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new energy
October 2009 
Senate Economic Rescue Bill - What ARE They Thinking?!?!?!
Annisa
Wow! Here's some of what the Senate put into the financial system rescue bill:
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TITLE VI-OTHER PROVISIONS
6 SEC. 601. SECURE RURAL SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY SELF7
DETERMINATION PROGRAM.
8 (a) REAUTHORIZATION OF THE SECURE RURAL
9 SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY SELF-DETERMINATION ACT
10 OF 2000.-The Secure Rural Schools and Community
11 Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 500 note; Pub12
lic Law 106-393) is amended by striking sections 1
13 through 403 and inserting the following:
14 ‘‘SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
15 ‘‘This Act may be cited as the ‘Secure Rural Schools
16 and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000'.
17 ‘‘SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
18 ‘‘The purposes of this Act are-
19 ‘‘(1) to stabilize and transition payments to
20 counties to provide funding for schools and roads
21 that supplements other available funds;
22 ‘‘(2) to make additional investments in, and
23 create additional employment opportunities through,
24 projects that-
345
O:\AYO\AYO08C32.xml S.L.C.
1 ‘‘(A)(i) improve the maintenance of exist2
ing infrastructure;
3 ‘‘(ii) implement stewardship objectives that
4 enhance forest ecosystems; and
5 ‘‘(iii) restore and improve land health and
6 water quality;
7 ‘‘(B) enjoy broad-based support; and
8 ‘‘(C) have objectives that may include-
9 ‘‘(i) road, trail, and infrastructure
10 maintenance or obliteration;
11 ‘‘(ii) soil productivity improvement;
12 ‘‘(iii) improvements in forest eco13
system health;
14 ‘‘(iv) watershed restoration and main15
tenance;
16 ‘‘(v) the restoration, maintenance, and
17 improvement of wildlife and fish habitat;
18 ‘‘(vi) the control of noxious and exotic
19 weeds; and
20 ‘‘(vii) the reestablishment of native
21 species; and
22 ‘‘(3) to improve cooperative relationships
23 among-
24 ‘‘(A) the people that use and care for Fed25
eral land; and
346
O:\AYO\AYO08C32.xml S.L.C.
1 ‘‘(B) the agencies that manage the Federal
2 land.
...
‘‘(11) FULL FUNDING AMOUNT.-The term ‘full
17 funding amount' means-
18 ‘‘(A) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2008;
19 and
20 ‘‘(B) for fiscal year 2009 and each fiscal
21 year thereafter, the amount that is equal to 90
22 percent of the full funding amount for the pre
23ceding fiscal year.
(This is funding for the Secure Rural Schools, NOT for the banking bailout!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Don't get me wrong -- there's nothing wrong with supporting rural schools, but why is this in the banking rescue bill?
Can you say ******OINK******?!?!
Here's a link to the full 451-page text.
Please read the comments for more information on the contents of this bill and how to contact your representatives...
Access: Public
They're sneaking this in, too:
8 Subtitle B-Paul Wellstone and
9 Pete Domenici Mental Health
10 Parity and Addiction Equity Act
11 of 2008
OH MY, it only gets better! Read on:
How about some new governmental terrorism authority?
16 SEC. 401. PERMANENT AUTHORITY FOR UNDERCOVER OP
17ERATIONS.
and…
1 SEC. 402. PERMANENT AUTHORITY FOR DISCLOSURE OF
2 INFORMATION RELATING TO TERRORIST AC3
TIVITIES.
Here's a GOOD one…I can see just HOW USEFUL this is!
6 SEC. 502. PROVISIONS RELATED TO FILM AND TELEVISION
7 PRODUCTIONS.
7 SEC. 325. EXTENSION AND MODIFICATION OF DUTY SUS
8PENSION ON WOOL PRODUCTS; WOOL RE
9SEARCH FUND; WOOL DUTY REFUNDS.
And isn't THIS one nice…?
1 SEC. 317. SEVEN-YEAR COST RECOVERY PERIOD FOR MO
2TORSPORTS RACING TRACK FACILITY.
And why not have some RUM with your NASCAR race?
11 SEC. 308. INCREASE IN LIMIT ON COVER OVER OF RUM EX
12CISE TAX TO PUERTO RICO AND THE VIRGIN
13 ISLANDS.
And this is the BEST one by far..,.
20 SEC. 503. EXEMPTION FROM EXCISE TAX FOR CERTAIN
21 WOODEN ARROWS DESIGNED FOR USE BY
22 CHILDREN.And last but not least…
21 SEC. 602. TRANSFER TO ABANDONED MINE RECLAMATION
22 FUND.
WHY? Because a mine is a terrible thing to waste, of course!
If you want to contact your senators and representatives, click here: http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/.
(For goodness' sake, PLEASE contact them, if you care about your country!)
How did your senator vote?
Senate roll vote on financial bailout package
The 74-25 roll call by which the Senate approved a $700 billion rescue package for Wall Street aimed at preventing a credit crisis.
On this vote, a “yes” vote was a vote to approve the package and a “no” vote was a vote against it.
Voting “yes” were 39 Democrats, 34 Republicans and 1 independent.
Voting “no” were 9 Democrats, 15 Republicans and 1 independent.
Alabama
Sessions (R) No; Shelby (R) No.
Alaska
Murkowski (R) Yes; Stevens (R) Yes.
Arizona
Kyl (R) Yes; McCain (R) Yes.
Arkansas
Lincoln (D) Yes; Pryor (D) Yes.
California
Boxer (D) Yes; Feinstein (D) Yes.
Colorado
Allard (R) No; Salazar (D) Yes.
Connecticut
Dodd (D) Yes; Lieberman (I) Yes.
Delaware
Biden (D) Yes; Carper (D) Yes.
Florida
Martinez (R) Yes; Nelson (D) No.
Georgia
Chambliss (R) Yes; Isakson (R) Yes.
Hawaii
Akaka (D) Yes; Inouye (D) Yes.
Idaho
Craig (R) Yes; Crapo (R) No.
Illinois
Durbin (D) Yes; Obama (D) Yes.
Indiana
Bayh (D) Yes; Lugar (R) Yes.
Iowa
Grassley (R) Yes; Harkin (D) Yes.
Kansas
Brownback (R) No; Roberts (R) No.
Kentucky
Bunning (R) No; McConnell (R) Yes.
Louisiana
Landrieu (D) No; Vitter (R) No.
Maine
Collins (R) Yes; Snowe (R) Yes.
Maryland
Cardin (D) Yes; Mikulski (D) Yes.
Massachusetts
Kennedy (D) Not Voting; Kerry (D) Yes.
Michigan
Levin (D) Yes; Stabenow (D) No.
Minnesota
Coleman (R) Yes; Klobuchar (D) Yes.
Mississippi
Cochran (R) No; Wicker (R) No.
Missouri
Bond (R) Yes; McCaskill (D) Yes.
Montana
Baucus (D) Yes; Tester (D) No.
Nebraska
Hagel (R) Yes; Nelson (D) Yes.
Nevada
Ensign (R) Yes; Reid (D) Yes.
New Hampshire
Gregg (R) Yes; Sununu (R) Yes.
New Jersey
Lautenberg (D) Yes; Menendez (D) Yes.
New Mexico
Bingaman (D) Yes; Domenici (R) Yes.
New York
Clinton (D) Yes; Schumer (D) Yes.
North Carolina
Burr (R) Yes; Dole (R) No.
North Dakota
Conrad (D) Yes; Dorgan (D) No.
Ohio
Brown (D) Yes; Voinovich (R) Yes.
Oklahoma
Coburn (R) Yes; Inhofe (R) No.
Oregon
Smith (R) Yes; Wyden (D) No.
Pennsylvania
Casey (D) Yes; Specter (R) Yes.
Rhode Island
Reed (D) Yes; Whitehouse (D) Yes.
South Carolina
DeMint (R) No; Graham (R) Yes.
South Dakota
Johnson (D) No; Thune (R) Yes.
Tennessee
Alexander (R) Yes; Corker (R) Yes.
Texas
Cornyn (R) Yes; Hutchison (R) Yes.
Utah
Bennett (R) Yes; Hatch (R) Yes.
Vermont
Leahy (D) Yes; Sanders (I) No.
Virginia
Warner (R) Yes; Webb (D) Yes.
Washington
Cantwell (D) No; Murray (D) Yes.
West Virginia
Byrd (D) Yes; Rockefeller (D) Yes.
Wisconsin
Feingold (D) No; Kohl (D) Yes.
Wyoming
Barrasso (R) No; Enzi (R) No.
if the US economy were a patient on an operating table with an appendix perilously close to rupture, the US senate would have just added a pedicure to the menu while the country's abdomen lies open. Please gentlemen, ladies, members of the US house and senate–if this issue is so important as to require taxpayers to assume risk and expense, stick to the task at hand and leave the country's toes for later.