Here's One of Walsh's REAL Constituents!
I've uncovered a few more items about our representative from the 25th District Mr. Walsh.
I guess I must be the last person on the face of the earth to have heard of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), but they are big and they are firmly in the Bush camp.
Here is a look at their 2006 agenda:
Pro-Manufacturing Agenda:
Reduce Production Costs in the United States:
Immediately address the critical shortage of reliable domestic oil and natural gas supply to include legislation permitting deep water exploration.
Build a plentiful, flexible, diverse and affordable energy supply through a broad range of options to address our nation's energy supply crisis, including policies that open the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for development of natural resources.
End lawsuit abuses including asbestos and medical litigation.
Reduce health care costs by focusing on chronic disease prevention and management, transforming health care from paper records to electronic medical records and encouraging the growth of consumer-oriented options such as Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs).
Reduce excessive regulatory costs by ensuring that scientific and economic analysis is applied to regulations.
Enact sensible, cost-effective multiple emissions policy, such as the President's Clear Skies initiative, and avoid inefficient and anti-growth command and control mandates on emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2).
And now here is a little bit of NAM's own history from their own website:
Recognized Lobbying Leader. Fortune, Washingtonian and others have cited the NAM as one of the singularly most influential advocacy groups. As the leader of many coalitions, the NAM magnifies manufacturers' influence to score far-reaching policy victories. NAM lobbying achievements in the 1990s included:
* Passage of NAFTA and MFN for China.
* Successful lawsuits reining in rulemaking abuses at OSHA and EPA.
* A five-year extension of the essential R&D tax credit.
* Defeat of President Clinton's job-crushing BTU tax and nationalized health care schemes.
* Reform of the misnamed alternative minimum tax and reduction in capital gains and estate taxes.
* Moratorium on Internet taxation.
* Major improvements in food and drug laws, reducing approval times for life-enhancing pharmaceuticals.
The NAM is believed by many to be a right wing organization with a history of anti - labor, and anti - union activism. Some people say that the NAM was in league with Fascism.
I'm not going into that today though. Let me just deal with the facts that I've uncovered so far concerning how the NAM values a man like James T. Walsh.
And here is the damning evidence:
Quotes from Walsh's NAM profile: in
NAM Prosperity Project*
Class Action Reform (S. 5) Vote on S. 5, the Class Action Fairness Act. Approved 279-149 on Feb. 17, 2005 (Roll No. 38). The NAM supported the bill, which would curb trial lawyer "forum shopping" by shifting most class actions to federal courts, without altering plaintiffs' right to sue. Signed into law (P.L. 109-2) on Feb. 18, 2005. NAM POSITION: Yes.Walsh voted "Yes"!
Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act (H.R. 8) Vote on H.R. 8, the Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act of 2005, to make the repeal of the estate (death) tax permanent. Approved 272-162 on April 13, 2005 (Roll No. 102). Unless the death tax repeal is made permanent, the current estate tax system and estate tax rates faced by small business owners will resurface in 2011, resulting in more complexity and confusion for small businesses and increased planning costs. The NAM supported the bill, as large estate tax bills force the sale of many small manufacturing companies upon the owner's death. NAM POSITION: Yes.Walsh voted "Yes" too!
OSHA Legal Issues, Review Commission Reform (H.R. 741) Vote on legislation providing for an independent review of citations issued by OSHA. Approved 226-197 on July 12, 2005 (Roll No. 371). The NAM supported the bill, which would help companies challenging OSHA citations by ensuring that the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission ("the Court") -- and not OSHA ("the prosecutor") -- would be the party that interprets the law and provides an independent review of OSHA citations. NAM POSITION: Yes.Walsh voted "Yes" on this one!
OSHA Legal Issues, Review Commission Reform (H.R. 741) Vote on legislation providing for an independent review of citations issued by OSHA. Approved 226-197 on July 12, 2005 (Roll No. 371). The NAM supported the bill, which would help companies challenging OSHA citations by ensuring that the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission ("the Court") -- and not OSHA ("the prosecutor") -- would be the party that interprets the law and provides an independent review of OSHA citations. NAM POSITION: Yes.Walsh voted "Yes" on this one!
Discouraging Regulation Through Litigation (S. 397) Vote on S. 397, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. Approved 283-144 on October 20, 2005 (Roll No. 534). The NAM supported the bill, which would forestall lawsuits brought with the intent of shutting down a legitimate and legal industry, while allowing those with merit to proceed. Signed into law (P.L. 109-92) on Oct. 26, 2005. NAM POSITION: Yes.Walsh voted "Yes" as well.
There you have it. Walsh keeps getting headlines with his false legislative "philanthropy", and his myriads of awards for his "philanthropy," and yet in the darkest corners of the House, he is busy with a million and one easily unnoticed votes that don't serve the public good, but further the agenda of the moneyed elite.
National Association of Manufacturers Website
NAM's 2006 agenda
NAM website's Historical Highlights
NAM "Prosperity Project" Walsh profile
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