Draft Jim Jordan for Speaker - April 2018

FreedomWorks is proud to announce that our bill of the month for February 2018 is the Review Every Act Diligently In Total (READ IT) Resolution, H.Res. 801, sponsored by Rep. Tom Garrett (R-Va.). The resolution would amend the House rules to provide members of Congress with a minimum of number of minutes to read introduced legislation before being required to vote on it, equal to twice that of the number of pages of an bill, joint resolution, resolution, or conference report.

Retroactive application of the Fair Sentencing Act (FSA) which became law in 2010 and reduced the sentencing disparity for crack and powder cocaine from 100-to-1 to 18-to-1 has been a hotly contested issue in the criminal justice space. The primary concern from those opposed to retroactivity, including Attorney General Jeff Sessions, is that allowing offenders to petition the court for a review and reduction in their sentence could result in violent criminals being released to the streets, putting public safety at risk.

On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your senators and ask them to support the Earmark Elimination Act, H.R. 5369, introduced by Reps. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), and Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.). The bill would make permanent the temporary moratorium on congressional earmarks put into effect in 2010 by creating a point of order against any provision within a bill that matches the definition of an earmark, and when raised would be stricken absent a two-thirds majority to override.

The fix is in. New York State Assemblywoman Pamela Harris (D) was indicted for defrauding approximately $60,000 in state and federal funds between 2012 and 2016. This includes scamming the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) out of almost $25,000 in Hurricane Sandy relief money.

In a press conference on Friday, President Donald Trump criticized the process that Congress used to pass the Consolidated Appropriations Act, H.R. 1625, although he signed the spending bill into law. Still, he threatened to veto a future spending bill that was packed with wasteful spending and unrelated legislative priorities.

In March 2016, the Obama-era Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that required there be at least two crewmembers aboard for all railroad operations. Like many Liberal ideas, this was a throwback to the days of steam engines and cabooses when some states required as many as 5 people on each train crew, no matter what was actually required for safety or business purposes. Thankfully, this unnecessary rule was never implemented, and American businesses would be safe from burdensome rules like this for at least the next four years under a new administration. Or so we thought...

Arguments from Republicans in favor of the omnibus spending package passed by Congress last week are almost all tied together by a common theme: “our military needs this.” The $700 billion appropriated in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, H.R. 1625, for defense spending is argued to be crucial for the security of our country. This mantra resonated loudly among the 145 Republican representatives and 25 Republican senators who cast a “yea” vote for the omnibus last Thursday.

The fix is in. Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, has resigned due to significant financial conflicts of interest.

Welcome to FreedomWorks Foundation’s sixth regulatory review! Our Regulatory Action Center proudly updates you with our favorite tidbits from the swamp. We want to smash barriers between bureaucracy and the American people by delivering regulatory news straight to FreedomWorks activists. Check back in on Friday, April 6th, for the next edition.