Posted by lillsim on 07/23/09

I recived this response in reguard to H.R.45 Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act. Thought it might intrest some others.

Dear Mr. Glick,

Thank you for contacting me regarding H.R. 45, labeled Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act. 

I believe these new restrictions are unnecessary and violate the protections afforded by the Second Amendment.  Please know that I am opposed to this legislation and will vote against it should it come to the House floor for a vote.

As a sportsman, gun owner and a small arms expert in the United States Air Force Reserve, I am a strong supporter of our Second Amendment rights.  As you know, H.R. 45 seeks to amend the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit a person from possessing a firearm unless they have been issued a firearm license under this Act or a state system, and that license has not been invalidated or revoked. The bill also prohibits transferring or receiving certain firearms unless the recipient presents a valid firearms license, the license is verified, and the dealer records a tracking authorization number. 

As a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, I joined more than 60 of my colleagues in sending a letter to Attorney General Holder expressing opposition to any plans to reinstate the 1994 ban on "assault weapons" and high capacity magazines. 

Again, please be assured that I will not support any effort to erode our Second Amendment rights.  Thank you for contacting me about this issue.  Please continue to keep me informed of your concerns and opinions.

Sincerely,

John Boccieri
Member of Congress

Posted 07/23/09 KathyLatshaw BeaReady Smithville, OH

It's good to know he supports at least 'one' of our rights ;) Thanks for posting this.

Posted by lillsim on 03/12/09

Audit the Fed
Congressman Ron Paul’s bill to audit the Fed is similar to another bill introduced by Bernie Sanders in the Senate S.513 which is aimed at getting the Fed to answer specific questions about where $2 trillion in bailout funds has gone, a subject that Bloomberg News sued the Fed simply to try and discover.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
But another storm is rapidly forming on the horizon.
International law that seeks to empower the government to intrude upon the child-parent relationship is becoming an increasing threat. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), a seemingly harmless treaty with dangerous implications for American families, is approaching possible ratification by the United States.
If this treaty is made binding upon our country, the government would have the power to intervene in any child's life to advance its definition of "the best interests of the child." The scenarios that could occur—and are occurring—as a result of this dangerous notion are both manifold and frightening.
Under the UNCRC, instead of following due process, government agencies would have the power to override your parental choices at their whim because they determine what is in "the best interest of the child."

Law of the Sea Treaty
The Senate is gearing up to ratify a Nixon-era U.N. treaty meant to create universal laws to govern the seas — a treaty critics say will create a massive U.N. bureaucracy that could even claim powers over American waterways.

LOST — the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, also called the Law of the Sea Treaty — regulates all things oceanic, from fishing rights, navigation lanes and environmental concerns to what lies beneath: the seabed’s oil and mineral wealth that companies hope to explore and exploit in coming years.

Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said during a January confirmation hearing that he intends to push for ratification. “We are now laying the groundwork for and expect to try to take up the Law of the Sea Treaty. So that will be one of the priorities of the committee, and the key here is just timing — how we proceed.”

Please contact your Senators and tell them to Support S. 513, And Oppose The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and
Law of the Sea Treaty.

Posted 03/12/09 KathyLatshaw BeaReady Smithville, OH

Thanks! Didn't know about senate version S513. Appears to have two co-signers already but only addresses the immediate demands to make the FED give names receiving loans since March 24, 2008. I'm not sure if this means to replace one coming from the House or how it would work? Hope someone here can fill us in. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-513

Posted 03/13/09 sunshine Washington, NH

Generally, if both the HoR and Senate have versions that pass then they hammer them out and vote on the revised.

Posted 03/13/09 rightsman Las Vegas,, NV

Has the Senate version been introduced only to take the teeth out of the Bill introduced by the Honorable Ron Paul? Thank you, Robert Walker

Posted by lillsim on 03/07/09

Below is a response I received from Congressman John Boccieri, in response to a letter I sent expressing my dissapointment of his support of HR 1.

Dear Mr. Glick,

Thank you for contacting me regarding H.R. 1, entitled the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. 

As you know we are in a great recession that parallels economic conditions this country experienced prior to the Great Depression, and I believe that those leading this country in Congress will be judged by two measures: Action or Inaction.

I voted to support this legislation that will help rebuild our nation by creating good-paying jobs, make us more globally competitive, and transform our economy for long-term growth.  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan is the first crucial step in a concerted effort to create and save three to four million jobs, jumpstart our nation's economy, and transform it for the 21st century. 

I know working families in Ohio and across the nation are struggling.  I firmly believe that history will judge this Congress by whether we took quick action to begin ending this recession, or whether we stood on the sidelines and pointed partisan fingers at one another while failing to take any action at all. 

The plan includes middle class and business tax cuts intended to stimulate economic growth, including tax cuts for working families that will return money to 95% of American workers in the form of tax credits and a reduction in income tax withholding in their paychecks. This will help working families who are struggling to keep jobs and put food on the table. The measure also provides a temporary increase in the earned income tax credit for families with three or more children and it allows additional low-income families to receive the refundable child tax credit in 2009 and 2010.  Businesses will also receive tax cuts under the plan allowing them to engage in job creating investments that will transform our economy, including extension of bonus depreciation, extension of enhanced small business expensing, a 5-year carryback of net operating losses for small businesses, small business estimated tax payment relief, and an adjustment to small business capital gains.

Local schools in our district will receive an estimated $37 million in funds from the economic recovery package.  Investing in our children's education and modernizing our schools provide school districts with stretched budgets critical resources for building and equipment improvements that would help make our schools and students more competitive, while also creating good-paying jobs.  The investment in education will spur long-term growth by preventing teacher layoffs and cutbacks in education and other services, and help make college more affordable for students by improving Pell Grants and a higher education tax credit.

Ohio will receive capital to invest in key infrastructure projects that are ready to go and will begin to create jobs right away.  The plan provides funds to repair and modernize roadways and invest in clean water infrastructure.  The measure includes funding for transportation projects, including highways and airports, requiring 50% of these resources to be used within 120 days.  This plan will make critical investments in our nation's infrastructure and put people back to work rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges and working to clean up our air, water, and land. 

The energy provisions of the recovery plan will create jobs by increasing our renewable energy production efforts and renovating public buildings to make them more energy efficient.  Investments that help design a smarter energy grid that is better equipped to handle the growing demands placed on it, and invest in higher fuel efficiency cars for a greener future.  The plan invests in information technology infrastructure, including broadband, electronic medical records systems, helping to reduce health care costs and increase the quality of care, save lives, and create jobs.

Finally, the legislation assists families that are struggling by training workers and helping them find jobs, extending unemployment benefits, increasing food aid, and providing housing-related assistance in order to get money into the economy quickly.  The measure reinforces the Medicaid program to help cover more unemployed workers and increase federal matching payments for doctors and hospitals.  The plan also provides new affordable options for maintaining health care coverage when workers lose their jobs. 

There is an unprecedented level of accountability and transparency with this bill. The website recovery.gov allows citizens to track the dollars in the recovery plan and its implementation holding Congress accountable. 

We are suffering from severe economic circumstances that most of us have not seen in our lifetimes.  We've lost 500,000 jobs in each of the last two months.  It will take time to turn the economy around, but by working together we can transform this economic crisis into an opportunity to rebuild Ohio and our nation. 

Having watched firsthand as billions of American dollars were spent to rebuild infrastructure and institutions in Iraq and Afghanistan, I could not accept the argument that United States should not do the same for its own people in the face of this crisis.  We need to invest in our future by creating jobs and providing the foundation for long-term growth and prosperity.  I believe The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act prevents further job loss, invests in our country, our people and our future.

Thank you again for contacting me regarding this important issue. 

Sincerely,

John Boccieri
Member of Congress

Posted 03/07/09 KathyLatshaw BeaReady Smithville, OH

Yes, Boccieri's colors were obvious prior to election. This is the same canned reply I've received three times now. The last two were response to my phone call and email regarding HR 1207!! I will be calling again Monday.

Posted 03/12/09 vintovkamossina Smithville, OH

This guy is really starting to scare me.