LEGISLATIVE UPDATE - WEEK ENDING JUNE 9, 2006
HOUSE IN SESSION / SENATE IN SESSION
THE PRESIDENT
GOOD GRIEF!
Whoever recommended left-wing tree hugger Henry Paulson to President George W. Bush as Secretary of the Treasury should have been fired before it happened. Mr. Paulson is a nut cake environmentalist who has been accused of the misuse of the funds of his firm, Goldman-Sachs, to support tree hugger groups. His conduct with corporate funds is so egregious that he now faces a stock holders' suit. Worse, he is in the pocket of the Chinese military, having made more than 70 trips to China, many paid for by the Chinese government. He has helped enterprises owned by the Chinese military with investments and perhaps with the actual acquisition of technology. Even the U S Business & Industry Council says he is the wrong man for the job. This man is an internationalist who sees himself as a "world citizen" and has virtually no loyalty to the United States. An entire coalition of business groups question his support of Kyoto as well as his ethics. (Click here for coalition release.) We don't need this fruitcake running the Treasury Department and the Senate should send this nomination back to the White House now without even bothering with a hearing. I am sure that once President Bush is told the truth about Paulson the nomination will be withdrawn.
THE SENATE
MARRIAGE DISASTER
The Marriage Protection Amendment did not even receive the votes of half the Senators on Wednesday. The final tally was 49 Senators for and 48 against the Constitutional Amendment which would have defined marriage in the United States as between one man and one woman. Three Senators did not bother to vote. Two years ago 47 Senators voted for an Amendment and 53 against. This was not much of an improvement considering that four new Republican Senators had been added to the Senate since the last vote and all four had campaigned supporting marriage as being between one man and one women. Two Republicans actually changed their votes from yes to no, but not because their opinion on the issue had changed. Both did not like the current language of the Amendment which differed from that offered in 2004. Constitutional Amendments require 67 votes in the Senate, making Wednesday's vote short by 18 votes. Many of those pushing for a vote say it as a way of making Democrat Senators vulnerable in November; however, only 1/3 of the Senate is up for reelection and most of those are Republicans.
UNDER GOD IN THE PLEDGE
The Religious Freedom Coalition has arranged for a rally and press conference on Flag Day, which is next Wednesday, June 14th. The rally will be held in Upper Senate Park next to the Dirksen Building and you are invited if you are in town. The sponsor of the Pledge Protection Act in the Senate, Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ), will be speaking at the event as will several other Senators including Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS). Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO), who is the principle sponsor in the House will also speak. Other of our friends including Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ) will also be present. Numerous other organizations will join us for the rally / press conference including Concerned Women for America, Eagle Forum and Right March. This is the same day a vote on the Pledge Protection Act has been scheduled for a vote in the House.
FLAG PROTECTION AMENDMENT
Please don't! The Senate leadership is planning a vote on an Amendment to the Constitution to ban the burning or desecrating of the Stars and Stripes. After the humiliating defeat on the Marriage Amendment in which conservatives received less than 50 votes, we don't need this. The vote is intended to embarrass Democrats, not to win, and we don't need to waste our resources on this. There are battles that can be won and in the limited time we have left in the current Congress we need to focus on those. Floor time in the Senate would be better spent getting conservative judges in the federal courts. There are three vacancies in the ultra-liberal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and President Bush has appointed good solid conservatives to all three vacancies. Getting these men on the bench is far more important than wasting floor time debating an Amendment to the Constitution that does not even have any hope of passing.
THE HOUSE
PLEDGE PROTECTION ACT
On Wednesday, June 7th, "markup" was begun on Congressman Todd Akin's Pledge Protection Act in the Judiciary Committee chaired by Congressman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI). Hearings were set for this and four other bills from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM which should have been ample time. Unfortunately Democrat members of the committee tried to add various amendments to a very simple bill that would have protected the privacy of veterans. Their amendments went beyond the scope of the original bill to add provisions that would limit the Bush Administration's ability to conduct surveillance for purposes of national security. As a result much of the time allotted was taken up by arguments on that bill. The Pledge Protection Act arguments were not entertained until 2:30 PM and New York Democrat Jerrold Nadler offered an Amendment which would have gutted our original bill. At 3:00 PM still in the middle of debate Chairman Sensenbrenner adjourned the meeting with the Pledge Protection Act still on the table. We are told that the Chairman will bring the bill up at the next meeting and that it bill be passed out onto the floor of the House favorably so that a vote can be held Flag Day, June 14th.
DAY OF ACTION ON THE PLEDGE
Tuesday, June 13th had been designated a "day of action" on the Pledge Protection Act. Those in favor of the Pledge Protection Act are urged to contact their congressman on Tuesday and urge him to vote in favor of protecting "under God" in the Pledge. Senators should also be called to urge them to co-sponsor the Senate version of the Pledge Protection Act. On Monday, June 12th I will appear on the Daystar TV Network's Celebration which appears nationally urging people to take action and call their congressmen and Senators. That same day I will appear on Point of View which is aired on more than 400 radio stations around the country.
INTERNATIONAL
VBS UP AND RUNNING IN HOLY LAND
The Vacation Bible School sponsored by the Religious Freedom Coalition under the leadership of Gary Gordon is up and running in Beit Jala just outside of Jerusalem. This is the first year in many years that I have not personally gone to the Holy Land to distribute funds to children attending Christian Schools in Palestinian Authority controlled areas such as Bethlehem. Gary Gordon, acting on my behalf, will distribute funds to the children of needy Christian families so that they will be able to attend Christian schools rather than the Palestinian Authority schools which teach anti-Semitism and hatred of America. A full report on the success of the Vacation Bible School and the distribution of funds will be issued in early July. For more information on this project please go to www.thebethlehemproject.org
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM COALITION
YOUR PRAYERS PLEASE
A member of our Board of Director's, Rev. Bob Melvin, is extremely ill and has been in the hospital for almost two weeks. Rev. Melvin is pastor of Spotswood Baptist Church in Fredericksburg, Virginia. I would urge you to add him and his family to your prayers. Please also pray for our VBS team currently in harm's way in Bethlehem. Bethlehem is no longer under the protection of Israel and currently various bands of terrorist gangs take turns roaming the city. Please pray for the protection of the mission team and for the Christian community.
YOUR HELP NEEDED
One of our older computers has died and we urgently need a new XP box. We do not need a monitor, just a good box that runs XP Professional. (XP Home and Media editions will not run on our network. A new unit would cost in the area of $600 to $650. If you can arrange a larger gift or grant to the Religious Freedom Coalition please call Peggy Birchfield or myself at 202.543.0300. Smaller donations are also needed now. Please help with our various projects on Capitol Hill and in the Holy Land. Please make your donation today ! Click here to give a gift or send your tax deductible donation to the address below.
Recommend the RFC Update to someone! In 2006 we are praying to top the 100,000 subscribers mark and you can help. If this e-mail has been forwarded to you, please subscribe at http://www.rfcnet.org/subscribe.asp
William J Murray, Chairman
Religious Freedom Coalition , PO Box 77511, Washington, DC 20013 - (202) 543-0300
Please address all comments and questions to support@rfcnet.org
To make a contribution to the work of the Religious Freedom Coalition please click here .
TO SUBSCRIBE OR BE REMOVED CLICK HERE
This publication is a service of the Religious Freedom Coalition (RFC). Links to political and other sites are for informational purposes and do not constitute endorsement. No statement is intended to assist or defeat any candidate running for public office.
Religious Freedom Coalition * Copyright - 2006