It appears from Congressman Raul Labrador’s recent votes that he is getting back in tune with his constituents after his misplaced vote for John Boehner as Speaker of the House. Our congressman from the first district has shown us some unusual fortitude over the past few weeks, casting votes against the TPA and against Boehner’s rules vote. He has been one of the driving forces in organizing the true conservatives in the House and forming the House Freedom Caucus. Thirty four members voted against the Trade Promotion Authority rule and there was definite retribution by the Speaker and his cronies by taking positions away from some of those who led the charge against the vote. Congressman Labrador said House leadership needs the conservatives to be players in the game and throwing taking them out of leadership roles will embolden them as they will have nothing to lose. Things are not much different right here in Ada County where we are within a few thousand votes separating the Democrats from Republican voters. If Central Committee leadership doesn’t get off their high horse and start holding out an olive branch to the conservatives and libertarians they may find themselves in a pickle of not being able to elect Republicans to office. The establishment can only play hardball with conservatives if they have enough establishment players to win the game.
We did some checking and found that both Senator Crapo and Congressman Labrador have not accepted the congressional exemption from Obamacare for either themselves or their staff. Three cheers for standing tall and doing the right thing, although we must admit we are very disappointed in Senator Crapo’s and Senator Risch’s vote in favor of the Trade Promotion Authority.
Congressman Crapo issued the following statement after the Supreme Court’s ruling on marriage rights. “I strongly disagree with today’s ruling. Each state has the right to make this decision. The 10th Amendment says ‘The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.”
Congressman Labrador issued the following statement after the Supreme Court’s ruling on Obamacare. “I am stunned that the Supreme Court expanded the power of the executive branch to rewrite law it doesn’t like. Not only does this decision prop up a failed policy, it enshrines the principle that the President can trump Congress.” Senator Mike Lee and Representative Labrador introduced a bill Protecting Religious Liberty. The measure would prohibit federal intrusion on the rights of conscience. This bill was reintroduced legislation to clarify and strengthen religious liberty protections in federal law, by safeguarding those individuals and institutions who promote traditional marriage from government retaliation. Basically it would prohibit the IRS from stripping a church of its tax exemption for refusing to officiate same-sex marriage. The bill ensures that the federal government does not penalize Americans for following their religious beliefs or moral convictions on traditional marriage and shields against federal intrusion without taking anything away from anyone.
On the USA Freedom Act Rep. Labrador voted against it saying, “In spite of the efforts of Chairman Bob Goodlatte and Subcommittee Chair Jim Sensenbrenner the USA FREEDOM Act still fails to prevent the government from accessing Americans’ private information.” The Congressman reintroduced a bill championing state and local management of federal forests. This bill would allow state and local management of federally-owned forests and improve forest health, boost local economies and save taxpayers money. His bill would establish locally-operated demonstration projects across the country with a result of healthier forests and long-term solutions for rural economies.
