Last Friday, the House Ways and Means Committee concluded their markup of H.R. 598, the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Plan. Here’s what Majority Leader Steny Hoyer had to say about it:
“This week, the Appropriations, Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce Committees held markups on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to include important feedback from Members to improve the package.”
If you were to take his words at face value, you’d think that the resulting bill is a remarkable example of bipartisanship and mutual give and take between the parties. However, the facts tell a different story.
Only 1 of 18 Republican Amendments that were offered as part of the stimulus package were accepted by the majority. What happened to the rest? REJECTED… WITH ONLY ONE DEMOCRAT supporting ONLY ONE of the remaining 17 measures.
This blatant lack of bipartisanship combined with new restrictive rules put in place by the Democrat majority to silence the Republicans is why my office is launching a new blog called the Majority Tracker. With the Democrats in control of Washington, it’s vital that the Republican minority not only present its own alternatives, but that Americans know what those alternatives are. The goal of the blog is to serve as a one-stop-shop for bloggers, reporters, and constituents to get the whole story of what’s taking place in the U.S. House of Representatives.
For more information on the 18 Republican amendments to the Democrats’ stimulus package and for detailed accounts of what’s happened in the House since the start of the 111th Congress, check out the Majority Tracker.
Cross-posted from Townhall.com.