Free Republic

House conservatives have taken the first step to force an impeachment vote on IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. […] The hard-line House Freedom Caucus announced Wednesday that two members, John Fleming of Louisiana and Tim Huelskamp of Kansas, were introducing a so-called privileged resolution that could result in an impeachment floor vote on Koskinen. …

Following his defeat to Democrat John Bel Edwards in Saturday's Louisiana gubernatorial election, GOP Sen. David Vitter announced that he will retire from the Senate next year, ensuring another busy year of campaigning in a state with no shortage of ambitious politicians. Vitter's exit will set up an open-seat race in 2016, and the Republican side of the field is chock-full of potential candidates: GOP Reps. Charles Boustany and John Fleming, state Treasurer John Kennedy, retired Air Force Col. Rob Maness and Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle could all make bids. The Democratic picture is less clear: New Orleans Mayor...

House Republican leaders are delaying a vote on the Iran nuclear deal scheduled for Wednesday because of a rebellion from rank-and-file conservatives. The House was to hold a procedural vote to begin 11 hours of debate on a resolution disapproving the deal at 1 p.m. Instead, they will gather at 4 p.m. to discuss strategy. "We will continue the conversation on Iran from this morning and discuss strategy for the rest of the week," a GOP leadership aide said. The House subsequently went into recess shortly after noon once leadership called off the procedural vote. GOP leaders had to change...

A pair of GOP senators implored House Republicans Thursday to soften their stance in the intra-party dispute over funding the Department of Homeland Security. Sens. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who both formerly served in the lower chamber, stressed to the House GOP conference behind closed doors that the Senate can’t get the 60 votes it needs to advance the House-passed DHS funding bill that includes language to reverse President Obama's executive actions on immigration. "They lamented the frustration they're having getting up to 60 votes. But apparently that is the strategy now with the Democrat minority...

The cromnibus had an unlikely savior Thursday afternoon in the form of a lame-duck lawmaker who used to raise reindeer. Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (R-Mich.), who lost his primary earlier this year, was originally among the conservative Republicans who voted against the rule. Without the help of Democrats, Republicans could only lose 17 of their own to pass the rule, which sets up floor debate for the underlying "cromnibus" spending bill. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) intervened once there were 18 Republican defectors — and not a single Democrat voting "yes." Many Democrats will vote against the government spending measure because they...

WASHINGTON -- Conservatives are losing ground on the fight to keep marijuana illegal, a Republican congressman warned in dire terms at the Values Voter Summit. During a conference mostly focused on religious liberty, abolishing the IRS and promoting small government, Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) delivered a full speech on the ills of decriminalizing and legalizing marijuana. Fleming, a medical doctor, warned of a "growing acceptance" of marijuana -- a fact hard to deny, considering public opinion and state laws. Colorado and Washington state have legalized recreational marijuana, and 23 states and the District of Columbia have allowed the substance for...

Any discussion of Republicans working to impeach US President Barack Hussein Obama over any executive action he might take on immigration is “pure politics,” Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) said Friday. “The president is behind that narrative,” the 3-term GOP congressman from Louisiana said. “There has not been any discussions on the impeachment of this president. Republicans do not want to go there.

Republican opposition to a border-relief package is “insurmountable,” a Tea Party conservative predicted Thursday. House GOP leaders have delayed their August vacation in an attempt to hash out the Republican differences over an emergency response to the child migrant crisis at the southern border. But Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) said there are no changes GOP leaders could make to their $659 million package that would win the support of 218 Republicans. “I think it's insurmountable. I don't care who the whips and who the leadership are,” said Fleming. “Number one, we are a completely wide spectrum. We've got some members...

When CNSNews.com asked Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) if he had read all of the 10,535 pages of final regulations published by the administration to implement Obamacare in the Federal Register, he said he had not and described them as “incomprehensible.” “Well, of course, I voted against [Obamacare], and I have not read all the rules and regulations,” Fleming told CNSNews.com earlier this month at the Capitol. “They’re extremely complex. An average person even with a law degree or a medical degree like me can’t understand them,” Fleming said. “They’re incomprehensible.” When asked if he was surprised by the large number...

Rep. John Fleming said Tuesday that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius should step down because her agency had three years to prepare for the debut of online insurance markets that have been plagued by computer glitches. Mr. Fleming, Louisiana Republican, said the new health care law is a “ship in search of an iceberg” that will harm the nation once it’s fully implemented, a claim that diverges from the White House’s insistence that online markets tied to the law will improve during a six-month open enrollment period that began Oct. 1. “The rest of it is going to...

Republicans lawmakers from Louisiana are insisting that the government shutdown will not impact the region's preparedness ahead of the expected landfall of Tropical Storm Karen on the Gulf Coast. The storm, which has maximum winds of 50 miles per hour according to the National Hurricane Center, is expected to slam the Gulf Coast late Saturday or early Sunday morning. Forecasters believe Karen could intensify to hurricane strength before then. That's led to questions about the government's preparedness for severe weather. According to The Times Picayune in New Orleans, at least 2,000 federal workers have been furloughed in the state, including...

House members voted Tuesday to bar the use of federal funds to hire “atheist chaplains” at the Department of Defense after Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) reminded his colleagues that the concept didn’t make any sense. “It’s just total nonsense, the idea of having a chaplain who is an atheist,” Fleming told fellow House members. “When it comes to the idea of an atheist chaplain, which is an oxymoron—it’s self-contradictory—what you’re really doing is now saying that we’re going to replace the true chaplains with non-chaplain chaplains.” Speaking about the current DOD rules for chaplains on the House floor, Fleming said:...

This morning, I received the following email, which is currently being circulated around the internet: Congressman John Fleming (Louisiana physician) has proposed an amendment that would require congressmen and senators to take the same healthcare plan they force on us (under proposed legislation they are curiously exempt). Congressman Fleming is encouraging people to go on his Website and sign his petition at: http://fleming.house.gov/index.html. Please urge as many people as you can to do the same! If Congress forces this on the American people, the Congressmen should have to accept the same level of health care for themselves and their families.

Why did Congress exempt themselves from being included in the healthcare they want for the rest of Americans? Maybe it's because Congress members don't want themselves and their families to be at the mercy of bureaucrats about whether they can receive quality of life treatments, or even treatments for their very life or death; rationing; long lines; or when they become senior citizens, be forced to have counseling every five years, or more often if they are sick, regarding alternatives for end of life care. Rep. John Fleming, (the 2007 Louisiana family physician of the year), put forth a bill,...

Health Reform: If Democrats in Washington think their health care reform with a public option is a good thing, why have they exempted themselves from it? Why isn't what's good for their constituents good for them?During ABC's June 24 infomercial for government-run health care broadcast from the White House, President Obama was asked if he and his family would abide by the restrictions and limitations that came with his proposed reforms. In what Ed Morrissey at HotAir.com called "Obama's Michael Dukakis moment," President Obama refused to make such a pledge and confessed that if "it's my family member, if it's...

Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) said he was “disturbed” by President Barack Obama’s request to have the symbolic name for Jesus Christ – IHS – covered from a pediment that was visible behind him when he spoke at Georgetown University’s Gaston Hall on April 14. “I join many Christians in expressing my outrage at this request,” Fleming said after requesting one minute to speak on the House floor. “This administration has no problem spending money imprinted with the phrase, ‘In God We Trust,’ but won’t have our president speak with any symbol of Christ in public view,” Fleming said. “We begin...

Where did the idea of “millions of years” come from? All of our media outlets push evolution and “millions of years” ideas on the public. Even children’s cartoons reflect evolutionary philosophy! In an episode of the cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants, entitled “SpongeBob B.C.,” the narrator begins: “Ah, dawn breaks over the primordial sea. It is here that millions of years ago, life began taking its first clumsy steps out of the darkness, opening its newly formed eyeballs to stare into the blinding light of intelligence.” Unfortunately, large segments of the church have swallowed the millions-of-years evolutionary history hook, line, and sinker....

The final election of the season takes place tomorrow, ending the showdown in the 4th Congressional District. Democrat Paul Carmouche takes on Republican Dr. John Fleming, and Independents Chester "Catfish" Kelley and Gerard Bowen Jr. The polls open at 6am and close at 8pm. Voter turnout is expected to be in the 15 to 20 percent range. Chilly weather, along with a negative campaign tone are partly to blame for the expected low turnout. We are your election headquarters tomorrow night. You can stay up to date on KTBS 3 News and on ktbs.com.

BATON ROUGE, La. -- President-elect Barack Obama and Gov. Bobby Jindal entered opposing sides of a bitter Louisiana congressional race, appearing in advertisements in support of their parties' contenders while the candidates readied for their only debate on Tuesday night. The president-elect lent his voice to a radio ad praising a fellow Democrat, saying "To change America, and to get Louisiana's economy back on track, I need leaders like Paul Carmouche working with me in Washington." The governor appeared in a television ad in support of fellow Republican John Fleming. The ads first aired on Monday, the day before Jindal...