Tag Archives: legislation

Congressman Massie’s 500-Yard Run That is Driving Congress Crazy

For those that are not aware, Congress passes a lot of bills! In the 112th Congress, there were 561 bills that passed in one year. If we do some basic math, Congress is in session for 132 days and in that time they pass 561 bills, meaning they are passing roughly 4 bills a day. An example of one of these bills is the 600-page Highway Flood Student Loan bill that was given to the Senate the day of the vote. On top of that the bill had 23 additional amendments.

Congressman Massie explained that voice votes are frequently used to pass motions, amendments, and resolutions. There are several problems with taking voice votes on important issues. First, the voice vote does not hold politicians accountable for their votes. Many of our congressmen that we send to Washington are voting against what they ran on, but we do not have a record of all of these votes. The second problem with this method of voting is that it is solely at the discretion of the House Chair. Under normal circumstances, this would be Speaker of the House John Boehner. He is the only one that is allowed to interpret the vote.

The House is supposed to have something called a “quorum” to have a vote. A quorum is defined by at least 218 congressmen. The way that Boehner decides if there is a quorum is by squinting his eyes and declaring he thinks he sees 218 people. Congressman Massie said sometimes there will only be ten congressmen present.

FK – When are we gonna go up there? That’s what it’s gonna take, and nothing less.

Take Back Kentucky Capitol Tour & Training

In the past TBK has offered a Capitol Tour and Training, since it has been a few years since we did this we though we would offer it again. Basically what this is for is to help those that are new or may not feel comfortable going to the Capitol on their own yet a way to do it with others and get familiar with the place and process so in hopes that we can have more citizen activists involved in the legislative process. There will be seasoned legislative grassroots activists there to help guide you as well as people who are at the Capitol everyday to help explain the process.  The agenda is set to start early so please plan accordingly, this is the best way we could make the schedule work, besides, if you are going to go to the Capitol on a normal day to get anything done you probably need to get there early anyway. Please respond ASAP to us either through our email at takebackkentucky@gmail.com or contact us through our website if you would like to attend.  Below are the details of the event.

  • Thursday Feb 5th 8:00 Capitol Annex Room # 113
    • Robert Jenkins from the LRC to explain what the LRC does and the process of the bill.
    • Bro. Lee Watts to explain his ministry to the legislature.
    • Sen. John Schickel from Boone County to explain the legislator perspective.
  • 9:30  Capitol Tour – Meet at the Rotunda entrance (you can get there through the annex tunnel)
  • 10:30 – 2:00 Committees and Meetings – Use this time to attend Committees or if you want to meet with your legislator be sure to set up a time during this period. You may also get lunch at some point during this time, there is a cafeteria in the basement. Call 1-800-372-7181 and ask to be directed to your legislator to set up a meeting.
  • 2:00 Session Starts – We will get tickets for the House and Senate Chambers for you to observe the legislative process. This usually starts at 2PM everyday but it could be sooner or later.
  • Committees meetings available for us to observe:
    • Senate Judiciary @ 10AM Annex Rm 154
    • Senate Education @ 11:30 AM Annex Rm 171 – This is a good time to try and hit legislators up before or after about Common Core.
    • House Labor and Industry @10AM Annex Rm 149
    • House Tourism @ 10AM Annex Rm 131
    • House Health and Welfare @ Noon Annex Rm 169
    • House State Government @ Noon Annex Rm 154
    • Full Committee Meeting Weekly Schedule

FK – TBK has been around for years. Those with the patience and gumption should go help our elected public SERVANTS run the state. The “Liberal”(commie) trash and corporate lobbyists have been doing so for decades. It’s way past our turn.

TBK also meets today.