Excel spreadsheets were made available today of earmarks included in three House bills:

House Interior and Environment Appropriations Act, H.R. 2996 (as passed by the House on June 26, 2009)

House Homeland Security Appropriations Act, H.R. 2892 (as Passed by the House on June 24, 2009)

House Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Act, H.R. 2847 (as Passed by the House on June 18, 2009)

The Office of the IRS's Taxpayer Advocate released a report laying out its objectives for the next year (available as a pdf). One section that caught my eye was how the number of refundable credits created by the "stimulus" bill will present challenges to the IRS:

...[T]he report notes that refundable credits may present an increased risk of fraud and that the IRS therefore will need to balance fraud prevention with the timely delivery of refunds. "Refundable credits require the IRS to perform a delicate balancing act," Olson said. "On the one hand, if the IRS does not do enough to detect and prevent fraud, it may pay out billions of dollars as a result of false and fraudulent claims. On the other hand, if the IRS clamps down too tightly, hundreds of thousands and potentially millions of predominantly low income taxpayers will not receive timely refunds."

This morning, while sipping my coffee, I read this article recounting yesterday’s mishap. New York State Senator Frank Padavan walked through the Senate chamber in search of a cup of coffee. It just so happened that it was at the exact moment when 31 Democrats were convening a regular session. They argue that Padavan’s presence provided the 32 members needed for a quorum to conduct business. They passed 125 bills unanimously in three hours with Republicans absent. Padavan insists that he did not intend to establish a quorum; Governor David Paterson said he would veto the bills. So Senators, beware what that cup of joe may cost you!

Well, it seems that the gig is finally up on ObamaCare as more and more Americans begin to voice their concerns about a move towards socialized medicine. Along with questions about how a government-run health care system would preserve patient satisfaction and quality of treatment, there is a growing consensus that public provision of insurance would lead employers to drop employee health care plans and drive private insurers out of the market, thereby further limiting competition and patient choice.

We need the 89% of Americans who say they are satisfied with their health coverage (and the 70% of the uninsured who also report receiving satisfactory medical care) to step up the fight against Obama’s unnecessary system overhaul. Please continue your grassroots efforts against this bill and let President Obama know that America does not need more change for the sake of change. We need results.

With billions and billions for bailouts and stimulus spending, Congress seems to have taken fiscal advice from that renowned financial expert Jack Handey: "I hope that when I die, people say about me, 'Boy, that guy sure owed me a lot of money.'"

Governor Deval Patrick said Friday that he will sign more than $1 billion in tax increases for Massachusetts residents. The House and Senate approved the tax increases last week- increasing the sales tax for the first time in a generation. The new tax rate, which goes into effect August 1, will increase from 5 percent to 6.25 percent. While Patrick is stressing that the increased taxes will offset the need for program cuts and will balance the budget, we recognize that this comes at a time when many residents are losing jobs and homes. Massachusetts still has one of the lowest sales tax rates in the country, however at this rate, it won’t be lower for much longer. Massachusetts businesses are sure to see the effects of this new tax hike.

Last Friday, House Minority Leader John Boehner took a "couple" of minutes to question some of items in the manager's amendment -- the 300+ page amendment to the 1,200 page bill. I will buy an ice cream for the first person who can answer all of Boehner's questions.

Watch below or read the transcript here.

The Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill that we've been lobbying so hard against just narrowly passed the House, by a 219-212 margin.

Attention now turns towards the Senate, where the intensity will only ratchet up. In particular, the two Senators Nelson (Democrats of Nebraska and Florida), Martinez (R-FL), Landrieu (D-LA), both Senators from Arkansas Lincoln and Pryor (both Democrats), and Senator Specter (D-PA) will likely be the biggest targets.

#1: California's budget crisis continues.

#2: Metro crash may facilitate federal funding.

#3: New Jersey legislators passed a budget that will hike taxes by almost $1 billion.

I just posted a list of the remaining undecided votes on Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade legislation, a.k.a. a $2 trillion energy tax.

I just want to put something on record, right here, right now. If the Democrat leadership is successful in forcing 8 out of the 12 undecideds to vote for the bill, it will be because they promised MILLIONS in earmarks to the Members.

Democrat leaders are on the floor right this minute, as I type this, trying to buy votes. They're working deals and making promises for appropriations season. For anybody who claims that earmarks are not a problem because they aren't that much spending, THIS is a perfect example of why they matter very much. If this bill passes, it will be because earmarks bought the votes of several undecided members.

Remember these names, and we'll revisit them when appropriations season is over. Let's see if we notice any trends in money received.

Arcuri - NY
Boccieri - OH
Brown - FL
Carney - PA
Dicks - WA
Donnelly - IN
Green, Al - TX
Kind - WI
Kirk - IL (Republican)
Kirkpatrick - AZ
Petri - WI (Republican)
Space - OH
Teague - NM
Tonko - NY

The cap-and-trade debate is really coming down to the wire. My sources have the current count at 210 FOR, 210 AGAINST, with 14 remaining undecided (12 of which are Democrats).

The undecideds are...

Arcuri - NY
Boccieri - OH
Brown - FL
Carney - PA
Dicks - WA
Donnelly - IN
Green, Al - TX
Kind - WI
Kirk - IL (Republican)
Kirkpatrick - AZ
Petri - WI (Republican)
Space - OH
Teague - NM
Tonko - NY

Email them here, or text your full zip code (including +4 numbers) to us at 54608 and we'll give you all their phone numbers, INCLUDING district offices!

Lest anyone forget, here is Obama in his own words on his cap-and-trade plan: "Under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket."



And now we have a 1,500 page bill that few have read, to create a system where the federal government gets to pick winners and losers.

The Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill that NTU has been hammering away on all week is now miraculously 300 pages longer than before. The new language was added to the bill at about 3:00am this morning, and the House is expected to vote TODAY!

There is very little time left to make your voice heard on this. Take a minute, click the link above, and send them an email pronto! Better yet, call their offices! Or text us at 54608 and we'll help put you in touch.

The Senate Appropriations Committee is working on the FY 2010 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies funding bill. The legislation calls for $64.9 billion, $200 million above the President's request. This is also an increase of 12 percent over the amount enacted last year.

According to White House budget figures, federal departments and agencies will be responsible for directing $267 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act over 2009-2010. This bill included a lot of programs that members of Congress had been trying to enact in previous legislation to no avail, but earlier this year they just had to argue the funding would "stimulate the economy," and voila, now they're law. Well that's not entirely true: they didn't even have to argue the stimulative merits of the spending.

But the massive porkulus bill has done nothing to whet Washington's appetite for more spending. The FY 2010 appropriations bills are now rolling through Congress and so far, little is being done to control their growth.

The Senate's FY 2010 homeland security appropriations bill is currently marked up at $42.926 billion, seven percent higher than the amount enacted in 2009.

And the Senate's interior and environmental appropriations bill would spend $32.1 billion in FY 2010, an increase of 16 percent over last year's enacted levels.

How high will the deficits have to go before politicians can control themselves with the public purse at the public trough?