as political props.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/republicans-filibuster-ev_b_2018663.html