Congressman Tom McClintock's Speech On the House Floor About the Fiscal Cliff (Video)

Last Updated on Thursday, 20 December 2012 19:09

Saving Who We Can
House Chamber, Washington D.C.
December 20, 2012

The debate over the fiscal cliff has become so hyperbolic that we’re losing touch with common sense.

Contrary to many accounts, there is no bill before the Congress that proposes raising taxes on millionaires, or anybody else. There is a LAW that takes effect on January 1st that will raise taxes on millionaires -- and small businesses filing as millionaires – and everybody else. And there is a bill that would spare everybody else from those tax increases that is before us today.

The President says he wants to protect everybody except those greedy millionaires and billionaires. That’s precisely what this bill does, but he vows to veto it.

The truth is, he wants to sock everybody making over $200,000. That includes 1.3 million struggling small businesses filing under subchapter S, earning 84 percent of net small business income. That’s precisely the income they use to produce 2/3 of the jobs in our economy.

The Congressional Budget Office warns that Mr. Obama’s “eat the rich” crusade will actually result in throwing 200,000 middle class families out of work.   Ernst and Young estimates 700,000 lost jobs.

But House Republicans now have a choice: we can try to save as many Americans from these ruinous tax increases as the President will permit; or we can end up at an impasse that assures taxes go up on everyone.

Let us pass this bill. If that doesn’t work, then let’s pass whatever level the President will agree to. It’s not as if we haven’t warned him.

Some of my fellow conservatives say that sparing most people from these tax increases is tantamount to raising them on others.

But if a lifeguard sees ten swimmers drowning off his beach and he can only save nine of them, it doesn’t mean that he’s drowned the tenth.

And no lifeguard would be worth a damn if he said: “My principle is that nobody should drown off my beach, and if I can’t save all then I won’t save any.”

As Americans watch as hundreds of thousands of middle class jobs are sacrificed on the ideological altar of Obamanomics next year -- I think the country will be a lot sadder and a lot wiser.

But until then, let’s save who we can.

California Department of Fish and Game Completes 2012 Fish Tagging Program

Last Updated on Thursday, 20 December 2012 18:55

Return Tags for Recognition and Possible Monetary Reward

December 20, 2012 - The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) has completed its annual sturgeon tagging program in Bay Area waters. The tagging operation is used to help manage California’s green and white sturgeon populations.

The tags are white plastic disks that are smaller than a dime. Anyone who catches a DFG tagged fish is encouraged to return the tag. DFG pays a reward for the return of certain tags, and those tags are clearly labeled. Additional details about the tagging program can be found here: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=34559

Information received from anglers about tagged sturgeon complements the details submitted on sturgeon fishing report cards as well as data from party boats, creel surveys, surveys for juvenile sturgeon and various special studies.

“Protecting the white sturgeon fishery and the sturgeon populations requires research, management and enforcement,” said DFG Program Manager Marty Gingras.

This year’s sturgeon tagging efforts were led by DFG Environmental Scientist Mike Harris and the crew of the research vessels Striper II and New Alosa. The Striper II was constructed in 1966 and has been used several decades for this purpose.

Working in Suisun and San Pablo bays from Aug. 1 to Oct. 30, the crews tagged 170 white sturgeon and 13 green sturgeon, and collected information on nearly as many sturgeon that were either too small or too large to tag.

Sturgeon can live more than 100 years and weigh over 500 pounds, but anglers most-often catch sturgeon 3-4 feet in length. The Sacramento-San Joaquin river system is the southern-most spawning grounds for both white sturgeon and green sturgeon. The sturgeon fishery in California was once closed for decades due to overfishing.

Commercial harvest of white sturgeon is not now allowed. Recreational harvest of white sturgeon is now regulated by size limit, a daily bag limit and an annual bag limit. Green sturgeon is a threatened species and neither commercial or recreational harvest of those fish is now allowed.

Serialized tags are provided with each sturgeon fishing report card to help enforce the annual bag limit. To enable law enforcement to cross-reference the tag with a particular card, anglers must permanently fix a tag to each kept white sturgeon until the fish is processed for consumption.

California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Announces the California Homeowner Bill of Rights to Take Effect on January 1, 2013

Last Updated on Thursday, 20 December 2012 18:47

December 20, 2012 - SACRAMENTO -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that the California Homeowner Bill of Rights, a landmark package of legislation that extends key mortgage and foreclosure protections to California homeowners and borrowers, will take effect on January 1, 2013.

The new laws restrict dual-track foreclosures, guarantee struggling homeowners a reliable point of contact at their lender and impose civil penalties on fraudulently signed mortgage documents. In addition, homeowners may require loan servicers to document their right to foreclose.

“For too long, struggling homeowners in California have been denied fairness and transparency when dealing with their lending institutions,” said Attorney General Harris. “These laws give homeowners new rights as they work through the foreclosure process and will give Californians a fair opportunity to stay in their homes.”

Governor Jerry Brown signed the California Homeowner Bill of Rights into law to bring fairness, accountability and transparency to the state’s foreclosure process. As a result:

There is a restriction on dual-track foreclosures, where a lender forecloses on a borrower despite being in discussions over a loan modification to save the home.
Struggling homeowners are guaranteed lenders will provide them a single point of contact with knowledge of their loan and direct access to the banks’ decision makers.
The statute of limitations to prosecute mortgage-related crimes is extended from one to three years, allowing the Attorney General’s office to investigate and prosecute complex mortgage fraud crimes.
The Attorney General’s office can use statewide grand juries to investigate and indict the perpetrators of financial crimes involving victims in multiple counties.
Purchasers of foreclosed homes are required to give tenants at least 90 days before starting eviction proceedings. If the tenant has a fixed-term lease of one year or less, the new owner must honor the lease unless the owner can prove that exceptions intended to prevent fraudulent leases apply.
Local governments have additional tools to fight blight caused by multiple vacant homes in their neighborhoods.

The California Homeowner Bill of Rights marks a significant step in Attorney General Harris’ response to the state’s foreclosure and mortgage crisis. The Mortgage Fraud Strike Force was created in May 2011 to investigate and prosecute misconduct at all stages of the mortgage process. In February 2012, Attorney General Harris secured a commitment from the nation’s five largest banks of up to $18 billion for California borrowers.

For more information, see http://oag.ca.gov/hbor.

Single Engine Plane Missing In Yosemite National Park Vicinity

Last Updated on Thursday, 20 December 2012 18:33

Plane Last Accounted For Flying Near North Dome in Park on Monday, December 17, 2012

Yosemite National Park continues the search for a single engine plane that may have gone missing over the park on Monday, December 17, 2012. The plane was last detected via radar in the afternoon on December 17, near the North Dome area in the park.

The plane, flown by pilot Nicol Wilson from the Santa Barbara area, was flying from Santa Barbara to the Mammoth Lakes Airport on the east side of the Sierra Nevada, when it disappeared. There were no passengers onboard. He was reported missing by his family on the evening of December 17, after failing to arrive in Mammoth as planned.

Search efforts for the missing plane were initiated Tuesday morning, December 18, 2012. Poor weather and lack of visibility hindered the air search efforts. Additional efforts to locate the plane via beacon receivers were unsuccessful. Multiple aircraft were able to search during daylight hours yesterday, Wednesday, December 19. Searching remains difficult due to over one foot of fresh snow at the higher elevations in the park. No clues or signs of the aircraft have been discovered.

Air search efforts will continue throughout the day today, Thursday, December 20. Weather is expected to be mostly sunny with nighttime lows around 20 degrees. Visibility is anticipated to be good throughout the day. The park is expecting a winter storm to impact the park on Friday afternoon. The storm will bring heavy snow and strong winds and will likely significantly hinder search efforts.

The search area, roughly 600 square miles, is located in a rugged section of the park that inaccessible by vehicle this time of the year. So far, a California Highway Patrol (CHP) helicopter has flown 825 miles over the search area. Additionally, Civil Air Patrol (CAP) aircraft has flown 2,214 miles over the search area.

Approximately 60 personnel are assisting in the air search, including Search and Rescue teams from Yosemite National Park, CHP, and CAP.