Lawson for Congress

You must be kidding me.

I first started studying how Washington works when I was in medical training, back when HIPAA was being born. Remember HIPAA? The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act? As I watched Congress empower unelected bureaucrats and lobbyists to share my protected health information with anyone having a financial interest in my care, “You must be kidding me” became a regular refrain.

But then I discovered a much more serious medical problem in Washington. Despite the fact that Congress loves providing drugs for our senior citizens, even at risk of national bankruptcy, they have thus far failed to diagnose or treat their own illness: Legislative Attention Deficit Disorder, or LADD.

The most common symptom of LADD is failure to focus on a single topic when creating legislation. Instead, legislators become excited when reading legislation that is likely to pass. As a result of this excitement, their minds begin wandering to the grab bag of promises they have made to special interests. In the final stages, this inability to concentrate on the legislation’s original topic culminates in spasmodic and capricious additions and amendments that are completely unrelated, dangerous, and costly.

Today’s example is typical: Senator Dianne Feinstein added an amnesty provision for up to 1.35 million illegal agricultural workers to an Iraq supplemental appropriations bill:

At today’s markup of the Iraq supplemental appropriations bill, the Senate Appropriations Committee committed an outrageous act of disrespect for our men and women in uniform and to the citizens of this country by adopting an amendment by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) that gives amnesty to illegal-alien agricultural workers. The copy of the amendment obtained by NumbersUSA indicates a maximum of 1.35 million illegal aliens, plus their families, could obtain “emergency agricultural worker status” for a five-year period. However, the amendment also provides for an adjustment of status, which paves the way for permanent legalization.

You must be kidding me.

Folks, this is just plain bad government. Unfortunately, it’s up to you to fight back. Regardless of your stance on the Iraq war or immigration, is it appropriate for legislators to hijack legislation in this fashion? Shouldn’t we insist that our legislators embrace common sense, and limit legislation to one subject at a time so votes can accurately reflect the opinions of our elected representatives?

Please, help restore common sense to Washington. I have three requests:

1. Visit NumbersUSA to learn more about this affront to good government, and how to contact your Senators today to fight this back-door attempt at amnesty for illegal immigrants. As NumbersUSA notes, there is no need for amnesty for agricultural workers — there already is an H-2A foreign agricultural worker program that provides growers with unlimited temporary workers.
2. To address the broader problem of LADD, learn about the One Subject at a Time Act, which requires Congress to limit legislation to a single subject. I support the One Subject at a Time Act, along with the Enumerated Powers Act, Read the Bills Act, and Write the Laws Act, as nonpartisan “good government” reforms that would drastically improve our legislative honesty and effectiveness.
3. Donate today to our Congressional campaign. In the week since the primary, I have been focused almost entirely on fundraising. We are preparing a large, targeted mailing and need your immediate help today!

Two days ago I had the opportunity to watch my elected Representative, David Price, in action. First at the Cary Chamber’s Eye Opener breakfast, and then at the Triangle J Council of Governments. My intention was to listen and learn — how does a 22-year incumbent interact with his constituents, and how does he engage on issues such as immigration?

As I listened carefully and took notes, it was apparent that Rep. Price has a much different view of immigration than his constituents. His use of codewords like “comprehensive immigration reform” and avoidance of hot topics like amnesty and the cost of immigration to local governments gave some indication of his position. The most telling statement he made, however, was that the business and farming community was not “managing” the immigration issue, and had allowed it to be taken over by “talk radio”. The implication was that the hospitality, construction, and agricultural industries are dependent on immigrant labor, and thus they need to be more active in setting the terms of the public dialog that is now taking place.

While it is true that many immigrants are hard-working and productive contributors to society, it is also true that many are here, well, illegally. Furthermore, people here without documentation are ripe for exploitation, and while the standard of living enjoyed by immigrants in this country may be better than in their home country, they are still vulnerable to abuse. Providing welfare-state social services and healthcare are bankrupting our state and local governments, and healthcare institutions. Finally, our open borders don’t distinguish those seeking the American dream from those with criminal intent. Heinous crimes committed by criminals risk rising backlash against all immigrants, and illustrate the threat that these criminals pose to our families and children.

These concerns are generally known and shared by most Americans. While the morning audience in Cary wasn’t in a position to push back against his benign assessment of unrestrained immigration, the evening audience of local officials at Triangle J most certainly was. When challenged on the topic, Rep. Price became defensive, and fell back into Washingtonspeak: “The problem is a mismatch between the needs of the American labor market and our official immigration policy.”

Ok, thanks. Tell that to the local government looking at building yet another new jail. When he was further pressed on how Washington might help local governments pay for these problems through existing appropriations mechanisms, he had another quotable moment: “Just given the nature of the problem, there are no streams of funding available.” Translation: We let ‘em in, you pay for it.

Never have I been so unimpressed with an elected representative’s command of a critical issue. His attempt to engage with local government representatives at the Triangle J Council of Governments was awkward, and suggested either an ignorance of the problems local governments face, or a desire to avoid controversial discussion as much as possible.

We need our federal government to follow the rules, and live up to its Constitutional responsibilities, on this crucial issue. When you’re ready to understand the breadth of our immigration dilemma, watch this video by Roy Beck of NumbersUSA.