The freedom index: a congressional scorecard based on the U.S. constitution

New American, The, July 21, 2008

Senate Vote Descriptions

21 Children's Health Insurance. H.R. 3963, the five-year, $60 billion SCHIP Extension bill, passed 64-30 on November 1, 2007 (Roll Call 403) and then went to the president, who vetoed it. This legislation is identical to that described under House vote #23, which occurred after the presidential veto.

We have assigned pluses to the "nays," because the Constitution does not authorize federal involvement in healthcare, even for children.

22 Head Start. H.R. 1429, a bill to reauthorize the Head Start program through 2012, was adopted 95-0 on November 14, 2007 (Roll Call 409). This Senate vote is on the identical legislation described under House vote #21.

Having been adopted in both the House and the Senate, this legislation was cleared for President Bush, who signed it into law. We have assigned minuses to the "yeas" (there were no "nays") because a federalized educational system is an unconstitutional and wasteful bureaucracy.

23 Peru Free Trade Agreement. The Peru Free Trade Agreement (H.R. 3688) is another in a series of free-trade agreements to transfer the power to regulate trade (and other powers as well) to regional arrangements. A prime example is the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). However, as noted by the House Ways and Means Committee report on H.R. 3688, the Peru Free Trade Agreement is the first U.S. FTA to include "in its core text fully enforceable commitments by the Parties to adopt, maintain, and enforce basic international labor standards, as stated in the 1988 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work." The ILO, or International Labor Organization, is a UN agency.

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The Senate passed the Peru Free Trade Agreement on December 4, 2007 by a vote of 77-18 (Roll Call 413). We have assigned pluses to the "nays" because so-called free-trade arrangements threaten our national independence and harm our economy.

24 Economic Stimulus. H.R. 5140, the Economic Stimulus package, whereby rebate checks were mailed to taxpayers, passed 81-16 on February 7, 2008 (Roll Call 10). This Senate vote is similar to the bill described under House vote #24.

After the House resolved its differences with the Senate, the bill was cleared for President Bush, who signed it into law. We have assigned pluses to the "nays" because creating money out of thin air (which was what was done for the rebate checks) cannot improve the economy.

25 Warrantless Searches. S. 2248, the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, passed 68-29 on February 12, 2008 (Roll Call 20). The bill would amend the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to effectively give the executive branch of the federal government a blank check to eavesdrop on telephone calls and e-mail messages between people in foreign countries and those in the United States. The bill includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies that have collaborated with federal agencies in the warrantless surveillance of American citizens.

We have assigned pluses to the "nays," because warrantless wiretaps are a violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects Americans against unreasonable searches and seizures, and requires that any searches be conducted only upon issuance of a warrant under conditions of probable cause. Moreover, Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution forbids "ex post facto laws"--laws having a retroactive effect.