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The Do Nothing Congress: A Record of Extremism and Partisanship
October 25, 2012

For over 600 days, Republicans in Congress have kicked the can down the road on critical priorities – focusing instead on partisan politics. It has gotten so bad that two noted non-partisan scholars wrote that the extremism and partisanship of Republicans in Congress “makes it impossible for the political system to deal constructively with the country’s challenges.” That’s exactly what has happened while Americans continue to wait for action on middle-income tax cuts, a jobs bill, the Farm bill, and the Violence Against Women Act.

To get an idea of just how extreme the Republican Congress has become, read this list of 60 votes on final passage, amendments, and motions to recommit House Republicans have taken during the 112th Congress that hurt middle class Americans and weaken the country.

Putting corporations that ship American jobs overseas before American workers

1. Protect federal funding for corporations that offshored or outsourced American jobs overseas (H. Res. 38, Roll no. 19)
2. Protect corporations that outsource American jobs overseas in violation of the National Labor Relations Act (H.R. 2587, Roll no. 710)
3. Protect ability of foreign countries, like China, to engage in the unfair trade practice of currency manipulation that hurts American jobs (H.R. 3078, Roll no. 780)
4. Protect corporations that outsource or plan to outsource American jobs overseas in labor elections (H.R. 3094, Roll no. 869)

Protecting massive tax breaks for the wealthiest at the expense of middle class families

5. Protect tax breaks for millionaires instead of relief for middle class families (H.R. 491, Roll no. 922)
6. Hold hostage a tax cut for middle class families to protect tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% (H.AMDT 1475 to H.R. 6169, Roll no. 550)

Attacking Medicare, Social Security and programs that help older Americans

7. End the Medicare guarantee (H. Con. Res. 34, Roll no. 277)
8. Against prohibiting ending the Medicare guarantee and turning it into a voucher system (H.R. 5, Roll no. 41)
9. Against ensuring that no funds can be used privatize and cut Social Security and Medicare (H.J.Res. 48, Roll no. 178)
10. End initiative to protect seniors who have worked a lifetime to own a home and earn financial stability (H.R. 830, Roll no. 170)
11. Against protecting preventative health care funding for seniors (H.R. 1217, Roll no. 263)
12. Against protecting seniors from abusive, predatory, unfair, and deceptive financial practices (H.R. 1315, Roll no. 620)

Attacking women’s health and safety

13. Limit the ability of women to access reproductive health care (H.R. 3, Roll no. 292)
14. Take away the right of women with private health insurance to choose how they spend their own money in purchasing health insurance covering reproductive health care (H.R. 358, Roll no. 789)
15. Weaken protections for battered immigrant women who are legally here (H.R. 4970, Roll no. 258)
16. Remove protections for LGBT victims of domestic violence (H.R. 4970, Roll no. 258)
17. Against access to life-saving health care for women (H.R. 358, Roll no. 788)
18. Against protecting the medical records of victims of rape and incest (H.R. 3, Roll no. 291)
19. Eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood (H.AMDT. 95 to H.R. 1, Roll no. 93)
20. Repeal protections to ensure that health insurance companies can’t discriminate on the basis of gender (H.R. 2, Roll no. 14)

Against giving middle class families a fair shake, weakening consumer protections

21. Decease Americans ability to access to affordable health care, weaken protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions, and end health care benefits (H.R. 2, Roll no. 14)
22. Block restoring Pell grants that help millions of Americans afford tuition for higher education (H.R. 1, Roll no. 146)
23. Block requirement that charter schools conduct criminal background checks for felons, registered sex offenders, and child abusers (H.R. 2218, Roll no. 704)
24. Weaken and delay consumer protections against abusive, deceptive and unfair financial practices – including for credit cards, mortgages and student loans – putting Wall Street before Main Street families (H.R. 1315, Roll no. 621)
25. Abolish help for families who are underwater to refinance into lower-cost mortgages they can afford to repay (H.R. 830, Roll no. 171)
26. Eliminate short-term loans for up to 33,000 homeowners who lost their jobs through no fault of their own and are at risk of losing their homes (H.R. 836, Roll no. 174)
27. Eliminate efforts to strengthen neighborhoods that were hard hit by the housing bubble burst (H.R. 861, Roll no. 188)
28. Against protecting against gas price increases for American families (H.R. 1938, Roll no. 649)
29. Protect oil and gas speculators that drive up gas prices (H.R. 2112, Roll no. 458)
30. Restrict ability of agencies to protect consumer health and safety (H.R 10, Roll no. 901)
31. Jeopardize funding for Amber Alerts (H.R. 1076, Roll no. 191)
32. Slash funding for programs that put food on the table for low income families and repeal programs that help working families (H.R. 5652, Roll no. 247)

Putting special interests before a government of, by, and for the people



Putting Big Oil before the environment and middle class families


National Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans

52. Block increase in combat pay for troops (H.R. 1540, Roll no. 374)
53. Block protection for Gold Star widows and members of the Armed Services facing foreclosure (H.R. 839, Roll no. 197)
54. Block protection to guarantee our troops will get paid during a GOP-led government shutdown (H.R. 1363, Roll no. 246)
55. Block ensuring air marshals are deployed on the highest-risk flights (H.R. 658, Roll no. 219)
56. Prevent the Department of Homeland Security from considering the natural security impact of climate change (H.AMDT. 378 to H.R. 2017, Roll no. 392)
57. Block additional funding to increase protection for public transit, rail lines, and buses considered vulnerable to attack (H.R. 2017, Roll no. 408)
58. Against protecting housing assistance for veterans and service members (H.R. 836, Roll no. 173)
59. Block additional funding to help veterans who are returning and mobilizing, as well as their families (H.R. 2219, Roll no. 531)
60. Protect predatory lenders who target veterans (H.R. 2940, Roll no. 827)

**The reptards have been so busy undermining America that Current wouldn't let me post all the crimes they have committed; go here if you have the strength to read the rest of the list http://www.dems.gov/blog/the-do-nothing-congress-a-record-of-extremism-and-parti...