The US Capitol.
Today is the 24th day of the government shutdown.
326days since Francis Rooney has appeared in an open, public forum
Jan. 14, 2019 by David Silverberg
In the 115th Congress—the one between 2017 and 2018, Rep. Francis Rooney (R-19-Fla.) voted with President Donald Trump 95 percent of the time.
In the 116th Congress—the one in session—Rooney has increased his score and voted with Trump 100 percent of the time, each time voting against Democratic proposals to re-open the government, according to the website FiveThirtyEight.com. He also went on the record to actively demand the building of President Trump’s proposed wall across the Southwest border.
The government shutdown is now in its 24th day and government services are eroding. Some 800,000 federal workers are without pay and essential government missions and services are being affected.
In the Senate, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has blocked the House proposals and President Trump refuses to discuss alternatives to his demand for $5.7 billion in US taxpayer money to fund the wall.
Other actions
In other actions this year, on Jan. 11, Rooney introduced the Asylum Protection Act of 2019 (House Resolution 481), which would shorten the deadlines for people to apply for asylum in the United States and make it more difficult for applicants to seek asylum. On Jan. 10 he voted against the Affordable Care Act, which he called “a failed social experiment.”
On the environment, Rooney filed amendments to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (HR 414) so that algal blooms can be classified as major disasters and to the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (HR 205), to permanently extend the moratorium on offshore drilling to the eastern Gulf of Mexico. He joined Rep. Kathy Castor (D-14-Fla.) to co-sponsor her Florida Coastal Protection Act banning offshore drilling.
Rooney also abandoned the end-run around the Constitution he attempted last year when he introduced legislation to cut off congressional salaries after eight years in an effort to reduce members’ terms of office. He has now accepted the constitutional process and along with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in the Senate, on Jan. 3 introduced a constitutional amendment (House Joint Resolution 20) that would limit members of the House to three terms (six years) and senators to two terms (12 years).
Like all constitutional amendments this one must be passed by a two-thirds vote of both the House and Senate. Last year Rooney characterized this process as too “arduous,” leading to his attempted shortcut, which never made it out of committee.
Liberty lives in light
© 2019 by David Silverberg