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Day 621-623

8/2/2009: Transfer 17000 USD to Congressional Budget Office Yes Routine money management measure

8/3/2009: No votes

8/4/2009: Transfer 21854 USD to the Congressional Budget Office Yes Routine money management measure.

8/4/2009: Approve peace treaty with Serbia Yes Closes another war that could easily be used to attack us.


I have stopped issuing these reports daily. During this war, there is little for Congress to vote on. Most of our activity relates to coping with our ever declining revenues and the need to spend enormous amounts of our resources to defend ourselves. Each conquered state reduces our income, so we must consider how to balance a smaller income with the continuing need for a powerful well coordinated military. Unfortunately, these discussions go on in secret Congressional boards, and I cannot report their details. I continue to oppose this secrecy and plan, if I am still in Congress at the end of this war, to work toward its end.


I believe I am violating no secrecy rules, however, if I give you a very generalized account of major issues. Dominant right now are proposals to spend large sums of money on infrastructure projects. Some argue that they are needed for our defense. Others, myself included, ask how we will pay for them. We have not been told what the government's current revenue is; we have not been told how much we are spending and on what. I feel it is irresponsible to make large infrastructure expenditures in ignorance of such information. Until this information is released, I refuse to vote for any major infrastructure expenditure.


A discussion that went on most of yesterday is probably extremely relevant to Mainers. It concerned a proposal to require that all recipients of food aid from Meals on Wheels be required to move to Florida or New Jersey. Although I would like to see my constituents make such a move voluntarily, I felt an obligation to my constituents who have chosen not to move. I spent much of the day arguing against the proposal. At the beginning of the discussion this proposal had almost unanimous support. Today, it went to a vote without that requirement. The only new requirement for MoW recipients is US citizenship. Recipients will be encouraged, but not required, to move to Florida or New Jersey. I believe my advocacy had much to do with that change in Congressional opinion.


Until and unless Congress becomes more active or new issues of concern emerge, I will publish these reports only every three or four days.


If you have questions, disagreements or any other communication for me, please do not hesitate to send me a PM. I promise to answer all of them.


seeker1
Senator from Maine