Blog Posts
The First Responders Passport Act came up yesterday and would have waived passport fees for around 450 contractors that the State Department uses to respond to natural disasters abroad. Those folks are required to carry passports.
Today, Congress voted on a major package of targeted tax breaks for businesses and families. In Washington-speak, they call it the tax extenders package, and it comes up just about every other year. I have never liked some of the specific tax extenders in the bill and have always been concerned about any bill’s cost, but I ultimately voted yes on the bill. It passed by 318-109.
Here’s a number that struck me…there are 5,000 European citizens fighting for ISIS.
I don't know of a person who would not like to see better funding for roads and bridges. It's something most would agree on, and yet, the question is how we get there. I think that today's bill - the highway bill conference report - came up short, and accordingly, I voted no.
Yesterday, it was rainy and cold here in Washington, so the record high temps in the Lowcountry sounded especially appealing...I’m jealous!
Yesterday afternoon, the House passed H.R. 4127, the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016, by a vote of 364 to 58. The bill gives direction and authorizes the funding of sixteen different government entities responsible for collecting intelligence data.
One can believe in an outcome…but disagree with the road map that would get you there.