In Case You Missed It….

The Hill
By Rep. Rodney Alexander
March 5, 2010

“An issue quickly becoming a national concern is the current state of our levee systems.

From coast to coast, several levee systems are aging and in serious need of an overhaul… Read the rest of this entry »

Obama Heads To Pennsylvania Today To Pitch The Health Care Bill That Is Sinking Specter’s Re-election Hopes

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “I Know It’s An Election Year.  …[I]t’s Clear That Campaign Fever Has Come Even Earlier Than Usual.  But We Still Need To Govern.” (President Barack Obama, State Of The Union Address, Washington, DC, 1/27/10) Read the rest of this entry »

Obama’s Government-Run Health Care Experiment Concentrates Power In Washington, Limiting The Freedom Of The American People

“Promising To ‘Do Everything In My Power’ To Get Congress To Pass Health Care Legislation Within The Next Few Weeks, Obama Will Talk Up Health Care Monday In The Philadelphia Area…” (Carol E. Lee, “W.H. Sees Reform Homestretch,” Politico, 3/4/10) Read the rest of this entry »

What Obama Wants Most Is Killing

The One Thing Americans Are Asking For

OBAMA ON “AMERICA’S MOST WANTED” TONIGHT: “Obama Is Going To Help TV’s ‘America’s Most Wanted’ Mark The Milestone Broadcast Of Its 1,000th Episode … Airing 9 P.M. EST Saturday On Fox.” (”Obama On ‘America’s Most Wanted’ To Celebrate Show Milestone,” The Associated Press, 3/4/10) Read the rest of this entry »

The Times-PicayuneRoger Villere

Louisiana Republican Party Chairman Roger Villere says he’s seriously considering running in the fall election for the soon-to-be vacant lieutenant governor’s post, but he isn’t taking a position onGov. Bobby Jindal’s controversial initiative to eliminate the office. 

Villere and the state party have been staunch allies for Jindal, who routinely receives campaign and publicity assistance from the political organization. 

Jindal’s proposed constitutional amendment to abolish the statewide-elected position is arguably the single most important issue affecting the office this year, but Villere is not wading into the swirling political waters. 

“I’m really not going to speculate on it at this time,” he said. Current Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu will become mayor of New Orleans in May, which will trigger a special election in the fall to fill the seat for the remainder of the term. Another election for the next full four-year term will be held in 2011. 

Villere, 60, is not completely new to the election scene. He ran for a state House seat 30 years ago and lost. His position as party chairman is elected by members of the state party. The Metairie florist plans to turn his business over to his sons

Obama’s Hypocrisy On Full Display Yesterday,

Warning Dems Who Voted Yes Not To Flip-Flop,

While Arm-Twisting Dems Who Voted No To Switch

“White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs Said Obama Is Prepared To Do ‘Whatever It Takes’ To Get Health Care Done In The Coming Weeks.” (Jennifer Bendery, “Obama To Congress: Get It Done Already,” Roll Call, 3/4/10) Read the rest of this entry »

Democrats Demonize Insurance Companies, But Still Cash Their Huge Checks & Rely On Their Lobbying

“Top Executives From United Health Group Inc., Wellpoint Inc., Aetna Inc., Health Care Service Corporation And CIGNA Healthcare Inc. Are Scheduled To Attend [A Meeting With HHS Sec. Sebelius At]… The White House On Thursday At 11 Am ET.” (Jake Tapper, “Sebelius Meeting With Insurance Executives Moved To White House,” ABC News’s “Political Punch” Blog, 3/2/10) Read the rest of this entry »

A Few Questions About Congress’

Walking YouTube^TM Clip Who Has Just Been

Put In Charge Of Writing Your Tax Code

“Speaker Nancy Pelosi has picked liberal firebrand Rep. Pete Stark to replace ousted Chairman Charles Rangel on the tax-writing committee.” (Michael O’Brien & Jared Allen, “Pelosi Picks Fellow Californian To Take Gavel After Rangel Bows Out,” The Hill, 3/3/10)

Read the rest of this entry »

From Senator David Vitter

Republicans are reviving their push for what they say is a no-cost solution to reviving the economy: rollback or block costly environmental requirements that prevent companies from investing in energy production projects and creating jobs.

The GOP push comes as Democrats are eyeing a new round of stimulus funds that Republicans oppose as too costly by adding to an already record-breaking federal deficit. Instead, Republican senators are reviving their “No Cost Stimulus” bill, which would streamline the coastal impact assistance plan for Outer Continental Shelf energy leases and prohibit states from regulating mobile sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) and 17 Republican cosponsors “will definitely continue to look for appropriate vehicles to attach this bill as an amendment,” Vitter’s spokesman told Inside EPA. The Louisiana senator originally introduced the bill as stand-alone legislation last year, and according to Vitter’s Web site has the “specific goal of job creation and economic stimulus without borrowing or issuing new debt for which the next generation will be responsible.”

The Web site also pitches the bill as an “approach directed towards energy development and production” that includes provisions aimed at “streamlining environmental review processes that have choked U.S. businesses and development.”

The vow by Vitter’s office to keep searching for legislative vehicles to attach the bill comes after the lawmakers unsuccessfully offered the bill for inclusion Feb. 22 in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) message to the House on the Senate’s just-passed jobs bill, H.R. 2847.

While the rider was not attached to the bill, the legislation shows the Republicans’ intent to keep pushing a number of their environmental priorities, including streamlining the process for plans to reduce the coastal impact of offshore drilling; steps to prohibit EPA or state regulation of GHGs; and proposed exemptions to Endangered Species Act (ESA) reviews.

For example, the bill would amend the Clean Air Act to add language that the definition of “air pollutant” cannot include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane agriculture or livestock, or water vapor. That could bar attempts by EPA to regulate CO2 under the air law.

The bill would also amend the air law to prohibit EPA from granting any waivers to states seeking to impose GHG emission limits on motor vehicles. California can under existing air law authority request a federal waiver from EPA to set standards for mobile sources at a more stringent level than agency rules, and if successful, other states can adopt those standards. But Vitter’s bill would prohibit such waivers if the rules would regulate mobile source GHG emissions.

The legislation would also amend the ESA of 1973 to exclude GHG impacts on species of fish, wildlife or plants for “any purpose” in the implementation of the law. The Vitter bill defines GHGs to include CO2, methane, nitrous oxide and other anthropogenic gases.

The bill would also amend ESA so that if a state governor declares an emergency then the federal government could provide temporary exemptions from the law’s prohibition against taking — injuring, killing or otherwise harming an endangered species — and the prohibition against the adverse modification of critical habitat. This would allow states to take steps to address emergencies, for example quickly launching a flood control project, without those ESA constraints.

Finally, the bill would require the government to develop procedures to streamline the permit process required under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and state laws for coastal restoration projects that are included in an approved Outer Continental Shelf energy leasing plan.

Continuing “Main Street Tour” In Georgia, Will Obama Stand Up For More Nuclear Energy For Main Street Or Cave In To His Liberal Environmentalist Friends?

“As President Obama Prepares For A Visit To Savannah On Tuesday, An Environmental Group Is Protesting His Stance On Nuclear Energy With Television Advertisements … Obama Recently Announced $8 Billion In Federal Loan Guarantees For An Expansion Of The Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant In Waynesboro, [GA].” Read the rest of this entry »