GOP is Betraying Conservatives

	How the Republican Congressional Majority is Betraying Conservatives "Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory" The Conservative Caucus 450 Maple Avenue East * Vienna, Va. 22180 * 703-938-9626

Additional GOP betrayals are listed these pages: 1999 and 1998-1997 Betrayals, Voting Record, GOP Leadership, Red China Trade, Red China Technology, Pro-Life, Budget

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues & Strategy Bulletin of December 31, 2003

IS IT TIME TO BRING BACK GRIDLOCK?

In an editorial page column for Investor’s Business Daily (11/26/03, p. A14), Bruce Bartlett, a senior fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis, advocates the defeat of George Bush and the election of a Democrat to the White House in 2004 as a way of restoring fiscal soundness to the U.S. government’s policies.

"On Jan. 23, 1996, Bill Clinton told the nation, ‘The era of big government is over.’ If so, it sure didn’t last very long. Today, the era of big government is back with a vengeance, ushered in by a massive new prescription drug entitlement, a pork-laden energy bill of grotesque proportions…."

GOP CONTROL OF WHITE HOUSE AND CONGRESS HAS MOVED U.S. LEFT

"What few people, including myself, ever thought would happen was that this new era of big government would be implemented by Republicans controlling both Congress and the White House. It makes me long for the good old days of gridlock."

BILL CLINTON AND GOP CONGRESS LEFT A $200 BILLION BUDGET SURPLUS

"In his new book, ‘In an Uncertain World,’ former Treasury Secretary Bob Rubin extols the Clinton administration’s fiscal record. He correctly notes that the federal budget deficit was close to $300 billion when Clinton took office and had a surplus of more than a $200 billion when he left. …

"[I]it was the combination of the two – a Democratic White House and a Republican Congress – that was really responsible for the budgetary turnaround. Each side was checked from enacting new spending programs. The result was that the budget was virtually on automatic pilot for most of the Clinton administration.

"[A] number of economic conservatives suggested in 2000 that the best electoral outcome for growth and the stock market would be Al Gore as president with the GOP retaining control of Congress.

"As financial columnist Daniel Kadlec wrote: ‘The Dow has fared best when one party has controlled the White House and the other has controlled Congress, the optimum formula being a Democratic president and a Republican Congress. That combo has produced Dow gains, excluding dividends, of 10.7% a year.’ …

"The only people who really oppose gridlock are political scientists and party activists, who decry it as a barrier to ‘getting things done.’ A new book by Brookings Institution scholar Sarah Binder, ‘Stalemate,’ lays out the case against gridlock on these grounds.

"The problem is that getting things done is usually a bad thing. All of our nation’s entitlement programs, for example, were enacted when one party controlled all the elected bodies of the federal government. Social Security came under Franklin Roosevelt and a Democratic Congress in the 1930s, Medicare under Lyndon Johnson and a Democratic Congress in the 1960s, and now a prescription drug entitlement under George Bush and a Republican Congress. Our grandchildren’s grandchildren will be paying higher taxes for this latest elderly vote-buying scheme when everyone who supported it is long dead.

"The simplest way of restoring gridlock would be to elect a Democrat as president next year."

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues & Strategy Bulletin of September 30, 2003

GOP NATIONAL CHAIRMAN ACKNOWLEDGES THAT BIG GOVERNMENT LIBERALISM IS NOW REPUBLICAN ORTHODOXY

TIM RUSSERT: "Here’s the problem. Here’s the headline that greets people across the country. ‘Federal work force largest since 1990.’ Mr. Gillespie, you went up to New Hampshire and caused quite a stir. This is how the Manchester Union Leader, a conservative newspaper, described your visit:

" ‘Had there been any doubts about the direction the Republican Party is headed, they vanished last week when Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie visited New Hampshire. …No longer does the Republican Party stand for shrinking the federal government, for scaling back its encroachment into the lives of Americans, or for carrying the banner of federalism into the political battles of the day.’ You called the Union Leader; you sent them letters. They stand by your comments, and this is their second editorial:

" ‘We wanted to take this opportunity to assure Rush [Limbaugh] and everyone else that the editorial was and is 100 percent true. Over the course of an hour-long meeting with Ed Gillespie, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, we took great care to give him every opportunity to explain himself fully so that nothing could be misunderstood. The result was a surprisingly frank admission that the Republican Party defines "fiscal responsibility" as increasing the federal budget at "a slower rate of growth" than the Democrats (his words). We asked him three times to explain why President Bush and the Republican Congress have increased discretionary non-defense spending at such an alarming rate, and why the party has embraced the expansion of the federal government’s roles in education, agriculture and Great Society-era entitlement programs. "Those questions have been decided," he said. The public wants an expanded federal role in those areas, and the Republican Party at the highest levels has decided to give the public what it wants." ’ " Source: Meet the Press, 9/7/03

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues & Strategy Bulletin of July 15, 2003

REAGAN, BUSH, AND BUSH HAVE BEEN THE BIGGEST SPENDERS IN U.S. HISTORY

"The White House has submitted its budget for fiscal year 2004 - the period stretching from October 1, 2003, to September 30, 2004…. The administration’s budget - which is surely optimistic with respect to both spending and deficits - shows outlays climbing at a rate of roughly $100 billion a year and a deficit ranging from the upper $100 billion range to approximately $300 billion a year:

Year	Spending (Outlays)	Receipts	Deficit
.	(billions)	(billions)	(billions)
2002	2,011	1,853	158
2003	2,140	1,836	304
2004	2,229	1,922	307
2005	2,343	2,135	208
2006	2,464	2,263	201
2007	2,576	2,398	178
2008	2,711	2,521	190

450% INCREASE IN FEDERAL BUDGET SINCE 1981

"…[B]y 2008, the federal government will be four-and-a-half times its size as at the beginning of the Reagan administration. Furthermore, surprisingly, (1) virtually all of the growth will have occurred during the three Republican presidencies, (2) with the exception of one-year aberrations during the Reagan and Bush II administrations, revenues will have risen every year during the twenty-nine year period, and (3) spending will have increased or remained constant during every single year:

Year	Outlays	Receipts	Year	Outlays	Receipts	Year	Outlays	Receipts
.	(billions)	(billions)	.	(billions)	(billions)	.	(billions)	(billions)
1980	590.9	517.1	1990	1,253.2	1,032.0	2000	1,814.4	1,727.3
1981	678.2	599.2	1991	1,324.4	1,055.0	2001	1,844.5	1,808.3
1982	745.8	617.8	1992	1,381.7	1,091.3	2002	2,011.0	1,853.0
1983	808.4	600.6	1993	1,409.4	1,154.4	2003 (est)	2,140.0	1,836.0
1984	851.9	666.5	1994	1,461.7	1,258.6	2004 (est)	2,229.0	1,922.0
1985	946.5	734.2	1995	1,515.7	1,351.8	2005 (est)	2,343.0	2,135.0
1986	990.5	769.3	1996	1,560.3	1,453.1	2006 (est)	2,464.0	2,263.0
1987	1,004.2	854.4	1997	1,631.0	1,505.4	2007 (est)	2,576.0	2,398.0
1988	1,064.5	909.3	1998	1,687.5	1,566.8	2008 (est)	2,711.0	2,521.0
1989	1,143.7	991.2	1999	1,760.7	1,643.3	.	.	.

BIGGEST GROWTH IN "DISCRETIONARY" SPENDING

"Over the next three years, discretionary versus nondiscretionary spending breaks down in this way:

.	2004	2005	2006
.	(billions)	(billions)	(billions)
Defense	390	410	423
Nondefense	.	.	.
Discretionary	429	440	447
Social Security	493	512	533
Medicare	255	272	301
Medicaid	185	199	217
Other entitlements	301	307	319
Interest	176	204	225

Source: National Legal Center for the Public Interest, Judicial/Legislative Watch Report, May 2003, http://www.nlcpi.org

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues & Strategy Bulletin of May 31, 2002

GOP HOUSE GIVES BUSH $200 MILLION ($980 MILLION TOTAL) MORE OF YOUR MONEY THAN HE ASKS FOR ASSISTANCE TO DISEASED SODOMITES AROUND THE WORLD

"Two decades into the global AIDS epidemic, an unlikely alliance of lawmakers is pressing President Bush to increase spending by hundreds of millions of dollars this year to help foreign nations grapple with the disease.

"The Bush administration has budgeted $780 million for the global AIDS fight this year. On Thursday, however, Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee voted to add $200 million in global AIDS money to an emergency measure for domestic security and military spending. The White House had not asked for the money.

"Next week, the Senate Appropriations Committee is to vote on its version of the emergency spending bill.… [W]hen the House and Senate bills are reconciled, [it] would mean nearly $1.3 billion to fight the disease globally. The money is to be allocated by Sept. 30, with more likely next year. …"

JESSE HELMS, BONO, AND KOFI ANNAN ARE THE PIED PIPERS

"Some lawmakers, notably [North Carolina Republican Sen. Jesse] Helms, have credited Bono, the Irish rock star who has become something of a cult figure in Washington with his pleas for more aid to fight global poverty and disease. Some credit Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary general, who last year called for a new global fund to fight AIDS. The fund awarded its first grants last month. …

"The White House says the United States is providing nearly half of all international financing to fight the epidemic. A spokesman, Scott McClellan, describes the United States as ‘a world leader’ in the fight against global AIDS."

U.S. PRESSED TO COUGH UP $2.5 BILLION

"But advocates for people with AIDS say that in light of the staggering tally of H.I.V. infections and AIDS deaths, the administration and Congress are not doing nearly enough. They note that Secretary Annan has called for $10 billion in annual global AIDS spending and say the United States’ share should be one-quarter of that, or $2.5 billion, delivered immediately." Source: Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times, 5/12/02, pp. 1, 18

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues & Strategy Bulletin of May 15, 2002

DEEDS CONTRADICT WORDS

" ‘The Republican leadership likes to talk about pulling the tax code up by the roots,’ says Rep. Charles Rangel (D., N.Y.). ‘But, every year, they just add more fertilizer to it.’ " Source: Tom Herman, Wall Street Journal, 3/27/02, p. 1

CORPORATE GLOBALISTS USE GOP TO INDENTURE GRASSROOTS CONSERVATIVE TAXPAYERS

"One of the great mysteries of modern political life is why Republicans always insist on funding the very left-wing groups – like International Planned Parenthood – that are the sworn enemies of conservatives and conservative policies. This money will almost certainly be used to bolster policies that are antithetical to free-market reforms. …

"Moreover, by my calculations, the real foreign aid budget is probably closer to $50 billion – when Pentagon ‘peacekeeping’ activities that are wholly unrelated to protecting U.S. national security are counted. That’s more money than is paid in taxes by the residents of 15 separate states.

"Rather than increasing funds, Congress should pull the plug on barnacle-encrusted, elitist and self-serving institutions such as the UN, the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Export-Import Bank and the IMF. Then we should cut taxes here at home, as Reagan did. That will force other nations to follow suit." Source: Stephen Moore, Human Events, 3/25/02, p. 4

GOP HOUSE AND DEM SENATE PORK UP $100 BILLION IN AGRICULTURE SUBSIDY– BUSH WILL NOT USE VETO

"Senate and House members agreed today on a farm bill costing more than $100 billion over six years that will raise subsidy payments to the country’s biggest grain and cotton farmers, a nearly complete reversal of Congress’s attempt six years ago to wean farmers of all subsidies."

$17 BILLION FOR ENVIRONMENTALISTS

"At the same time, the measure finances some of the most significant conservation and environmental programs in recent years, with $17 billion dedicated over the next decade to preserve farmland, save wetlands and improve water quality and soil conservation on working farms."

MORE FOOD STAMPS FOR NON-CITIZENS

"It is also one of the major pieces of social welfare legislation before Congress this year, increasing food stamps for working families and children and restoring the right of legal immigrants to receive them.

"Months of election-year jockeying produced a bill that seeks to satisfy every region and segment of the country. Lawmakers from farm states in the Midwest and South won the largest subsidies for cotton, rice, wheat, corn and soybeans. Legislators from the Northeast won a new $1.3 billion national program to replace the defunct dairy compact. The conservation programs will help densely populated states hoping to control urban sprawl. And for cities and rural areas, the increase in the food stamps and nutrition program will begin to redress the losses from the 1996 welfare overhaul…."

AGRIBUSINESS IS THE BIG BENEFICIARY

"The last major piece of legislation, the 1996 Freedom to Farm Law, tried to eliminate subsidies and let the market dictate prices and production levels. But farmers and agribusiness, which represents 13 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, convinced Congress to pass annual emergency payments raising subsidies to a record $20 billion last year."

SMALL FARMERS SOLD OUT – TO BE BOUGHT OUT

"The compromise announced today represents a rejection, as well, of a movement to limit the size of payments to farmers. During the year-long debate, lawmakers complained of multimillion-dollar payments to some of the country’s biggest farmers, who were buying out the small family farms the program was originally intended to save.

"Spurred by a Web site that revealed how hundreds of farmers and absentee landlords received millions of dollars in subsidy payments since the last farm bill, the Senate version included a limit of $275,000 per farmer. But negotiators over the past month dropped that limit. The final compromise includes a limit of $360,000 but with enough exceptions to make it a symbolic compromise. …"

TAXPAYERS SKEWERED

"From the consumer’s point of view, the increase will have little effect on supermarket prices. …

" ‘The impact is on the taxpayer,’ said Keith Collins, chief economist for the Agriculture Department. …"

GWB CONGRATULATES CONGRESS FOR ITS UNCONSTITUTIONAL COMPLICITY

"The Bush administration congratulated the lawmakers today for reaching a compromise and promised to work with Congress to carry out the bill in time for the 2002 crop. … But the administration had been silent on most issues throughout the debate, except for a strong appeal to reinstate food stamps for legal immigrants. …"

PEANUT FARMERS (JIMMY?) GET BIG BUCKS

"The bill also includes a new $3 billion subsidy for peanut farmers as well as a $1 billion buyout program of the old peanut price support system." Source: Elizabeth Becker, The New York Times, 4/27/02, pp. 1, A11

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues and Strategy Bulletin of June 30, 2001

GOP CONGRESS BOOSTS NEA SUBSIDIES

Jacqueline Trescott writes (Washington Post, 6/22/01, p. C1) that "Last year, under a Senate initiative, the NEA gained $7 million, its first increase in nine years. This year the White House had proposed $105 million for the agency in fiscal 2002, the same as the previous year.

"But yesterday NEA supporters in the House proposed adding $10 million to the Bush administration target. The amendment, offered by Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) during consideration of the Interior Department appropriations bill, also added $3 million to the National Endowment for the Humanities’ budget request of $120 million and $2 million to the Institute for Museum and Library Services’ request of $25 million.

"In the past, an amendment favoring NEA funding would trigger hours of raucous debate that swung from the evils of pornography to the value of introducing the arts to children. Yesterday afternoon the debate was more moderate and the $15 million increase for the three agencies was approved 221 to 193.

"Later in the day, Rep. Clifford Stearns (R-Fla.) introduced an amendment to take away the new NEA money. It was defeated 145 to 264. The Interior bill was passed by the House last night, 376 to 32, and it now heads to the Senate. …

"The change in the House’s attitude toward the arts was immediately applauded by the NEA’s supporters off the Hill. ‘It really symbolizes the elimination of a roadblock - the constant, negative votes. I think the old version of the cultural wars is over,’ said Robert Lynch, president of Americans for the Arts, a national advocacy group." TAKE ACTION -- Abolish LSC

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues and Strategy Bulletin of February 28, 2001

ARE GOP PLATFORMS LIKE PIECRUSTS, MADE TO BE BROKEN?

Virginia Governor and new Republican National Committee Chairman Jim Gilmore discussed abortion with host Tim Russert on NBC’s Meet the Press (2/4/01):

TIM RUSSERT: "Let me show you the Republican Party platform on the very sensitive issue of abortion:

‘The unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and we endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children.’ Harry Truman said a party’s platform is its contract with the people. Will the Republican Party – you now have the Senate, the House and the White House – work to enact a constitutional amendment to ban all abortion as promised in your platform?"

GOV. GILMORE: "I think the Republican Party is going to be able to find common ground on some of these areas – for example, the issues of partial-birth abortion, the issue of full information to a woman so that she has the best ability to make those kinds of decisions. And I think that we will find some common ground on that in the Republican Party, but the Republican Party’s a very diverse party. We have a lot of people in it with a lot of different points of view."

GILMORE NOT SURE IF PRO-LIFE PROMISES WILL BE KEPT

TIM RUSSERT: "But you won’t keep your word on your platform?"

GOV. GILMORE: "I’m not sure. It’s up to the Republican chairman of the Republican National Committee to either keep or not keep that kind of word. What I do believe is that...

TIM RUSSERT: "Well, should you keep your word on the platform?"

GOV. GILMORE: "Well, what I believe is that the Republican Party is going to find common ground on the key issues, and that’s where I think we’re going to head."

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues and Strategy Bulletin of October 15, 2000

GOP'S CARA "COMPROMISE" IS STILL UNCONSTITUTIONAL

"Late Thursday afternoon, the Senate passed the Interior Appropriation's [sic] Bill by a vote of 83-16, which included a watered down, but still healthy version of CARA [Conservation And Reinvestment Act]. The House passed the same compromise on Tuesday 349-69, sending the measure to the President for his signature. Many have claimed victory because the compromise only authorizes the CARA programs for six years and the funding remains subject to congressional oversight, but the fact remains, Congress caved on CARA."

$12 BILLION FOR MORE FEDERAL LAND GRABS

"The compromise authorizes many aspects of the original bill. It is a six- year, $12 billion commitment that the White House supports because it gave them more than they sought through their Lands Legacy Initiative. The environmental-

ists are pleased because it dramatically increases the environmental budget and authorizes many new programs. ..."

REPUBLICANS ARE WORSE THAN DEMOCRATS

"The bill provides $2.5 billion more than President Clinton requested and $3.9 billion over the current funding of these programs -- more than doubling last [year's] federal conservation spending. ...

"[Senate] Majority Leader Trent Lott, who is a supporter of CARA, said that the 63 Senators who signed the DeWine letter supporting the passage of CARA have not given up [Editor: they want even more]. ..."

13 SENATORS VOTE CONSTITUTIONALLY

"The Interior version of the bill increases government acquisition of private lands...." Source: Liberty Matters News Service, 10/6/20, Faxback Doc 2035, 1-800-847-0227

Voting "No" in the Senate (Senate Roll Call no. 266, passed 83-13, 10/5/00) were

Breaux (D-La.), Brownback (R-Kans.), Feingold (D-Wisc.), Fitzgerald (R-Ill.), Graham (D-Fla.), Gramm (R-Tex.), Helms (R-N.C.), Inhofe (R-Okla.), Landrieu (D-La.), McCain (R-Ariz.), Sessions (R-Ala.), Smith (R-N.H.), and Voinovich (R-Ohio).

GOP BOOSTS NEA FUNDING

Jacqueline Trescott writes (Washington Post, 9/21/00, p. C1) that "After a long wait, the National Endowment for the Arts got a substantial raise yesterday from Congress.

"A House-Senate conference committee approved an increase of $7 million, for a total of $105 million, for the federal arts agency....

"The new total of $105 million was much less than the White House request of $150 million, but NEA Chairman Bill Ivey called it 'encouraging to see Senator Gorton take a strong position and bring us a significant increase from a bipartisan stand.'"

29 GOP SENATORS SIDE WITH RED CHINA ON MANDATORY ABORTION

The Republican National Coalition for Life's FaxNotes (9/22/00) reports that "Pro-life Republicans Help Defeat Helms Pro-life Amendment to China Trade Bill - From now on, Communist China's trading status will not be scrutinized by Congress on an annual basis. Instead, China has permanent trading status as well as U.S. approval for its petition to join the World Trade Organization. No longer will China's persistent human rights abuses and military expansion be a potential obstacle to our consideration of China as a trading partner. Money talks, in this case very loudly."

CONGRESS SUPPORTS SLAVE LABOR OVER FREE LABOR

"American businesses are making a fortune on the backs of Chinese laborers who manufacture thousands of products dirt cheap which are then imported by the U.S. to be sold at highly inflated prices to American consumers. It is truly becoming difficult to find a product that is not labeled 'Made in China.'

"Pressure for passage of the China trade bill has been so great that an amendment (4128) to HR-4444 expressing the sense of Congress that the President should urge Red China 'to cease its forced abortion and forced sterilization policies and practices' and 'to cease detention of those who resist abortion or sterilization,' offered by pro-life stalwart Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC) was defeated 53-43."

29 "PRO-LIFE" REPUBLICAN SENATORS VOTE FOR ABORTION

"Republican Senators...who voted against the Helms amendment were:

Allard, Bennett, Bond, Brownback, Chafee, Cochran, Craig, Crapo, Domenici, Enzi, Fitzgerald, Frist, Gramm (TX), Grams (MN), Grassley, Hagel, Hatch, Hutchison (TX), Lott, Lugar, Mack, McCain, Murkowski, Nickles, Roberts, Roth, Smith (OR), Stevens, Thomas."

41 PRO-HOMO GOP HOUSE MEMBERS BACK "HATE CRIMES" LAW

Juliet Eilperin reports (Washington Post, 9/14/00, p. A2) that "The House voted by a surprisingly wide margin yesterday to signal its support of hate-crime legislation that would protect gays as well as other targeted groups.

"The vote means that solid majorities in both chambers have advocated expanding federal jurisdiction to include violent crimes committed on the basis of race, religion, color, sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity or disability. Forty-one Republicans joined 190 Democrats and an independent in supporting the motion, which instructed House negotiators to accept language attached to the annual Defense Department authorization bill."

The forty-one Republicans who voted "aye" (House Roll Call No. 471, 232-192, 9/13/00) were:

Bass (N.H.), Biggert (Ill.), Bilbray (Calif.), Boehlert (N.Y.), Bono (Calif.), Castle (Del.), Diaz-Balart (Fla.), English (Pa.), Foley (Fla.), Frelinghuysen (N.J.), Gallegly (Calif.), Gibbons (Nev.), Gillmor (Ohio), Gilman (N.Y.), Greenwood (Pa.), Horn (Calif.), Houghton (N.Y.), Johnson (Conn.), Kelly (N.Y.), Kolbe (Ariz.), Kuykendall (Calif.), LaHood (Ill.), LaTourette (Ohio), Leach (Iowa), LoBiondo (N.J.), McCollum (Fla.), McCrery (La.), Morella (Md.), Porter (Ill.), Quinn (N.Y.), Regula (Ohio), Ros-Lehtinen (Fla.), Roukema (N.J.), Saxton (N.J.), Shaw (Fla.), Shays (Conn.), Shimkus (Ill.), Smith (N.J.), Upton (Mich.), Walsh (N.Y.), and Weller (Ill.).

TRENT LOTT READY TO ROLL OVER FOR HUMAN STEM CELL RESEARCH

The Associated Press reports (Washington Times, 9/15/00, p. A3) that "Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, Mississippi Republican, has promised a vote within the month on legislation allowing funding for research on stem cells from discarded human embryos, said Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican, chairman of the Appropriations Committee's health and human services panel.

"'I believe we have the votes,' said Sen. Tom Harkin, Iowa Democrat, who co-sponsored Mr. Specter's legislation. 'I hope we have the votes.'

"However, critics oppose the research, calling it illegal, immoral and unnecessary. ...

"Mr. Specter's legislation would let women agree to donate to federally funded researchers their embryos that were left over from in-vitro fertilization treatments."

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues and Strategy Bulletin of September 15, 2000

"CONTRACT WITH AMERICA" INCREASED FEDERAL SPENDING

Patrick Poole reports (WorldNetDaily.com, 8/28/00) that "A new study published by the Washington, D.C.-based Cato Institute finds that most of the 200 federal programs targeted for elimination by congressional Republicans as part of their 1994 Contract with America are very much alive -- with many having larger budgets than ever before.

"The report, The Return of the Living Dead: Federal Programs that Survived the Republican Revolution, by Cato economists Stephen Moore and Stephen Slivinski also compares non-defense spending increases since 1977 and found that the current 106th Congress is on its way to being the largest-spending Congress since Jimmy Carter occupied the Oval Office and Tip O'Neill was Speaker of the House. ..."

EXPANSION -- NOT ELIMINATION -- OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS

"The GOP 'hit list' crafted by House Budget Chairman Rep. John Kasich, R-Ohio, in 1995, the first year of Republican congressional control, called for elimination of more than 200 federal programs that had been identified as ineffective, obsolete, counterproductive or unconstitutional. Also included on the list were three whole cabinet-level departments: Education, Energy and Commerce. ...

"At the heart of this federal spending growth are the very programs that were targeted as part of the Contract with America. Of the 95 largest domestic programs slated for elimination, total spending has increased from $41.2 billion to $46.6 billion, or 13 percent, from 1995 to 2000. In addition, spending for the three cabinet departments scheduled for closure increased by 8 percent. ..."

GOP BOOSTED CLINTON'S AMERICORPS BY 248%

"President Clinton's Americorps program, which received $81 million in 1995, has grown by 248 percent to $282 million. Meanwhile, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting budget has grown from $286 million to $318 million this year, an 11 percent increase. ..."

FEDERAL EDUCRATS GET A 43,237% INCREASE

"Education programs have also been big winners under the Republican Congress. The most astounding spending growth can be seen with the 21st Century Community Learning Centers, which began 1995 with a budget of just $1 million. But in 2000, the program has ballooned to $453 million -- a whopping 43,237 percent increase."

FLORIDA GOP CONGRESSMAN BILL McCOLLUM, SAVIOR OF THE LSC, PUSHES PRO-HOMO AGENDA FOR CONSERVATIVE FLORIDIANS

Lou Chibbaro Jr. reports (Washington Blade, 9/1/00, p. 1) that "U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum (R-Fla.), an influential House conservative with a history of voting for anti-Gay amendments, announced this week that he will seek to persuade House Republican leaders to end their opposition to a hate crimes bill that the Senate passed earlier this year."

McCOLLUM HELPS BARNEY FRANK ON "HATE CRIMES"

"Democratic Party supporters of the hate crimes measure, including openly Gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), said they welcome McCollum's effort, saying that, until now, House GOP leaders have been the main obstacle to final approval of the hate crimes legislation. President Clinton has expressed strong support for the measure and has promised to sign the legislation as soon as Congress passes it. ..."

"ASP"s (ANAL SEX PRACTITIONERS) NEED REPUBLICAN HELP TO WIN

"Prior to his press conference, McCollum met with Rich Tafel, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans, a national Gay GOP group; members of Log Cabin chapters in Florida; and Jorge Mursuli, chairperson of SAVE Dade, a non-partisan Gay advocacy group in South Florida.

"Tafel and Mursuli said McCollum told them he hopes to obtain support for the hate crimes measure from Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.).

"John Feehery, Hastert's press secretary, said Wednesday that Hastert had yet to hear from McCollum on the matter but that Hastert will be happy to consider McCollum's position on the hate crimes legislation. ..."

McCOLLUM WAS ALSO THE LEFT'S "TROJAN HORSE" IN RESCUING LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION

"McCollum's announcement this week that he will become an advocate for the hate crimes legislation comes at a time when he is trailing in public opinion polls in his heated race for a seat in the U.S. Senate against Democrat Bill Nelson, Florida's state insurance commissioner. McCollum and Nelson are competing for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Connie Mack (R-Fla.), who is retiring. ...

"[O]fficials with the Human Rights Campaign, a national Gay political group, and SAVE Dade joined Log Cabin Republicans this week in praising McCollum for what they called a last ditch effort to save the hate crimes bill from the clutches of defeat."

Editor's Note: In the U.S. Senate, left-wing GOP New Hampshire Senator Warren Rudman did more than any other to preserve and strengthen the radical left-wing Legal Services Corporation. His counterpart in the House of Representatives was GOP Congressman Bill McCollum. Through his key position on the Judiciary Committee, McCollum was more influential than any Democrat in sending, during the course of his House tenure, billions of dollars to advance the pro-homosexual, pro-abortion, pro-welfare rights agenda of left-wing Legal Services activists. Now "Benedict Arnold" McCollum is trying to persuade conservative Floridians to elect him to the U.S. Senate.

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues and Strategy Bulletin of August 15, 2000

GOP CONGRESS VOTES 332-91 TO GIVE FOREIGN AID TO COMMUNIST VIETNAM

The Associated Press reports (Washington Times, 7/27/00, p. B10) that "The House yesterday backed granting Vietnam continued access to U.S. financial help, an endorsement of better economic relations that follows President Clinton's conclusion several weeks ago of a major trade agreement with the Asian country.

"By a 332-91 vote, the House defeated an attempt to overturn the president's decision to extend for a year Vietnam's eligibility for export-related financing from agencies such as the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Department of Agriculture or the Overseas Private Investment Corp. ...

"As part of that cautious rapprochement, Mr. Clinton in 1994 lifted the trade embargo against Vietnam and the next year restored diplomatic relations. He re-opened the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi in 1996 and in 1998 issued his first waiver of a law that bars trade relations with communist nations that deny citizens the right to emigrate. ..."

CONCERN FOR POWs AND MIAs ABANDONED

"Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, California Republican, who has also led the unsuccessful fights to restrict trade with China, argued that Vietnam has not lived up to promises to account for POWs and MIAs, allow citizens to leave the country and improve its human rights record.

"'Why are we giving this perverse incentive for American companies to shut up their operations here or even refrain from opening up operations in countries that are struggling to be democratic and instead to invest in dictatorships like Vietnam or China?' he asked."

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues and Strategy Bulletin of July 15, 2000

13 GOP SENATORS GIVE TED KENNEDY A "HATE CRIMES" VICTORY

Helen Dewar reports (Washington Post, 6/21/00, p. A8) that "The Senate voted yesterday to strengthen federal hate-crime law by extending civil rights-era protections for the first time to include violence based on gender, sexual orientation and disabilities.

"The 57 to 42 vote in favor of the initiative marked a rare victory for President Clinton and Democrats in the Republican-controlled Senate....

"The proposal, sponsored by Sens. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Gordon H. Smith (R-Ore.), won the support of 13 Republicans...."

The 13 pro-Kennedy Republicans were

Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.), Susan Collins (R-Me.), Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), Jim Jeffords (R-Vt.), Dick Lugar (R-Ind.), Connie Mack (R-Fla.), Bill Roth (R-Del.), Gordon Smith (R-Ore.), Olympia Snowe (R-Me.), Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), George Voinovich (R-Ohio). (Senate Roll Call no. 136, passed 57-42, 6/20/00)

FEDERAL JURISDICTION EXPANDED

"If enacted, the Kennedy-Smith bill would provide the first major expansion of hate-crimes law since the original bill was passed in 1968. This current law covers only crimes involving race, color, religion or national origin.

"In addition to extending federal protections to crimes involving bias against homosexuals, disabled people and women, the Kennedy-Smith proposal would drop a current restriction limiting federal intervention to cases where victims are engaged in federally protected activities, such as voting, serving on a jury or attending school. ..."

NEW SUBSIDIES WILL HELP TRACK DOWN "HOMOPHOBES"

"In addition, the proposal would provide federal assistance for state and local authorities in investigating and prosecuting hate crimes, along with training grants to help local authorities deal with hate crimes.

"The Senate also voted 50 to 49 to approve the Republican-sponsored proposal, offered by Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), which would authorize a study of hate-crimes prosecutions and provide financial and other help to state and local authorities. ..."

"HOMO RIGHTS" CAMPAIGN IS HAPPY

"The Senate's action was praised by the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights organization. 'America is one step closer to becoming a safer place for all Americans,' said Elizabeth Birch, the group's executive director."

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues and Strategy Bulletin of June 30, 2000

HOUSE GOP BOOSTS FEDERAL NON-DEFENSE SPENDING AGAIN

Stephen Moore points out (Human Events, 6/9/00, p. 5) that "The Republican-majority 106th Congress is pumping the accelerator, not the brakes, on federal social spending. ..."

MORE UNCONSTITUTIONAL LAND CONTROL

"Here's just one example. The House just recently approved a bill that would vastly expand the federal budget on federal land purchases and land conservation. According to news reports, the Congress has typically spent about $400 million a year on such acquisitions, but under this bill that amount could soar to $2.8 billion. This socialistic measure that would increase federal land-holdings at a time when the federal government already owns nearly half the land west of the Mississippi, was approved by a vote of 315 to 102."

EDUCATION FUNDING INCREASED BY 35%

"Meanwhile, a bill winding through Congress would lift Education Department funding to 35% above the amount spent in 1996. This department, the Republican National Platform promised us not long ago, was going to be terminated. ..."

BIG SPENDING REPUBLICANS ARE WORSE THAN DEMOCRATS

"Over the past three year Republicans have actually spent some $25 billion more on discretionary programs than the White House originally requested. This year Congress may wind up out-spending Bill Clinton yet again.

"Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (R.-N.M.) boasts that this year's fiscal plan would bump up domestic discretionary spending by 7% over last year to roughly $330 billion. Domestic discretionary spending is the part of the budget devoted to the Department of Education, transportation programs, farm subsidies, the Legal Services Corp., the National Endowment for the Arts, Goals 2000, corporate welfare grants, and other such nonessentials. After making adjustments for inflation, this 106th Congress has allowed the most domestic spending growth since 1977-78. ..."

GOP HAS NO INTEREST IN CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITS

"A few conservative budget hawks -- including Republican Representatives Mark Sanford of South Carolina, Ron Paul of Texas, and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma -- are resisting the new spending on domestic programs, but they find themselves routinely on the losing end of the money fights on Capitol Hill, as a left-center coalition of liberal Democrats and moderate Republicans provide the necessary votes. 'You have no idea how bad it is,' Coburn tells me. 'We have simply lost control of the budget process.[']

"The Republican budget plans this year are also noteworthy because they would get rid of virtually nothing. No programs of consequence would be carted off to the federal graveyard under the Domenici Senate budget proposal."

CONTRACT WITH AMERICA WAS A FRAUD

"In fact, if we look at the major programs slated for extinction by the Contract with America, their combined budgets actually grew by a total of 18% over the past five years. This year, these fatted calves would add some more pounds. Here are some examples of federal programs that have grown since the Republicans took over Congress in 1995:

" *The Corporation for National and Community Service (known best as the administrator of President Clinton's pet-project, AmeriCorps) has seen its budget rise by 180% -- from $81 to $234 million. $ The Corporation for Public Broadcasting's budget is up 22%. ... $ President Clinton's Goals 2000 is up by 129%. $ HUD's Community Development Block Grants, a long-time vehicle for earmarked congressional pork projects, received $4.8 billion, an increase of 11% since 1995. Even the IRS budget has increased by 11%. ..."

REPUBLICANS VOTE FOR BIGGER GOVERNMENT, MORE SPENDING, AND HIGHER TAXES

"The unhappy political reality is that the Republicans can no longer make a very credible claim that they are the anti-big government party. (We see this in the states as well, where Republican governors have become prolific spenders.) ... the overall size of the federal government that the parties argue over is within about a half a percentage point."

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues and Strategy Bulletin of June 15, 2000

CONGRESS COLLABORATES WITH CLINTON TO SOVIETIZE AMERICAN EDUCATION

According to Eagle Forum's Education Reporter (May 2000), "Congress is about to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)....The process began with passage of two 1994 laws, the Goals 2000 Educate America Act and the School-to-Work Opportunities Act, and was further advanced with passage of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. This massive new version of ESEA, H.R. 2/S.2, will complete the nationalization of the public schools by Congress and the White House. ..."

CLAIMS OF LOCAL CONTROL ARE BUSHWA

"[T]he ESEA has already cost U.S. taxpayers more than $116 billion. ... Not only does ESEA force OBE and criterion-referenced testing on every local school district in the nation, it cements into place the goals of nationalized curriculum, nationalized testing and national teacher certification, which were envisioned in the 1994 Goals 2000 Act. ESEA also continues the radical changes required by the School-to-Work Opportunities Act (STW) to guide schools away from a knowledge-based system and toward training for jobs selected by local workforce boards. ..."

WHY DOES A REPUBLICAN CONGRESS VOTE TO ADVANCE HILLARY'S AGENDA?

"The master plan to federalize education and tie it into the workforce originated with the now infamous 'Dear Hillary' letter dated Nov. 11, 1992 by Marc Tucker, president of the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE). It lays out a plan 'to remold the entire American system' into 'a seamless web that literally extends from cradle to grave and is the same system for everyone,' coordinated by 'labor market boards at the local, state and federal levels' where curriculum and 'job matching' will be handled by counselors 'accessing the integrated computer-based program.' ...

"Rep. Bob Schaffer (R-CO)....said this 'moves the country toward a government-managed, government-owned centralized education system from kindergarten past college.'"

GOP HOUSE SPEAKER HASTERT JOINS BILL CLINTON IN PUSHING A NEW "WAR ON POVERTY"

UPI reports (NewsMax.com, 5/23/00) that "President Clinton and House Speaker Dennis Hastert today unveiled a multibillion-dollar urban and rural reinvestment program one member of Congress called 'the most comprehensive anti-poverty program coming out of government in more than a generation.'

"The bipartisan legislation essentially doubles -- to 80 nationwide -- the number of 'empowerment zones' where the government offers financial assistance and tax incentives for businesses to invest.

"The proposal includes Clinton's proposals to expand empowerment zones from 31 to 40 and a Republican proposal to create 40 additional areas under a parallel program called 'renewal communities.' Zones are to be determined through a competitive process run by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, but the legislation requires that at least 20 percent of the new communities be in rural areas."

$20 BILLION OF YOUR TAXES WILL BE USED AS POLITICAL PATRONAGE

"White House National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling said the package could cost as much as $20 billion over 10 years...."

WILL SUBSIDIES MAKE "FAITH-BASED" INSTITUTIONS ACCOUNTABLE TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT?

"The bill also contains a Republican-backed plan to allow faith organizations access to federal money to operate drug-treatment programs. That program has been closely negotiated to avoid constitutional limits on federal funding of religious organizations, White House officials said. The legislation also requires faith organizations have a three-year record of success before they are eligible for federal money."

WILL THEY VIOLATE THE CONSTITUTION AGAIN?

Juliet Eilperin reports (Washington Post, 3/31/00, p. A7) that "House Republicans are embroiled in a bitter feud over the fate of a popular bipartisan bill that would devote billions of dollars to the purchase of federal land and other environmental causes. ..."

FEDERAL LAND GRAB IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

"Under the legislation, the government would earmark $2.8 billion of the roughly $4 billion in annual oil and gas drilling fees for buying and protecting environmentally sensitive lands and other conservation activities. Congress now uses this money as part of its general budget, spending less than $600 million a year on the priorities proposed in the lands bill.

"The GOP has split into three factions over the measure, with Western conservatives protesting that the bill will give the federal government far-reaching powers to buy land over the objections of property owners. Budget-minded lawmakers question whether Congress can afford to wall off so much money for one particular cause."

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues and Strategy Bulletin of February 15, 2000

WILL GOP CONGRESS OUTSPEND CLINTON AGAIN?

USA Today editorializes (2/7/00, p. 16A) that "When President Clinton releases his $1.8 million budget today, Republicans will be quick to point out its big-spending ways.

"And, indeed, the budget does contain a lot of new spending. Even before the official budget was released, the White House detailed more than $40 billion in spending hikes for next year alone. In fact, Clinton's budget plan will eat up more than half of the projected $2 trillion in non-Social Security surpluses over the next decade.

"But if the past couple years are any indication, those same Republicans will turn around and spend billions of dollars more than Clinton is asking for.

"Almost as soon as budget surpluses emerged, the hard-won discipline that helped bring them about evaporated. Spending is the order of the day in Washington, among Republicans and Democrats. Even if it hurts Americans in the short term, and even if it comes at the expense of more critical long-term goals. The swiftness of the turnaround is startling:"

ONLY JIM SENSENBRENNER AND RON PAUL VOTED TO CUT SPENDING

"' Last year, just two lawmakers -- Reps. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., and Ron Paul, R-Texas -- racked up voting records that would have cut overall federal spending, according to the conservative National Taxpayers Union Foundation. That's a dramatic break from 1996, when more than 500 did.

"' Over the past three years, the Republican-led Congress has increased Clinton's spending request by a total of $27.7 billion."

Please also visit our 1999 and 1998-1997 GOP Betrayals pages

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