This Week in Washington- Friday, March 12, 2010
Washington this week continued to ignore the needs of Americans and instead focused on more spending. Instead of piling more red tape and unnecessary taxes on Americans, Congress needs to help keep our economy healthy. Common sense economic and tax policies will help all businesses succeed. As Congress continues to work, I hope that it will focus on legislation that will help create jobs, instead of increasing taxes and the deficit.
Legislation:
• Afghanistan Withdrawal: On Wednesday, the House rejected a resolution by a vote of 356-65 directing the president to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan within 30 days, or by the end of the year if that timeline was deemed unsafe. I voted against withdrawal because we need to finish the mission and not pull the rug out from under our troops.
• Algal Blooms: The House passed H.R. 3650, the Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act, on Friday, by a vote of 263 - 142, after the bill originally failed under suspension of the rules earlier in the week. The bill authorizes over $200 million to develop new programs to develop a national strategy to address and respond to marine and freshwater algal bloom and hypoxia (oxygen-deprivation) events. I voted against the bill because this is just another costly tax on Americans.
• Judge Impeachment: The House passed H.Res. 1031, a bill to impeach G. Thomas Porteous, Jr., judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, for high crimes and misdemeanors. Among the judge's crimes were engaging in patterns of conduct incompatible with his office, financial corruption, and making false and misleading statements in court and to the U.S. Senate and FBI. I voted for the bill.
Small Business Committee:
The Small Business Committee will hold a hearing next week March 17, 2010 entitled, "Business Incubators and Their Role in Job Creation"
Sincerely,
Sam Graves