Free Republic

21st House Democrat planning to step down at end of term Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) will not run for another term. Murphy, who co-chairs the Blue Dog Coalition, said Monday she will not seek to continue representing Florida’s 7th Congressional District because she wants to spend more time with her family. “These last few years have been some of the most rewarding moments of my life, but also some of the most challenging. Public service is not without personal sacrifice, and as a mom of two young children, my time away from them has been hard for them, for me,...

GOP Rep. Grills Gruber: You Got Paid $2.5 Million And We Still Have 40 Million People Uninsured http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2014/12/09/gop_rep_mica_grills_gruber_consultants_enriched_themselves_while_we_still_have_40_million_people_uninsured.html

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) in 2014 will pursue the IRS scandal, the deadly Benghazi attack and the botched Fast and Furious operation in what will likely be his last year as the House GOP's chief investigator. Issa sounded a cautionary note that the investigations might not conclude while he has the gavel. “The administration wraps up investigations. We are done when we are done … there shouldn’t be any sort of effort to load in or unload" before his term limit of six years as the top Republican on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee ends in December. Rep. John...

MSNBC’s Al Sharpton got in a heated debate with Rep. John Mica (R-FL) Friday afternoon over who is to blame for the government shutdown. The two men spent most of the interview talking past each other, with Sharpton yelling, “You’re in denial! You shut the government down!” After debating the deficit under President Obama, Sharpton asked Mica, “When in the history of this country have we ever had a shutdown over a law?” The host rejected the idea that this shutdown is similar to the one that occurred in 1995, with Mica fighting back by saying it is similar, but...

Some national business leaders are outright opposing measures of fiscal responsibility. Fortunately, fiscal conservatives in Congress are fighting back. Case in point: reaction to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (T&I) Chairman John Mica’s (R–FL) proposed six-year reauthorization bill, which limits transportation spending to the federal fuel tax revenues flowing into the trust fund. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s reaction was to label the proposal “unacceptable.” Apparently in their view, the proposal doesn’t spend enough money on the business community. Chairman Mica quickly responded to the president of the Chamber on July 13, calling the reaction “most disappointing and a potential...

Democratic Sen. John Kerry (Mass.) will introduce bipartisan legislation later this week to create a federal infrastructure bank to fund major projects around the nation, an aide told The Hill. Kerry has at least one Republican senator backing the initiative — the American Infrastructure Financing Authority — that will initially cost about $10 billion and provide loans and loan guarantees for large, much-needed infrastructure projects.

In a nod to tea party power, Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos reversed course on a majority of state senators and his own voting record Friday by saying he supports Gov. Rick Scott's decision to refuse $2.4 billion in federal high-speed rail money. "Florida is leading by example in keeping its fiscal house in order. We must demand the same from Washington," Haridopolos, who voted for high-speed rail in December 2009, said in a letter. [snip] Haridopolos' new stance was widely interpreted in the state Capitol as an election-season play for votes in his bid for U.S. Senate — a...

As Barack Obama was exiting the House Chamber at the conclusion of last night’s State of the Union address, a very interesting exchange was captured on camera between the President and Republican John Mica (FL-7), Chairman of the Transportation Committee. Mica can be seen in the middle of a group of Democrat lawmakers clamoring for Obama’s autograph, standing next to Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA20), a huge high speed rail supporter who’s lobbying hard for the project in California. As Obama approaches Mica, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to Obama’s immediate right and Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) directly behind him,...

According to the Orlando Sentinel, on July 8, Rep. Mica said, “There’s no way in hell I would support banning earmarks … That’s our job, getting elected and making decisions. Yes, there are bad earmarks, like there are bad members of Congress. And what you do is get rid of them.”

The Republican lawmaker in line to head the House Transportation Committee says he wants to re-examine $10 billion in federal grants for high-speed train service, one of President Barack Obama's signature programs. Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., the committee's ranking GOP member, told The Associated Press in an interview on Wednesday that he believes high-speed trains are a good idea, but he doesn't agree with the projects selected by the Transportation Department for funding. Two weeks ago, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced a second round of high-speed rail grants. California was awarded an additional $902 million; Florida $800 million. Several GOP...

Mica Strikes Again You Airlines Better Buy US-Made, By Golly Speaking of security, there was an interesting news story involving the very congressman whose committee is responsible for oversight of the TSA. Apparently, he believes that there are other areas that need to be made safe from foreign invaders. In this case, it's our airliner manufacturing industry. Which, by they way, now consists mostly of Boeing, Boeing, and, of course, Boeing. John Mica (R-FL) is one of those politicians who has a gift for substituting bluster, blather, and great one-liners for hard results. Mica is like a '57 Chevy with...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. US senator John Mica, known in India for his bill restricting the use of L1 visas, wants the US government to fund training of US citizens from the money collected from H1-B visas holders. According to sources, Mr Mica is looking for funds to create a government programme  to help workers who have lost their jobs. He has moved a bill, called the Job Assistance and Creation Act. The bill directs the secretary of labour to make grants to regional consortia, which meet the specified criteria. This will improve the job...

NEW ILA HEAD NAMED NRA Executive Vice-President Wayne LaPierre named Chris Cox as the new Executive Director of the NRA`s Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA). The appointment was announced this past Monday in Reno, Nev., at the meeting of the NRA`s Board of Directors, and took effect immediately. Cox replaces James Jay Baker, who tendered his resignation at the Board Meeting. Mr. LaPierre stated, "Jim will be changing his relationship with the NRA and returning to private practice. I will miss Jim`s leadership, tough legislative skills, and, most of all, the partnership we have enjoyed for these many years working...