Democrats Walking and Chewing Gum

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In the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrats seem to legislate and investigate like walking and chewing gum. Since taking control in January, they have passed some 178 bills. And they are now pursuing investigations into some 20-plus questions of Trump administration malfeasance.

Walking

Of those 178 bills, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has blocked the great majority. However, the Senate has passed two resolutions, which President Donald Trump has vetoed. Also, the Senate has passed a few bills, which Trump has signed into law.

Bills Blocked by McConnell

McConnell has been playing his self-proclaimed role as "the grim reaper" of progressive legislation. Here is a list of some of the more important bills that he is blocking -- plus a notable resolution:

Acts of Congress Vetoed

Here is a list of acts of Congress vetoed by President Trump:

  • S.J.Res.7: To direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities in the Republic of Yemen that have not been authorized by Congress.
  • H.J.Res.46: Terminates the national emergency that Trump declared to get around Congress and direct more funds to a Mexico border barrier.

Bills Enacted into Law

Here is a list of some of the more important bills that have become law:

Chewing Gum

Taken from the Washington Post on May 23, here are some of the more important questions of Trump malfeasance and corruption being investigated by the House:

  • Did Trump obstruct justice?
  • Did Trump try to fire the special counsel and then order former White House counsel Donald McGahn to lie about it?
  • Did Trump make any foreign policy decisions to enrich himself, specifically with his attempts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, or in his existing business ties with Saudi officials, to enrich himself?
  • Did Trump’s businesses have any money laundering ties, specifically related to Russia?
  • Did Trump inflate his net worth to get business deals or deflate it to avoid real estate taxes?
  • Did Trump lie about getting Jared Kushner a security clearance?
  • Did Trump play a role in illegal hush-money payments during the campaign to women alleging affairs with him?
  • What was the deal with a Trump idea to bus migrants to his political opponents’ districts?
  • What was the deal with a decision to add a controversial citizenship question to the 2020 Census?
  • How is Trump’s declaration that there’s a national emergency at the border legal?
  • Was the Trump administration’s response to Puerto Rico’s hurricane damage enough?
  • Why is the Trump administration proposing sharing nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia?
  • What’s the deal with Ivanka Trump and other White House officials doing official work on private email?
  • Why were U.S. diplomats left out of a meeting between Kushner and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman?
  • Is Trump illegally benefiting from owning a hotel in downtown Washington, D.C.?
  • And what were the lease details of the Trump International Hotel with the federal government?

(From The Paragraph.) [Sources & Notes]

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By Quinn Hungeski, TheParagraph.com, Copyright (CC BY-ND) 2019

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should be done, won't be done. Isn't that what they count on when they introduce all of this?

So, maybe we need to dump our current system for one of zero checks and balances and the dictator has to be voted in every year. In other words, give them all the rope they need. Take away the excuses they provide to one another and let them die on their own swords.

Or we have veto power over everything they do, and we can initiate citizen petitions which we all vote on too. In other words, they can't so much as go to the bathroom unless we say so. Hell, we could get rid of at least of half of them and replace them with a good ai. If they can make bitcoin and banking secure, we sure as hell ought to be able to make online voting more secure than it is.

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

@dkmich banking aren't really secure.

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dfarrah

Despite token "resistance", the Ds are still stumbling toward the edge - they remain 99% on the same trajectory as the GOP they are [not really] trying to distance themselves from. I am talking about the Trillion Dollar Budget "Minibus" bills the D House passed and Trump will sign with a few adjustments. The Democratic controlled House, in specific, has just produced the largest military spending bill in history:

The [veto] threat foreshadows pushback from the Senate and the White House, in part because both advocated for a $750 billion national defense budget, while the House-passed bill is consistent with a $733 billion national defense budget. (The House bill would fund the Pentagon alone at $8 billion less than the White House request.)

https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2019/06/19/house-passes-983-billion...

$8 billion dollars in a $750 billion bill is 0.01066666666 - a one percent difference.
The two parties are still holding hands as they go merrily off the cliff together.

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@leveymg let’s see the Dems run that stuff when it has a danger of passing and then I’ll be impressed.

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Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.

@Dr. John Carpenter accomplished with the vaunted Supermajority?

The biggest bills of the 111th Congress were the Wall Street Bailout, passage of RomneyCare, and a Defense Authorization Bill with Don't Ask Don't Tell Repeal.

In total, this is the "major legislation" the 111th Congress enacted (Wiki):

January 29, 2009: Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, Pub.L. 111–2
February 4, 2009: Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (SCHIP), Pub.L. 111–3
February 17, 2009: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), Pub.L. 111–5
March 11, 2009: Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009, Pub.L. 111–8
March 30, 2009: Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, Pub.L. 111–11
April 21, 2009: Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, Pub.L. 111–13
May 20, 2009: Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009, Pub.L. 111–21
May 20, 2009: Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009, Pub.L. 111–22
May 22, 2009: Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009, Pub.L. 111–23
May 22, 2009: Credit CARD Act of 2009, Pub.L. 111–24
June 22, 2009: Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, as Division A of Pub.L. 111–31
June 24, 2009: Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2009 including the Car Allowance Rebate System (Cash for Clunkers), Pub.L. 111–32
October 28, 2009: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, including the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, Pub.L. 111–84
November 6, 2009: Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009, Pub.L. 111–92
December 16, 2009: Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010, Pub.L. 111–117
February 12, 2010: Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act, as Title I of Pub.L. 111–139
March 4, 2010: Travel Promotion Act of 2009, as Section 9 of Pub.L. 111–145
March 18, 2010: Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act, Pub.L. 111–147
March 23, 2010: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub.L. 111–148
March 30, 2010: Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, including the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, Pub.L. 111–152
May 5, 2010: Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010, Pub.L. 111–163
July 1, 2010: Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010, Pub.L. 111–195
July 21, 2010: Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Pub.L. 111–203
July 29, 2010: Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010
August 3, 2010: Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, Pub.L. 111–220
August 10, 2010: Securing the Preservation of Our Enduring and Established Constitutional Heritage Act, Pub.L. 111–223
September 27, 2010: Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010, Pub.L. 111–240
December 8, 2010: Claims Resolution Act of 2010, Pub.L. 111–291
December 13, 2010: Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, Pub.L. 111–296
December 17, 2010: Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, Pub.L. 111–312, H.R. 4853
December 22, 2010: Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010, Pub.L. 111–321, H.R. 2965
January 2, 2011: James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, Pub.L. 111–347, H.R. 847
January 4, 2011: Shark Conservation Act, Pub.L. 111–348, H.R. 81
January 4, 2011: Food Safety and Modernization Act, Pub.L. 111–353, H.R. 2751

Who could forget the Shark Conservation Act of 2011? And, they wonder why the GOP soon retook everything, and why so few of us are excited about 2020.

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Alligator Ed's picture

@leveymg

But thanks for the information.

Mitch McTurtle is chief obstructor of the Dem party. The Democrat party is the chief disruptor of American domestic comity. They are also purveyors of copious examples of American comedy.

Example 1: Rep. Steve Cohen eating fried chicken during a House committee hearing (they cut the part where he rubbed the grease off his hands by using his tie for a napkin).

Example 2: Rep. Smellwell who promises to be bold without the bold! Stirring words by which to live--if only we could figure out what this monkey meant.

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Outsourcing Is Treason's picture

Somewhere on your lists should be the rule the House Dems passed that prohibits the DCCC from paying campaign consultants who worked with progressive challengers to corporatist neoliberal incumbents.

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"Please clap." -- Jeb Bush

Walking and chewing gum is really very "faint praise" worthy activity.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981