Pete Sessions votes "no" to American-made goods!

This is pretty astounding--yesterday, the House passed one of those "Sense of the House" resolutions saying "...that rebate checks would better stimulate the economy if spent on American-made products and services from American-owned companies." Every now and then, Congress passes one of these "no-brainer" non-binding resolutions, so everybody can come together and feel good about passing something that everybody likes--in this case, American-made goods and services.

Who would vote against American-made goods and services?

Pete Sessions, of course, who was one of only six--count 'em, six--to vote no! Others who didn't want to take part voted "present" or just didn't vote at all, but Pete Sessions came out and cast his vote against made-in-America products. Good grief--even Joe "Smokey Joe" Barton voted "yes."

The resolution passed 404 - 6, with 6 voting "present" and 17 not voting. Roll Call information is available at this link: Roll No. 404

Pete Sessions says "no" to Green Schools

Today, the House passed the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act, which provides "outreach and technical assistance to States and school districts concerning the best practices in school modernization, renovation, repair, and construction, including those related to student academic achievement and student and staff health, energy efficiency, and environmental protection." The bill passed 250 yeas to 164 nays, with 27 Republicans voting with the majority, and the rest--including Pete Sessions--voting no. Roll Call information at this link: Roll Call 379

Pete Sessions: "Everybody Hates George Bush."

Somebody accused me once of "hating" George W. Bush. I corrected the person, explaining that I don't "hate" anybody. Sure, I believe Bush to be the worst president we've ever had, but that statement is based on facts, not emotion. I'm perfectly capable of pointing out the President's flaws, substantiated by things like The Downing Street Memo, his abuse of signing statements, and I sure do agree with Bruce Fein that Bush should be impeached.

But "hate?" Hmmmm...I'm trying to think of something or someone I hate. I'll have to get back to you on that one.

Yet there's our Congressman, explaining to a group of students that his political party is in trouble, in part, because "everybody hates George Bush."

Republicans like Pete Sessions who "hate" George Bush must be the opposite from me--although they're blinded by "intense hostility and aversion usually deriving from fear, anger, or sense of injury," they just can't bring themselves to vote against his wishes or use their constitutional authority to kick him out of office. Interesting.

Okay, let's see...things I hate. I've got one! Fire ants. Hate 'em.

Pete Sessions voted against Farm Bill

The House voted to override Bush's veto of the farm bill, by a 2/3 majority of 306-110. From Congress.Org:

H.R. 6124, to provide for the continuation of agricultural and other programs of the Department of Agriculture through fiscal year 2012, by a 2/3 yea-and-nay vote of 306 yeas to 110 nays, Roll No. 353.

Pete Sessions says no to renewable energy, farm, nutrition & bioenergy

From Congress.Org:

The House passed H.R. 6049, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide incentives for energy production and conservation, to extend certain expiring provisions, and to provide individual income tax relief, by a recorded vote of 263 ayes to 160 noes, Roll No. 344.

Pete Sessions voted no.

The House also voted to override Bush's veto of the Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act, with a 2/3 vote of 316-108, and Pete Sessions, once again, voting no. From Congress.org:

Subsequently, the House voted to override the President's veto of H.R. 2419, to provide for the continuation of agricultural programs through fiscal year 2012, by a yea-and-nay vote of 316 yeas to 108 nays, Roll No. 346 (two-thirds of those present voting to override).

House votes to allow suit against OPEC

The House today passed an overwhelmingly bipartisan bill creating a Justice Department task force to investigate oil prices, and to subject OPEC oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela, to the same antitrust laws that U.S. companies must follow.

The bill passed 324-84, with 26--including Pete Sessions--not voting. The text of the bill is available at The Library of Congress, with roll call information at this link: Roll Call 332.

Pete Sessions benefits from Exxon record profits

In February, Exxon posted record profits, which is good news to Pete Sessions and family, who own quite a bit of stock in the company:

In the House, Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Dallas, owns Exxon stock but is less of a player on energy issues than Ms. Hutchison. Mr. Sessions owns between $15,001 and $50,000 of Exxon stock; his two dependents own shares worth between $100,001 and $250,000, said Emily Davis, Mr. Sessions' spokesman.

"He's strongly advocated for domestic production, regardless of the company," Ms. Davis said.

"Hey, wait a minute," says SessionsWatch, "Hasn't Pete Sessions cast votes against renewable energy, and isn't it a conflict of interest for him to be raking in big bucks from big oil, while voting against renewable energy?"

Apparently not. According to rules of the House and Senate, it's only "conflict of interest" if they vote to give a contract to a specific oil company, and it's not a conflict if they always vote "pro-oil" over other sources of energy.

And, according to the article, there's no law about conflict of interest at all, when it concerns House or Senate votes.

While Congress prescribed a strict conflict-of-interest law for the judiciary, which prompted Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to remove himself from a punitive-damages case involving Exxon Mobil, it didn't apply the same test to lawmakers...

...Ms. Hutchison, R-Texas, also owns between $50,000 and $100,000 of stock in Chevron, which, like Exxon, opposes proposed legislation to impose a "windfall profits" tax on oil companies.

In December, Ms. Hutchison put a "hold" on a bill – a tactic that allows one senator to stop legislation – that would have repealed tax breaks for Exxon, Chevron and three other major oil companies. The measure would have raised $9.4 billion for the U.S. Treasury over 10 years...

Worthwhile read. Kudos to Dave Michaels for bringing this to our attention.