The Club for Growth is urging all Senators to oppose the re-nomination of Fred Hochberg as chairman and president of the Export-Import Bank. This vote will be included in the Club's 2013 Congressional Scorecard.

In 2008, when President Obama was a Senator, he called the Bank "little more than a fund for corporate welfare." Nothing has changed since then. In fact, the Bank has only gotten larger - in 2012, it received a 40% increase in its financing authority. This means its ability to distort the free market by handing out huge discounted loans and loan guarantees to special interests has only grown in size.

Conservatives should oppose Hochberg's nomination until a real plan is implemented for reducing the Bank's authority with the ultimate goal of ending its charter completely.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 113th 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.

Permalink: http://www.clubforgrowth.org/perm/?postID=16117

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The Club for Growth will be scoring the following amendments during the debate on the Senate budget resolution (S. Con. Res. 8). These votes could be considered as early as today. These votes will be included in the Club's 2013 Congressional Scorecard.

1. "YES" on the Ron Johnson (#212) Amendment to bar the use of federal funds to bail out state and local governments that are defaulting on their debts.


2. "YES" on the Thune Amendment (#307) to fully and permanently repeal the Death Tax.


3. "YES" on the Flake Amendment (#225) to establish a point of order to strike earmarks from future legislation.


4. "YES" on the Lee Amendment (#374) to unwind the Export-Import Bank.

Also, since there are over 300 possible amendments that could be swiftly considered, the Club for Growth, as always, reserves the right to retro-score any and all amendments. Therefore, if your office has any questions on any of the amendments, please call us to get our opinion.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 113th 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.

Permalink: http://www.clubforgrowth.org/perm/?postID=16110

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KEY VOTE ALERT
"YES" on Cruz Amendment to FY13 CR

The Club for Growth urges all Senators to vote "YES" on the Cruz amendment to defund ObamaCare in the FY13 continuing resolution (HR 933). Consideration on the amendment could happen next week. This vote will be included in the Club for Growth's 2013 congressional scorecard.

As we have written in previous key vote alerts, ObamaCare betrays the principles of limited government and individual liberty that our Founding Fathers relied on when they crafted the Constitution.

In an unprecedented move by the federal government, it forces private citizens to buy a private good. It hinders economic growth, raises taxes and massively increases the size of government through more spending and more regulation.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 113th 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.

Permalink: http://www.clubforgrowth.org/perm/?postID=16101

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Member Comments (3)

KEY VOTE ALERT
"NO" on Senate Fiscal Cliff Deal (HR 8)

The Club for Growth urges all members of the U.S. Senate to vote "NO" on the $50 billion Sandy relief bill (HR 152). Consideration on the Senate floor is expected as soon as today. If there is a vote on the package, it will be included in the Club for Growth's 2013 congressional scorecard.

Instead of passing a pork-filled bill packed with non-emergency spending items, Congress should pass a disaster relief-only bill that is fully offset with spending cuts elsewhere and contains measures to ensure accountability over billions in taxpayer dollars.

As we have repeatedly said in previous key vote alerts, there are more responsible ways to pass disaster relief legislation. For starters, funds could be released in installments to make sure the resources are spent more wisely. They should also strip out all immaterial line items, and fully offset all expenditures with spending cuts elsewhere. Serious reform would also include a way for the states to take over the responsibility for future disaster relief funding so that accountability is more localized.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 113th 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. Permalink: http://www.clubforgrowth.org/perm/?postID=16071

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The Club for Growth urges all Senators to vote "NO" on the Hurricane Sandy relief bill (HR 1) scheduled for consideration in the upper chamber this week. The vote on final passage, and perhaps procedural votes, will be included in the Club's 2012 Congressional Scorecard.

When a natural disaster occurs, there is a textbook response by Congress - they cobble together an overpriced bill that isn't paid for, there's no accountability or oversight, and it's filled with pork. This proposal is no different.

If lawmakers are interested in improving the bill, they should release the funds in installments to make sure the resources are spent wisely. They should also strip out all immaterial line items, and fully offset all expenditures with spending cuts elsewhere. Serious reform would also include a way for the states to take over the responsibility for future disaster relief funding so that accountability is more localized.

Permalink: http://www.clubforgrowth.org/perm/?postID=16020

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Member Comments (3)

The Club for Growth urges all Senators to vote "NO" on the DISCLOSE Act (S. 3369) scheduled for consideration next week. The vote on cloture, and on final passage if it comes to that, will be included in the Club's 2012 Congressional Scorecard.

This bill is an attempt to massively infringe upon the First Amendment rights of American citizens.

This bill seeks to apply costly disclosure and compliance regulations that restrict political free speech. Some of the regulations would target corporations and non-profit groups, but largely ignore unions. These restrictions, and their inequitable treatment, fly in the face of what should be universal protection of free speech.

If this bill passes into law, it will further protect the incumbents who continue to pass such unconstitutional legislation. We strongly urge a "NO" vote.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 112th 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.

Permalink: http://www.clubforgrowth.org/perm/?postID=15929

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Member Comments (1)

The Club for Growth urges all Senators to vote "NO" on the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012 (S. 3240). The Senate will likely begin consideration of the bill this week. A vote on final passage, and perhaps procedural votes, will be included in the Club's 2012 Congressional Scorecard.

This bill makes some material reforms and spending cuts, but it still enables the government to maintain a heavy and unacceptable presence in various parts of the private sector.

Similar to the Stimulus, ObamaCare, Dodd-Frank, and Cap and Trade, this is a massive bill that asserts too much government control in the private sector. It has 1,010 pages and contains twelve titles that deal with numerous, unrelated programs ranging from commodity subsidies, forestry programs, community development, broadband service, food stamps, and conservation.

One pro-growth solution is to break up this bill so that Congress can judge each component on its merits rather than tying them together for political reasons. Once that is done, Congress should only tackle the issues that have a constitutional role for the federal government. All programs that fail to meet this test should be relegated back to the states or completely repealed.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 112th 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.

Permalink: http://www.clubforgrowth.org/perm/?postID=15908

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Member Comments (1)

The Club for Growth urges all Senators to vote "NO" on the Stop the Student Loan Interest Rate Hike Act of 2012 (S 2343). The Senate will begin consideration of the bill today. A vote on final passage, and perhaps procedural votes and different versions, will be included in the Club's 2012 Congressional Scorecard.

Regardless of the bill's intended merits, the government should not be in the business of subsidizing student loans.

Before 2007, the interest rate for subsidized Stafford student loans was 6.8%, but House Democrats voted that year to lower the rate to 3.4% for the next four years. This bill would extend that rate for new loans for another year, costing taxpayers $6 billion. It's bad policy to subsidize student loans in the first place, but the net result will likely drive up tuition costs for all students, making the overall cost of the bill much higher than its current price tag. The House Republican version of this bill offsets this subsidy by repealing the Prevention and Public Health Fund that was created with the passage of ObamaCare. That fund should indeed be repealed, but fiscal conservatives should only try to repeal the entire law, not just parts of it. Other versions of this bill use different offsets, but for the most part, the offset is irrelevant. Fiscal conservatives should not be promoting bad policy, which this bill contains.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 112th 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.

Permalink: http://www.clubforgrowth.org/perm/?postID=15889

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The Club for Growth is scoring the following amendments to the Senate highway bill (S. 1813):

"NO" on the Menendez/Burr amendment (#1782): This amendment extends current and creates new market-distorting tax incentives for the production, distribution and use of vehicles that run on natural gas. It enlarges an already complicated tax code, and it expands the government's power to pick winners and losers in the private sector.

"YES" on the DeMint amendment (#1589): This amendment eliminates several market-distorting energy subsidies and lowers the corporate tax rate by a commensurate amount of the loophole closures. If signed into law, it will simplify and help flatten the tax code, while reducing the government's ability to cause misallocations of capital by picking winners and losers in the private sector.

"YES" on the DeMint amendment (#1756): This amendment devolves most of the federal highway program back to the states and also greatly reduces the federal gas tax. Over the last several decades, the federal government's role in infrastructure spending has greatly expanded beyond its constitutional limits. Today, it is remarkably inefficient and overly bureaucratic. The proper solution is to return the power back to the states so that spending can be handled more justly and effectively.

This is also a reminder that the Club for Growth is scoring against final passage of the underlying bill.

Permalink: http://www.clubforgrowth.org/perm/?postID=15827

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The Club for Growth urges all Senators to vote "NO" on Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) Act (S. 1813). The vote on the motion to proceed to the bill is expected to occur on Thursday, February 9. A final vote on passage of this plan, and perhaps procedural votes, will be included in the Club's 2012 Congressional Scorecard.

Just like the House bill, this plan requires politicians and bureaucrats to make decisions that are best left to the individual 50 states.

If fiscal conservatives are serious about reducing the size and scope of the federal government, then devolving the highway program back to the states is a must. This bill continues Washington's inefficient control over infrastructure spending. It also has awful revenue offsets (like auto import tariffs) that are just an excuse to spend more money. The time for true reform is now.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 112th 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.

Permalink: http://www.clubforgrowth.org/perm/?postID=15754

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Member Comments (4)