"In the Senate, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is leading the fight for a better budget reconciliation bill. He joins us today to lay out his vision and strategy for re-focusing budget reconciliation to actually cut spending. He lays out the problem and the solution in great detail and calls on Trump to lead. The current one-bill strategy was a mistake on multiple fronts, and the senator is promising that no amount of pressure will get him to relent."
[The following are the bad votes which are what really matter]
Voted NO on S.J.Res. 51 U.S. Military in Syria
Under the U.S. Constitution, the power to declare war belongs to Congress, and the United States should follow a policy of noninterventionism, minding its own business in foreign affairs.
Voted NO on S. J. Res. 44 U.S. Military in Niger
The deployment of U.S. forces to Niger was not specifically authorized by Congress, and under the Constitution only Congress has the power to declare war.
Voted YES on H.R. 5860 Continuing Resolution
Congress needs to cut spending to avoid fiscal disaster. Additionally, Congress’ inability to promptly pass a 2024 budget, instead using a continuing appropriations bill that funds the federal government at bloated fiscal 2023 levels, illustrates the breakdown of the federal budgeting process.
Voted YES on S. 870 Federal Firefighter Grants
Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution does not authorize any federal spending for firefighting. Furthermore, the strings that come attached to grants for local fire departments move the United States closer to federalizing firefighting.
Voted NO on S. 316 2001 AUMF Repeal
The Constitution does not give the president a blank check to go to war without congressional approval.
Voted YES on Treaty Doc. 117-3 Expanding NATO
NATO is based on the principle of collective security, as opposed to each country acting in its own best interests. Under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, “The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them … shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them … will assist the Party or Parties so attacked.” The expansion of this entangling military alliance, which was comprised of just 12 members at the time of its founding, increases the likelihood of the United States being drawn into a military conflict.
Voted YES on H.R. 7691 Ukraine Aid
Foreign aid (military or otherwise) is unconstitutional. The aid would further interject the United States in the Russia-Ukraine war, and would increase the likelihood of the war broadening to fully include as combatants the United States as well as the rest of NATO. Instead of acting as a global cop, America would be best served by returning to our traditional and constitutionally sound foreign policy of staying clear of foreign quarrels.
Voted YES on S.Con.Res.14 Police
The Constitution does not grant to Congress the power to hire and/or control local police officers.
Voted YES on H.R. 1799 Paycheck Protection Program Extension
The Constitution does not authorize the federal government to bail out or lend funds to business.
Voted YES on H.R. 6395 NDAA (Veto Override)
We oppose. The act includes spending not only for legitimate national defense, but also for military interventionism in foreign lands that does not make America safer. Also, the legislation undercuts the president’s legitimate authority as commander-in-chief by restricting his ability to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, Germany, and South Korea.
Voted NO on S. 178 Pre-existing Conditions
We support killing the amendment. The U.S. government should not be attempting to regulate healthcare or health insurance in any way, shape, or form. The Constitution clearly does not allow the federal government to involve itself in healthcare. Decisions about health insurance coverage should be left up to insurance companies. Federal regulations and/or subsidies in the healthcare sector tend to distort the market and have in large part caused the current out-of-control insurance prices we see today.
Voted YES on S. 4049 Semiconductor Manufacturing Subsidies
We oppose. Nowhere in the Constitution is the federal government authorized to subsidize private businesses. If such subsidies are allowed, then any business could potentially be subsidized at the expense of any other, with the government essentially picking winners and losers in the marketplace, causing great economic distortion.
Voted YES on S. 4049 Withdrawal From Afghanistan
We oppose the Senate's decision to table Senator Paul's amendment. It is long past time to bring the troops home. The AUMF that the amendment would repeal has been used broadly by presidents to send troops into foreign conflicts, despite the fact that under the Constitution only Congress may declare war.
Voted YES on H.R. 6172 FISA
We oppose. While many of the proposed FISA modifications positive from a freedom and privacy standpoint, Congress should have instead voted to not reauthorize the FISA and let it expire. Despite the program’s title, the act permits surveillance of Americans who are not charged with any crime.
Voted NO on S.Amdt. 1586 to H.R. 6172 Surveilling Americans
We support Senator Rand Paul’s amendment to the bill. The amendment would limit FISA authorities and place specific surveillance powers in the hands of non-FISA courts.
Voted YES on H.R. 748 Coronavirus
We oppose. Nowhere in the Constitution is Congress authorized to bail out businesses, industries, and people.
Voted NO on S.J.R. 68 War Powers
We support. According to the U.S. Constitution, only Congress may declare war. It is unfortunate that Congress has to pass a resolution enforcing this, but doing so puts a check on the war powers assumed by recent presidents.
Voted YES on H.R. 5430 USMCA
We oppose. Congress is not authorized by the Constitution to surrender our national sovereignty to any transnational regional government, including the nascent North American Union.
Voted YES on H.R. 1158 Appropriations
We oppose. Many programs within this defense-related minibus are unconstitutional. This bill also is fiscally irresponsible, considering the $26 trillion national debt and projected $3.8 trillion budget deficit.
Voted YES on Treaty Document 116-1 North Macedonia NATO Membership
We oppose. The United States should stay out of entangling alliances like NATO. Also, the NATO provision that obligates the United States to go to war if any NATO member is attacked undermines the U.S. Constitution’s assignment to Congress the power to declare war.
Voted YES On Passage of the Bill H.R. 4378 Short-term Appropriations
We oppose. Congress is failing to address its fiscally- and constitutionally-irresponsible budgeting and appropriating process that is yielding annual federal deficits of about $1 trillion. This directly contributes to the national debt’s growth.
Voted NO On the Amendment S.Amdt. 883 to S. 1790 (National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020) To prohibit unauthorized military operations in or against Iran.
We support Senator Udall's amendment. Hostilities conducted against a sovereign nation – in this case Iran – constitute an act of war and, thus, constitutionally requires a declaration of war by Congress.
Voted YES On the Motion to Table S.Amdt. 902 to S.Amdt. 901 to H.R. 3401 (Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Humanitarian Assistance and Security at the Southern Border Act, 2019) Supplemental Border Appropriations
We support Senator Rand Paul’s amendment and oppose the Senate’s vote to kill it. Nowhere in the Constitution is Congress authorized to fund the foreign aid funding that Paul sought to eliminate, and which had nothing to do with border appropriations. These types of programs should be handled privately, not with U.S. taxpayers’ money.
Voted YES On Passage of the Bill H.R. 2157 Disaster Supplemental Appropriations
We oppose. The federal government has no constitutional authority to rebuild areas stricken by natural disasters. Such activity should be undertaken by private companies and charities first, and, as a last resort, handled by local or state governments. Disasters would arguably be handled more effectively this way compared to the feds.
Voted NO On the Joint Resolution S.J.Res. 7 Yemen
We support. Congress has the power to declare war, and it has not authorized any intervention or war in Yemen. Nor should Congress do so since the civil war in Yemen does not threaten the U.S.
Voted YES On the Conference Report H.J.Res. 31 Consolidated Appropriations
We oppose. Most of the bill’s spending programs are unconstitutional and unacceptably expand our debt and deficit.
lol coming from the one who 'personal attacks' me. I recall doing another On the Record, you didn't like it, it got deleted, and I got banned for a while. What a way to hold them accountable [not] and silence speech.
Politicians aren't going to save anybody. Raising awareness, and if people see what their reps actually do, maybe then can they either replace the politician, or at least put pressure on them to do the right things. I shouldn't have to explain something so basic.
Anyway, I didn't vote that way, he did, so don't shoot me. We need more Massie's, not more Johnsons sticking out of the front of ones head.
No, I'm not going to address the content of the video. I watched part of it then shut it off. He's another politician who wants a "vote". He should have thought about all of his votes before complaining about the state that we are in. He's, how shall I say [not to take way from your favorite host], "Part of the Problem".
