Joe Levi:
a cross-discipline, multi-dimensional problem solver who thinks outside the box – but within reality™

Vote against the House's big spending supplemental bill

To our elected leaders, it seems America’s soldiers are nothing more than pawns in the politicians’ games to advance their own agendas.

Last week, the U.S. House passed a supplemental appropriations bill that, in addition to authorizing over $30 billion more for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, doled out billions for projects including energy loans, Pell Grants, a bailout of local school districts, and contained a payoff to Big Labor that tramples states’ rights.

Contact your senators today and urge them to vote against the House’s big spending supplemental bill.

House leaders hope that, by mixing unrelated provisions in with war funding, they can pull votes from both sides of the aisle that would never support the domestic spending or war funding as standalone issues.

Reluctant representatives will go along with the leadership to avoid being seen as “not supporting the troops,” and others will vote for the overall package to get more spending on their favorite projects.

While our men and women are stretched thin all over the globe carrying out the agenda set by Washington, they’re also being used as negotiation pieces by those same leaders to advance government power grabs at home.

The supplemental included language from the Police and Firefighter Monopoly Bargaining Bill – legislation that could devastate volunteer firefighting.

According to the National Right to Work Committee, “If union organizers won a representation election by even 50% plus one of those voting, they would be empowered to negotiate contracts on behalf of 100% of the public-safety officers in each ‘bargaining unit.’

Congressional action would thus strip tens of thousands of police and firemen of their freedom to negotiate directly with their employers on their own behalf. This prohibition, enforced by fines and firings for violators, is the foundation of compulsory unionism.”

Once again, the federal government is going to interfere in what should be a state and local matter. Even worse, already bloated state budgets may be pushed further past the breaking point to accommodate the changes in public safety.

Big Labor leaders, knowing their controversial bill would face an uncertain future in a standalone vote, purposefully pushed to include it on a “must-pass” bill.

Our representatives should not be voting for more spending, especially during a financial crisis, and on such critical legislation as the Police and Firefighter bill because they’re being strong-armed into it by unrelated provisions.

The same is true of our foreign policy. We have troops in over 100 countries, are sending more to Afghanistan, and are spending billions of dollars each month to continue these efforts. At the very least, these issues deserve their own full debate and standalone vote.

Contact your senators today and urge them to vote against the supplemental. Further spending for the war and domestic programs must be considered on each issue’s own merits – not on their ability to be used to score cheap political points during campaign season.

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3 Responses

  1. joelevi says:

    Vote against the House’s big spending supplemental bill http://www.syracuse08.com/index.php/2010… #utpol

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