Sorry to have missed posting on Tuesday. I’m balancing a number of after-hours involvements and sometimes I’ve had to deprioritize my blog — something I’m loathe to do, but when you’ve got competing priorities, sometimes you don’t have a choice.
Back to the rat’s nest that is our ruling class in Washington, D.C. The kerfluffle over Kevin McCarthy’s bid to become House speaker ended in him getting the gavel and seems to be paying dividends that most conservatives should welcome as signs of life.
The first order of business was revoking the $72 billion in funding for 87,000 new IRS agents.
House Republicans fulfilled a key campaign promise on Monday, passing legislation to rescind the bulk of an IRS funding boost signed into law last year, marking the first bill passed by the GOP-controlled House this Congress.
The bill, which is unlikely to see action in the Democratic-controlled Senate, passed in a party-line 221-210 vote on Monday evening.
[…]
The Republican bill, formally titled the “Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act,” is barely longer than one page. It directs any “unobligated balances of amounts appropriated or otherwise made available” to the IRS from the Inflation Reduction Act to be rescinded.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated Monday that the legislation would eliminate about $71 billion of the total $80 billion that was allocated for the IRS but would reduce tax revenue by about $186 billion, translating to a $114 billion increase in deficits over the next decade.
It rescinds the funding for the IRS in the Inflation Reduction Act passed last year but it won’t pass the Senate, and Brandon wouldn’t sign it if it did.
So is this just virtue-signaling message votes meant to impress voters? “Hey, we tried …” That’s what we got when we handed the presidency, the House and the Senate to Republicans during Trump’s first term and they promised to repeal Obamacare.
On the other hand, they at least exercised their majority and passed the bill along party lines, so at least they know that it’s a priority for the average American. Maybe they should introduce legislation that would dissolve the IRS altogether. That would be super impressive.
Meanwhile, the Illinois House passed one of the most restrictive laws regarding so-called “assault weapons.”
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he will sign into law Tuesday evening a comprehensive measure that would immediately ban the sale of military-style firearms, despite warnings from gun rights advocates who contend it is unconstitutional and vow a legal challenge.
“For a long time now, I and many other leaders in the Illinois General Assembly have prioritized getting the most dangerous weapons off our state’s streets. Today, honoring the commitment we made, we passed one of the strongest assault weapons bans in the nation, one I will be proud to sign,” the governor said after Democrats in the Illinois House led its final approval earlier Tuesday.
The 68-41 House vote came on the final scheduled day of action for the lame-duck 102nd General Assembly, a day after Senate Democrats passed the measure 34-20 with no Republican support.
Passing this bill became a priority after a shooting in Highland Park last July fourth that killed seven people and wounded about 30 others. It was sponsored by Rep. Bob Morgan, who was at the fourth of July parade.
The shooting was of course tragic, but this bill, besides being unconstitutional, will do exactly nothing to stop mass shootings. Instead, it will be used to document who has the so-called “military-style” guns so that they can easily confiscate them in their next round of Second Amendment abuses.
Upon becoming law, the measure would immediately ban the delivery, sale, import and purchase of so-called assault weapons. Current owners of such firearms would have until Jan. 1 to register gun serial numbers with the Illinois State Police. After that date, people who possess an unregistered firearm covered by the ban face a misdemeanor for a first offense and a felony for subsequent offenses.
Does anyone really believe that creating a registry of guns and who owns them is totally okay because the big, friendly government never abuses their power? And I can’t wait to see how many criminals declare their “assault weapons.”
Besides being unconstitutional, this law will be immediately challenged in court. That’s what the Democrats do—pass a clearly unconstitutional law, collect the information and any fines imposed under the law, and make the people sue for their rights.
It’s called lawfare.