A mark up is a meeting a committee holds in order to review and discuss a piece of legislation. Members of the committee may propose changes to a bill by offering amendments. Each change is voted on individually. Once all of the changes are either incorporated or denied, the bill is voted on by the full committee. If the bill is passed it will go to the full chamber for a vote.
REP. JEB HENSARLING (R-TX)
Member
Rep. Jeb Hensarling, who was first elected in 2002, sits on the House Budget and Financial Services committees.
Like many of his Commission colleagues, Rep. Hensarling has argued Social Security must be on the table when considering how to solve the country’s long-term debt problems. He told MSNBC’s Chris Matthews in February the system would have to be “reengineered” for Americans under age 55.
Rep. Hensarling is author of the Family Budget Protection Act, a bill dedicated to reforming the budget process. The bill would impose spending caps, set “expiration dates” for all new programs passed by Congress (which would require Congress to vote to extend spending – and thus to review a program’s effectiveness), and eliminate baseline budgeting (estimating spending increases for future years).
Rep. Hensarling is probably best known for his vote against the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP – the 2008 Wall Street bailout plan) and for his exchange on the debt and deficit with President Barack Obama last January.
What you paid
Last week, taxpayers spent roughly $107 million on Congress.
Salaries of Members of Congress and their allowances/week:
Speaker of the House: $223,500/52 = $4,299
House and Senate Majority and Minority Leaders: ($193,400/52) x 4 = $14,877
Other Representatives and Senators: ($174,000/52) x 530 = $1,773,462
Allowance for staff salaries and misc: ($1,500,000/52) x 535 = $15,432,692
Non-salary money allocated for Congress: $4.656 billion/52 = $89,538,462
What you got
Members of the House and Senate were home for their nearly six week “August Recess.” But don’t worry (or do worry?), they’ll be back September 13.
Many lawmakers are documenting their summer travel on their Facebook pages. See if you can find your member and then head on over to our Facebook page to tell us what they’re doing and whether you’re getting your money’s worth this August.
What you paid
Last week, taxpayers spent roughly $107 million on Congress.
Salaries of Members of Congress and their allowances/week:
Speaker of the House: $223,500/52 = $4,299
House and Senate Majority and Minority Leaders: ($193,400/52) x 4 = $14,877
Other Representatives and Senators: ($174,000/52) x 530 = $1,773,462
Allowance for staff salaries and misc: ($1,500,000/52) x 535 = $15,432,692
Non-salary money allocated for Congress: $4.656 billion/52 = $89,538,462
What you got
Members of the House and Senate were home for their nearly six week “August Recess.” But don’t worry (or do worry?), they’ll be back September 13.
Many lawmakers are documenting their summer travel on their Facebook pages. See if you can find your member and then head on over to our Facebook page to tell us what they’re doing and whether you’re getting your money’s worth this August.
What you paid
Last week, taxpayers spent roughly $107 million on Congress.
Salaries of Members of Congress and their allowances/week:
Speaker of the House: $223,500/52 = $4,299
House and Senate Majority and Minority Leaders: ($193,400/52) x 4 = $14,877
Other Representatives and Senators: ($174,000/52) x 530 = $1,773,462
Allowance for staff salaries and misc: ($1,500,000/52) x 535 = $15,432,692
Non-salary money allocated for Congress: $4.656 billion/52 = $89,538,462
What you got
The House briefly came back from its nearly six-week long “August Recess” to pass a $26 billion bailout bill for the states.
The Senate was in recess last week.
In a rare move, the House of Representatives will interrupt its annual “August Recess” to return to Washington to vote on…you guessed it: more spending.
The House will vote on spending an additional $26 billion in aid to states — ostensibly needed to save teachers’ jobs. The Senate has already passed this bill.
We remind readers that’s what the trillion-dollar stimulus was promised to do. Since the stimulus was passed in February 2009, unemployment has increased from 8.2% in February 2009 to 9.5% in July 2010.
What you paid
Last week, taxpayers spent roughly $107 million on Congress.
Salaries of Members of Congress and their allowances/week:
Speaker of the House: $223,500/52 = $4,299
House and Senate Majority and Minority Leaders: ($193,400/52) x 4 = $14,877
Other Representatives and Senators: ($174,000/52) x 530 = $1,773,462
Allowance for staff salaries and misc: ($1,500,000/52) x 535 = $15,432,692
Non-salary money allocated for Congress: $4.656 billion/52 = $89,538,462
What you got
The House was out of session last week for its August district work period. It will reconvene Tuesday to vote on the $26-billion state aid package passed by the Senate last week.
In addition to the aid bill, the Senate last week confirmed Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court.
REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI)
Member
Rep. Paul Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin, is serving his sixth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Ryan is the Ranking Member of the Committee on the Budget, and is a senior Member of the Ways and Means Committee.
Rep. Ryan is the author of Congress’ only comprehensive economic and fiscal reform legislation, called “A Roadmap for America’s Future,” which lays out a long-term plan to address the nation’s massive shortfalls in health and retirement entitlement programs, to reform the problematic tax code, and to alleviate the future debt crisis. (You can read the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis of the plan here.)
While Ryan’s Roadmap focuses on reducing unsustainable spending – rather than raising taxes – to right the nation’s economic and fiscal imbalances, the Congressman has been criticized not only by Democrats, but by his own party on a recent key spending vote: Rep. Ryan voted for the much-maligned Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) . Some fiscal conservatives have also criticized his “Roadmap” because it contains a “business consumption tax,” which, they say, is essentially a value-added tax (VAT) for job creators.
Rep. Ryan has said he’s skeptical of what the Fiscal Commission can get done: “While I have serious concerns about what this commission can actually achieve, I hope it spurs a genuine effort to tackle the looming crisis of unsustainable entitlement spending, the greatest threat to our nation’s fiscal and economic future.”
What you paid
Last week, taxpayers spent roughly $107 million on Congress.
Salaries of Members of Congress and their allowances/week:
Speaker of the House: $223,500/52 = $4,299
House and Senate Majority and Minority Leaders: ($193,400/52) x 4 = $14,877
Other Representatives and Senators: ($174,000/52) x 530 = $1,773,462
Allowance for staff salaries and misc: ($1,500,000/52) x 535 = $15,432,692
Non-salary money allocated for Congress: $4.656 billion/52 = $89,538,462
What you got
Besides the unemployment benefits extension bill (see below), the House voted on 7 bills or resolutions which will cost more than $881 million (all costs over five years unless otherwise noted):
To designate the U.S. Postal Service facility located at 100 Orndorf Drive in Brighton, MI as the Joyce Rogers Post Office Building. COST: $0
Child Protection Improvements Act of 2010. COST UNKNOWN
Honoring the service and commitment of the 111th Fighter Wing, Pennsylvania Air National Guard. COST: $0
Prevention of Interstate Commerce in Animal Crush Videos Act of 2010. COST: $0
Congratulating the Saratoga Race Course as it celebrates its 142nd season. COST: $0
United States Manufacturing Enhancement Act of 2010. COST: $268 MILLION
To protect Indian arts and crafts through the improvement of applicable criminal proceedings. COST: $0
Supporting the goals and ideals of National Aerospace Week. COST: $0
Recognizing the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II. COST: $0
Surface Transportation Savings Act of 2010. COST: $0
Congratulating the University of South Carolina Gamecocks on winning the 2010 NCAA Division I College World Series. COST: $0
Expressing support for designation of September as National Child Awareness Month. COST: $0
Recognizing the 50th anniversary of Title VI international education programs. COST: $0
Expressing support for designation of the week of September 13, 2010, as National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week. COST: $0
The Senate passed a bill extending unemployment benefits costing $34 billion. President Obama has already signed the bill.
What you paid
Last week, taxpayers spent roughly $107 million on Congress.
Salaries of Members of Congress and their allowances/week:
Speaker of the House: $223,500/52 = $4,299
House and Senate Majority and Minority Leaders: ($193,400/52) x 4 = $14,877
Other Representatives and Senators: ($174,000/52) x 530 = $1,773,462
Allowance for staff salaries and misc: ($1,500,000/52) x 535 = $15,432,692
Non-salary money allocated for Congress: $4.656 billion/52 = $89,538,462
What you got
The House voted on 7 bills or resolutions which will cost more than $881 million (all costs over five years unless otherwise noted):
Flood Insurance Reform Priorities Act. COST: $476 MILLION
Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act. POSSIBLE SAVINGS?
Telework Improvements Act. COST: $30 MILLION
To amend the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act to authorize funds to acquire hydrographic data and provide hydrographic services specific to the Arctic. COST: $361 MILLION
Fort Pulaski National Monument Lease Authorization Act. COST: $0
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park Boundary Expansion Act of 2010. COST: $14 MILLION
Colonel Charles Young Home Study Act. COST: $250,000
The Senate passed the conference report to the financial regulatory reform bill. The bill includes $10.2 billion in new spending, which does not affect the debt (because of tax increases), but is nonetheless a large increase in spending. The House passed the bill before the 4th of July recess, so it now goes to the President for his signature.
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