Over coffee in diners and pasta in kitchens, Americans are saying one thing: Washington, grow up. They know most fellow Americans rise for work, act responsibly, and earn an honest living. Whatever they think of President Trump – who appears to keep promises – they disdain the know-it-all, self-satisfied, smug-as-a-bug Congress.
Last week, in an act of breathtaking hubris, Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) used her newly-reclaimed gavel and pedestal to simply disinvite a President of the United States from delivering the Nation’s Annual State of the Union address. Average Americans, whether they planned to watch or not, should be aghast.
Never mind this tradition is constitutionally authorized under Article II, section 3, clause 1. Never mind, the speech is a mainstay – on the nation’s calendar since Woodrow Wilson’s in-person address in 1913, with 95 given in-person to Congress. Never mind the address is expected by Americans – and viewed around the world as a touchstone of our republic’s health.
One person – Nancy Pelosi – pulled rank, declaring the speech will not happen. Every American – Democrat, Republican, or neither – should be asking what is up, and more specifically, what is wrong with this Speaker. The audacity of this act is almost beyond rational comment. Is there no respect in this House for history? For the office of the presidency? For the expectations of the American People?
And why did the Speaker do this? Because the president insisted on 5.7 billion dollars to finance a barrier on America’s Southwest Border – to protect our health and safety. That barrier – a wall – aims to deter, prevent and slow illegal immigration and drug trafficking into America’s towns and cities. The President aims to protect the country, a labor which he is constitutionally sworn to undertake – just as Nancy Pelosi and her Democrat Caucus are.
So the President asked 5.7 billion dollars be added to a one trillion dollar bill. Now, there are a million billions in a trillion, so the president is asking less than one percent of that bill – for the wall. Or less than 2 percent of discretionary spending in it (i.e. non-entitlement funds). But no, say the Democrats. And for a mule-kick in the teeth: No State of the Union.
Here is the interesting part. Forced to do so, this President just canceled the State of the Union. But last week, he took a constitutional shot at the Speaker, cancelling her “CODEL” by military plane to Europe and Afghanistan.
Mean? Disproportionate? On one hand, Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) called the spat “sophomoric.” And one has to wonder, where will this clash of constitutional prerogatives end? Probably nowhere good. Likely, Congress steps up to the President’s compromise, or he goes with a national emergency and initiates an executive transfer.
But look closer. Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats are showcasing the runaway privileges of Congress – and the President is calling them out. Not only are they not doing their jobs, they are having fun on your hard-earned money. What the President did – either intentionally or by happenstance – in denying Nancy Pelosi her free plane is shine a light on Congressional perks. There are many.
Here is what hard-working Americans often do not know. Congress takes tens of millions of dollars in free trips around the world every year, at taxpayer expense. On the cheaper end, they use tax dollars for commercial flights. These (rather oddly) average $10,000 per trip. Members and staff in 2016 took 557 such trips, averaging $10,000 per person per trip, Europe to Far East. While overall costs are hidden, public reports record at least $14.7 million in taxpayer dollars in 2016 for these commercial trips. That will top $20 million this year, according to Treasury.
More often and mostly unreported, congressional delegation trips (so-called “CODELs”) and staff delegation trips (“STAFFDELs) use top-end military planes for these festive outings. There are hundreds of these annually, averaging more than $100,000 per trip – just for the plane. Onboard, they gets free drinks, food, security and every comfort.
More, they big per diem money that allows buying extras, a host room where they stay, and no customs agent on return. Why do you think CODEL trips return late at night? No announcement? Reporters and cameramen are asleep, while members take their hauls quietly home.
These trips contain “down time” which is often spent shopping, purchasing everything from fancy foreign rugs and local handiwork to exotic foreign gifts. Most left unreported, that is your “fact finding.” Truth is, in floor debates, drafting legislation and in hearings, they use a Congressional Research Service report, most days.
What of other perks? Members of Congress get $174,000 in salary, and half the year off (239 days to be exact). They get free downtown and airport parking, free gym privileges, free healthcare subsides, and a retirement plan that offers a $59,000 pension, versus average American’s social security of $15,000. They get free medical care downstairs in the Capitol, for all shots from foreign travel inoculations to the flu.
It gets better. Until otherwise corrected, they are all exempt from dozens of laws, slander and libel on chamber floors to avoidance of Freedom of Information Act requirements. They are not required to comply with Occupational Safety and Health Act requirements, despite holding hearings on why others don’t.
Beyond that slush fund to pay off harassment claims – again using your money for their settlements – they are exempt from compliance with protections against retaliation for whistleblowers, posting worker rights, prosecution for retaliating against employees, requirements to train employees about workplace rights and legal remedies, or record-keeping requirements for workplace injuries and illnesses. Who is holding the hearings on those issues? Not Nancy Pelosi.
How can all this be, you might ask? Allow me to answer a question with a question: Who passes these laws? Who has the power to exempt themselves from OSHA to provisions of insider trading? Congress, of course.
As Democrat-controlled House members grouse about White House security clearances, mark this too: No member of Congress is required to go through a full-field security check or to pass even a SECRET security clearance, before they can demand and see anything.
Nor are they required to conform to traditional requirements issuing subpoenas. Rather than bound by standard federal practices, congressional processes are insular and self-set. Thus, Democrat counsel has been known to call Republican deposition witnesses and tell them not to comply with majority subpoenas. One would think Canons of Ethics, but not here.
So, as the Nation waits for the State of the Union speech that will not occur – since an untethered, unbridled House Speaker has canceled it, we might be inclined to ask: Where is the check on Congress, which seems not only against fences, but increasingly unfenced? When will rationality and accountability return? When will Washington grow up?
Copyright © 2024 AMAC, Inc. / AMAC Senior Resources Network. All rights reserved.
WE SHOULD GET RID OF ALL OF THEM AND FIND SOME TRUE AMERICANS WHO LOVE OUR COUNTRY AND WILL KEEP IT GOING. THE SENATORS AND CONGRESSMEN DO NOT KNOW HOW TO WORK AND TRY TO GET SOMETHING GOOD GOING.
Yes Pelosi is a disgrace. The President is taking a stand on the protection of this country as he should. We need the wall.
Piglosi is evil. She’s more obsessed with her hatred for the president than she is in helping this country. Let that sink in, everybody.
Pelosi only care about flaunting the power of the speaker. She gets to wave her magic wand….I mean Gavel..and scream I am the speaker. A pathetic little mind at best.
NANCY PELOSI’S “SANITY “…. NEEDS TO
BE ….. LEGALLY CHALLENGED!
THIS IS AN OBVIOUS “HATE TRUMP” MOVE
BY NANCY P.! SHE HAS NO SHAME……… BUT
THEN ANYONE WHO WOULD… APPLAUD…
THE KILLING OF PEOPLE, YES “P E O P L E”,
AS THEY “ENTER” THIS WORLD……. HAS NO
SHAME…. NO RATIONALITY…. NO COMMON SENSE
WHATSOEVER!! SHE IS WOEFULLY NEGLECTFUL
OF HER DUTIES AS A CONGRESS-PERSON…….
…. AND AS A HUMAN BEING!
SHE HAS PROVEN TO BE…… “CLINICALLY”
AND “LEGALLY ” IN-SANE…… AND TRULY SHOULD BE DECLARED……… INCOMPETENT
IN MIND AND SOUL!! ”
(This is meant to be a completely sane and
serious comment……. NOT a PREJUDICIAL
Rant against Nancy P.)
I’d like to see a poll of regular everyday American’s as to the audacity of this Speaker’s behavior.
Old no-no Nancy appears demented and may not appreciate that her spiteful attacks on the President are more than a family tiff; they harm the entire nation.
Every day of delay on building an adequate border defense results in more lives lost to homicide and drug overdoses.
The younger democrats who do nothing as old no-no Nancy continues to destroy the country have blood on their hands too.
We-The-People need to take responsibility for this corruption… we turned our heads and kept re-electing the same corrupt garbage year after year. Now it time to change this… lets use president Trumps willingness to take on the swamp.
No, they will not grow up because they are just driven by their egos. What a shame that they (Congress) are so shallow and unethical that they look in the mirror and see only themselves and their control. What falser pride and a pity to this nation and remember just who voted them in but others just as misguided and shallow.
A rich politician with 280,000 constituents has declared herself to be boss of the guy who was voted President by almost 63 million people.
NP
275,292 votes in CA 12th Congressional Election 2018
220 votes from House of Representatives in 2019
CS
5,221,949 votes in New York State Election 2016
fewer than 50 votes as Senate Minority Leader 2018
DT
62,800,000 votes from across USA in 2016
The worthless whore for the NWO and socialism should be hanged for treason!
Pelosi won again (as usual don’t know how she always manages to get her way) She needs to be removed from office NOW. She is a disgrace to our country. Thought Trump would stand up to her but as usual she got her way.
ALL OF THIS HAS GOT TO STOP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE ARE A BUNCH OF FOOLS FOR NOT MAKING CONGRESS BE ACCOUNTABLE .
Who made Nancy Pelosi President! She should not have the power to invite or cancel the State of the Union
address. Tell your congress person America is more than California and New York there are a lot states in between.
We must let our voices be heard!
she’s nutts who in the H votes for this person?
Nancy Pee’s idea of free speech and the right of Americans to hear the public SOTUS remarks by the POTUS in a congressional environment…it is so like her to act anti American…..who is her special interest in these matters?????
IMO we need to clean house and re establish a new congress that is a 8 year term with all benefits as the rest of the Americans. You get what you pay for and save for. Can you imagine expecting a wage while not being expected to go to work? Getting free medical and retirement never having to pay into SSI? Congress is the backbone of entitlement.
I am 65 years old and in every election I hear all of the same rhetoric. I am continually amazed at how all of the above, even if brought up in the continuing election cycle is quickly quieted.
Thank you AMAC for putting this into print. I shall forward to as many of my non member friends so they get to see we have a place to see reasonable questions brought up by AMAC regarding the elite who try to tell us they have our best intentions at heart. God save America!
I was/am aware of most of these travesties of protocol and benefits but it’s time to stop the nonesense and remove many of these ‘privileges.’ It’s sickening and has to stop. No wonder they all wind up millionaires before leaving office. It makes me sick
This is REALLY getting scary! I vote. I fund conservative agendas as best I can. I often point out to liberal nut jobs that they are supporting and contributing to the destruction of this nation. What else can I do? As demented, hateful, and hypocritical Pelosi and Schumer are, there are many ,even more terrifying screwballs, waiting in the wings to step over their decrepit little bodies and further the downward spiral. How are these socialists getting elected? But, as bad as all that is… where is the backbone from the republicans that WE’VE elected?Where is THEIR support for Trump? Trump is doing what he said he would! He’s fighting for me and my family! There are still WAY to many Democrats dressed up as and pretending to be conservatives, until elected that is, that are lining their pockets with shady deals from demo driven lobbyists. SHORT TERMS! Declare an emergency and build the wall! Figure out a way to GET HER OUT! DRAIN THE SWAMP! MAKE ABORTION ILLEGAL! BRING PRAYER BACK TO SCHOOLS! END GAY MARRIAGES! PROSCEUTE HILLIARY AND ALL THE REST OF THE CROOKS! PUT SOME KIND OF ACCOUNTABILTY ON THE FAKE NEWS! REPUBLICANS,DO YOUR JOB!!
If she’s using Security as a concern but won’t consider the boarder proves the Deep State only cares about the Ruling Class and not the working Class
Cant you just see how demonized she is in her face, GOD help the unborn babies, and the whole Country , GOD is the only hope for us now , we need her out of office as soon as possible .
Pelosi And Schumer are the best reason ever to bring back public hanging for treason!
Nancy & chuckie are the best argument ever to bring back public hanging!
Why does the State of the Union need to be held in the House of Representatives???? Hold it in the White House!! Better yet, hold it on the southern border!! Screw Pelosi!!!
I want to know what we need to do to impeach Nanny Piglosi along with UpChuck Tumor the waste of time which cost us the tax payers. I would like to see term limits to get rid of scum like those two. I would like to see them brought up on charges for their traitorous acts against this country and the people of the U.S.
Her
Evil witch wicked plans she will be spanked by President Trump!!! NP no good comes from idiotically?♂️?♂️?
Nasty Pelosi should be an embarrassment to the Democrats. She is only representing the far left radicals in the party. She does not care about the people of the United States. When are the Democrats going to get enough of her immature attitude? Our representatives should represent the people and be mature.
Pelosi “THINKS” she killed the State of the Union – but she has yet to see how little she really controls. It seems as though Trump is giving her a long enough rope to eventually hang herself. She is so arrogant and full of pride that when she falls, it will be hard., she may not be able to rise again.
Someone needs to do something with Pelosi and her crew
We are furious. How can she do this? Can she REALLY stop the State of the Union Address? WHY???
Is there anyway to freeze congress’ salary? Nancy and other demos may be more likely to negotiate/compromise if her salary was not issued during the government shjutdown!
SHE WILL KILL THIS COUNTRY IF SHE IS NOT STOPPED. SHE WANTS POWER AND MONEY. TO WIN IN 2020, SHE HAS GOT TO HAVE LOTS MORE ILLEGAL VOTES!!!
Any time there is a new, gigantic piece of legislation – I.E. Obama Care — you know it is bad before it passes because the Congress opts out of it before it is voted on. That is for CongressPERSONS and their aides. Obamacare was a bow to the poor, illegal aliens, AND the POLITICIANS. Obamacare, they continue to break the law simply by claiming to be a small business with fewer than 50 employees. Obama, to this day, obfuscates the reality of who is covered and receiving most of the subsidized benefits. Does anybody but Pelosi and Schumer and their go along counterparts one the Repbulican side McConnel McCarthy believe that is fair and equitable to most of the American CITIZENS – NOT ALIENS? If they don’t ban the government shutdown rules designed for political persuasion ONLY, then all of the politicians and their staffs should suffer the worst of the trauma that they so freely impose on others. NO WORK, GOVERNMENT SHUT DOWN, NO PAY /
Theirs is to Decide – Yours is simply to ABIDE or ELSE. American needs to rise up and help this president drain the swamp of this type of politicial Theft and Disregard for those they SERVE (I Use that word very looselly here)
This last shutdown certianly is an example of the swamp being a polluted – whirlpool of corruption rather than a flowing stream of clear intentions. Vote one out, and they propose and support whoever wins then get a job with CNNm MSNBC, NBC, CBS, ABC or some other element of the “Fake News Networks” that the 20 to 50 year old, brainwashed, college graduates, liberals all watch. Anybody that thinks they are getting the news when they watch the late night talk shows, shows that they don’t Thnk or Understand much of anything of substance.
At least this allows everyone to see her true colors. It is disgraceful and God will judge righteous judgment. Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord…I will repay.
Nancy Pelosi is a traitor to the U.S.A. and in the very least should be arrested and deported, along with several other of her pals. YOU GO FIRST BILL THEN the POS that had the gall to stand in front of the American people and show a fraudulent document as his birth certificate.
They will never grow up as long as Pelosi is in charge. She’s bound and determined to overthrow the government and stage a coupe on the duly elected President. She’s way overstepping her boundaries and I think she and her cronies are performing acts of treason and need to be prosecuted for that most egregious of all offenses against our country and constitution. We need a Constitutional Convention to remove the ability to set their own salaries, benefits, and instill term limits on them, and remove all the exemptions they set for themselves and their families. Instead of them paying for their children’s college education out of their own inflated salaries, their children can take out student loans and then they are exempt from paying back their student loans. How’s that fair for the rest of America?! Their protest against the border protection because it costs too much? The shutdown has already cost more than the 5.9 billion dollars President Trump requested for the wall. Which, by the way is only 20 to 25 percent of the amount they approved for border security under Obama’s administration! I’m from Illinois, and our own Senator Durbin voted against that because it only it was “only” for 700 miles of border protection and he didn’t think that was near enough! So now we don’t need a wall at all?
I pray that Jesus will return soon, otherwise this country’s going to go to hell in a rocket ship if the Demos an the Rinos have their way.
Excellent Article!
I have a good idea of what most Americans would like to do with Pitiful Pelosi’s gavel. The reason the democrats are so against everything and anything President Trump suggests is that they know he is correct and the American people are with him. Americans don’t want to be RULED, they want a government OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE. Democrats have forgotten this basic premise of why our country was founded. We did not enjoy being under the thumb of a ruler and we don’t want a government that is more interested in power than in helping our country and her citizens.
Unhinged — from rational thought, from caring for anyone but self, from common sense, from patriotism, from honesty, from integrity…..
Do the State of the Union as it was done before Woodrow Wilson. Put out a year end corporate style printed report and issue it to the senate and house as well as the news media. If anyone actually reads it they might find out how dreadfully in debt we are. politicians do not read the bills they vote on. Does anyone think they might actually read this. No pep talk, just the facts.
Have it in the oval office Fox will come the Free Press not so much maybe to take sound bites out of text and to make him look like a fool . Two gaurds at the front door not a big expense to America and the President can let the American people who want to listen hear his side and America can move forward . Then Nutty Nancy can do what she does best .
The President doesn’t need to make that speech (State of the Union) in the House of Representatives. It has just been historically done there but it is time to make a change and do the speech elsewhere. The government is now open at least through February 15, 2019, so there’s nothing to stop the President from making the speech, period.
As to dealing with these petty liberals and their PC thinking, you can’t talk or converse with them as they live in a dream world so what has to happen is to let them step in their own debris, right up to their rump. We need to be ready to step in when they do.
What is scariest is that Nancy Pelosi is third in line of succesion to the President !!!!
Pelosi needs to go. She scared to death to have this in the public eye. Scared her truths will be exposed to the zero common sense crazies that still think she’s fit to hold any position in our government. She doesn’t care about our country, only what she can get out if it for herself. She’s another reason there should be term limits on positions like hers… Dems are ruining Our Country…
I agree 100 % with Eve E. Pelosi is a disgrace to this country! To quote a previous comment, ” Where is the public push back, our voice, our firm support of the president? Are we the people picking up the phone and wearing our congressman down, demanding the wall be built? Are we a Spectator only? It’s the people that have the power IF and only IF we actually do something. Seriously, we have got to move, call, write, vote, rally, etc. The saying, the best days are ahead will only be IF we, the best, get ahead in these days. Trump supporters need to be loud and active. We cant leave this man out for the slaughter. He has been there for us, question is, are we there for him? Call 202-224-3121 Tell Congress to support the President and Build the Wall. I did.”
Pelosi and other Democrats in Congress are simply setting the jaws of US conservatives, so that their gains in the House and in state/local governments will be obliterated over the next two years. Not smart to tick off people who KNOW how to work, plan and take action!
Poor old Nancy barely made it in the vote for Speaker. She thinks she a bad ass. Ultimately President Trump will turn her into the dumb ass she is.