LTE from Representative Nunes (CA-22)

To the people of California’s 22nd district and America,

A lot has occurred in the past weeks here in Congress and I wanted to update you on where I stand and show you how I am working hard on your behalf.

First of all, I am proud to announce that H.R. 87, the Central Valley Drought Relief Act of 2015, passed through the Domestic Policy Committee unanimously last week. This is a major piece of legislation that will not only help the struggling farmers and dairymen in the Central Valley, but it will benefit people across America. California’s Central Valley is the largest agricultural economy in America and the fifth largest agricultural economy in the world. But sadly, because of environmentalists, this flourishing agricultural area is no longer able to produce the crops needed to sustain our great country. By reaching across the aisle, and pointing out the serious mistakes representatives have made before us in not supporting this area, we were able to make a bipartisan decision to pass H.R. 87 unanimously. I now urge the Speaker, Congressman Kevin McCarthy, a fellow representative from California’s Central Valley, to bring this bill to the Floor in order to support his own constituents as well as the entirety of America.

The second point I would like to address is the President’s recent veto of H.R. 45, the Restore Second Amendment Rights Act of 2015. I strongly supported this bill, written by Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, because I know and understand that my constituents want their second amendment rights protected. Our founding fathers wrote this amendment into the Bill of Rights because they saw it as an important freedom to provide the American people. I understand that the second amendment may have been established a number of years ago, but I strongly believe that it is just as applicable today as it was when it was first written. I would like to point out to my constituents that I fought for your second amendment rights and helped to pass this bill in Congress, but it was the President of the United States that stopped it as he is on a mission to take your right to own a gun away from you.

My third and final point is the series of events that occurred on the House Floor today. The Speaker encouraged us to bring H.R. 53 to the Floor through a discharge petition, because it was not able to get through committee. This bill is not the strongest one to address the rapidly growing issue of immigration. We currently have a handful of other bills that actually do something to help the immigration issue in this country. But instead of discussing a bill that initiated action, we were only given the opportunity to discuss a bill that simply reprimanded the President for his executive orders on the subject. I understand that the President is making some pretty big decisions on this issue that I do not agree with, but I believe that telling him he is wrong, through a piece of legislation, is not the best way to go about this. The American people and the media are doing that enough already. It is our responsibility, as your representatives, to protect you, the American people, and, therefore, it would have been best to bring up legislation that did just this. For this reason, I abstained from voting on the movement to bring the petition to the Floor.

Thank you for supporting me as I represent you in Washington D.C. during this Congressional term. It is my privilege to speak on your behalf and fight for your rights and freedoms. God Bless America!

Congressman Devin Nunes

Procedural Stunt Cuts Floor Session Short, Thwarting Discharge Petition

Today's congressional floor session was cut short after a procedural stunt. The Republicans, at the opening of the floor session, moved to have a discharge petition to bring up H.R. 53, titled "The Preventing Executive Overreach on Immigration Act," from committee and to the floor for consideration. The petition held the signatures of 13 representatives, enough for the motion to be up for debate.

However, after Representative Don Young made his opening remarks on the motion, Representative Capps criticized the motion and moved to adjourn the floor session. After the vote, a rollcall was motioned for. The final vote was tallied as follows:

For: 11
Abstain: 5
Against: 7

The floor session was adjourned, thwarting the Republican's motion for a discharge of H.R. 53.

LTE From Congresswoman Blackburn (TN-07)

Today, I write to you, my constituents, with a heavy heart.  The bill that I, and many of my colleagues worked on tirelessly to pass through Congress was vetoed by our President at a signing statement. Not only was it vetoed, but it was also grossly misrepresented, as it was referred to as the “Child Gun Ownership Bill.”  I’m offended, and you should be too.

To have our second amendment right continually trampled on is a crime, and an affront to
many law-abiding, gun-toting citizens—many of whom reside in our district.  I’m personally outraged at the audacity of this administration, which believes that it’s in the best interest of the American people to limit freedoms and tell us exactly how we should live our lives as proud and responsible gun owners.

Do not lose hope, for I will continue to fight for you and make sure that this administration understands that they cannot tread on us.  Thank you for your support as I undergo these trials.

God Bless America.

Keep on shooting straight,

Congressman Marsha Blackburn  (TN-07)

Overheard in Domestic Committee 4/20

Marsha:

"Two people have died from smoking weed."

"Point of personal privilege, Congresswoman Capps is laughing at me...."

Foreign Committee Addressing Terrorism and Attacks

Today in the SIMGOV Foreign Relations committee, our representatives were very productive and bipartisan. The committee unanimously passed two bills, H.R. 104, introduced by Representative Slaughter (D-NY), and H.R. 115, introduced by Representative Johnson (D-TX), both addressing U.S. responses to recent acts of terrorism.

The committee also failed H.R. 111, introduced by Representative Huelskamp (R-KS), a bill that would have automatically withdrawn foreign aid from countries in which there is an attack against a U.S. Embassy. The bill also outlines steps than can be taken by the host country to earn back the foreign aid. The bill failed 5-1. In opening statements on the bill, Representative Granger (R-TX) said "I agree with the heart of this bill, but it would not send a good message to the people and would damage fragile relations."

Representative Huelskamp (R-KS) responded to the loss with a message for her constituents back home. "Though I understand the opposition to my bill, I will still loyally serve my constituency in Kansas, no matter the opposition, no matter the vote."

Overheard in Domestic Committee 04/10/15

"As a staunch self-proclaimed 'pro-lifer' (with finger quotes), I would like to treat criminals the same way that I view criminals..."

"God sees us all as equals, whether we are fetuses or murderers."

"On the cross, the guy next to Jesus was a criminal, and he was granted salvation"

"Yes, and I am Presbyterian...everyone."

"The Founding Fathers are not a deity, they're not Jesus Christ. We don't know what they were thinking when they wrote it....we can speculate..."