The Club for Growth urges all Senators to vote "NO" on the Dodd/Shelby substitute amendment (#4983) to the Housing Bill (H.R. 3221). This key vote will be part of our 2008 Congressional Scorecard.

This bill amounts to a massive bailout that would create adverse consequences and provide no pro-growth solutions.

The bailout creates the moral hazard of rescuing an industry that made poor lending decisions. It also creates another moral hazard, allowing people to purposely default their loans so that they can become eligible for a FHA-backed mortgage. And since a person can't be denied coverage because of a low credit score, taxpayers could be on the hook for billions of dollars in defaulted mortgages. This could ultimately lead to higher taxes that would only worsen the housing situation even more. The bill would also create a huge special-interest slush fund making it easier for lobbyists and lawmakers to fund organizations who support anti-growth policies.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 110th Congress provides a comprehensive rating of how well or how poorly each member of Congress supports pro-growth, free-market policies and will be distributed to our members and to the public.

The Club for Growth urges members of the House to vote "NO" on the Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act (H.R. 6346), sponsored by Rep. Bart Stupak. This vote will be included in our annual Congressional Scorecard.

This bill seeks to prohibit the sale of gasoline at prices that are "unconscionably excessive" or that take "unfair advantage" of consumers. But it is a dangerous and arbitrary proposal. Nowhere in the bill are "unconscionably excessive" and "unfair advantage" even defined, thus guaranteeing untold litigation resulting from this ambiguity.

More importantly, it simply fails to consider the textbook effects of supply and demand. In a free economy, high prices are the reflection of higher demand relative to supply. Any effort to artificially depress prices will inevitably lead to decreasing supplies and can eventually lead to rationing, both of which severely inhibit economic growth.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 110th Congress provides a comprehensive rating of how well or how poorly each member of Congress supports pro-growth, free-market policies and will be distributed to our members and to the public.

UPDATE: The House passed this bill, 276-146.

The Club for Growth urges Members of the U.S. House to vote "NO" on the AMT Patch (H.R. 6275). A floor vote is expected later this week, at the earliest. This key vote will be part of our 2008 Congressional Scorecard.

Although this bill provides a necessary one-year AMT patch that prevents a looming $61.5 billion tax hike, it also contains an equal amount in anti-growth tax hikes on a number of things, including carried interest, oil and gas companies, and foreign companies operating in the United States.

One of these tax hikes is on "carried interest" charged by various investment firms. In effect, this tax increase would reduce the incentive to provide much needed capital necessary for expanding growth, jobs, and innovation. The tax hikes on oil and gas companies will suppress supply, making high energy costs even higher. The tax on foreign companies will have a similar effect. It will result in higher prices for the consumer, which could stifle production, reducing job growth and innovation.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 110th Congress provides a comprehensive rating of how well or how poorly each member of Congress supports pro-growth, free-market policies and will be distributed to our members and to the public.

UPDATE: The House passed it 233-189.

The Club for Growth urges all Senators to vote "NO" on the Lieberman-Warner-Boxer Climate Security bill (S. 3036). This includes, but is not limited to, voting "NO" on the final cloture vote. This key vote will be part of our 2008 Congressional Scorecard.

This proposal would result in a massive new tax on American consumers caused by the most pervasive new regulations on the U.S. economy since the New Deal.

The Heritage Foundation recently reported that this bill will cause economic losses to reach anywhere between $1.7 trillion and $4.8 trillion by the year 2030. This bill would also allow the government to redistribute billions of dollars by granting valuable emission credits to politically-motivated groups.

This bill is an unambiguous example of a high-tax, crippling regulatory anti-growth bill. It should be vigorously opposed.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 110th Congress provides a comprehensive rating of how well or how poorly each member of Congress supports pro-growth, free-market policies and will be distributed to our members and to the public.

The Club for Growth urges all members of Congress to vote "NO" on the veto override vote for the Farm Bill (H.R. 2419). A vote in both chambers is expected as early as today. This key vote will be part of our 2008 Congressional Scorecard.

This bill is a massive spending proposal that would create increased dependency on the government and distort the market for agricultural products.

The Farm Bill is an amalgamation of special interest treats, financed with billions in hard-earned tax dollars and budget gimmicks. It would create higher and expanded subsidies and it would stifle global trade negotiations. For all of these reasons, plus the lack of true reform of the farm program, President Bush has rightly vetoed this bill. And we believe it should be vigorously sustained.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 110th Congress provides a comprehensive rating of how well or how poorly each member of Congress supports pro-growth, free-market policies and will be distributed to our members and to the public.

Addendum:

House Vote 315 on the Conference Report.

House Vote 346 to Pass the Bill Over the President's Veto.

Senate Vote 130 on the Conference Report.

Senate Vote 140 to Pass the Bill Over the President's Veto.

The Club for Growth urges all House members to vote "NO" on the Tax Extenders/Tax Hike proposal (H.R. 6049). This bill is being considered today with a vote expected later this afternoon. This key vote will be part of our 2008 Congressional Scorecard.

This bill extends various tax cuts, but is financed with approximately $55.5 billion worth of tax hikes.

The tax hikes included in this bill do nothing but harm the economy and stifle growth. It specifically hurts multinational corporations based in the U.S., which would be double taxed under this proposal. That will lead to higher costs, fewer jobs, less innovation, and more companies moving their headquarters overseas. The bill also does not do anything to simplify the tax code. Instead, it creates more confusion and more tax provisions (including one tax cut designed specifically for trial lawyers). The House should scrap this bill, and instead focus on reducing broad-based taxes and simplifying the tax code.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 110th Congress provides a comprehensive rating of how well or how poorly each member of Congress supports pro-growth, free-market policies and will be distributed to our members and to the public.

Update:

House Vote 344 on passage of the bill.

The Club for Growth urges all House members to vote "NO" on the domestic spending amendment (Amdt. 3) to the war supplemental. This key vote will be part of our 2008 Congressional Scorecard.

This tax is anti-growth and will destroy jobs, pure and simple. It will lead to higher and higher income tax rates as Congress would likely keep adding such increases for other new spending. The tax will be especially harmful on small businesses whose owners sometimes file their business income on their individual tax return. In fact, the Tax Foundation reports (PDF) that almost 83% of all income tax returns with over $1 million in income are business owners. This tax will stifle innovation and job growth and should be vigorously opposed.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 110th Congress provides a comprehensive rating of how well or how poorly each member of Congress supports pro-growth, free-market policies and will be distributed to our members and to the public.

Dear Representative,

Club for Growth strongly opposes HR 5546, the misnamed "Credit Card Fair Fee Act of 2008." The legislation proposes price controls that would harm consumers, hurt economic growth, and stifle innovation.

The bill's innocuous sounding title hides an ugly reality -- establishment of a new all-powerful bureaucracy inside the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. These bureaucrats would set prices for the credit card business, and they would publish their rate determinations in the Federal Register.

This is a horrible idea and if it becomes law it will hurt consumers and stifle innovation in a market that has produced incredible efficiency gains. It also threatens economic growth as it would raise the specter that Congress would impose additional government price controls on other industries.

We can understand the frustration of retailers who feel that credit card fees are too high. Yet the answer is not to run to Congress and ask that it set up a new government apparatus to set prices. The answer should instead be more competition and to identify and eliminate laws that might inhibit such competition. This bill takes one step in that direction -- allowing retailers to band together without fear of violating antitrust laws. If the bill had stopped there, then we would not oppose it.

Instead the bill moves in a more sinister direction, giving defacto control on innovation and prices to "Electronic Payment System Judges" in the Justice Department. The standard for their price setting would be cost plus a "normal rate of return in such a hypothetical perfectly competitive marketplace." This, of course, is absurd. Businesses do not run on a hypothetical, they are run in the real world.

One fact that proponents don't mention is that this bill would likely raise prices for many consumers. The fact is many credit card holders get discounts for using their credit cards in the form of rebates, coupons, airline tickets or hotel stays. By accepting such credit cards, retailers are often offering an on the spot discount. For others who can't afford to pay in cash on the spot, a card allows retailers to get paid promptly while leaving the debt collection duties and headaches to the credit card companies.

If retailers don't like the prices they have to pay for processing credit cards, they have other choices. To name just two: they can offer cash discounts, which are 100% legal; or they can offer their own credit cards. Finally, a new competitor is on the scene, the RevolutionCard, which according to its website's pitch to retailers "works just like the traditional credit cards you're used to. With one big difference: No interchange fees. Which means you keep more of your profits with every sale."

We strongly urge you to oppose this legislation and let the marketplace continue to foster innovation and more consumer choices.

If this bill goes to the House floor for consideration, the Club for Growth will key-vote a "NO" on its 2008 congressional scorecard.

Sincerely,

Pat Toomey
President

Washington – After intense negotiations and conference meetings, the new Farm Bill revealed yesterday offers taxpayers little in the way of true reform. The Club for Growth commends President Bush for threatening to veto the legislation and urges all members of Congress to uphold the president’s veto when the time comes.

Supporters of the Farm Bill are touting its many reforms, but most of them are nothing more than window dressing. These same supporters also neglect to mention the large increases in subsidies and the further distortion of the agricultural market that will occur as a result. Some of the bill’s most egregious elements include:

• Increased farm subsidies at a time of record-high farm income
• New subsidies for sugar, fruit, and nut producers
• The new caps on income in order to qualify for subsidies do not go far enough and leave wiggle room for wealthier farmers to continue to collect subsidies.
• Budget gimmicks that hide as much as $10 billion in extra spending so that the real cost of the Farm Bill will be even higher than supporters claim
• A new program that pays farmers for weather-related farm losses, creating incentives to grow the wrong crops on bad land in bad weather and leading to economic distortions and greater conservation pressures
• Severely hampers progress on the DOHA Round for world free trade negotiations
• Tax breaks for race horse owners and timber companies

“Today, Agriculture Secretary Ed Shafer said the president will veto the Farm Bill, and we commend that action,” said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. “Congress should not be allowed to throw more and more taxpayer dollars at every special interest under the sun and call it ‘reform.’ There is nothing reform-minded about a bill that increases subsidies and tax breaks for special interests, further distorts the agricultural market, and hampers the country’s free trade agenda.”

The Club for Growth will be key-voting the vote on the Farm Bill conference report, urging all members to vote “No.” Key votes are included in our Congressional Scorecard for the 110th Congress. The scorecard provides a comprehensive rating of how well or how poorly each member of Congress supports pro-growth, free-market policies.

The Club for Growth urges all Senators to vote "NO" on the Nelson Amendment (S. Amendment 4709) to the Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2007 (S. 2284). This key vote will be part of our 2008 Congressional Scorecard.

This proposal would direct the Treasury Secretary to offer subsidized funding for state-run insurance programs, whether responsibly designed or not, potentially putting taxpayers on the hook for more billions of dollars in losses.

This amendment is fiscally irresponsible, and would further distort insurance markets and encourage unwise risk taking that would endanger lives and property. Perhaps the worst feature of this amendment is that it would encourage an irresponsible design of state catastrophe funds.

This reckless add-on to an already bankrupt national flood insurance program could dramatically increase spending and lead to higher taxes. It would clearly crowd out private reinsurance coverage, allowing government to increase its bureaucracy at the expense of the private sector. This amendment should be vigorously opposed.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 110th Congress provides a comprehensive rating of how well or how poorly each member of Congress supports pro-growth, free-market policies and will be distributed to our members and to the public.

Update: The Senate did not vote on this amendment, but voted on a similar proposal to put the Federal Government in the Hurricane Insurance business.

The Club for Growth urges all House members to vote "NO" on the Frank amendment to the New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 3221). This key vote will be part of our 2008 Congressional Scorecard.

Part of this proposal would give the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) the power to guarantee refinanced mortgages up to $300 billion.

This amendment would be disastrous to taxpayers if it became law. It would create the moral hazard environment of people purposely defaulting so that they can become eligible for a FHA-backed mortgage. And since a person can't be denied coverage because of a low credit score, taxpayers could be on the hook for billions of dollars in defaulted mortgages. This could ultimately lead to higher taxes that would only worsen the housing situation even more. In its explicit veto threat, the White House correctly identified this amendment as a bailout, calling it irresponsible. This amendment should be vigorously opposed.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 110th Congress provides a comprehensive rating of how well or how poorly each member of Congress supports pro-growth, free-market policies and will be distributed to our members and to the public.

The Club for Growth urges Members of the House to vote "NO" on the Protecting the Medicaid Safety Net Act (H.R. 5613), which is expected to be voted on today under suspension. This key vote will be scored on the Club for Growth's 2008 Congressional Scorecard.

The bill would prevent the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from implementing rules that would cut down on fraud and abuse, and would also close loopholes used by the states to inappropriately extract more matching dollars from the federal government.

Over the long run, this bill would cost billions of dollars and would unwind a lot of the cost savings made in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2006. We also object to this bill being considered under suspension of the rules. Instead, this bill deserves extensive debate and should be amendable. The White House has threatened a veto on this bill, stating that preventing the regulations from being implemented would cost too much and would threaten the fiscal integrity of Medicaid.

Update: House Vote 209 on the bill.

The Club for Growth urges Members of the House to support the Tax Increase Prevention Act (H.R. 2734) by voting "NO" on the previous question for the Taxpayer Assistance and Simplification Act of 2008, which is expected to be offered today, and a "YES" on H.R. 2734 itself. This key vote will be scored on the Club for Growth's 2008 Congressional Scorecard.

This proposal does one thing - it would make the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 permanent.

We need to reinvigorate our struggling economy by freeing up more capital, allowing people and businesses to invest and produce more. We also need to give financial markets the certainty of permanent, low tax rates, giving people the confidence to make long-term, pro-growth business decisions.

If the Bush tax cuts expire, it will result in the largest tax increase in the history of our country, resulting in an average household tax hike of $3000. That would devastate our economy and cripple our ability to compete in an increasingly competitive global economy.

Update: The House did not vote on this motion.

Washington – In a sign that the Democratic Party Leadership is willing to do anything to avoid angering the labor unions that line their pockets, Nancy Pelosi announced that she will seek to change House rules in order to delay a vote on the Colombia free trade agreement President Bush sent to Congress this week.

Under Fast Track Authority rules, Congress is required to hold an up-or-down vote on a trade agreement once the President submits it to Congress. But the Democrats are loath to vote on the trade agreement before the November elections, lest a vote in support of the agreement infuriate the labor unions. Instead, Pelosi will request that the House Rules Committee remove the timeline rule for the Colombia agreement and push off the vote until after November 2008.

The ironic result of this electoral cheap shot is that the Democrats are on record supporting lower tariffs for Colombian products imported into America but higher tariffs for American products exported to Colombia. Currently, most Colombian exports to the United States are tariff-free, the result of the Andean Trade Preference Act. A vast majority of Congress—359 members, including Democratic Leadership—wisely voted in support of the act in June 2007. The pending Colombia agreement would accomplish the reciprocal; it would eliminate tariffs on U.S. exports to Colombia, clearly a boon to American businesses. But now, many of the Democrats who supported removing tariffs from Colombian products are standing in the way of accomplishing the same goal with American goods.

“Led by Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Party is playing electoral politics with America’s economic growth,” said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. “Just because the Democrats are afraid of the labor bosses doesn’t mean American workers business people should be forced to suffer. The Democrats should have the backbone to vote on a bill even when the bright spotlight of public opinion is shining down on Congress.”

The Club for Growth will be key-voting the House vote on changing Fast Track rules. Key votes are included in our Congressional Scorecard for the 110th Congress. The scorecard provides a comprehensive rating of how well or how poorly each member of Congress supports pro-growth, free-market policies.

The Club for Growth urges Members of the House to vote "YES" on the House GOP alternative budget, which will be offered as a substitute amendment to the Democrats' official budget resolution (H. Con. Res 312). This key vote will be scored on the Club for Growth's 2008 Congressional Scorecard.

Unlike the Democratic budget, this proposal does NOT raise taxes. It also makes all of the Bush tax cuts permanent and it phases in full repeal of the AMT by 2013. On the spending side, this budget includes a one-year moratorium on earmarks, a modest increase in discretionary spending, and strong reforms that will rescue out of control entitlement programs.

This is a pro-growth bill. With a struggling economy, the last thing we need to do is raise taxes and increase the size of government, which is what the Democrats' proposal would do. Instead, the GOP budget cuts taxes and holds the line on spending. Congress should adopt this initiative immediately.