C-Span and The Senate

C-Span and The Senate

I had the opportunity between stops last week in Wisconsin and Minnesota to have an afternoon free.Working on a project on my laptop back at the hotel, I decided to browse through the cable TV stations and see what was on at 3:00PM in the afternoon.

As I clicked through the channels using the remote, I came across C-SPAN 2.

I was surprised because NH Senator Judd Gregg was speaking on the floor of the Senate and he was discussing the Farm bill as well and some amendments that he had proposed that would help farmers and those affected by the sub-prime mortgage failures.

I have never heard Gregg speak and have really never paid much attention to the Senate as it is not as interesting to watch as the House of Representatives.  The House provides feisty debate and it is informative to watch.  The Senate is very dry and it moves along more slowly.  After all, there are only 100 Senators and the system was designed that part of Congress to be more civil and to follow through on ensuring that the people’s house is checked.

Gregg, whether you like him or not, was very articulate and eloquent.  He spoke for about 45 minutes and as I started to pay closer attention, I became very interested in what he was speaking about.

His main theme was that the leadership of the Senate would not allow debate and the addition of amendments to the Farm bill that were directly related and were dismissed as inappropriate by Harry Reid.  Gregg was attempting to appeal to the opposition and stated that they would not even listen and would not allow a dissenting opinion to either this amendment nor to any proposal by Republicans. Yes, I understand that this is business as usual with the party in power but seeing it first hand struck a note with me.

Gregg went on to relate the mortgage failure problems to farmers losing their property as well and brought up the fact that he introduced a valuable piece of legislation that would help sub-prime mortgage borrowers.

Gregg’s legislation would eliminate ‘phantom income tax’ on the owners of foreclosed property.  His legislation would eliminate the ability of the IRS to tax a person for a capital gain on property that is foreclosed on.  Therefore, if you have a sub-prime mortgage that is foreclosed on, presently, the IRS can tax you if the bank that foreclosed, sold your home for more than you paid for it. 

For example, if a person paid $200,000 for a home and the bank foreclosed on them and sold their home for $230,000, the capital gain of $30,000 would be taxable and present IRS rules force the home owner to pay taxes on the gain.

Gregg has repeatedly proposed this legislation in the Senate and the majority party refuses to allow it to come to the floor for even discussion.

My point here is that no matter what you think of Judd Gregg, he is doing the work of the citizens of this state.  His legislation would help families and would remove a draconian rule from use by the IRS that would add insult to injury to anyone who would be foreclosed on.  As he explained, it is not only heartbreaking that you might lose your home but  to have the the IRS come after you as well, adds to that anxiety.

The real story is what is going on in the Senate and House and how our elected representatives (on both sides of the aisle), who are supposed to represent us and our interests refuse to allow the introduction of reasonable legislation and debate in the interest of American citizens.

Additionally, why don’t we hear about these things in the press?  Instead we are force fed doom and gloom, pop culture and partisan talking points.  The voters are unable to make informed decisions when all that we are fed is slanted information provided by candidates spinning the truth about what is actually going on. 

Perhaps we all should watch C-Span’s coverage of Congress to get the rest of the story!

One thing for certain, whether or not you like or support Judd Gregg, watching this speech and his representation of New Hampshire was impressive and he was very statesman like. I think that even if you do not support Gregg that his demeanor and conduct speaks volumes about the character of the man! 

It would not matter to me who was speaking and later in the week I was impressed by a couple of statesmanlike Democrats demeanor on the floor.  Either they have the ability and honesty in their character or not.  By the way, listening to Harry Reid, he is no statesman.

I wonder how often we take what we hear on the news and from pundits as the truth when what is going on is not even close to the reality that the press and politicians represent as fact. 

I urge everyone to watch C-Span as often as you can and you will see the reality of the character of those representing us.

I watched several times since last week and I am hooked; probably because what I see first hand is so far from the talking points on either side of the aisle.

It is time that we tell our politicians that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH and send the message to the next crop of those elected that if they don’t play fair and allow debate and introduction of legislation from both sides, equally, that at the end of their next term, they will be playing at home!  At least allow bills to be considered and allowed in committee!

This is just one more reason to have term limits.  I know that the Republicans did the same thing for the last 15 years and the Democrats for 40 years before that...it is time to stop the madness and let our representatives know that they are public SERVANTS (see definition below), not an elite class of know-it-alls who can do what they please once elected.  Like it or not, their position is about representing the people, not about themselves, their egos or POWER!!!!

FROM WEBSTERS DICTIONARY