Rep. Hensarling Says Ex-Im Bank Picks Winners and Losers

Katherine Rosario | June 14, 2013

This week, the House Committee on Financial Services held a hearing on the Export-Import Bank, an institution uses American taxpayer dollars guarantee loans in the name of increasing exports (think of Fannie Mae for exporters). Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) made the following remark in his opening statement:

The Bank picks winners and losers in our economy by providing loan guarantees, export credit insurance, working capital guarantees, and direct loans to American exporters and purchasers of U.S. exports.

Some of those winners have included the likes of Enron and Solyndra – hardly worthwhile investments on behalf of the American taxpayer. A review of the Bank’s top ten recipients includes companies like Boeing, General Electric and Caterpillar. I find it inconceivable that these companies would be in need of the government dole.

Put another way, the Bank ostensibly makes loans backed by taxpayers that the private sector is unwilling to make. If private creditors are unwilling to engage in these transactions, it begs the question why should the American taxpayer?

Redefining the Term “Amnesty”

Katherine Rosario | June 14, 2013

Thursday, our CEO Mike Needham said that Heritage Action would welcome a discussion about the real meaning of the word “amnesty” and whether the Gang of Eight bill is amnesty. Amnesty proponents – including some folks who call themselves conservatives – like to parade around telling the world that this amnesty bill isn’t amnesty because the illegal immigrants who would be granted registered provisional immigrant status are penalized and have to jump over “hurdles.”

In a blog yesterday, Mike Needham made things really clear:

The appropriate focus is on the process of acquiring registered provisional immigrant (RPI) status. This legalization process begins when the Secretary of Homeland Security submits two plans to Congress, a mere six months after enactment, and is open to nearly every illegal immigrant who has been physically present in the country before January 1, 2012. After acquiring RPI status, formerly illegal immigrants will have legal status in the United States, allowing them to work, live, and travel abroad.

THAT’S AMNESTY, in case anyone was confused.

Do “penalties” and “hurdles” make amnesty not amnesty?

Having to pay $500 to remain here legally for 6 years – which calculates to $7 per month – is not a real penalty. So, “Not only will illegal immigrants have their slates wiped clean, they will receive a near-immediate benefit as a result of their illegal status.”

To be clear, their slates are being wiped clean. It doesn’t get clearer than going from “illegal” to “legal.”

Morning Action: House Lawmakers Rushing to Pass Trillion-Dollar Food Stamp and Farm Bill

Katherine Rosario | June 14, 2013

FARM BILL. The House will take up the so-called farm bill next week. We have explained that food stamps – which comprise 80 percent of the spending in the bill — and farm policy must be separated for real reform to happen. Unfortunately, this trillion-dollar boondoggle doesn’t do that:

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., said Thursday he believes that the farm bill will come up on the House floor next week and be finished in two days—assuming the whip count shows that he and ranking member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., are close to the 218 votes they need for final passage.

In a further indication that the farm bill is moving forward, theHouse Rules Committee sent out a letter to members Thursday saying the deadline for amendments on the farm bill is Monday at 2 p.m.

Lucas said he has already met with the Rules Committee and asked that it adopt a rule providing for “open discussion” on all issues that members want to bring up, but with only one or two amendments allowed per subject.

…

Lucas said he is optimistic about getting the votes because members understand that if a new farm bill is not passed, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP or food stamps, is permanently authorized and would continue while farm programs will expire and outdated laws from the 1930s and ’40s will take effect.

The food stamp program is plagued with fraud and abuse. Not to mention, food stamp participation is at record highs. Real reform to the food stamp program is impossible as long as the food stamps and the farm bill are connected. As for “outdated laws,” Drew White has explained that if we don’t want to revert to “permanent law,” it should be repealed; the real solution is not to vote in favor of a trillion-dollar, five-year farm bill that is in desperate need of reform.

Who Cares About Immigration? Washington Lobbyists and Labor Leaders Sure Do

Katherine Rosario | June 13, 2013

Apart from immigrants (legal and illegal) and folks that are motivated by either politics or principles, lobbyists and labor leaders have a vested interest in the Gang of Eight’s amnesty bill. They really care; they’re really motivated; and they’re descending upon Washington to ensure that our elected officials in Congress know how they feel.

The Hill reports:

Now that it’s crunch time in the Senate, more groups are announcing ad buys, organizing fly-in visits to Washington and coordinating rallies on Capitol Hill to push their priorities.

Another interesting nugget:

Millions of dollars have already been spent trying to influence the debate. A Kantar Media CMAG study of 2013 television ad buys through June 10 shows that supporters of immigration reform have spent more than $2.4 million, outmatching their opponents by 3-1. Forty-one percent of the supporters’ ads have been in Spanish.

You heard it. And USA Today reports the same thing. Sure, the spending is coming from both sides of the debate – but the big spenders are the amnesty bill’s proponents.

Sorry Chairman Ryan, It Is Amnesty

Michael A. Needham | June 13, 2013

Yesterday at a forum on immigration sponsored by the National Association of Manufacturers, House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) said the Senate’s Gang of Eight bill “is not amnesty” because “amnesty is wiping the slate clean and not paying any penalty for having done something wrong.”

We beg to differ, Mr. Chairman.