Why haven’t you introduced legislation preventing the military requiring vaccinations?
I have been to six events in the KCMO area where showing a vaccination card was mandatory. It made me feel safer.
If people don’t want to get vaccinated, they didn’t have to attend.
What happens when your personal decision gives me covid
Rep Sam Graves forecast is cloudy with 5 more years of covid
But, freedumb!
I disagree. People who choose to be unvaccinated pose a public health threat; and specifically direct threats to the health of my 86-year old mom, an immune-compromised sister and anothet sister who is a front-line worker plus a greater threat for mutating variants.
We are all required to have all kinds of vaccines in order to go to school. Are you against those as well? Because I’ve never heard you complain until this particular vaccine.
Or, donor money is way more important than constituent health.
Soooo wrong, Rep! Everyone is MANDATED to have vaccines for school! Where have you been all your life?
He’s a republican. We rest our case.
You are wrong and not following the science.
He’s a republican. He doesn’t care.
800,000 dead American citizens makes it a patriotic responsibility. Stop spreading your amoral attitude about the vaccine.
He’s a republican. He doesn’t care.
Again, Sam. More than 800,000 dead of Covid. Numbers are on the rise again. Stop being a damn Republican and encourage testing, vaccines, and masks. You are irresponsible.
He’s a republican. He doesn’t care.
Are you gonna have to be shown why you’re a fool? Typical.
He’s a republican. He doesn’t care.
Idiot.
What if 30% of the US had decided never to get the polio vaccine?
He’s a republican. He doesn’t care.
What about measles, polio, TB, you are a covid idiot! #VaccinesWork #VaccineMandates #GOPDeathCult
Rep. Sam Graves @RepSamGraves
Amtrak just got about $60 billion in new funding, but now President Biden’s vaccine mandates are spurring new worker shortages and service cuts, thwarting recovery from historic Amtrak losses last year. Taxpayers will be paying more money for less service. 3:01 PM · Dec 9, 2021
There was much hilarity in the responses:
Did you vote for that funding?
I’m sure Amtrak will find vaccinated workers to fill the loss of a handful of employees that are too self-centered to get the vaccine.
I think you meant to say that the vaccine mandate has protected consumers from having to interact with willing infection and mutation vectors.
Who the fuck wants to ride on a train with a bunch of unvaccinated people?
Maybe if you would encourage your constituents to get vaccinated instead of trying to score political points, your constituents would stop dying.
Again, Sam. Covid numbers are rising (again) in MO. Would you prefer that worker shortages are due to employee deaths than shortages? Why not encourage vaccines? Nope! Your alligience is to the Republican party. Not to MIssourians.
U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, said he didn’t support the bill because the positive aspects of the bill are overshadowed by not laying out how it will be paid for. He said he wished a bipartisan solution could have been reached, noting the legislation would fuel further inflation and supply chain issues.
“There’s some good things in the bill, but they didn’t come up with a real way to pay for it which is the real problem with this bill,” Graves said. “They slapped some budget gimmicks in there and called it a day.
“That’s going to fuel more inflation and contribute to the rising prices we’re already seeing under President Biden, which is only increasing the price to fill up your car or feed the extended family on Thanksgiving. We can’t afford that right now.”
Graves recommended constituents in his district reach out to local leaders as well as his office. He stressed his door is always open to hear comments and concerns.
“Much like the way they are accustomed to requesting federal money, folks will need to work through MoDOT and other state agencies, as well as the federal grant process. I didn’t support the bill because of the costs, but I’m going to fight to make sure Hannibal and the rest of North Missouri gets its fair share. If local leaders have a project in mind, my office is always available to answer any questions they might have. It’s been that way before this bill passed and it will always be that way.”
Graves added he felt Missouri was receiving “less than we should be getting.”
“Missouri is slated to get $8 billion out of $1.2 trillion. We make up 1.8% of the U.S. population. We got the short end of the stick,” he said.
Finally, late last night, “Infrastructure Week – Part 1”:
FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 369
H R 3684 YEA-AND-NAY 5-Nov-2021 11:24 PM
QUESTION: On Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendment
BILL TITLE: INVEST in America Act
—- YEAS 228 —
Cleaver
—- NAYS 206 —
Bush
Graves (MO)
Hartzler
Long
Luetkemeyer
Smith (MO)
Wagner
[….]
[emphasis added]
Anyone thinking that all of the projects should go to Kansas City?
Roy Blunt (r) [2016 file photo].
In the Senate, August 10, 2021:
Roll Call Vote 117th Congress – 1st Session
Vote Summary
Question: On Passage of the Bill (H.R. 3684, As Amended)
Vote Number: 314
Vote Date: August 10, 2021, 11:17 AM
Required For Majority: 1/2
Vote Result: Bill Passed
Measure Number: H.R. 3684 (INVEST in America Act)
Measure Title: A bill to authorize funds for Federal-aid highways, highway safety programs, and transit programs, and for other purposes.
Vote Counts:
YEAs 69
Blunt (R-MO)
NAYs 30
Hawley (R-MO)
Not Voting 1
[….]
[emphasis added]
Joe Biden (D) [2020 file photo].
From President Joe Biden:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 6, 2021
Statement by President Joe Biden on the House Passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
Tonight, we took a monumental step forward as a nation.
The United States House of Representatives passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a once-in-generation bipartisan infrastructure bill that will create millions of jobs, turn the climate crisis into an opportunity, and put us on a path to win the economic competition for the 21st Century.
It will create good-paying jobs that can’t be outsourced. Jobs that will transform our transportation system with the most significant investments in passenger and freight rail, roads, bridges, ports, airports, and public transit in generations.
This will make it easier for companies to get goods to market more quickly and reduce supply chain bottlenecks now and for decades to come. This will ease inflationary pressures and lower costs for working families.
The bill will create jobs replacing lead water pipes so every family can drink clean water.
It will make high-speed internet affordable and available everywhere in America.
This bill will make historic and significant strides that take on the climate crisis. It will build out the first-ever national network of electric vehicle charging stations across the country. We will get America off the sidelines on manufacturing solar panels, wind farms, batteries, and electric vehicles to grow these supply chains, reward companies for paying good wages and for sourcing their materials from here in the United States, and allow us to export these products and technologies to the world.
It will also make historic investments in environmental clean-up and remediation, and build up our resilience for the next superstorms, droughts, wildfires, and hurricanes that cost us billions of dollars in damage each year.
I’m also proud that a rule was voted on that will allow for passage of my Build Back Better Act in the House of Representatives the week of November 15th.
The Build Back Better Act will be a once-in-a-generation investment in our people.
It will lower bills for healthcare, child care, elder care, prescription drugs, and preschool. And middle-class families get a tax cut.
This bill is also fiscally responsible, fully paid for, and doesn’t raise the deficit. It does so by making sure the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations begin to pay their fair share and doesn’t raise taxes a single cent on anyone making less than $400,000 per year.
I look forward to signing both of these bills into law.
Generations from now, people will look back and know this is when America won the economic competition for the 21st Century.
###
And from the White House:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 6, 2021
FACT SHEET:
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal
Today, Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act), a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure and competitiveness. For far too long, Washington policymakers have celebrated “infrastructure week” without ever agreeing to build infrastructure. The President promised to work across the aisle to deliver results and rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. After the President put forward his plan to do exactly that and then negotiated a deal with Members of Congress from both parties, this historic legislation is moving to his desk for signature.
This Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal will rebuild America’s roads, bridges and rails, expand access to clean drinking water, ensure every American has access to high-speed internet, tackle the climate crisis, advance environmental justice, and invest in communities that have too often been left behind. The legislation will help ease inflationary pressures and strengthen supply chains by making long overdue improvements for our nation’s ports, airports, rail, and roads. It will drive the creation of good-paying union jobs and grow the economy sustainably and equitably so that everyone gets ahead for decades to come. Combined with the President’s Build Back Framework, it will add on average 1.5 million jobs per year for the next 10 years.
This historic legislation will:
Deliver clean water to all American families and eliminate the nation’s lead service lines. Currently, up to 10 million American households and 400,000 schools and child care centers lack safe drinking water. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal will invest $55 billion to expand access to clean drinking water for households, businesses, schools, and child care centers all across the country. From rural towns to struggling cities, the legislation will invest in water infrastructure and eliminate lead service pipes, including in Tribal Nations and disadvantaged communities that need it most.
Ensure every American has access to reliable high-speed internet. Broadband internet is necessary for Americans to do their jobs, to participate equally in school learning, health care, and to stay connected. Yet, by one definition, more than 30 million Americans live in areas where there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds – a particular problem in rural communities throughout the country. And, according to the latest OECD data, among 35 countries studied, the United States has the second highest broadband costs. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal will deliver $65 billion to help ensure that every American has access to reliable high-speed internet through a historic investment in broadband infrastructure deployment. The legislation will also help lower prices for internet service and help close the digital divide, so that more Americans can afford internet access.
Repair and rebuild our roads and bridges with a focus on climate change mitigation, resilience, equity, and safety for all users. In the United States, 1 in 5 miles of highways and major roads, and 45,000 bridges, are in poor condition. The legislation will reauthorize surface transportation programs for five years and invest $110 billion in additional funding to repair our roads and bridges and support major, transformational projects. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal makes the single largest investment in repairing and reconstructing our nation’s bridges since the construction of the interstate highway system. It will rebuild the most economically significant bridges in the country as well as thousands of smaller bridges. The legislation also includes the first ever Safe Streets and Roads for All program to support projects to reduce traffic fatalities, which claimed more than 20,000 lives in the first half of 2021.
Improve transportation options for millions of Americans and reduce greenhouse emissions through the largest investment in public transit in U.S. history. America’s public transit infrastructure is inadequate – with a multibillion-dollar repair backlog, representing more than 24,000 buses, 5,000 rail cars, 200 stations, and thousands of miles of track, signals, and power systems in need of replacement. Communities of color are twice as likely to take public transportation and many of these communities lack sufficient public transit options. The transportation sector in the United States is now the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions. The legislation includes $39 billion of new investment to modernize transit, in addition to continuing the existing transit programs for five years as part of surface transportation reauthorization. In total, the new investments and reauthorization in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal provide $89.9 billion in guaranteed funding for public transit over the next five years — the largest Federal investment in public transit in history. The legislation will expand public transit options across every state in the country, replace thousands of deficient transit vehicles, including buses, with clean, zero emission vehicles, and improve accessibility for the elderly and people with disabilities.
Upgrade our nation’s airports and ports to strengthen our supply chains and prevent disruptions that have caused inflation. This will improve U.S. competitiveness, create more and better jobs at these hubs, and reduce emissions. Decades of neglect and underinvestment in our infrastructure have left the links in our goods movement supply chains struggling to keep up with our strong economic recovery from the pandemic. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal will make the fundamental changes that are long overdue for our nation’s ports and airports so this will not happen again. The United States built modern aviation, but our airports lag far behind our competitors. According to some rankings, no U.S. airports rank in the top 25 of airports worldwide. Our ports and waterways need repair and reimagination too. The legislation invests $17 billion in port infrastructure and waterways and $25 billion in airports to address repair and maintenance backlogs, reduce congestion and emissions near ports and airports, and drive electrification and other low-carbon technologies. Modern, resilient, and sustainable port, airport, and freight infrastructure will strengthen our supply chains and support U.S. competitiveness by removing bottlenecks and expediting commerce and reduce the environmental impact on neighboring communities.
Make the largest investment in passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak. U.S. passenger rail lags behind the rest of the world in reliability, speed, and coverage. China already has 22,000 miles of high-speed rail, and is planning to double that by 2035. The legislation positions rail to play a central role in our transportation and economic future, investing $66 billion in additional rail funding to eliminate the Amtrak maintenance backlog, modernize the Northeast Corridor, and bring world-class rail service to areas outside the northeast and mid-Atlantic. This is the largest investment in passenger rail since Amtrak’s creation, 50 years ago and will create safe, efficient, and climate-friendly alternatives for moving people and freight.
Build a national network of electric vehicle (EV) chargers. U.S. market share of plug-in EV sales is only one-third the size of the Chinese EV market. That needs to change. The legislation will invest $7.5 billion to build out a national network of EV chargers in the United States. This is a critical step in the President’s strategy to fight the climate crisis and it will create good U.S. manufacturing jobs. The legislation will provide funding for deployment of EV chargers along highway corridors to facilitate long-distance travel and within communities to provide convenient charging where people live, work, and shop. This investment will support the President’s goal of building a nationwide network of 500,000 EV chargers to accelerate the adoption of EVs, reduce emissions, improve air quality, and create good-paying jobs across the country.
Upgrade our power infrastructure to deliver clean, reliable energy across the country and deploy cutting-edge energy technology to achieve a zero-emissions future. According to the Department of Energy, power outages cost the U.S. economy up to $70 billion annually. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal’s more than $65 billion investment includes the largest investment in clean energy transmission and grid in American history. It will upgrade our power infrastructure, by building thousands of miles of new, resilient transmission lines to facilitate the expansion of renewables and clean energy, while lowering costs. And it will fund new programs to support the development, demonstration, and deployment of cutting-edge clean energy technologies to accelerate our transition to a zero-emission economy.
Make our infrastructure resilient against the impacts of climate change, cyber-attacks, and extreme weather events. Millions of Americans feel the effects of climate change each year when their roads wash out, power goes down, or schools get flooded. Last year alone, the United States faced 22 extreme weather and climate-related disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each – a cumulative price tag of nearly $100 billion. People of color are more likely to live in areas most vulnerable to flooding and other climate change-related weather events. The legislation makes our communities safer and our infrastructure more resilient to the impacts of climate change and cyber-attacks, with an investment of over $50 billion to protect against droughts, heat, floods and wildfires, in addition to a major investment in weatherization. The legislation is the largest investment in the resilience of physical and natural systems in American history.
Deliver the largest investment in tackling legacy pollution in American history by cleaning up Superfund and brownfield sites, reclaiming abandoned mines, and capping orphaned oil and gas wells. In thousands of rural and urban communities around the country, hundreds of thousands of former industrial and energy sites are now idle – sources of blight and pollution. Proximity to a Superfund site can lead to elevated levels of lead in children’s blood. The bill will invest $21 billion clean up Superfund and brownfield sites, reclaim abandoned mine land and cap orphaned oil and gas wells. These projects will remediate environmental harms, address the legacy pollution that harms the public health of communities, create good-paying union jobs, and advance long overdue environmental justice This investment will benefit communities of color as, it has been found that 26% of Black Americans and 29% of Hispanic Americans live within 3 miles of a Superfund site, a higher percentage than for Americans overall.
###
[emphasis in original]
Anyone think they’ll name a bridge after Josh Hawley (r)?
We Will Object
Co-authored By: Rep. Jason Smith (MO-08), Rep. Vicky Hartzler (MO-04), Rep. Sam Graves (MO-06), and Rep. Billy Long (MO-07)
Washington, December 31, 2020
Next week, your 117th United States Congress will convene for the first time. After the election of Speaker and the adoption of the Rules of Congress, the action will quickly move to reading aloud the electoral votes submitted by each state from this past November’s election – counting them, and declaring the vote tally for President and Vice President. During that process, the question will be put before your elected officials – does anyone object to the certification of electoral votes of a state. We will object. Our hope is that others will join us.
We don’t take this decision lightly, but we must protect the integrity of each vote cast by every law-abiding Missourian. For every instance of Georgia failing to follow its own state law in verifying signatures, of Pennsylvania accepting mail ballots after the legal deadline set by its state legislature, or folks from outside Nevada casting a ballot in that state – the value of every Missourians’ vote is diminished. That’s not right. And we cannot simply look the other way.
The right to freely cast your vote in elections is a sacred privilege afforded to us as Americans because of the sacrifices of the patriots who fought for that right. When that process is spoiled and abused by officials not following their own state law, it violates that right and jeopardizes the entire integrity and foundation of ‘free and fair’ elections. In such instances, where voting process changes are made without the consent of the voter, we know it is our duty and our obligation to serve as a backstop to protect the power of one person, one vote – to protect your vote as a Missourian. We must be able to have confidence in not only the agreement and expectation that this election would follow the law, but future ones will as well. We take the responsibility of upholding the Constitution seriously, and that is why we feel compelled to object to the electoral count taking place on January 6th.
The reported results of this past November’s Presidential election don’t even pass the most basic eye test. Republicans were projected to lose seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, we gained more than a dozen. Republicans were supposed to lose control of several state legislatures, we picked up multiple. We were projected to lose control of the United States Senate – we didn’t, and we won’t. All of this occurred on the same night President Trump lost? It’s hard to believe. Combined with the daily reports of voting irregularities where state election laws were discarded and not followed, something doesn’t add up. President Trump won over 74 million votes, Obama – 69 million. President Trump won 2586 counties, Obama – 873 counties, Joe Biden – 527 counties. The numbers, the evidence, and the abnormalities all speak for themselves.
We have joined lawsuits, called for a Special Counsel and demanded accountability and integrity, now we finally get to cast our vote. We have no illusions about the outcome, at the end of the day, this is still Nancy Pelosi’s House. Our only hope is that more will join us – that more will value protecting the vote of every American living in their state as much as we do fighting for yours.
Spare us.
Representative Billy Long (r) [2016 file photo].
Number of court cases? What where the outcomes? Federal cases? How many Trump appointees among the judges and justices?
Counties don’t vote. People do. Morons.
The population of Los Angeles County, California? The population of McPherson County, Nebraska? Should we list more small population counties, or do you get the point?
“…The reported results of this past November’s Presidential election don’t even pass the most basic eye test. Republicans were projected to lose seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, we gained more than a dozen. Republicans were supposed to lose control of several state legislatures, we picked up multiple. We were projected to lose control of the United States Senate – we didn’t, and we won’t. All of this occurred on the same night President Trump lost? It’s hard to believe. Combined with the daily reports of voting irregularities where state election laws were discarded and not followed, something doesn’t add up. President Trump won over 74 million votes, Obama – 69 million. President Trump won 2586 counties, Obama – 873 counties, Joe Biden – 527 counties. The numbers, the evidence, and the abnormalities all speak for themselves…”
In 2016: Hillary Clinton, 65,853,514 votes. Donald Trump, 62,984,828 votes.
Eye test?
What this speaks of: Stupid people came up with this. Stupid people wrote this. Stupid people signed on to this. Stupid people believe it.
Bad combover. Check. Too long red tie. Check. Orange spray tan. Check. Tiny hands. Check. Cluelessness. Check…
Bad combover. Check. Too long red tie. Check. Orange spray tan. Check. Tiny hands. Check. Cluelessness. Check…
This evening, an order at the United States Supreme Court in the election case Texas filed against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The court denied the complaint for a lack of standing and “All other pending motions are dismissed as moot”:
7-2. Alito and Thomas. Go figure.
So much for pandering right wingnut “constitutional scholars”.
Today, at the United States Supreme Court in the election case Texas has filed against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin – right wingnut members of Congress (bless the State of Missouri) filed an Amicus brief:
[….]
Amicus U.S. Representative Sam Graves represents the Sixth
Congressional District of Missouri in the United States
House of Representatives.
Amicus U.S. Representative Vicky Hartzler represents the
Fourth Congressional District of Missouri in the United
States House of Representatives.
Amicus U.S. Representative Blaine Leutkemeyer represents
the Third Congressional District of Missouri in the United
States House of Representatives.
Amicus U.S. Representative Jason Smith represents the
Eighth Congressional District of Missouri in the United
States House of Representatives.
Amicus U.S. Representative Ann Wagner represents the
Second Congressional District of Missouri in the United
States House of Representatives.
[….]
….Pursuant to subparagraph 2(b) of Rule 37, amici U.S. Representative Mike Johnson, et al., hereby move the Court for leave to file a brief amicus curiae in support of Plaintiff Texas’ Motion for Leave to File a Bill of Complaint and Motion for Preliminary Injunction….
….On the merits, this amicus brief defends the constitutional authority of state legislatures as the only bodies duly authorized to establish the manner by which presidential electors are appointed, one of the central issues in the pending litigation. As members of the federal legislature, these amici seek to protect the constitutional role of state legislatures in determining the manner by which states choose their electors….
Uh, no. Texas wants to impose the will of its Attorney General (r-pardon me) on other states and their legislatures.
….These amici appear as 106 Members of Congress and respectfully request that this Court uphold the plenary authority of the state legislatures to establish the manner by which electors are appointed, and determine the constitutional validity of any ballots cast under rules and procedures established by actors or public bodies other than state legislatures….
….National polls indicate a large percentage of Americans now have serious doubts about not just the outcome of the presidential contest, but also the future reliability of our election system itself….
That’s some serious Chutzpah. Who was it who “cast doubt”? We’ll wait.
….Fortunately, the Framers of our Constitution provided for this moment. It is now the duty of this Honorable Court to objectively review the facts presented by the Plaintiff in this historic case, render judgment upon the unconstitutional actions in the Defendant states, and restore the confidence of all Americans that the rule of law will be upheld today and our elections in the future will be secured….
They’re that stupid. And they believe everyone else is.
Bad combover. Check. Too long red tie. Check. Orange spray tan. Check. Tiny hands. Check. Cluelessness. Check…
Today in the United State House of Representatives:
H.J.Res.46 – Relating to a national emergency declared by the President on February 15, 2019.
House – 02/25/2019 Rules Committee Resolution H. Res. 144 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of H.J. Res. 46 with 1 hour of general debate. Previous question shall be considered as ordered without intervening motions except motion to recommit with or without instructions. Measure will be considered read. Bill is closed to amendments.
FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 93
H RES 144 YEA-AND-NAY 26-Feb-2019 3:30 PM
QUESTION: On Agreeing to the Resolution
BILL TITLE: Providing for consideration of the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 46) relating to a national emergency declared by the President on February 15, 2019
—- YEAS 229 —
Clay
Cleaver
—- NAYS 193 —
Hartzler
Graves (MO)
Long
Luetkemeyer
Smith (MO)
—- NOT VOTING 9 —
Wagner
The text of the resolution:
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. J. RES. 46
Relating to a national emergency declared by the President on February 15, 2019.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JOINT RESOLUTION
Relating to a national emergency declared by the President on February 15, 2019.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, pursuant to section 202 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622), the national emergency declared by the finding of the President on February 15, 2019, in Proclamation 9844 (84 Fed. Reg. 4949) is hereby terminated.
The final vote in the House:
FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 94
H J RES 46 YEA-AND-NAY 26-Feb-2019 6:32 PM
QUESTION: On Passage
BILL TITLE: Relating to a national emergency declared by the President on February 15, 2019
—- YEAS 245 —
Clay
Cleaver
—- NAYS 182 —
Hartzler
Graves (MO)
Long
Luetkemeyer
Smith (MO)
—- NOT VOTING 5 —
Wagner
Thirteen republicans don’t agree with Donald Trump (r).
So much for the past concerns of Missouri republicans about executive overreach and the separation of powers.
It’s been a couple of weeks since President Racist Moron sent us spiraling down toward a government shutdown by expressing his goal of importing prosperous, wealthy white Norwegians – who have little reason to come to the U.S. – instead of brown folks from S**thole countries – who actually need the haven that the United States has traditionally offered the oppressed, poverty stricken folks who flocked to these shores and helped build a strong, wealthy country where the middle class grew and prospered as never before. During this time, I’ve been monitoring the newspapers and congressional press releases to find out how our representatives in Congress have responded to Trump’s racist babblings – and I’ve found out just about nothing to let me know how our GOP profiles in political cowardice stand on the issue. However, today, Salon has posted an article that tells us what each member of Congress has had to say about this destructive and ugly piece of “telling it like it is,” as some of the more racist “deplorable” Trump supporters would have it:
Although GOP Senator Roy Blunt, as befits a junior member of the Senate Leadership, did make a statement, you might be struck, as I was, that it focused on the pragmatic aspects of Trumps words – addressing his competence in securing GOP goals, rather than his bankrupt moral world view:
Senator Roy Blunt, Republican of Missouri, suggested the president’s inability to refrain from incendiary statements was detracting from his agenda.
“It’s an unacceptable view of the world, and it’s an unacceptable thing to say,” Mr. Blunt told KMBZ, a radio station in the Kansas City area. “You would expect the president to lead in determining how you filter your thoughts, rather than to continue to say things that take a lot away from what’s actually getting done.”
Compare the measured words of Blunt – who carefully avoided any overt reference to Trump’s racism, to the unequivocal tweet Democratic Claire McCaskill issued,:
It is unacceptable, repugnant, and morally bankrupt for a President of this great nation to call the countries of Africa “shitholes”. #sicktomystomach 9:32 AM – 12 Jan 2018
I understand the need for political pragmatism, going along with a bad deal to avoid a worse deal – and I appreciate Blunt’s willingness to sorta, maybe imply that Trump isn’t really a great “dealmaker,” but for many of us racism, arguably the original sin that lies at the heart of American democracy, is the line that may not be crossed. Which means that I also understand the reticence of our Missouri House members to speak out – Republicans in general, not just in Missouri, have been calling out to more or less covert racism via code words and dogwhistles for years.What can these already compromised politicians do or say to credibly face down the beast they have enabled and continue to enable in order to benefit their wealthy patrons.
Of course that last sentence doesn’t even address the possibility that many of our elected Missouri representative may actually endorse Trump’s nasty racial sentiments.
Missouri Rep. Sam Graves (R-6), as behooves the offspring of a farm family, couches his defense of the provision of the GOP tax-cut-for-the-rich bill that would repeal the estate tax in terms of farmers. But before I get to that defense, it’s important to note that Graves seems to be a little confused about the meaning of words. He somehow thinks that the estate tax amounts to double taxation on the person who dies – rather than a one-time tax levied on the folks receiving a hefty gift they almost surely did not work for or earn. And BTW, big gifts are taxable even when the giver isn’t dead.
But he’s right about where to focus his defense of eliminating this particular rich folks’ goodie. Nobody will cry too hard if the Trump offspring someday have to pay estate taxes on what Daddy Trump represents as his billions. We all know that they’ll continue to live big no matter what – especially given the ways that Daddy is monetizing his time in the White House. But Graves knows that if his rural farming constituency thinks that the tax hurts small family farmers who receive their inheritance in the form of land, etc. rather than ready cash, they might be willing to foot the cost for Ivanka, Don Jr. and Eric to buy a few more yachts, which is why he “gravely” (get it?) pronouces:
Farmers are hit especially hard by the death tax. After a lifetime of acquiring land and equipment to help provide food for the world, farmers are subjected to an additional tax on their estate when they die. The real effect of this double, and sometimes triple, taxation is felt by the late farmer’s family.
While many folks receive an inheritance in the form of a check or stocks and bonds, the family farmer passes on his life’s work and ensures that farming continues as a way of life in North Missouri and around the country.
It’s no wonder that our kids and grandkids aren’t choosing to farm when they grow up. It’s expensive enough to get a farming operation off the ground, much less keep it in the family after giving part of it to the government.
Could get a farmer all fired up and maybe even willing to overlook all the ways that the GOP tax plans will shaft the middle class – even middle class farmers. Except for one thing: Graves is playing fast and loose with the facts. According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), “only 50 small farm and small business estates in the entire country will pay any estate tax in 2017 […] and they’ll owe less than 6 percent of their value in tax, on average.” Nor, as the CBPP further notes, will paying that tax force farming heirs to sell the family farm:
The estate tax affects so few small farms and businesses because the first $5.49 million of assets per person ($10.98 million per couple) are entirely exempt from it. Moreover, most farmers and business owners with estates large enough to owe the tax have sufficient liquid assets (such as bank accounts, stocks, and bonds) to pay the tax without having to touch other assets or liquidate their farm and business, a 2005 Congressional Budget Office (CBO) study found. Today’s estate tax rules are even more generous than those CBO assumed in its analysis. Special estate tax provisions also allow estate tax filers to spread their payments over a 15-year period at low interest rates.
While doing next to nothing for family farms, repeal would provide a windfall to the wealthiest 0.2 percent of estates — the only ones large enough to pay the tax. A repeal proposal recently reintroduced in the Senate would provide the 0.2 percent of wealthiest estates with an average tax cut of more than $3 million in 2017. Roughly 330 estates worth more than $50 million would get more than $20 million apiece in tax cuts, the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates. The proposal would also cost $269 billion over the decade, expanding deficits and adding to pressure for cuts in federal programs.
I’d say that somebody ought to tell Rep Graves to get his facts straight, but there’s that part of me that wonders what the point would be. We’ve seen his colleagues spin whopper after whopper to try to sell us on a tax cuts for their donors. Is it Graves fault that the best he can do is that old swampland special, the farm estate tax canard? It may even do the job it’s designed to do. After all, for many Trump voters who believe he/she knows from whence emanates all fake news, it probably still has currency.
At least Rep. Graves isn’t resorting to claims like those made my my Representative, Ann Wagner (R-2), that raising taxes on the middle class, cutting funding to programs that benefit the middle class, while giving a big regressive tax cut to the wealthiest of the wealthy will somehow help a “single mother of two.” Of course, there’s nothing to stop an unmarried Paris Hilton clone from giving birth twice. It could even happen on a lavish country estate that qualifies as a “family” farm.
