From the office of Rep. Joe Walsh (Ill., 8th District)…
Leaders with Ginni Thomas: Rep. Joe Walsh
One Republican freshman from Illinois has the audacity to tell the president he lies, to tell Chris Matthews he bullies guests, and to say the Tea Party movement seems bigger than either the Republican or Democratic parties.
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Joe Walsh’s Interview With Ginni Thomas of The Daily Caller”
“The Fair Map filed in federal court today proves that it is possible to create congressional districts that respect both constitutional and democratic principles. More importantly, this map stands in stark contrast to the contorted map passed by the Democrats, which is so gerrymandered that it can have no goal but to maximize partisan advantage by disregarding the will of Illinois voters.
“The Fair Map specifically addresses the problems with the Democrats’ map by providing a second district for the state’s growing Latino population, creating district lines that satisfy the tests for compactness, and protecting communities of interest by keeping them wholly within individual districts.
“We look forward to an impartial hearing in court that exposes the fatal flaws in the Democrats’ Illinois congressional redistricting scheme and recognizes the fact that creating fair, compact, and representative congressional districts is not only possible, but necessary.”
Rep. Peter Roskam (Il-6)
Rep. Joe Walsh (Il-8)
Rep. Robert Dold (Il-10)
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Il-11)
Rep. Judy Biggert (Il-13)
Rep. Randy Hultgren (Il-14)
Rep. Don Manzullo (Il-16)
Rep. Bobby Schilling (Il-17)
Rep. Aaron Schock (Il-18)
Rep. John Shimkus (Il-19)
From the office of Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R, Ill 11th District)…
Last night, Congressman Adam Kinzinger joined Sean Hannity on FOX to discuss the details of the debt limit plan, which cuts more than it increases, controls future spending, and does not raises taxes on American families or job creators.
“The President in January said ‘raise the debt limit and no spending cuts.’ [House Republicans] did exactly what we said we’d do – We didn’t raise taxes and we cut more than we raised the debt limit by.
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Kinzinger Discusses Details of Debt Limit Plan on Hannity”
-By Warner Todd Huston
So, it was claimed to be the end of the world if Congress didn’t vote on the debt bill. But not every Illinois Republican voted to support GOP leader and House Speaker John Boehner’s bill. Let’s see how the Illinois GOP delegation voted, shall we?
The most vocal opponent of the bill was the 8th District’s Joe Walsh. He said that he could not, in good conscience, vote yes on the bill. Amusingly, he said in a radio interview on WLS that if he saw Speaker Boehner headed his way with the intent to change his mind, he’d turn and run the other way.
To his credit, Walsh did not try and claim that he would stand fast in the face of a direct Boehner appeal, but he did say that he was voting his conscience regardless.
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How Did The Illinois GOP Delegation Vote on Boehner’s Debt Bill?”
From the office of Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R, Ill. 11th District)…
Washington, D.C. – Today Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-11) issued the following statement in support of the revised Budget Control Act. The measure passed the House by a vote of 269 to 161.
“Over the course of seven months, House Republicans have changed the conversation in Washington from where to spend, to where to cut and how much. This legislation reverses the failed trajectory of our country.
“The bipartisan approach forces Washington to maintain a strong focus on cutting spending and includes much of the same framework as the House-passed bill. It cuts more spending than the increase in the debt limit and it does not raise any taxes.
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Kinzinger Statement on the Revised Budget Control Act”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Illinois ended 2010 as the most indebted state in the union. Sadly, not a thing has been done so far in 2011 to make it better. Instead, it will get worse.
As State House News reports, the state rings in at number 50 in the nation’s most broke states.
Illinois owed $37.9 billion more than all of its assets combined, including cash, investments and property, as of July 1, 2010, according to a recent statewide financial audit by the Illinois Auditor General William Holland and Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka.
So far and just like the states unpaid vendors, even taxpayers expecting refunds got stiffed because the state somehow forgot to put $1.4 billion in the refund fund for taxpayers that overpaid their taxes. Now those awaiting refunds will have to wait.
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Illinois Budget Deficit: Worst of the Worst”
-By Collin Corbett
When Joe Walsh narrowly upset Democratic incumbent Melissa Bean by 290 votes in last year’s 8th Congressional District race, many insiders assumed that he, along with most of the other Illinois GOP freshmen, would be on the chopping block in the looming Democrat gerrymandering process. True to assumptions the new Congressional map, which could be overturned in court but will likely hold up, draws Walsh out of his current district and makes the 8th District an open seat.
To give you a picture of the new 8th District, here are some important figures to consider:
At quick glance, the numbers pulled by Brady, Kirk, and Rutherford in 2010 in the new 8th might lead one to believe that a Republican starts with an advantage. However, the combination of a strong Democrat field, a (so far) weak Republican field, a favorable election year for Illinois Democrats with Obama at the top of the ticket, and demographic trends in the district favoring a minority and/or female candidate lead many to believe that this seat currently leans towards a Democrat pickup.
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About The New Illinois 8th District”
From the office of Rep. Adam Kinzinger (IL, 11th Dist.)…
Legislation authorizes largest debt limit increase in history
Washington, D.C. – Today Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-11) issued the following statement after voting against H.R. 2693, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s debt limit increase plan that fails to offer spending cuts greater than the increase and authorizes the largest debt limit increase in history. The measure failed in the House by a vote of 173-246.
“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s plan offers phantom savings, accounting gimmicks and hands a blank check to the President, signed by the taxpayers. It fails to cut more in spending than it increases in the debt ceiling and the deep slashes to our defense, threaten the security of our country.
“General Martin E. Dempsey, President Obama’s nominee to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also cautioned that these cuts to the military budget would be ‘extraordinarily difficult and very high risk.’
Kinzinger Opposes Legislation that Fails to Offer Spending Cuts Greater Than Debt Limit Increase”
From the office of Rep. Adam Kinzinger (IL, 11th Dist.)…
Washington, D.C. – Today Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-11), issued the following statement upon House passage of the Budget Control Act:
“Over the course of seven months, House Republicans have changed the conversation in Washington from where to spend to where to cut and how much. Today, many of my colleagues and I in the House voted to reverse the failed trajectory.
“House Republicans recognize that we must pay back the bills that have been racked up by prior Congresses. We must get ourselves on a fiscal trajectory because our spending is out of control. We have the same tax rates, the same two wars, the same prescription drug benefit in 2007, and the same tax loopholes, but the deficit then was $161 billion. This year it’s $1.5 trillion.
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Kinzinger Statement on the Budget Control Act”
-By Warner Todd Huston
The Club For Growth, one of the most influential conservative groups in the country, strongly endorsed GOP Congressman Joe Walsh (currently of the Illinois 8th District) for re-election.
This is an interesting development as redistricting in Illinois has truly caused some major heartburn for Republicans in the next congressional elections in the Land of Lincoln, a state that sent five new Republicans to The Hill last year.
Mr. Walsh apparently will run in the newly reconfigured 14h CD and chances are he might be forced to compete with one of the other newly elected GOP congressmen that made their way to Washington in the tidal wave of 2010.
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Ill. Congressman Walsh Picks Up Re-Election Endorsement of Club for Growth”
Illinois Republican Representative Joe Walsh takes it hard to President Obama. Mr. Walsh says that Obama is lying and he wonders if the president even has any clue about how the country works.
Walsh asks, “Have you no shame sir?” …
It’s about time someone in Washington talks straight about this budget mess.
Joe Walsh represents the current 8th District.
-By Warner Todd Huston
First Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan tried to have published for public consumption all the names and addresses of every gun owner in her state. Apparently she meant to harass the legal gun owners in her jurisdiction. Now she has launched an effort to harass religious adoption institutions and on the thinnest of pretexts, too.
As to the gun owners, back in March Madigan thought it would be a good idea to publish all the names and contact info of the law abiding Illinoisans who followed the law and registered their ownership of guns with the state police. You see you can’t own a gun in Illinois without a Firearms Owner ID card (FOID). Madigan wanted to publish all that information so that anyone could identify any Illinois gun owner.
Fortunately, she failed because the state legislature jumped into gear and added a section to the state’s gun laws to make it illegal to expose to the public all the personal info of the state’s firearm owners. Even the Democrats in Illinois couldn’t stomach Madigan’s attempt to “out” every gun owner and leave them open for harassment and to be targeted by thieves and gangs looking for free guns.
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Illinois Government Attacks Freedom of Religion”
From the Illinois Policy Institute…
Over the past week, there has been a lot of news coverage of the line item vetos Gov. Quinn made before signing the budget. Many have mischaracterized this budget as one that is austere.
As we’ve said before that is not the case and these additional “cuts” the governor made don’t change that assessment.
The cuts are minimal at best. The actual cuts equate to only $8 per person and still are not enough to allow for the scheduled sunset of the tax hikes.
To learn more, check out the latest in our portfolio of budget work.
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Quinn’s Big Cuts Amount to a Mere $8 Per Citizen”
-By Warner Todd Huston
So, once we get past the vague, gut feeling that not much was done in this past legislative session, we can look over the last several months and assess what Springfield done for us all. As the state was distracted by yet another trial for Rod Blagojevich (this time a successful one) our elected officials were at loggerheads on many issues. But with the Democrats having such a hammerlock on power, most everything went their way. And, in some cases “their way” was no way at all.
For instance, the general assembly once again failed to address pension reform. Like the Sword of Damocles, the pension mess hangs over the heads of every single citizen of Illinois. Sadly, we cannot blame only the Democrats, here, as there has been a complete lack of political will (and courage) on both sides of the aisle to take on this issue. In fact, many of the problem legislators are those Republicans whose districts have a large population of state workers and are swayed by the government unions to which they belong.
Some think the pension mess will be brought up during the coming veto session. There is no timeline for such an action, though.
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Illinois Legislative Session Wrap Up”
-By Warner Todd Huston
I am happy to say that Rep. Joe Walsh (R, IL) has been doing a great job of taking it to the president and the Democrats since he went to Washington. Here is yet another media visit by Rep. Walsh…
You can help support Joe at: http://walsh.house.gov/
-By Warner Todd Huston
Once again we see a Democrat in Congress that is completely out of touch with, or unknowledgeable about, our U.S. Constitution, the law of the land. This time it’s Senator Dick Durbin that is so contemptuous of our immigration laws, so interested to pander to illegal immigrants, that he somehow imagines that an illegal alien could become president some day.
Durbin was once again advocating for the DREAM Act, a law that would give cash, education, and freebies to the children of illegal immigrants merely because they are illegals and he and his staff had stacked the audience in his hearing with illegal immigrants.
After pandering to the illegals in the audience at the Capitol (you know, those illegals so afraid of America that they have to “hide in the shadows”), Senator Durbin started his loving tribute to those bright, shinning faces in attendance…
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Why Does Sen. Durbin Think Illegal Aliens Can Become President?”
From the office of Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R, IL)…
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) today issued the following statement in response to the partial verdict in the retrial of Rod Blagojevich, former governor of Illinois:
“Rod Blagojevich never seemed to understand the difference between serving the public and serving his personal self interests. The evidence presented and verdict confirms that he was found guilty of seventeen of the twenty counts including wire fraud, attempted extortion and attempting to sell President Obama’s old Senate seat, but far worse, he abused and shattered public trust. The shame and national embarrassment Blagojevich cast onto our state has only created further financial bearing.
“I applaud the U.S. Attorney’s office for their hard work, dedication and effort to see to it that justice has somewhat been served. Unfortunately, Blagojevich’s verdict and punishment will not restore statewide, much less nationwide certainty in Illinois. We must now move beyond Rod Blagojevich and turn our focus toward working together to rebuild Illinois.”
From the office of Rep. Peter Roskam (R, IL)…
We’re at a crossroads in America. The Obama economy continues to underperform: 9.1% national unemployment, 14 trillion in debt, and a potential double-dip recession on the horizon. Even with all of America’s assets, endless potential, and the unrelenting American spirit, this Administration has led our country astray with one failed policy after another.
Americans are tired of the Obama Administration’s continual underperformance and seemingly never-met expectations: an $800-billion failed “stimulus” and the promise that summer 2010 would be “recovery summer.” Yet, even in the face of proven failure and a weak economy, the Democrats that run Washington continue to cheerlead for their failed policies.
Just weeks ago, Democrat National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz actually told NBC’s Meet the Press that Democrats have “turned this economy around.”
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Roskam: The Dems Are Out of Touch”
From the office of Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R, ILL)…
Jerry Halterman, owner of HR Imaging Partners Inc. in Ottawa, IL and U.S. Representative Adam Kinzinger (IL-11) joined David Asman on America’s Nightly Scoreboard to discuss how the Administration’s failed policies have created more government regulation and a lack of confidence to expand business.
This interview comes on the heels of Rep. Kinzinger’s small business roundtable with members of the Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce. Kinzinger hosted the roundtable to listen and discuss business owner’s ideas to create economic certainty in order to leave future generations with a strong, thriving economy. The roundtable confirmed the recent National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) report, which stated confidence of small businesses has dropped into recessionary levels. Small business owners from Ottawa, IL claimed taxes and regulations contribute to the continued uncertainty over our economy.
From the office of Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R, ILL)…
Washington, D.C. – The House Energy and Commerce Committee, which Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-11) serves on, yesterday passed the North American-Made Energy Security Act, H.R. 1938, with bipartisan support by a vote of 33 to 13. Kinzinger issued the following statement:
“What does the Keystone XL pipeline mean for the United States? For starters it means reducing our addiction to foreign oil and creating directly and indirectly more than 100,000 jobs.
“It means 1.3 million barrels of oil from our friends to the North, which means we will need less oil from the Middle East, less oil from Venezuela, less oil from countries we can no longer rely on.
“And, it means $5.2 billion in new property tax revenue for bankrupt states.
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Kinzinger Supports Bill to Increase North American Energy Production”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Representative Adam Kinzinger made what is in my opinion a principled vote on the pair of resolutions concerning the authorization and funding of Obama’s mission in Libya today. His principles however ran counter to the Republican’s conventional wisdom on this and he was one of only eight Republicans to do so in one case.
The first resolution that came to a vote was H.J.Res.68 – Authorizing the limited use of the United States Armed Forces in support of the NATO mission in Libya. It was introduced by extremist, left-wing Democrat Alcee Hastings (D, Florida). The resolution was meant to give cover to President Obama’s military involvement and hoped to give Obama up to a year of extra time to stay in Libya without further authorization.
Kinzinger voted with the Democrats on this, but I feel he did so in keeping with his support of the mission as opposed to his desire to aid Democrats. He supports this mission and that is that. Whether you agree with the effort or not, I think Kinzinger stayed true to his ideals and did not use this vote to play politics with the issue. (Kinzinger voted “yea” along with eight other Republicans: Dent; Dreier; S.King; P.King; McCotter; Rivera; Rogers of Michigan)
**BELOW, see video of Kinzinger’s floor speeches and a transcript of his comments**
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Rep. Kinzinger Defies GOP Opposition to Democrats War Resolution”
From the Office of Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R, IL)…
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-11), a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, spoke out on the floor of the House in support of H.R. 2021, the Jobs and Energy Permitting Act of 2011. This bipartisan legislation would ease the permitting process in order to increase domestic energy production opportunities, reduce our addiction on foreign oil and create American jobs.
“The American people are beginning to understand that this Administration and its agencies are having real consequences and real impacts on the unemployment rate, on the joblessness and on the price we are paying on a barrel of oil and a gallon of gasoline,” said Kinzinger. “Every dollar that a gallon of gasoline increases, it is a regressive tax on Americans. Meanwhile, we sit around and argue while bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. have their way.”
Development in two of Alaska’s Arctic seas (the Beaufort and Chukchi), which contain up to 27.9 billion barrels of oil and 122 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, could deliver up to 1 million barrels of oil per day of domestic energy.
Congressman Kinzinger represents the Eleventh Congressional District which is home to three nuclear power plants, hydropower plants, ethanol and biodiesel plants, and an oil refinery. The district embodies the all-of-the-above approach to energy that Kinzinger stands for. Nuclear energy production alone employs more than 2,500 people through the Illinois Valley.
From the Office of GOP Minority Leader Tom Cross…
After action by the General Assembly today — the state’s construction program will continue without interruption this summer keeping tens of thousands of people on the job repairing our state’s roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
This is another example of the General Assembly working together this session to achieve the common goal to put our state back on the right track.
We worked together to pass a budget that spends less money than we did last year—and made some tough choices to keep our spending down.
This has to be our new way of life.
We are not finished working on budgets that continue to bring our spending under control and reforming our government to make our state a place we can be proud of.
CLICK HERE to watch my comments on the House Floor today.
-By Warner Todd Huston
Congressman Peter Roskam, House GOP Deputy Majority Whip, got on record the fact that as things stand right now Medicare is dead by 2024. No ifs, ands, or buts, unless a major overhaul of the system is undertaken, Medicare is done in a little more than a decade.
Before congress two officials testified that based on our current path in 2024 there would be “actual” cuts to Medicare at 17%. They also confirmed that Medicare would end itself by 2024 unless actions are taken to save the program.
Democrats have tried to claim that it is Republican cost cutting that dooms Medicare, but this is simply untrue. Bt the very rules under which it now works, it seems that Medicare is already headed for doomsday.
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Dems Plan Proves Medicare Dead by 2024″
From the Office of Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R, IL)…
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-11), a pilot in the Air National Guard, issued the following statement on the President’s announced plans in Afghanistan:
“Last month during my trip to Afghanistan, I spoke with generals on the ground who believe we are winning and have turned the corner. The wrong thing to do at this stage would be to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, which will happen if the number of troops withdrawn exceeds the recommendations of our generals. Decisions regarding troop withdrawals must be determined by conditions on the ground, not political timelines.
“Stability in Afghanistan remains a top priority in the interest of our national security. History will judge us by the decisions we made to ensure the safety of our men and women overseas and of our country during this critical time. Our mission must be about the long-term safety of our nation, not the next election – this is something we cannot lose sight of.”
-By Warner Todd Huston
You know things are bad when governments start selling things they “own.” The latest is the state of Illinois so over spent and in a budgetary hole that authorities are floating the idea of selling advertising space on its auto license plates.
The Democrat led general assembly has given the Secretary of State’s office a directive to begin researching the pros and cons of “corporate plates,” or sponsors for license plates (SB1360). The hope is that more money will be brought into the treasury and, perhaps, the state won’t have to raise taxes… as much.
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Illinois So Broke They Want to Sell Ads on License Plates”
-By Warner Todd Huston
On Monday I alerted you all to a jobs-killing, union-favoring amendment being considered in the House of Representatives in Washington, one that needed to be defeated. Unfortunately, the amendment was successful and now, in this dour economy, unions will be able to make matters worse just when we need a shot in the arm. (See previous post for particulars of the bill.)
Sadly, we lost this battle by one stinking vote and this example shows that even though we may have a GOP controlled House of Reps. they still don’t always support conservative measures — and they need to be carefully watched! Those supporting this jobs-killing amendment numbered 204 and those voting in favor of economic success only numbered 203. (25 representatives did not vote at all)
Now, seeing as how I am from Illinois — the most corrupt state in the union — I focused in my previous post on those of the Illinois Republican delegation that had in the past supported Big Labor bills similar to the one in question. So, this is a follow up to that report.
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Illinois Congressmen Help Tip in Big Labor Amendment”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Today there may be a vote on striking a section of H.R. 2055 that will insure that federal construction projects for the military are fairly priced and will save money for the taxpayers. Some representatives want this advantageous section struck out and replaced with a union-favoring provision that will cost the tax payers millions and will cause even more job loss in an already failing economy.
The bill is the Military Construction (MilCon) and Veterans Affairs (VA) and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2012 (H.R. 2055). The section the Democrats want to eliminate is section 415.
Section 415 removes the requirement for companies bidding for federal construction projects for the military to sign anti-competitive project labor agreements (PLAs) that will force these companies to pay union dues, union benefits and adhere to union rules regardless if the companies themselves are staffed by union members of not.
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Urge Congress to Vote ‘NO’ On Striking $$ Saving Section From Federal Construction Projects Bill (Illinois Especially)”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and his profligate Democrat Party cohorts have been racking up the loss of one business after another since they decided to wildly raise the state’s taxes. Quinn’s and the Democrat’s next target seems to be the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, an ongoing Chicago tradition since 1898.
Chicago has the third highest corporate tax rate in the country and CME’s Chairman, Terence Duffy, and its Chief Financial Officer, James Parisi, say it is a burden with which they don’t think they need to contend.
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Quinn’s Tax Hikes Chasing Away Chicago Merc?”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Delivering the Weekly Republican Address, U.S. Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) highlights “Pledge to America with measures designed to remove government obstacles to private-sector job growth – the kind of growth the ‘stimulus’ promised but failed to deliver. Republicans have urged President Obama to change course and work together to enact this job creation plan, an invitation Rep. Kinzinger renews here. A member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Kinzinger is in his first term representing Illinois’ 11th Congressional District.
Transcript
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Weekly Republican Address: Rep. Adam Kinzinger on the GOP’s Plan for America’s Job Creators”