Issue: H.AMDT 1351 to H.R. 5972 An amendment to the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2013. (Sponsor Paul Broun of Georgia.)
Result: Failed in House, 172 to 250, 10 not voting. Democrats scored.
Bill Summary: This amendment to a House appropriations bill sought to reduce funds for the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation by $12.3 million and to apply the savings to the spending reduction account.
Analysis: One of the few amendment roll calls highlighted in our scorecard on the 112th Congress, this amendment was a clear opportunity to vote for phasing out an unconstitutional overreach of the Federal Government.
In 1978, during the Jimmy Carter administration, Congress chartered the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation as a nonprofit organization to support community development throughout the United States. Currently doing business as NeighborWorks America, the reinvestment corporation provides grants and technical assistance to more than 240 community development organizations.
An immense organization with numerous programs, NeighorWorks America has a national headquarters and seven regional offices. NeighborWorks America illustrates how the federal government uses taxpayer money to build the federal monster, while implementing the socialist agenda of the Establishment and revolutionary Left.
It supports and trains representatives of many other nonprofits to carry out a variety of programs. And as its website proclaims: “Organizations must also lobby for the necessary resources to carry out these programs.” So in a vicious cycle, federally appropriated dollars are used to build a lobbying network for more federally appropriated dollars.
NeighborWorks America also helps implement the revolutionary left’s agenda in community development, low-income housing, and environmentalist orthodoxy. Its “Green Program” proclaims that “sustainability goes far beyond green construction.”
The NeighborWorks America website also lobbies the public with the green agenda. A list of “Energy-Saving Tips for Your Home and Family” includes this advice: “Let Mother Nature light your home. Sunlight is often brighter than bulbs, and it’s free.”
170 House GOP representatives found it easy to support this rollback of an obviously unconstitutional function of the federal government. Shame on the 65 GOP representatives who voted no and caused the amendment to fail.
However, we do not score the GOP on this roll call, only the Democrats. And only 2 Democrats, John Barrow (GA-12) and Jim Matheson (UT-2), stood against their big-government supporting party leaders and voted Aye.
We have assigned (good vote) to the Ayes and (bad vote) to the Noes. (P = voted present; ? = not voting; blank = not listed on roll call.)