ScaifeNet because we can't let Soros have all the fun...

KEY VOTE ALERT
"NO" to "Doc Fix" (H.R. 3961)

The Club for Growth urges all members of the U.S. House to vote "NO" on the so-called Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act of 2009, otherwise known as the "Doc Fix" bill (H.R. 3961). 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 over $200 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.

KEY VOTE ALERT
"NO" ON AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE FOR AMERICA ACT (HR 3962)

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.

KEY VOTE ALERT
"NO" to "Doc Fix" (S. 1776)

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.

KEY VOTE ALERT
"NO" ON TRAVEL PROMOTION ACT OF 2009 (HR 2935, S 1023)

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.