US Representatives Peter Roskam and Judy Biggert are hosting a panel on the Waxman-Markey ACES Bill Monday in Downers Grove. The fact that their press release refers to it merely as "cap-and-trade legislation" instead of recognizing that the bill is far more comprehensive in its approach to reduce global warming emissions, is the first hint of their slant.
Recent House VotesCongressional Budget for Fiscal Year 2010 - Vote Passed (233-193, 7 Not Voting) The House passed the conference report for the 2010 fiscal year budget resolution. Rep. Peter Roskam voted NO......send e-mail or see bio
Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act - Vote Passed (249-175, 10 Not Voting) The House approved this bill that would provide local jurisdictions with funds to prosecute hate crimes. Rep. Peter Roskam voted NO......send e-mail or see bio
Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act of 2009 - Vote Passed (357-70, 7 Not Voting) The House passed this bill that intends to place new restrictions on credit card companies. Rep. Peter Roskam voted NO......send e-mail or see bio
So he was there at 1:27pm but had disappeared by 1:44pm. It's a shame too because at 1:44pm he could have voted with 424 fellow members of the House to suspend the rules and agree on Honoring and praising the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on the occasion of its 100th anniversary.
The DCCC has launched a radio ad program on families first in 28 districts held by Republicans.
The interesting thing is that in Illinois the only district targeted is Manzullo. He is also a top choice to get the short end of the stick for redistricting in 2010.
The two most notably absent in my mind are Kirk and Roskam. Both of them are in competitive districts and it would seem to me that they would be much better targets.
Roskam has launched a website "Obama Voters for Roskam." The whiff of fear is in the air. Imagine that Roskam is trying to ride the coattails of Obama. What's wrong with this picture?
It takes a lot of courage, or gall, to through the leader of your own party, John McCain, under the bus.
So now, not only is Roskam a coward who will not debate, but he is now extremely fearful that the crowds at the polls are voting BLUE all the way on the ticket!
So what's the difference between Mark Kirk and Peter Roskam?
Image, of course. In politics, image is everything. Voters are supposed to ignore the wizard behind the curtain.
Mark Kirk says that he's a moderate, but he has the same voting record (in this regard) as Peter Roskam. Mark Kirk says that he's independent, but he has the same loyalty towards the president and his party as Peter Roskam.
Peter Roskam will tell you that he's a conservative. At least he's honest about it. But that's probably because Roskam has stronger ties to his district than Mark Kirk. Roskam represents what he believes his district wants. Kirk pretends to.
Many questions are unanswered about Peter Roskam's brief record in the Illinois sixth district. His failure to debate, defend or explain his record to the people of the district is disturbing.
Fact: he votes with Bush over 90% of the time. Fact: he votes in favor of tax breaks for Big Oil. Fact: he voted against veterans benefits. Fact: he is co-sponsoring a bill that will censor literature sold on military bases. Fact: he is against abortion even if the health of the mother is at risk. Fact: he voted against the bailout, twice.
The fact is that Peter Roskam doesn't deserve another term as our congressman. We need Jill Morgenthaler.
My good friend Colonel Jill Morgenthaler is the Democratic candidate for Congress from the Sixth District of Illinois. She’s running a strong campaign to unseat Congressman Peter Roskam. Those of us from Illinois know how extreme and how wrong Roskam is on almost every issue that matters to our nation – his support of Bush’s failed policies in Iraq, Bush’s giveaways to oil companies, and of course the deregulation that led to chaos on Wall Street.
You know those commercials where the camera takes the dog's perspective and runs around following the illusive scent of bacon produced by some fake bacon flavored dog treat? I know you've seen them: Bacon, bacon, bacon! Where's that bacon? What's that in the bag? I CAN'T READ!
Well, of late, this commercial is really reminding me of Republican energy policy, right down to the fake bacon part. It seems to me that everything the GOP presents regarding energy policy revolves around drilling for more oil, rather than really developing new energy sources. Its all: oil, oil, OIL! Where's the oil? And just like the dog character in the commercial, the GOP and Bush BFF Peter Roskam can't tell the American public what's in the bag of tricks they are proposing to solve our energy problems.
What's worse, given Roskam's proposed Energy Vision Act, it appears he can't read any better than that dog either.
Well, Morgenthaler finally has a website that works, and from it we learn she's building a small donor base:
Today, Col. Jill Morgenthaler's campaign for Congress announced contributions totaling $200,630 in the first quarter of 2008, the first full quarter of fundraising for the political newcomer. Morgenthaler is the Democratic candidate for the 6th Congressional District of Illinois.
[...]
Details of Col. Morgenthaler First-Quarter Fundraising:
Total Receipts: $200,630
Total Individual Donors: 567
Total Contributions $200 or Less: 359
Percentage of Individual Contributions $200 or less: 63 percent
I'd call that respectable. Roskam still raised 291K though. And he's got $967K on hand. So Jill's still got one hell of an uphill battle. But this is a respectable start.
What the hell? Roskam votes NO on a Henry Hyde sponsored bill???
Recent House Votes
Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act - Vote Passed (308-116, 7 Not Voting)
The House voted to authorize $50 billion between 2009 and 2013 to help fight the international spread of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
Does Peter Roskam have any shame? I received an e-mail announcement inviting people to attend a rally on Friday, February 1, for "the next President of the United States", John McCain. I know this is a website for mostly the Democratic Party, but really, Roskam jumping on the McCain bandwagon given Roskam's own stated interests is a bit much.
You know, I like how every time the Republicans slow legislation down because it somehow doesn't do enough for their rich friends, it's somehow portrayed as "Congress" not having it's act together rather than Republican obstruction at work. Case in point, this editorial from yesterday's Daily Herald (emphasis mine):
Rather than fix or eliminate a bad law, one that has created unintended consequences never envisioned at its inception, Congress has instead made it a perennial, end-of-the-year political hot potato. It changes the law just in time to assure it completely messes up the Internal Revenue Service's tax collections and refunds.
"Our people will do everything they can to quickly update our systems for this major change," said IRS acting commissioner Linda Stiff. But she said just changing all the required forms could take seven weeks. All of that chaos means, of course, that IRS employees won't be doing the work they're supposed to be doing while they're trying to fix the mess Congress created.
The IRS Oversight Board said the late congressional action would cause a delay in issuing 13.3 million refunds worth $39 billion. That's a lot of inefficiency imposed by Congress' inability to get its act together.
So let's take a look at the history on this piece of legislation and see at who's feet to lay this "mess"...
You know, it is just stunning to me how my Republican Congressman Peter Roskam can continue to say he's for every day Americans and supports our troops, then go ahead and vote against basic protections for American citizens and the troops on such a regular basis.
Again following the Republican pattern of using parliamentary obstruction techniques, Roskam voted against legislation that would provide benefits for veterans, protention from preditory lending, and make government spying on Americans reviewable by a judge. But at least he only voted to adjourn two out of three times this week to obstruct these votes.
Details of Roskam's voting record this week after the break...
The last Bush veto, on the Labor, Health, and Human Resources appropriations bill. was narrowly sustained in the House. Voting to support Bush (after voting to overturn his veto of the Water Resources Development Act) were Weller, La Hood, Hastert, and Roskam.
The first two are on their way out (is La Hood? -- I don't follow S. IL politics as well as I should)
Roskam, OTOH, is starting his carreer. Somebody should tell him that pork is less imiportant than early childhood education and heating assistance for the elderly.
If the AMT patch can not be fixed, approximately 71,371 tax returns in Illinois' 6th Congressional District would potentially be subjected to the higher rates of the AMT, up from 9,000 in 2006.
"I am working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to find a solution to the Alternative Minimum Tax," continued Roskam. "This measure was never meant to affect middle-income families. While Congress continues to debate how to fix this problem, I want to assure my constituents that they won't be unexpectedly slapped with higher tax rates. Amidst the ongoing turmoil in the housing market, the last thing Americans deserve is to be piled on with higher taxes."
That's why I was surprised to see my ever so concerned Congressman Peter Roskam and his Republican friends vote against the Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007 that passed this week. You see, it provided changes in tax law that will extend the most widely used tax exemptions for those affected by the AMT. A tax that if not addressed through legislation like this would have potentially affected his constituents!
And just as he's done with his previous votes (like this and this) Roskam has followed a pattern of obstructing getting things done in Washington. Details after the jump...
Families here know what it's like to balance our checkbooks and pay our bills. Congressman Roskam doesn't seem to think Washington should do the same. On his watch, federal spending has spiraled out of control. But it's our money and it's my goal to get a handle on government spending, balance the budget and reduce the tax burden on Illinois families and businesses.
This Congress and this congressman have done nothing for Illinois families who are buried in bills that keep going up-taxes, groceries, a tank of gas, college tuition, paying the mortgage. They've done nothing to help small business owners who are struggling with high health care premiums and higher taxes.
And sometimes it's the things Congressman Roskam does do that frustrate folks back home. Like when Congressman Roskam voted to support President Bush rather than 300,000 Illinois kids when he vetoed their health care. This isn't about the money -- we can cover those 300,000 Illinois kids for a year for what we spend in Iraq in a week. For Roskam it was all about the politics. For me, telling Illinois kids they can't go to a doctor just to score a political point is about values. Send me to Washington and we'll have a congressperson who will lead the fight to make sure Illinois children get the care they need.
Congressman Roskam has been lock-step with President Bush and out of step with the folks back home. He's voted with the President over 90 percent of the time. When I'm elected to Congress, I will not forget the people I was elected to serve -- and trust me, they won't let me, because they're the people I've lived with most of my adult life. They're the friends I see in church on Sunday, the neighbors at the corner store. Other parents at my kids' school. The local business people.
Really dislike those diagonal stripes in the background, but at least she's coming out swinging.
MAINSTREAM MEDIA COVERAGE *************************************
Col. Morgenthaler's campaign plays a weird game of "will she or won't she"after having already announced that she will to local Democratic activists and party leaders. This leaves those of us in the trenches scratching out heads, then shrugging our shoulders, then thinking "whatever, at least someone seemingly credible is running". Perhaps we're thrown for a bit of a loop due to how a last minute candidacy was handled the last time around. None of us knew until she was in, while this time we knew Jill was in before she was. I think that may have been the appearance the Morgenthaler campaign was going for, anyway.
"This legislation very simply allows homeowners keep more of their hard-earned money when unduly burdened under the AMT tax."
Under current law, taxpayers who itemize their federal tax returns and are not affected by the AMT are able to deduct their property taxes. However, taxpayers who have tax liability under the AMT cannot deduct property taxes from their federal tax liability.
The Homeowners' Property Tax Relief will allow taxpayers to deduct the cost of their property taxes from their federal income tax liability even if they are subject to the AMT.
Don't make enough to afford health care for your kids? Pete says too bad. The government can't afford to help your kids out. Make enough money to qualify for the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) and own a home? Then Pete thinks you need a a tax cut and the government can afford to give it to you.
Now I know what you're thinking: The AMT does have flaws. It wasn't indexed for inflation and as such is starting to affect more upper-middle income taxpayers, especially in places where incomes are higher to match the high cost of living of locations like DuPage county. But let's take a look...
