This Thursday, the Senate will vote on Senator Rand Paul’s resolution blocking President Trump’s arms sales to Qatar — more on that here. The Senate will also vote on nominations. The House is in session Monday through Thursday. The vote that no doubt will get the most media attention is H.Res.430, which authorizes the Judiciary Committee to intervene in judicial proceedings to enforce congressional subpoenas. Of more significance is H.R. 2740, which combines five appropriations bills. The bills are Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, State and Foreign Operations,...
Ron Paul to Senate: Give Homeschoolers a (Tax) Break
Campaign for Liberty Chairman Ron Paul issued the following statement in support of adding a provision allowing families to use “529” savings accounts for homeschooling expenses to H.R. 1994. H.R. 1994 makes changes to rules regarding retirement savings. The provision would allow special needs families to use 529 funds to pay for counseling and tutoring for their children. The House Ways and Means Committee unanimously agreed to add the 529 expansion to H.R. 1994, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stripped it out at the behest of the teachers’ unions. Ron Paul-- “Allowing parents to use funds...
This Week in Congress
The House is in session Tuesday through Thursday. Among the legislation the House will consider is H.R. 1500. This bill officially changes the name of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It also lays out the responsibilities of the agency and limits the amount of political appointees that can serve at the agency and requires the Executive Branch to provide “adequate staffing” for the agency. The bill is a response to the Trump Administration’s efforts to reduce the CFPB’s power to impose costly regulations on the financial services...
Sophie Scholl and the White Rose Movement
Since today is Holocaust Remembrance Day, it is fitting to reflect on the legacy of Sophie Scholl, leader of the White Rose movement. The White Rose movement was a group of German students who distributed pamphlets calling for active, albeit peaceful, resistance to the Nazi regime. The White Rose movement came to an end in 1943 when its leaders were arrested, tried, and beheaded. Even though they knew they faced certain death, Sophie Scholl and her fellow White Rose members refused to renounce their beliefs. Read more about the White Rose movement here. Here a few of my favorite quotes from...
Norm Singleton: Trump Has Been Neo-conned
Campaign for Liberty President Norm Singleton issued the following statement regarding President Trump’s veto of S.J.Res. 7, which directed him to end US involvement in the Yemen Civil War: “As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump promised to end military interventions in conflicts unrelated to American interests. Not only are there no American interests in Yemen, US support for Saudi Arabia’s horrific actions in Yemen endangers America by giving the region one more reason to resent the US. It is disappointing (to say the least) to see the president once again neo-conned into supporting a...
When They Came for Julian Assange
You probably heard Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, was arrested by British authorities yesterday. Mr. Assange has been living in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012. Assange is expected to be extradited to the United States, where he will face charges for “conspiracy to commit computer intrusion,” for helping then-Private Bradley Manning create a secure password to allow Manning to hack defense department computers and download classified documents. The documents would then be transmitted to Wikileaks via a drop box. The US Government’s argument is that anytime an individual...
This Week in Congress Wrap-Up
Here is the roll-call vote on S.J.Res. 7, the resolution calling on the U.S. to end involvement in the Yemen Civil War. The vote was 247-176. Every Democrat plus 15 Republicans voted for the bill. Representative Justin Amash (MI-03) voted “present” because he objected to the use of the War Powers Act to bring the bill to the floor. Amash and Thomas Massie (KY-04) were the only Republicans to vote against a Republican motion to recommit, which added language allowing states to refuse to do business with supporters of the boycott, sanctions, and disinvestment movement. This represents an...
Ron Paul and Norm Singleton Praise Civil Asset Reform Legislation
Campaign for Liberty Chairman Ron Paul and President Norman Singleton made the following statements on the reintroduction of the “Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act” (FAIR): The FAIR Act limits incentives for federal, state, and local law enforcement to use civil asset forfeiture (more accurately called civil asset theft) by forbidding the use of equitable sharing, which allows state and local police departments to share proceeds from civil asset theft. Equitable sharing also allows state and local police to evade restrictions on the use of civil asset theft. The FAIR Act also...