E-Newsletter: Week of November 30,2009

Contents

I. Transparence Initiatives Package

With the unprecedented explosion in government spending this year, I have cosponsored a number of pieces of legislation which I believe are necessary to provide proper scrutiny to the inner workings of Congress. As many of you have said in your letters to me, Congress is pushing massive legislation, and there are not enough tools to ensure that the public can follow the legislative process from beginning to end. The transparency initiatives include:

· H.Res. 554 Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to require that legislation and conference reports be available on the Internet for 72 hours before consideration by the House.

· H.Res. 819 Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to provide for division of the question on the legislative proposals involved to allow separate votes on disparate matters. (for example: Congress added the Hate Crimes Bill to the typically bipartisan Defense Authorization Act)

· H.Res. 835 Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to provide for transparency in the committee amendment process. (This bill requires committees to post the actual text of adopted bills and amendments online within 24 hours.)

· H.Res. 869 Directing the Chief Administrative Officer to install cameras in the hearing room of the Committee on Rules. (The powerful Rules Committee determines which bills come to the floor and whether or not they can be amended.)

· H.Res. 874 Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to require all committees post record votes on their websites within 48 hours of such votes.

II. Taxing Death

On Thursday, December 4th, I voted against H.R. 4154, a 45% estate tax. As a core principle, I do not believe death should be a taxable event. Also, I believe that the estate tax is a severe blow to the entrepreneurial tradition in our country which, until recently, rewarded achievement and hard work. The fact is that many small businesses and family farms are hit with this tax. In many instances, these businesses must liquidate to pay the tax bill, killing jobs along the way. Furthermore, the estate tax is in essence a double tax which taxes assets that have already been taxed as income. More generally, the language of this bill is flawed. Like the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) which has to be patched every year, the exemption threshold in this bill is not indexed for inflation, meaning more and more Americans will fall into its clutches. Finally, I believe the estate tax should be thought of as a rainy day fund for satiating the appetite of those practitioners of big government spending.

III. This week’s votes on the floor, hearings, and markups

Each week I get the opportunity to represent you in Congress by: 1) voting on legislation that comes to the House floor; and 2) participating in committee hearings and markups for the Committee on Financial Services.

Key House Floor Votes

Bringing more oversight to the Troubled Asset Relief Program

On Wednesday, December 2nd, I voted for H.R. 1242 (authored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-NY). The bill, which passed unanimously, directs the Secretary of the Treasury to provide to the Special Inspector General of TARP, the Comptroller General, and the Congressional Oversight Panel ongoing, continuous, and close to real-time updates on the status of funds distributed under Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) through a standardized electronic database. It also provides for procedures to ensure that all activities are consistent with EESA purposes. Furthermore, the data derived from the new database will be used to help the Secretary to determine the effectiveness of TARP in stimulating prudent lending and strengthening bank capital. Though I voted against the bailout last fall, it is important that TARP funds (if they are going to continue to be used) receive the highest scrutiny. Furthermore, I have cosponsored H.R. 4110 TARP Sunset Act (authored by Rep. Erik Paulsen, R-MN) which would repeal the authority of the Treasury Secretary to extend TARP and H.R. 3140 REBOUND Act (authored by Rep. Tom Price, R-GA) which would, among many things, require the Treasury Secretary to use TARP repayments for debt reduction, not a Congressional slush fund as I fear it may soon become.

Committee on Financial Services

Federal Housing Administration Actuarial Report

On Wednesday, November 2nd, the full Committee held a hearing entitled “FY09 FHA Actuarial Report.” Testifying before the Committee were representatives from National Association of Realtors, Mortgage Bankers Association; National Council of La Raza, and Empiris, as well as HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.

IV. Recommended Reading

This week, I recommend reading Too Big to Fail by New York Times chief mergers and acquisitions reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin. This riveting book chronicles the sobering realities key figures faced in mid to late 2008 as the economy teetered on the edge. Beginning after the collapse of Bear Stearns, Too Big to Fail explores the events surrounding Lehman Brothers and AIG and also includes details about mergers considered by Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and others. Too Big to Fail does not provide a whole lot of new information, but it is a well-written, comprehensive compilation of the events of last fall. Given the author’s obviously wide network of sources, this book may indeed turn out to be the definitive book on the events. Overall, Too Big to Fail makes a good contribution to the recent glut of books on the crisis of 2008.

V. Great Quotes in History

"Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty teeth and keystone under independence."
-George Washington, 1st President of the United States

"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms."
-Samuel Adams, Massachusetts Delegate to the Continental Congress

I am honored to represent the 24th District of Texas, and appreciate your interest in my e-newsletter. Please contact my District or DC office with any further questions you may have or visit my website at www.marchant.house.gov. You can also become my Facebook friend here or follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/RepKenMarchant.

Sincerely,
Kenny Marchant
Member of Congress