The Club for Growth urges all members of the U.S. House to vote "NO" on the so-called Affordable Health Care for America Act (HR 3962). The bill is expected to be considered as early as this Saturday. This vote will be included in the Club for Growth's 2009 Congressional Scorecard.

This $1.2 trillion bill would dramatically increase the government's involvement in the health care insurance industry through higher taxes, higher spending, more mandates, more regulations, and added levels of bureaucracy.

Rather than seek pro-growth solutions to health care reform that would lower costs and not add to the federal deficit, House leaders are pushing a bill that forces people and businesses to buy insurance, under penalty of a tax. The failures of this bill are endless, but it also puts the government in charge of deciding what can and can't be covered in an insurance contract, regardless of whether or not it meets a person's specific medical needs. It raises taxes by over $700 billion - a bad idea to begin with, but a more dreadful one when the economy is still on shaky ground. Finally, it creates a "public option" that we believe is a back door attempt to a full government takeover of the health care insurance industry. This bill needs to be vigorously defeated.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 111th 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 Senators to vote "NO" on the so-called Medicare Physician Fairness Act of 2009, otherwise known as the "Doc Fix" bill (S. 1776). A vote on this proposal is expected later this week. This key vote will be part of our 2009 Congressional Scorecard.

This bill is not offset with any spending cuts so the overall tab will recklessly add almost $250 billion over ten years to the national debt. This is also a deceptive attempt to hide the true cost of health care reform.

Reasonable people can argue about the merits of a "doc fix", but fiscal prudence demands that it not add one penny to the national debt. This bill needs to have a full offset of spending cuts to meet that requirement. Also, it's clear that Senate leaders are stripping this bill out of comprehensive health care reform legislation in order to avoid the task of selling an expensive proposal to the public that breaks the President's revenue neutral pledge. When it comes to overhauling one-sixth of the national economy, the American people are entitled to honesty and transparency from their elected leaders in Washington.

The Club for Growth urges all members of Congress to vote "NO" on the Travel Promotion Act of 2009 (HR 2935/S 1023). The bill is expected to be considered as early as this week in both chambers. This vote will be included in the Club for Growth's 2009 Congressional Scorecard.

This bill would "promote leisure, business, and scholarly" travel to the United States by taxing these same travelers.

The proposal would set up a new $400 million slush fund called the "Travel Promotion Fund" that would be run by the tourism industry itself to promote tourism. This inefficient allocation of money would prevent tourists from spending that same money on shopping, food, and other expenses. This fund would also put into place yet another private-public spending program that can be expanded and abused using tax dollars, much like what happened with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Furthermore, foreign governments will likely retaliate with similar protectionist taxes on American tourists, making this even more senseless. A far better alternative would be to cut corporate taxes so that the tourism industry has additional resources to promote their own services.

UPDATE: The House passed it, 358-66.

The Club for Growth plans to subtract points in our annual congressional economic scorecard for the sponsorship, or co-sponsorship of all bills introduced in the House and Senate that impose, or threaten to impose, protectionist policies towards China. This will be heavily weighted on our 2009 Congressional scorecard.

There are several economic concerns that U.S. lawmakers have with China, but none of them can be resolved by imposing a tax upon ourselves, which is exactly what a tariff is, or otherwise restricting trade with one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Protectionist policies would stifle economic growth, increase prices, and cause higher unemployment and generally lower the American standard of living. This is especially damaging in a recession.

The bills we plan to score include, but are not limited to, S. 1027, sponsored by Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Jim Bunning, and HR 2378, sponsored by Reps. Tim Ryan and Tim Murphy.

The protectionist rhetoric has only worsened since the economy fell into a recession. Instead of walling off commerce, now is the time to expand commerce around the globe, allowing American businesses to export to new markets and providing American consumers with cheaper imports.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 111th 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 House members to vote "NO" on the Waxman-Markey bill that would impose a cap-and-trade scheme in order to effect climate change. The bill is expected to be considered as early as this week. This vote will be included in the Club for Growth's 2009 Congressional Scorecard.

This massively expensive anti-growth bill would stifle the economy, increase taxes on most Americans, and implement a sweeping protectionist provision that would threaten global commerce.

This bill would set up several new government programs and regulations, redistribute money in the form of subsidies to individuals and for corporate welfare payments, and perhaps worst of all, it would slap "carbon trade barriers" on any country that doesn't implement a climate change scheme similar to this proposal. And, according to the Heritage Foundation, the direct and indirect taxes on a family of four would reach almost $3000 per year if Waxman-Markey passes. Heritage also reports that, in the aggregate, GDP would drop by over $9.4 trillion with unemployment increasing by 2.5 million. This bill should be vigorously opposed.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 111th 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 "Cash for Clunkers" legislation that is currently being proposed in both chambers (HR 2751, HR 2640, S 1153, etc). If the "Clunkers" proposal is attached to any other piece of legislation, we would key vote against any amendment to include it, or key vote for any amendment that would strip it out. This key vote will be part of our 2009 Congressional Scorecard.

The bill is a straightforward redistribution of money. It takes money away from taxpayers and gives it to people who are likely to trade in their fuel inefficient cars.

The idea of this spending program is to get fuel inefficient cars off the road while encouraging domestic auto sales. But it ignores the simple property rights argument that money shouldn't be taken away from taxpayers for what is simply an economic engineering scheme. It also subsidizes the previous behavior of buying a fuel inefficient car at the expense of those who bought a more efficient model. This simply isn't the business of government.

Instead, the government should focus on reining in the national debt and creating a low tax structure in order for our economy to grow, rather than micromanaging the personal decisions made by car buyers.

The House passed it 298-199. The Senate passed it 60-36.

The Club for Growth urges all Senators to vote "YES" on Senator Blanche Lincoln's Death Tax compromise amendment (#873). It will be considered during the debate for the FY10 budget resolution (S. Con. Res. 13). A vote is expected today or tomorrow. This vote will be included in the Club for Growth's 2009 Congressional Scorecard.

While complete elimination of the Death Tax is preferable, this amendment would provide certainty for many individual taxpayers, small businesses, and family farms.

Under current law, the Death Tax's top rate is 45% with an exemption of $3.5 million. Under the proposed FY10 budget bill, it would make that rate and exemption permanent. But, under the Lincoln amendment, the rate would become more pro-growth, dropping to 35% with the exemption going up to $5 million. This will encourage more innovation, hasten the economic recovery, and get taxpayers closer to achieving the economic freedom they deserve.

UPDATE: The amendment passed, 51-48.

The Club for Growth urges all House members to vote "YES" on the Republican Study Committee's alternative budget, which will be offered as a substitute amendment (Amdt. 13) to the FY10 budget resolution (H. Con. Res. 85). A vote is expected today or tomorrow. This vote will be included in the Club for Growth's 2009 Congressional Scorecard.

This is a strong, pro-growth budget that lowers taxes, greatly reduces spending, and will aid in a faster economic recovery.

The RSC budget would extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, and even suspend the capital gains tax for the next two years. It would reduce spending every year over ten years resulting in a surplus in 2019. It would achieve this by requiring committees to find cuts in mandatory spending, reductions or elimination of programs like Amtrak and the National Endowment of the Arts, and a moratorium on earmarks. It would also open up ANWR for oil and gas exploration.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 111th 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 RSC budget failed, 111-322.

The Club for Growth urges all members of Congress to vote "NO" on the FY10 budget resolution (H. Con. Res. 85 and S. Con. Res. 13). A vote is expected later this week in both chambers. This vote will be included in the Club for Growth's 2009 Congressional Scorecard.

The House and Senate budget resolutions are extremely anti-growth. They raise taxes and greatly increase the size of government through record-breaking levels of new spending.

The Senate version increases spending by a bloated 7% over last year's budget, while the House version increases spending by a whopping 9%. Both versions raise taxes on the top two income tax brackets and on capital gains and dividends. It also blocks the repeal of the Death Tax. The House version contains reconciliation instructions that could allow harmful health care and cap-and-trade legislation to pass Congress with only limited debate and a simple majority vote. The cap-and-trade legislation alone would increase taxes by a White House estimate of $646 billion, even though an Obama adviser reportedly said it could cost double or triple that amount. Such huge tax increases would cripple our economy and increase unemployment. This budget needs to be defeated.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 111th 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 "YES" on the Mack amendment (#5) to the Water Quality Investment Act of 2009 (H.R. 1262). This vote will be included in the Club for Growth's 2009 Congressional Scorecard.

The amendment would strike all Davis-Bacon "prevailing wage" provisions from the bill.

The Davis-Bacon Act requires federal contractors to pay the prevailing local wage on government projects. These artificially higher wages, usually corresponding to union wage rates, would result in a higher cost to taxpayers and fewer jobs. It would also shield unions from much-needed competition.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 111th 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 amendment failed, 140-284.

The Club for Growth urges all Senators to vote "YES" on John Ensign's amendment to strike the restrictions on the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program made in the FY09 omnibus spending bill (HR 1105). A vote on this amendment (#615) could take place as early as today. This key vote will be part of our 2009 Congressional Scorecard.

The DC Opportunity Scholarship Program enables much-needed competition to improve the lives of children in an industry that is monopolized by the government.

There are currently far too many restrictions on education in this country. Instead of allowing parents to make important decisions about a child's education, a lot of control is placed with the government bureaucracy in charge of the public school system. If school choice were the law of the land, parents would have the liberty to make those decisions that ultimately are in the best interest of the child. School choice would also unleash a wave of innovation in the industry, allowing the profit-motive to increase the value of education while providing it at the lowest cost possible.

UPDATE: This amendment failed, 39-58.

The Club for Growth urges all members of Congress to vote "NO" on the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009 (H.R. 1106). A vote on this bill is expected later this week or next week. This key vote will be part of our 2009 Congressional Scorecard.

This bill is yet another bailout from Washington. This time it rewards homeowners who willingly bought a house that they cannot afford, and it penalizes banks through a disastrous "cram down" provision.

In order for our economy to recover, we must let housing prices find a bottom without artificially propping it up with taxpayer subsidies. This bill allows mortgage borrowers to refinance their mortgages at taxpayer-subsidized rates. If the lender refuses, this proposal will give a bankruptcy judge the unprecedented authority to "cram down" the principal of the loan, forcing the bank to absorb the loss. The added risks and costs this bill will impose on mortgage lending can only result in higher mortgage rates and more restrictive lending. In addition, this bill creates a moral hazard for prospective home buyers who might buy more house than they can afford with the assumption of government help. The plan also expands the portfolios managed by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, two agencies that need to be put into receivership and sold off to private buyers in order to making the mortgage industry function effectively going forward.

UPDATE: The House passed it 234-191.

The Club for Growth urges all Senators to vote "NO" on the "Fix Housing First" amendment offered by Sen. John Ensign, Mitch McConnell, and Lamar Alexander (#353). A vote on this amendment is expected today. This key vote will be part of our 2009 Congressional Scorecard.

This amendment would set up a government program that would offer a low interest mortgage to new and existing homeowners. This, in effect, represents a large intrusion by the government into the private sector that will negatively impact economic growth.

In today's Wall Street Journal, Harvard economist Ed Glaeser correctly called it a "dumb idea." He added, "Subsidizing mortgages is an idea from the New Deal, not the Republican playbook. Fannie Mae and the Federal Housing Administration were set up by liberal Democrats to encourage borrowing. Subsidizing interest rates appealed to big-government interventionists because the expense is kept off federal balance sheets, at least for a while. The true costs of Fannie and Freddie were long shrouded, despite the efforts of some Republican senators. Likewise, the full costs of subsidizing 4% mortgages will appear only over time, as the government is put on the hook for default after default."

The foundation for this bill rests on the notion that housing prices are below appropriate levels. But it is not clear that housing prices are too low. Washington politicians certainly do not know where the correct level should be. In addition, the proposal would also hurt banks when borrowers refinance from current interest rate mortgages to the lower one produced by this program. The last thing the federal government needs to do now is diminish the earnings of the banking industry.

UPDATE: This amendment lost 35-62.

The Club for Growth urges all Senators to vote "YES" on Jim DeMint's alternative stimulus plan. A vote on this substitute amendment (#168) could take place as early as today. This key vote will be part of our 2009 Congressional Scorecard.

DeMint's plan would scrap all of the spending in the current stimulus proposal and replace it with pro-growth tax cuts that would immediately stimulate the economy and put us on the road to recovery.

Direct government spending is a discarded economic idea that will do nothing to stimulate the economy. It also creates an adverse environment where the government picks winners and losers based largely on the amount of lobbying done by potential recipients. Instead, our country needs lower tax rates on corporate income, capital gains, and individual income that will create the necessary incentives to reignite production and innovation. Lower taxes will reduce the cost of doing business that will lead to more job growth and expanded opportunities.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 111th 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 DeMint amendment failed 36-61.

The Club for Growth urges Members of Congress to vote "NO" on the $825 billion economic recovery package (H.R. 1). This key vote will be part of our 2009 Congressional Scorecard.

In truth, the government simply takes the money from one set of people (taxpayers) and redistributes it to another set of people (special interests, socially engineered programs). A better alternative is to not let the government pick economic winners and losers. Rather, the government should cut broad based tax rates and allow the free market to spur economic growth without any federal interference.

This key vote will be sufficiently weighted to disqualify supporters from receiving the "Defender of Economic Freedom" award, given to those members who score 90 or higher on the Club's annual congressional scorecard.