Washington Free Beacon » vote

544-0

Andrew Stiles — Wed, 16 May 2012 21:17:44 +0000

House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan’s (R., Wis.) proposals to solve the country’s debt and deficit crisis continue to be far more popular with elected officials than those put forward by President Obama.

The Democratic-led Senate on Wednesday unanimously rejected the president’s fiscal year 2013 budget by final vote of 99-0. Sen. Mark Kirk (R., Ill.), who has been recovering from a stroke, did not vote; it is presumed he would have voted no.

The Senate last year voted down the president’s budget 97-0.

Not a single federal lawmaker has voted in favor of Obama’s budget proposals over the past two years. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office recently concluded that the president’s budget, if enacted, would have a negative impact on long-term economic growth.

Ryan’s proposals, which have twice passed the U.S. House of Representatives, have received a total of 544 affirmative votes, with 41 Senators voting ‘yes’ on Wednesday. Last year, 40 Senators supported Ryan’s plan.

Ryan’s budget passed the House with 235 ‘yes’ votes in 2011. In March, 228 lawmakers voted for his updated proposal. The House also considered Obama’s most recent budget, rejecting it 414-0.

Senate Democrats, meanwhile, have not proposed a budget in more than three years.

Prior to the vote on Wednesday, White House press secretary Jay Carney described it as “yet another gimmick.”

Jewish Voters Leaving Obama

Washington Free Beacon Staff — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:26:14 +0000

Obama is far behind his 2008 pace with Jewish voters, new polling shows. According to Michael Barone at the Washington Examiner:

The latest survey of Jewish Americans, conducted March 14-27 by a firm called Knowledge Networks for the American Jewish Committee, shows Barack Obama leading Mitt Romney by a 61%-28% margin. That’s significantly behind Obama’s 78%-21% margin over John McCain among Jewish voters in the 2008 exit poll. …

Obama gets 72% of the votes of those most concerned with the health care issue, according to the current AJC survey, and 62% among those most concerned about the economy. But Romney leads Obama among those Jews whose major concern was national security issues (44%-42%) and U.S.-Israel relations (44%-42%). Clearly Obama is losing some Jewish voters on foreign policy issues.

Good Guys to Triumph Over NLRB Election Rule

Washington Free Beacon Staff — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:46:36 +0000

Union and business groups are ramping up lobbying efforts in advance of key congressional votes on the National Labor Relation Board’s controversial union election rule. A vote is expected in the Senate as early as next week on a joint resolution for congressional disapproval, which would block the regulation.

The Hill reports

A Senate Republican leadership aide told The Hill that a vote on the measure was expected sometime over the next two weeks. That will likely step up lobbying on the proposal. On Thursday, the AFL-CIO sent a letter to senators urging them to vote against the joint resolution. …

Business groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce oppose the rule, which would speed up union elections. Glenn Spencer, vice president of the Chamber’s Workforce Freedom Initiative, has said in the past that a vote on the joint resolution is likely the most significant labor vote this congressional session. …

Business groups have said the rule would limit employers’ free speech rights when it comes to union elections. They have argued that could end up hurting job growth.