American People Tired Of An Overzealous Government That Is Too Focused On Us And Abusing Us

Today in Washington, D.C. - Feb. 10, 2015:
The House reconvened today at Noon.The House will receive some administration communications and then recess until 4:30 PM today.  Some of the bills expected to be considered at that time are:
H.R. 810 — "To authorize the programs of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and for other purposes."
H.R. 719 — "To require the Transportation Security Administration to conform to existing Federal law and regulations regarding criminal investigator positions, and for other purposes."
H.R. 720 — "To improve intergovernmental planning for and communication during security incidents at domestic airports, and for other purposes."

No bills were considered yesterday.

Today, House Speaker Boehner called for the redoubling of efforts to defeat ISIL/ISIS in response to the death of Kayla Mueller, an American aid worker. However, it is not the Speaker who can do anything except comment at this time.  It is our lackadaisical President who fails to acknowledge that ISIL/ISIS is at war with Americans and mock his impotent actions.

In response to the release of terrorists from GITMO, Gary Bauer, an ARRA News Service contributing author,  noted yesterday, "Mullah Abdul Rauf, a former Taliban commander who recently joined the Islamic State, was killed in a drone strike today. Rauf was captured in 2004 and sent to the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Unfortunately, he was released a few years later.

"Like a significant portion of his comrades, Rauf did not join the Kabul Rotary Club upon his return to Afghanistan. Nor did he enroll in "JA" or Jihadis Anonymous, where jihadists try to overcome their addiction to murder and mayhem.

"Our catch and release policy with illegal immigrants is frustrating enough. But when it comes to radical Islamic terrorists, it is a matter of life and death. We spend a lot of money to capture men like Rauf, provide with them with health care and new Korans, only to release them and spend more money trying to take them out."

The Senate reconvened on at 10 AM today. No action pending on Senate floor on bills. The Senate will recess between 12:30 and 2:15 PM for weekly policy lunches.

Yesterday, the Senate voted 92-0 to confirm Michael P. Botticelli to be Director of National Drug Control Policy.

On the Senate floor this morning, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell spoke about Obamacare’s taxes and how Americans are concerned about the current state of the IRS.

“Many Americans have already started the process of filling out their tax returns. It’s a stressful time of year. But thanks to Obamacare, many are sure to find it even more stressful. . . . because of Obamacare’s trillion-plus dollars in tax increases. If you have health insurance, Obamacare now has a tax for that. If you don’t have health insurance, Obamacare has a tax for that too. And whether government bureaucrats deem your coverage too generous or not generous enough, Obamacare has a tax for you.

“Some of these taxes are paid by consumers directly. Others are passed along in the form of higher premiums, increased costs, and lost opportunities. But many fall on the shoulders of the Middle Class. And there’s more to the issue too. Because Obamacare has done what many thought impossible: it’s made a mind-numbingly complex tax code even more so. For the first time, the government will be asking on your tax returns if you had health insurance for every month of last year. And if you didn’t, well, you guessed it—Obamacare has a tax for that.”

Breaking from McConnell's comment for a moment,   If we had the Fairtax, we would not have the IRS or Income Taxes!

McConnell added, “The truth is, Obamacare is a law that just keeps ... giving headaches to the middle class. It meant millions of cancellation notices. Its meant higher costs for many. And now, this. . . . The IRS, the same agency charged with processing your tax return, is now in charge of implementing vast sections of Obamacare. The same agency that spent so much time trying to silence free speech. The same agency that awarded bonuses to employees who owed back taxes. This is an agency charged with enforcing Obamacare’s web of complexity. Americans are right to question the IRS’ competence to handle so much sensitive information.”

Leader McConnell went on to note,  “One of the Obama Administration’s own Inspectors General released a damning report on this troubled agency. The report found that the IRS recently rehired hundreds of individuals who’d left the agency under clouds of misconduct. It took back individuals who’d engaged in sexual harassment, criminal misconduct, and fraud. On at least one occasion, it ignored case-file notes that warned: ‘do not rehire.’ The tax collector for America even rehired people who willfully failed to file their tax returns.”

Indeed, CNNMoney reported last week, Of the more than 7,000 former employees the IRS hired between January 2010 and September 2013, 824 of them were found to have prior performance and conduct issues, a new oversight report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found. TIGTA reviewed a random sample of more than 300 employees who had conduct or performance issues in the past and found that 20% had developed new issues during their second go-round. Problem behaviors have included employees who willfully failed to file their taxes, gained unauthorized access to taxpayer information, abused the agency's leave policy, misused IRS property, falsified official forms, did a bad job or had behavioral or legal problems off-duty, such as alcoholism or bankruptcy.”

And today, there’s news of yet more stonewalling from the IRS as Congress continues to investigate its improper targeting of conservative groups.

According to The Hill, “The Obama administration is refusing to publicly release more than 500 documents on the IRS’s targeting of Tea Party groups. Twenty months after the IRS scandal broke, there are still many unanswered questions about who was spearheading the agency’s scrutiny of conservative-leaning organizations. The Hill sought access to government documents that might provide a glimpse of the decision-making through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The Hill asked for 2013 emails and other correspondence between the IRS and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). The request specifically sought emails from former IRS official Lois Lerner and Treasury officials, including Secretary Jack Lew, while the inspector general was working on its explosive May 2013 report that the IRS used “inappropriate criteria” to review the political activities of tax-exempt groups. TIGTA opted not to release any of the 512 documents covered by the request, citing various exemptions in the law. The Hill recently appealed the FOIA decision, but TIGTA denied the appeal. TIGTA also declined to comment for this article.”

As Leader McConnell notes, “The Chairman of the Finance Committee plans to dig into issues like these. He wants answers. We all do. The American people deserve them. They’re tired of a seeing a government that’s lost focus on them.”

In this editor's opinion, We the American People are very tired of an overzealous government that is too focused on us and abusing us.

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