Pork versus principle

Local residents who go to the polls on Tuesday, November 7, will probably find a lot to like about the incumbents on the ballots. That’s because one thing that all incumbents are good at, to one degree or another, is bringing home the bacon. Nor is it fair always to characterize this bacon as useless “pork”; as a newspaper we are constantly receiving press releases about funding for hospitals, fire departments and schools, among other vital organizations, which has been secured with the help of one or another of our incumbent representatives.

Largely because of this fact, incumbents in the United States of America are almost impossible to vote out of office. Unfortunately, that, in turn, leads to the current state of affairs: the polls show that a sizable majority of the American people feels that the country is headed in the wrong direction and that Congress is worthless, and yet election after election we are stuck with most of the same people on Capitol Hill. The other guys are awful, we think, but we like to keep our own because they are bringing home our own personal bacon.

If you are one of the roughly two-thirds of Americans who think this Congress has been doing a lousy job, we would like to propose an alternative perspective. Take a look at the national issues that you are particularly unhappy about, and find out where the candidates stand on them and, more importantly, how they have voted on related bills.

The basic government resource for finding out how Senators have voted is www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/a_three_sections_with_teasers/votes.htm, and for the House is clerk.house.gov/legisAct/votes.html.

You will have to do some homework—www.google.com is the best tool—to locate the bills related to the issues you really care about, and to find them in the databases you will need to know their numbers, e.g. HR 1, and year of passage. You may not want to do that homework—but then don’t complain about the bums inside the beltway a year from now.

Here are a few votes we think are worth checking out.

We may wind up with a high-voltage power line in our backyards because the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (HR 6) includes a provision that allows the DOE to designate certain areas as National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors, in which all local laws, interests and voices are overridden. If you don’t like it, find out if your representative was one of those responsible.

In Medicare Part D, government can’t negotiate with Big Pharma to bring drug prices down, the “donut hole” in prescription coverage devastates senior incomes towards the end of the year and insurance companies can drop drugs from their coverage at a whim, while enrollees are forced to keep their insurers for a full year. You can find Medicare Part D legislation, and related amendments, in the above databases as HR 1, 2003.

Did you know that Congress defeated a series of amendments to the recent bankruptcy legislation that would have made it less severe on servicemen, veterans and people who go broke because of medical expenses? The bankruptcy bill number was S 256, in 2005; the amendments and your representatives’ votes are listed in the government database.

Do you think it’s time to bring the troops home, or should we “stay the course?” Check out HR 861, pledging support to the current policies and rejecting a timetable for withdrawal.

Are you happy with the way illegal immigration is being handled? Familiarize yourself with the recent immigration legislation, HR 4437, 2006, and take a look at the votes.

Do you think American liberties are under attack? See how your representatives voted on the recent National Security Agency wiretapping legislation (HR 5825, 2006) and the Military Commissions Act, which deprives us of our rights to due process and fair trial (S 3930, 2006).

If you dislike enough of your representatives’ votes on issues such as these, you might consider voting against them, no matter how good they are at bringing in the bucks. After all, once elected, any candidate will do his or her best to bring the dollars your way. They know perfectly well it’s the easiest way to your hearts.

But if you think the current lot on Capital Hill doesn’t know how to pick or wage a war, take care of the troops, preserve American jobs and freedom, ensure adequate health coverage, maintain a healthy environment, educate our children or provide an ecologically and economically sound energy future, you might have to drop the cupboard love for at least one election. It’s the only way things are ever going to get any better.

Dr. Punnybone

Net Zero