{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "is_view": false, "human_description_en": "where party = \"Republican\", state = \"CA\" and year = 2011 sorted by date descending", "rows": [["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/vote-note-hr-2055-consolidated-appropriations-act-of-2012-no", "Vote Note HR 2055 - Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2012: NO", "2011-12-16", "2011", "2011-12", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Viewed in isolation, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2012 reduces total discretionary spending authority (those expenditures that don\u2019t require statutory changes, including war and emergency spending) from $1.209 trillion in FY 2011 to $1.181 trillion in FY 2012), or $28 billion (2.3 percent). Viewed over the past five years, however, this still constitutes an increase of $144 billion, in discretionary spending (13.5 percent).\n\nThis may constitute an improvement over the past year, but begs the question, \u201cDoes it put the nation back on the path to fiscal solvency?\u201d\n\nThe overarching issue is what impact does this bill have in conjunction with total spending levels. Are we reducing spending enough to avert the fiscal collapse of the United States Government? The Ryan budget was only supportable because it included significant reform of mandatory spending that, together with a discretionary spending cap of $1.019 trillion, put us on a trajectory that balanced the federal budget by the mid-2030\u2019s and paid off the national debt by the mid-2050\u2019s. H.R. 3671 would take our annual discretionary spending (in conjunction with all other bills) to $1.181 trillion without any reform of mandatory spending.\n\nAll told, this bill cements total authorized federal spending for FY 2012 at $3.693 trillion with revenue of only $2.635 trillion, assuring another one trillion dollar-plus budget deficit. That means roughly $13,000 of additional debt on every family of four (per capita x 4), which they will be required to repay through their future taxes.\n\nLast year (FY 2011), total authorized spending amounted to $3.650 trillion meaning that total federal spending has increased by $43 billion, or about $550 per family (per capita x 4) in the past year.\n\nProportionally, this is the same as a family earning $26,350 that plans to spend $36,930 next year, putting another $10,580 on a credit card that already carries a balance of more than $150,000. Rather than cutting its overall spending, it has increased it by $43, while cutting only $28 from its \u201cdiscretionary\u201d choices.\n\nThe question on HR 2055 comes down to this: \u201cIs that family acting responsibly?\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:13:05Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/vote-note-hr-3630-payroll-tax-cut-extension", "Vote Note HR 3630 - Payroll Tax Cut Extension", "2011-12-13", "2011", "2011-12", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "HR 3630 \u2013 Payroll Tax Cut Extension: NO. Although the temporary payroll tax cut doesn\u2019t produce lasting economic growth, I support its continuation because it allows working families to keep more of their earnings at a time of declining incomes, shriveling assets and rising prices. But since the payroll tax funds Social Security, which is already in permanent deficit, these funds must be made up by other means. The healthy way to do so is HR 3551, which I cosponsored, to give every American the choice to receive the year of tax relief in exchange for delaying retirement by a month. HR 3630, however, adds $167 billion to this year\u2019s already crushing deficit, purporting to repay it over the next ten years (in part) by tacking on additional fees to mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This shifts the burden to new homebuyers, who will end up paying far more in new taxes (hidden in their mortgages) than they will get from the tax cut. The average family will save $1,000 in payroll taxes, but pay an extra $2,000 for every $100,000 of mortgage principal they incur in the next ten years.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:13:05Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/congressman-mcclintock-introduces-hr-3544", "Congressman McClintock Introduces H.R. 3544", "2011-12-01", "2011", "2011-12", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Congressman McClintock has introduced H.R. 3544. The legislation offers litigatory reforms for local communities. The Congressman discussed the legislation in a House floor speech on December 1, 2011:\n\nThe Plunder of Colfax\n\nIn the Sierra Foothills in northeastern California lies the little town of Colfax, population 1,800, with a median household income of about $35,000.\n\nOver the past several years, this little town has been utterly plundered by regulatory and litigatory excesses that have pushed the town to the edge of bankruptcy and ravaged families already struggling to make ends meet.\n\nColfax operates a small wastewater treatment plant for its residents that discharges into the Smuthers Ravine. Because it does so, it operates within the provisions of the Clean Water Act, a measure adopted in 1972 and rooted in legitimate concerns to protect our vital water resources.\n\nThe problem is that predatory environmental law firms have discovered how to take unconscionable advantage of that law to reap windfall profits at the expense of working-class families like the townspeople of Colfax.\n\nIn the case of Colfax, an environmental law firm demanded every document pertaining to the water treatment plant from the date of its inception. It then poured over those documents looking for any possible violation \u2013 including mere paperwork errors. By law, those documents include self-monitoring reports by the water agency itself, and any violation, no matter how minor, establishes a cause of action for which the law provides for no affirmative defense \u2013 even if the violation is due to factors completely outside of the local community's control, including acts of God or acts by unrelated and uncontrollable third parties.\n\nProve one such violation \u2013 and remember, the law allows for no affirmative defense \u2013 and you have just guaranteed the attorneys all of their fees, which in this case were billed at $550 per hour.\n\nAs a result of this predatory activity, the town of Colfax is facing legal fees alone that exceed the town's entire annual budget. Families that are struggling just to keep afloat are fleeced by attorneys charging $550 per hour.\n\nBut that's just part of the problem.\n\nThe law requires constant upgrading of the facilities to meet ever-changing state-of-the-art regulations that have nothing to do with health and safety and with absolutely no concern for their prohibitive costs. In fact, Colfax is now required to discharge water certifiably cleaner than the natural stream water into which it is discharged. In Colfax's case, this required a $15 million expenditure divided among 1,800 working-class residents who are now paying $2,500 per year just for their water connections.\n\nAnd once the town has met this standard, there's no guarantee that in five years it won't be told, \"Sorry, the rules have changed and you'll need to start over.\"\n\nIt is time to restore some form of rationality back to this law, and to stop the plunder of small towns like Colfax. And Colfax isn't alone \u2013 any community that operates a wastewater treatment plant is in the same jeopardy.\n\nNo one disputes that we need to maintain and enforce sensible and cost-effective protections of our precious water resources. But legitimate environmental protections must no longer be used as an excuse for regulatory extremism and litigatory plundering of our local communities.\n\nToday, I am introducing legislation to offer six reforms to protect other communities from going through the same nightmare as the people of Colfax:\n\nFirst, to limit private-party lawsuits to issues of significant non-compliance rather than harmless paperwork errors;\n\nSecond, to shield local agencies from liability for acts beyond their control;\n\nThird, to give local agencies 60 days to cure a violation before legal action can be initiated;\n\nFourth, to allow communities to amortize the cost of new facilities over a period of 15 years before new requirements can be heaped on them;\n\nFifth, to require a cost-benefit analysis before new regulations can be imposed;\n\nAnd sixth, to limit attorney fees to the prevailing fees in the community.\n\nLike many movements, the impetus for stronger environmental protection of our air and water was firmly rooted in legitimate concerns to protect these vital resources. But like many movements, as it succeeded in its legitimate ends, it also attracted a self-interested constituency that has driven far past the borders of commonsense and into the realms of political extremism and outright plunder and I am hopeful that we are now entering an era when common sense can be restored to the Clean Water Act in this session of the Congress.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:13:05Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/balanced-budget-amendment-introduced", "Balanced Budget Amendment Introduced", "2011-11-04", "2011", "2011-11", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Congressman Tom McClintock (CA-04) and 11 cosponsors today introduced House Joint Resolution 84, a balanced budget constitutional amendment. The amendment consists of 27 words and prohibits the government from increasing U.S. debt except for a specific purpose and with the approval of three-fourths of Congress.\n\nCongressman McClintock discussed the legislation in a House Floor speech. The remarks are attached below.\n\nBack to Basics with the Balanced Budget Amendment\n\nHouse Chamber, Washington, D.C.\n\nNovember 2, 2011\n\nMr. Speaker: The International Monetary Fund estimated that as of Halloween night, the debt of this nation surpassed its entire economy for the first time since World War II. We all know that if you live beyond your means today you must live below your means tomorrow. That\u2019s the tomorrow that our generation has created for the children who were dressed up as princesses and cowboys when they came calling on Monday. That is our generation\u2019s eternal shame, and something that our generation must set right.\n\nThe House is expected soon to vote on a balanced budget amendment that is critical to stop this plunder of our children. There are a number of excellent proposals out there and I would have no trouble supporting any of them.\n\nI do rise, however, to express the hope that the final product of these deliberations proves worthy of the wisdom that guided the drafting of the Constitution.\n\nThe beauty of the American Constitution is in its simplicity and its humility. The American Founders recognized Cicero\u2019s wisdom that \u201cthe best laws are the simplest ones.\u201d And they realized that they couldn\u2019t possibly foresee the circumstances and conditions that may confront future generations and therefore they resisted the temptation to micro-manage every decision that might be made centuries in the future. Instead, they set forth general principles of governance and erected a structure in which human nature itself would naturally guide future decisions to comport with those principles.\n\nIn crafting a balanced budget amendment, we need to maintain these qualities. We should not attempt to tell future generations specifically how they should manage their revenues and expenditures in times that we cannot comprehend. The experience of many states that operate under their own balanced budget amendments tells us that the more complicated and convoluted such strictures become, the more they are circumvented and manipulated.\n\nMany have quoted Jefferson\u2019s 1798 letter to John Taylor as support for a balanced budget amendment. Here\u2019s what he actually wrote:\n\n\u201cI wish it were possible to obtain a single amendment to our Constitution. I would be willing to depend on that alone for the reduction of the administration of our government to the genuine principles of its Constitution; I mean an additional article, taking from the federal government the power of borrowing.\"\n\nWhat is a balanced budget? It\u2019s simply a budget that doesn\u2019t require us to borrow. Then why not just say so, as Jefferson did?\n\nInstead of trying to define fiscal years, outlays, expenditures, revenues, emergencies, triggers, sequestrations and on and on, I hope we would consider 27 simple words:\n\n\u201cThe United States government may not increase its debt except for a specific purpose by law adopted by three-fourths of the membership of both Houses of Congress.\u201d\n\nThat\u2019s it.\n\nSuch an amendment, taking effect ten years from ratification, would give the government time to put its affairs in order and thereafter naturally require future Congresses to maintain both a balanced budget and a prudent reserve to accommodate fluctuations of revenues and routine contingencies. It trusts that three-fourths of Congress will be able to recognize a genuine emergency when it sees one and that one-fourth of Congress will be strong enough to resist borrowing for light or transient reasons. The experience of the states has warned us that a 2/3 vote is insufficient to protect against profligacy.\n\nSome advocate going much farther and establishing limitations on spending and taxation as well, but if borrowing is prohibited, there exists a natural limit to the ability and willingness of the people to tolerate taxation and therefore spending. The real danger is when run-away spending is accommodated by borrowing \u2013 a hidden future tax \u2013 and the best and most effective way to invoke that natural limit is a simple prohibition.\n\nAt the end of the week, I will introduce this 27-word amendment and ask my colleagues to consider it with the many others that are now before the Congress. As I said, I like virtually all of them \u2013 they all accomplish the purpose of restraining the reckless deficits that our generation has produced. But in drafting an amendment to guide not only this generation, but all those to follow, I would hope that we would do as the Constitutional Convention would have done if it had the benefit of Jefferson\u2019s wise counsel: set down the general principle only and allow future generations, with their own insight into their own challenges, to put it to practical effect.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:12:58Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/herlong-post-office-to-remain-open", "Herlong Post Office to Remain Open", "2011-10-25", "2011", "2011-10", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "The United States Postal Service (USPS) has confirmed to Congressman McClintock\u2019s office that the Herlong post office is no longer on the list of postal facilities slated for closure.\n\n\u201cI have vigorously opposed attempts to close rural post offices while the USPS maintains its monopoly on first-class mail delivery,\u201d remarked Congress McClintock. \u201cIf the USPS wants to close rural post offices or reduce services and leave residents with no alternatives, I believe \u2013 and will insist \u2013 that it should surrender its monopoly status so that energetic entrepreneurs can fill the breach and offer these communities more efficient and more economical service than the current bureaucratized arrangement.\u201d\n\nIn communication with the Postmaster General in support of keeping the Herlong post office open, Congressman McClintock stated that the closure of post offices in small towns not well-served by other facilities would run contrary to the mission of the USPS to provide prompt, reliable and efficient service to patrons in all areas without discriminating against rural communities. Specifically, Congress has stipulated that \u201cno small post office shall be closed solely for operating at a deficit, it being the specific intent of Congress that effective postal services be ensured to residents of both urban and rural communities.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:12:51Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/roseville-town-hall-meeting", "Roseville Town Hall Meeting", "2011-10-12", "2011", "2011-10", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Congressman McClintock will hold a town hall meeting on Thursday, October 20th at 6:00 PM in Roseville. The meeting will be held at Oakmont High School, in the auditorium. The high school is located at 1710 Cirby Way, Roseville.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:12:51Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/taxpayer-protection-legislation-to-repeal-risky-stimulus-loans-approved-by", "Taxpayer Protection Legislation to Repeal Risky Stimulus Loans Approved by House Committee", "2011-10-05", "2011", "2011-10", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "The House Natural Resources Committee today passed Congressman Tom McClintock\u2019s legislation, H.R. 2915, the American Taxpayer and Western Area Power Administration Customer Protection Act of 2011. The legislation repeals the 2009 Stimulus Act\u2019s new $3.25 billion Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) loan authority, including the taxpayer bailout provision for failed renewable energy transmission projects.\n\n\u201cRecent events make it clear that billions of dollars of taxpayer funds have been placed in jeopardy to support companies that obviously lack the merit to attract private investments,\u201d said Congressman McClintock. \u201cThese dubious interests rely instead on political connections with government officials to access taxpayer funds. As they collapse, the taxpayers end up holding the bag. It is time to require every sector of the energy industry to raise its own capital through its own merit rather than to perpetuate the crony capitalism that is now running rampant through this government.\u201d\n\nThe legislation would specifically repeal Section 301 of the Hoover Power Plant Act of 1984, which was amended by the Stimulus Act to suddenly create the new borrowing authority. It would not apply to any projects already approved before September 15, 2011.\n\nThe legislation next will be voted on by the full House of Representatives.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:12:51Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/congressman-mcclintock-announces-town-hall-meetings-in-chester-susanville", "Congressman McClintock Announces Town Hall Meetings in Chester, Susanville and Alturas", "2011-08-25", "2011", "2011-08", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "On Saturday, September 10, Congressman McClintock will hold town hall meetings in Chester, Susanville and Alturas:\n\nChester, 10:00 AM, Almanor Recreation Center, 450 Meadowbrook Loop, Chester.\n\nSusanville, 1:00 PM, Commercial Building, Lassen County Fair Grounds.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:12:39Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cruise-control-act-of-2011", "Cruise Control Act of 2011", "2011-08-19", "2011", "2011-08", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "August 19, 2011\n\nFederal spending has ballooned 28 percent during the Obama Presidency while the government has amassed more debt than it acquired from the first day of George Washington\u2019s administration to the last day of George H. W. Bush\u2019s.\n\nOur nation is racing toward a fiscal cliff. Yet, as Sen. Jim DeMint noted, instead of hitting the brakes, Congress and the President just set the cruise control.\n\n\u201cThe Budget Control Act of 2011\u201d offers an object lesson in exactly the sort of empty compromise that has gotten our nation into its present mess. Faced with the devastating consequences of unprecedented and unsustainable federal spending, both parties agreed on only one thing: to lock in that spending for at least the next two years.\n\nBypassing the normal legislative process, the deal was written behind closed doors and dumped it into the laps of both houses under the threat that failing to pay the government\u2019s bills would jeopardize the nation\u2019s triple-A credit.\n\nUnfortunately, the deal didn\u2019t just pay our current bills \u2013 it gave the most spendthrift administration in history an open credit line to continue its spending spree beyond 2012. Ironically, it ended up costing the United States its triple-A credit rating by failing to rein in spending significantly.\n\nIndeed, Standard and Poor\u2019s had explicitly warned for the last two months that $4 trillion had to be cut from the projected ten-year deficit to preserve the nation\u2019s credit. Even if the plan works perfectly, it doesn\u2019t come close.\n\nYet the same politicians who ignored these warnings were shocked-just-shocked when Standard and Poor\u2019s lowered the boom four days later. Instead, they blamed the \u201cTea Party\u201d that has been sounding the same alarm for more than two years.\n\nApologists for the debt deal claim that they \u201ccut a dollar of spending for every dollar of debt increase.\u201d Actually, Congress voted to \u201ccut\u201d annual federal spending from $3.7 trillion this year to $5.4 trillion by 2021, and to \u201ccut\u201d the national debt from $14.3 trillion down to $22.7 trillion. Washington defines this as a \u201ccut\u201d because it would rather spend that much more.\n\nEven adjusting for such charming Beltway colloquialisms, most of the \u201ccuts\u201d don\u2019t take place until after 2017 while the debt increase all happens this year. In the words of the great economist J. Wellington Wimpy, \u201cI will gladly pay you a dollar of cuts ten years from now for a dollar of debt today.\u201d\n\nAt least we didn\u2019t get any tax hikes, right? We\u2019ll see. The so-called \u201csuper-committee\u201d that does the heavy lifting is charged not with cutting spending but with reducing the deficit \u2013 two very different things.\n\nIn Washingtonese, \u201ctax increase\u201d means the same as \u201cspending cut\u201d when referring to deficits. Since the debt deal already assumes restoring Clinton-era tax rates, it\u2019s a good bet that tax increases are on the way. After all, since Congress has essentially frozen spending at record levels for the next two years, we're going to have to pay back the trillions of dollars of new borrowing somehow.\n\nCentral to the deal is the success of the bipartisan super-committee (the 18th bipartisan commission since 1982 to solve the deficit, for those keeping score).\n\nSet aside, for a moment, the constitutionality of sidelining 523 elected representatives of the people while 12 handpicked appointees of the legislative leaders convene in their place. If a bipartisan group of current members of Congress (which we often call, \u2018the Congress\u2019) can\u2019t summon the political will to reduce spending to sustainable levels, why would we place far greater confidence in the proposed bipartisan panel of \u2013 wait for it \u2013 current members of Congress?\u201d\n\nTo its credit, the House adopted two plans that met Standard and Poor\u2019s criteria for preserving the nation\u2019s triple-A credit rating: the House Budget Resolution (also known as the Ryan Plan) passed in April, and the Cut, Cap and Balance Act passed in mid-July. Both would have eventually balanced the budget, both would have ultimately paid off the national debt and both died in the Senate.\n\nThis simple fact highlights the unfinished work remaining before the American people. Ultimately, they must decide whether they want to restore the traditional American principle of constitutionally limited government, or whether they are content to summarize this generation\u2019s stewardship of the American Republic with the chilling epitaph of Louis XV\u2019s reign, \u201cAfter us, the flood.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:12:39Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/congressman-tom-mcclintock-announces-town-hall-meetings-in-rocklin-and", "Congressman Tom McClintock Announces Town Hall Meetings in Rocklin and Auburn", "2011-08-17", "2011", "2011-08", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "August 17, 2011\n\nCongressman Tom McClintock will conduct a town hall meeting in Rocklin, Tuesday, August 30, 6:00 PM. The meeting will be held at the Sunset Center, 2650 Sunset Boulevard, Rocklin. The Congressman will conduct a town hall meeting in Auburn, Thursday, September 1, at 6:00 PM. The meeting will be held at the Ridge Events Center, 2020 Golf Course Road, Auburn.\n\nIssues:Local Issues", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:12:39Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/statement-of-opposition-to-s-365-budget-control-act-of-2011", "Statement of Opposition to S. 365 - \"Budget Control Act of 2011\"", "2011-08-01", "2011", "2011-08", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "August 1, 2011. The \u201cBudget Control Act of 2011\u201d increases the debt limit by between $2.1 and $2.4 trillion, the biggest explosion of debt in American history. It allows the government to avoid spending reductions for the next two years while squandering our last best hope of averting a sovereign debt crisis.\n\nI am opposed to this measure for the following reasons:\n\n1. The purported cuts, even if realized, are far below the $4 trillion deficit reduction that credit rating agencies have warned is necessary to preserve the Triple-A credit rating of the United States Government.\n\n2. It blows the lid off the House budget passed in April by more than a half-trillion dollars over ten years.\n\n3. It makes no significant spending reductions for at least the next two years, essentially freezing spending at an unsustainable level. While the debt increase occurs this year, significant spending cuts aren\u2019t to be made for many years and can be ignored or reversed by future acts of Congress.\n\n4. The spending caps are easily circumvented by declaring appropriations to be an emergency, a response to a \u201cmajor disaster,\u201d or necessary for the \u201cGlobal War on Terror.\u201d\n\n5. The balanced budget amendment provisions are illusory because the amendment is completely undefined.\n\nTHE ACT FLIRTS WITH A CREDIT DOWNGRADE\n\nLet\u2019s not forget the gorilla in the room. America faces an unprecedented fiscal crisis because of an unprecedented spending binge by this administration and the last. Credit rating agencies have openly warned that the nation\u2019s Triple-A credit rating cannot be sustained without a credible plan to reduce the projected 10-year budget deficit by roughly $4 trillion.\n\nThis bill averts the threat of downgrade for failure to pay our current bills, but it also gives the most spendthrift administration in American history a credit line to continue spending at unsustainable levels through the next election. And it falls far short of the measures demanded by the rating agencies as necessary to maintain the Triple-A credit of the United States Government.\n\nIf the nation\u2019s Triple-A credit rating is downgraded as a result of this failure, it will mean higher interest rates to maintain government debt. Given the enormity of that debt, even a small increase in interest rates can add crushing additional costs to government. Furthermore, interest rate increases would ripple through the economy, causing higher mortgage interest rates, higher credit card rates and a severe additional drag on the economy.\n\nThis would occur on top of the inherent economic damage this bill does. The borrowing authorized in this measure is not theoretical: it amounts to more than $7,000 for every man, woman and child in the nation or roughly $28,000 for a family of four. This debt must be repaid through that family\u2019s future taxes just as surely as if it appeared on their credit card statement. In a real sense, this act means that every family in America has acquired the obligation to make the same payments as if they had just bought a new car.\n\nPredicting the future decisions of the credit rating agencies is a fool\u2019s errand. Much of their economic analysis is marred by perception, psychology, political pressure and self-interest. But there is no blinking at the fact that on many occasions in the last month their senior analysts have called for immediate adoption of a credible work-out plan for $4 trillion of genuine deficit reduction in order to maintain a Triple-A rating. We ignore these repeated and explicit warnings at our peril.\n\nSAVINGS ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED\n\nThe Budget Control Act purports to cut federal discretionary spending by $900 billion over the next ten years and set in motion another $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion in ten-year spending reductions by year\u2019s end. A recurring theme by proponents is that it guarantees a dollar of cuts for every dollar of new debt.\n\nHowever, while the debt limit increase occurs this year, the savings occur over the next decade and are heavily back-loaded toward the end of that period. The work of the great economist, J. Wellington Wimpy, can be observed here: \u201cI will gladly give you a dollar of spending cuts ten years from now for a dollar of debt today.\u201d\n\nIn reality, this bill will decrease total federal spending by just $4 billion between FY 2011 and FY 2012. Put another way, it cuts actual federal spending by one tenth of one percent \u2013 a breathtakingly underwhelming achievement after a 28 percent increase over the last three years. Between FY 2012 and 2013, the bill will increase spending by about $8 billion. (The CBO estimate of a $21 billion net reduction for 2012 is relative to the CBO baseline, not an actual cut relative to 2011).\n\nAt best, proponents can claim that between now and September 30, 2014, the \u201cBudget Control Act\u201d freezes spending at the unsustainable FY 2011 level.\n\nIn reality, spending will be much higher than these figures suggest, because of a variety of loopholes that allow Congress to spend outside the budget controls for any purpose that a simple majority declares to constitute an \u201cemergency,\u201d or necessary for the \u201cGlobal War on Terror.\u201d\n\nAll future savings that proponents claim are in the form of promises by a government that doesn\u2019t have a stellar track record of keeping such promises.\n\nIndeed, this bill authorizes discretionary spending levels a half trillion dollars more over the next ten years than is permitted under the House Budget Act, also known as the \u201cRyan Plan\u201d that passed just four months ago.\n\nCOMMITTEE UNLIKELY TO ACHIEVE PROMISED SPENDING CUTS\n\nMuch of the Budget Control Act of 2011 depends on a bipartisan committee that is charged with the responsibility to cut the deficit, but not necessarily to cut spending, by $1.5 trillion. These are two very different things.\n\nThe 12-member committee is to be appointed by Congressional leaders, evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans and between the House and the Senate. Its recommendations on deficit reduction will be decided by majority vote and put to both houses for approval or rejection. Absent adoption of a balanced budget amendment, the second tranche of debt limit increase depends on enactment of its recommendations.\n\nThere is little reason to be optimistic of its success.\n\nFirst, although the committee\u2019s formal goal is $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction, the law only requires it to reduce the deficit by $1.2 trillion in order to avoid sequestration and trigger a $1.2 trillion debt limit increase.\n\nSecond, this is not a new concept. Since 1982, there have been 17 \u201cbipartisan\u201d commissions charged with reducing federal spending or borrowing. As evidenced by the current crisis, all 17 have failed. The Budget Control Act of 2011 heavily relies on the 18th such panel actually succeeding.\n\nThis particular panel is made up exclusively of a bipartisan group of current members of Congress. It invites the question, \u201cIf a bipartisan group of current members of Congress (which we often call, \u2018the Congress\u2019) can\u2019t agree to reduce spending to sustainable levels at this critical moment in our history, why would we place far greater confidence in the proposed bipartisan panel of \u2013 wait for it \u2013 current members of Congress?\u201d\n\nThird, the panel is not responsible for reducing spending, but rather for reducing the deficit. Tax increases may also reduce deficits (while doing significant economic damage). Since the committee is to be evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, it would take only one Republican to place a massive tax increase on the House and Senate floors. As the deadline approaches and yet another debt crisis looms, the pressure on that one Republican will be enormous, and if history is any indication, irresistible.\n\nIt must also be noted that the deficit reduction figures underpinning the Budget Control Act assume restoration of the Clinton-era tax rates. Proponents argue that with these tax increases already baked into the calculations, it will be politically untenable for the special Joint Committee to add even more taxes to reduce the deficit. I disagree. Tax increases score just the same as spending cuts when calculating their effect on the deficit, whatever is the underlying tax rate. In addition, building Clinton-era tax increases into the deficit projections sets up a self-fulfilling prophesy. Although the Act does not itself raise taxes, it assumes massive tax increases, making them more \u2013 and not less \u2013 likely to occur.\n\nBALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT UNENFORCEABLE\n\nAdoption of the Joint Committee report is one way to release the second tranche of debt. The other is for Congress to send the states a balanced budget amendment for ratification. I believe the states would ratify a genuine balanced budget amendment in short order and that it would send a strong signal to markets that the United States Government is finally serious about restoring the integrity of its finances. For two reasons, however, I believe the measure falls far short of this objective.\n\nFirst, the act sets no specifications for what will be in the amendment. A genuine balanced budget amendment would forbid any government borrowing except by extraordinary majorities and for limited purposes. A balanced budget amendment that could be entirely circumvented through loopholes, or that could automatically trigger tax increases to finance Congressional appetites, would certainly meet the definition of a \u201cbalanced budget amendment\u201d under this act.\n\nSecond, it is entirely possible \u2013 indeed, likely -- that the Congress as currently constituted would not reach 2/3 agreement on the precise details of an amendment while facing another debt crisis in December. Nothing in this bill would prevent Congress from simply scrapping all requirements for the second tranche of debt and approving a debt limit increase anyway.\n\nSEQUESTRATION IS AN INSUFFICIENT GUARANTEE\n\nThe most promising feature of the Budget Control Act is an automatic sequestration feature that would order cuts in spending if Congress failed to enact the specified $1.2 trillion in deficit reductions to be recommended by the Joint Committee or if Congress failed to send a balanced budget amendment to the states.\n\nAs discussed above, these provisions can be circumvented to the point that they are largely meaningless, which makes sequestration much less a guarantee than it first appears. But assuming for a moment that the sequestration were actually invoked, its impact would fall heavily and disproportionately on defense spending while leaving general government spending relatively untouched.\n\nAfter a maximum two percent cut to Medicare, reductions are split evenly between defense and non-defense spending. The problem becomes two-fold.\n\nFirst, certain aspects of defense spending, such as Homeland Security, military construction, and veterans benefits are reclassified as \u201cnon-defense\u201d for purposes of sequestration, meaning that defense programs could conceivably be subject to both sides of the reductions.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:12:39Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/vote-note-s-365-budget-control-act-of-2011-no", "Vote Note:  S. 365 - \"Budget Control Act of 2011:\" NO", "2011-08-01", "2011", "2011-08", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "August 1, 2011. This act increases the debt limit by between $2.1 and $2.4 trillion, the biggest explosion of debt in American history. It allows the government to avoid spending reductions for the next two years while squandering our last best hope of averting a sovereign debt crisis.\n\nI am opposed to this measure for the following reasons:\n\n1. The purported cuts, even if realized, are far below the $4 trillion deficit reduction that credit rating agencies have warned is necessary to preserve the Triple-A credit rating of the United States Government.\n\n2. It blows the lid off the House budget passed in April by more than a half-trillion dollars over ten years.\n\n3. It makes no significant spending reductions for at least the next two years, essentially freezing spending at an unsustainable level. While the debt increase occurs this year, deficit reductions are to be spread over many years and could be reversed by future acts of Congress.\n\n4. The spending caps are easily circumvented by declaring appropriations to be an emergency, a response to a \u201cmajor disaster,\u201d or necessary for the \u201cGlobal War on Terror.\u201d\n\n5. The balanced budget amendment provisions are illusory because the amendment is completely undefined.\n\nClick for Extended Vote Note.\n\nThe House of Representatives voted on S. 365 \u2013 \u201cBudget Control Act of 2011\" on August 1, 2011. Congressman Tom Mcclintock voted NO.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:12:39Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/vote-note-s-627-budget-control-act-of-2011-no", "Vote Note:  S. 627 - \"Budget Control Act of 2011:\" NO", "2011-07-30", "2011", "2011-07", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "July 29, 2011. This measure immediately increases the debt limit by $900 billion with conditional provision for an additional $1.6 trillion, yet is unlikely to achieve savings sufficient to prevent a downgrade of the nation's credit rating. It increases spending authority by a half trillion dollars above the House Budget Act and postpones any significant reductions in anticipated spending for years into the future. The immediate impact for FY 2012 is to reduce spending $22 billion, or 2/3 of one percent after a 28 percent increase over the last three years. Even this modest reduction is unlikely due to provisions that exempt mandatory spending, emergency spending (determined by majority vote of the Congress) and spending on the \"Global War on Terror.\" The provision requiring a balanced budget amendment be sent to the states is undefined and unenforceable. The House has already passed legislation that would place the nation's finances back on the path to solvency and if the Senate is unwilling to concur, it should return the bill to the House with amendments so that conference process can work while there is still time. Click for Extended Vote Note.\n\nS. 627, \"Budget Control Act of 2011,\" was voted on by the House of Representative on July 29, 2011. Congressman McClintock voted NO.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:12:35Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/editorial-reply-sacramento-bee-hr-1837", "Editorial Reply Sacramento Bee - H.R. 1837", "2011-06-24", "2011", "2011-06", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "The Bee\u2019s latest editorial on water accuses me of \u201cpromoting\u201d a \u201cwater grab.\u201d The Bee was well aware that as Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Water and Power, I intervened to stop the bill in question (H.R. 1837) and announced it would not proceed until and unless it is amended to fully protect Northern California water rights. Yet the editorial made the accusation anyway while questioning my motives and integrity.\n\nLast year, to meet radical environmental demands, 200 billion gallons of water contracted to the Central Valley were instead dumped into the Pacific Ocean. That act destroyed 250,000 acres of farmland and cost tens of thousands of jobs. Our sub-committee is grappling with a solution to prevent such lunacy in the future while fully protecting Northern California water rights and critical habitat. We\u2019re not there yet.\n\nI welcome the Bee\u2019s constructive counsel, but all it has offered to date is distortions and invective.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:12:30Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/south-nevada-county-town-hall-meeting", "South Nevada County Town Hall Meeting", "2011-06-23", "2011", "2011-06", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Congressman McClintock will conduct a town hall meeting in Grass Valley on Thursday, June 30th at 6:00 PM. The meeting will be held at Higgins Lions Community Center, 22490 East Hacienda Drive, Grass Valley.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:12:30Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/congressman-tom-mcclintock-announces-georgetown-town-hall-meeting", "Congressman Tom McClintock Announces Georgetown Town Hall Meeting", "2011-06-02", "2011", "2011-06", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Congressman Tom McClintock will conduct a town hall meeting in Georgetown, Thursday, June 9, at 6 PM. The meeting will be held in the International Order of Odd Fellows Hall, 6240 Main Street, Georgetown.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:12:30Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/congressman-tom-mcclintock-announces-congressional-art-competition-winners", "Congressman Tom McClintock Announces Congressional Art Competition Winners", "2011-05-24", "2011", "2011-05", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "May 24, 2011\n\nSix outstanding art students garnered top awards in the Congressional Art Competition -- An Artistic Discovery -- a high school arts contest sponsored by Members of Congress. The competition was open to all high school students within California's Fourth Congressional District. The winners are:\n\n1st Place Winner:\n\nAlana Mosca\n\nSouth Tahoe High School\n\nTitle of Entry: \"Barefoot Beauty\"\n\nAlana's winning piece is a photograph of footprints in the sand with waves slowly crashing on shore. Alana's artwork will be sent to Washington D.C. where it will be displayed in the Cannon Tunnel -- the major walkway connecting the Cannon House Office Building with the U.S. Capitol.\n\n2nd Place Winner:\n\nGisela Renteria\n\nSouth Tahoe High School\n\nTitle of Entry: \"Folklorica\"\n\n3rd Place Winner:\n\nChristopher James Garrett\n\nSouth Tahoe High School\n\nTitle of Entry: \"Falls\"\n\nHonorable Mention is awarded to: Petr Colwell, Nick Knowles and Casey Willitts of South Tahoe High School.\n\nJudging took place at PlacerArts in Auburn under the direction of Angela Tahti. The judges for the 2011 Competition were: Claudia Draper, El Dorado County Arts Council; Elgin Cannon, Lassen County Arts Council; B.J. Jordan, Sierra County Arts Council, and Judy Nielsen, Nevada County Arts Council.\n\nIssues:Local Issues", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:12:26Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/placerville-town-hall", "Placerville Town Hall", "2011-05-13", "2011", "2011-05", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Congressman Tom McClintock will conduct a town hall meeting in Placerville on Tuesday, May 17, at 6:00 PM. The meeting will be held at El Dorado High School, in the gym, 561 Canal Street, Placerville.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:12:26Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/lincoln-town-hall", "Lincoln Town Hall", "2011-04-27", "2011", "2011-04", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Lincoln town hall; Congressman Tom McClintock will hold a town-hall meeting Thursday, April 28, 6:00 p.m. McBean Pavilion, 65 McBean Park Drive, Lincoln.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:12:23Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/letter-to-president-obama-regarding-libya", "Letter to President Obama Regarding Libya", "2011-03-23", "2011", "2011-03", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Congressman Tom McClintock today sent the attached letter to President Obama regarding Libya:\n\nThe Honorable Barack Obama\n\nPresident of the United States\n\nThe White House\n\nWashington, D.C. 20500\n\nDear Mr. President:\n\nI have read your letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate dated March 21, 2011 concerning your order that United States Armed Forces attack the nation of Libya. You cite the authority of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 and your \"constitutional authority to conduct U.S. foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive.\"\n\nThe Constitution clearly and unmistakably vests Congress with the sole prerogative \"to declare war.\" Your letter fails to explain how a resolution of the United Nations Security Council is necessary to commit this nation to war but that an act of Congress is not.\n\nThe United Nations Participation Act expressly withholds authorization for the President to commit United States Armed Forces to combat in pursuit of United Nations directives without specific Congressional approval. The War Powers Resolution states that the President's power to engage United States Armed Forces in hostilities \"shall not be inferred . . .from any treaty heretofore or hereafter ratified unless such treaty is implemented by legislation specifically authorizing the introduction of United States Armed Forces into hostilities...\"\n\nThe War Powers Resolution unambiguously defines three circumstances under which the President as Commander in Chief may order United States Armed Forces into hostile action: \"(1) a declaration of war, (2) specific statutory authorization, or (3) a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces.\" Your letter cites none of these conditions.\n\nNor can the power to order an act of war be inferred from the President's authority as \"Commander in Chief and Chief Executive.\" The Constitution's Framers were explicit on this point. In Federalist 69, Alexander Hamilton draws a sharp distinction between the President's authority as Commander in Chief as \"nothing more than the supreme command and direction of the military and naval forces\" and the authority of the British king \"which extends to the declaring of war and to the raising and regulating of fleets and armies ~ all which, by the Constitution under consideration, would appertain to the legislature.\"\n\nWith all due respect, I can only conclude that your order to United States Armed Forces to attack the nation of Libya on March 19, 2011 is in direct violation of the War Powers Resolution and constitutes a usurpation of Constitutional powers clearly and solely vested in the United States Congress and is accordingly unlawful and unconstitutional.\n\nSincerely,\n\nTom McClintock\n\nMember of Congress", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:12:20Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/town-hall-meeting-in-colfax", "Town-Hall Meeting in Colfax", "2011-03-18", "2011", "2011-03", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Congressman Tom McClintock will conduct a town-hall meeting with\n\nconstituents in Colfax on Tuesday, March 22, at 6:00 PM.\n\nThe meeting will be held at Colfax High School, in the theater, 24995 Ben Taylor Road, Colfax.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:12:20Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/the-veterans-history-project-of-the-library-of-congress-to-hold-roseville", "The Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress to Hold Roseville Training Session in Cooperation with Congressman Tom McClintock's Office", "2011-02-23", "2011", "2011-02", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "February 23, 2011\n\nVolunteers interested in learning how to collect and preserve the personal accounts of American wartime veterans for the Library of Congress are invited to a program overview and training session. The program is a collaboration of the Library of Congress and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1487 in cooperation with Congressman Tom McClintock\u2019s office. Materials will be provided.\n\nThe event will be held at the Roseville Veterans Memorial Hall, 110 Park Drive, Roseville, on Saturday, March 12 at 10:00 a.m. Congressman McClintock will welcome the group and make brief remarks at the beginning of the session.\n\n# # #\n\nThe Veterans History Project (VHP) collects and preserves the remembrances of American war veterans and civilian workers who supported them. These collections of first-hand accounts are archived in the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress for use by researchers and to serve as an inspiration for generations to come. The Project collects remembrances of veterans who served in World War I, World War II, the Cold War, Korean War, Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War (1990-1995), or Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts (2001-present). U.S. citizen civilians who actively supported war efforts (such as war industry workers, USO workers, flight instructors, medical volunteers, defense contractors, etc.) are also invited to share their valuable stories. VHP relies on volunteers throughout the nation to collect veterans\u2019 stories on behalf of the Library of Congress. These stories are made available to researchers and the general public, both at the Library in Washington, D.C., and via the VHP website.\n\nIssues:Local Issues", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:12:15Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/town-hall-meeting-in-el-dorado-hills", "Town Hall Meeting in El Dorado Hills", "2011-02-22", "2011", "2011-02", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Congressman McClintock will hold a town hall meeting in El Dorado Hills this Wednesday, February 23rd at 6:00 PM. The location will be Rolling Hills Middle School multi-purpose room.\n\nEl Dorado Hills Town Hall Meeting\n\nWednesday, Feb. 23 at 6:00PM\n\nRolling Hills Middle School\n\nMulti-Purpose Room\n\n7141 Silva Valley Parkway\n\nEl Dorado Hills, CA 95762\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:12:15Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/hr-1-continuing-resolution-to-finance-the-government", "HR 1 (Continuing Resolution to Finance the Government)", "2011-02-19", "2011", "2011-02", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "The United States government is on the verge of bankruptcy. HR 1 makes $61 billion in actual spending reductions for the remaining fiscal year ending on September 30. Since 2008, federal spending has increased 24 percent; the cuts in HR 1 represent a 1 \u00bd percent reduction. HR 1 isn\u2019t enough to make more than a dent in the deficit, but at least it reverses the upward trend in spending and points us back in the direction of solvency. It begins to restore this fundamental principle of federalism: programs that exclusively benefit local communities should be exclusively financed by those communities. We will need to do much more as the debt ceiling approaches and still more as we take up the 2012 budget, but with HR 1, our nation begins its long road back to fiscal solvency and prosperity.\n\nCongressman McClintock voted AYE on HR 1. The legislation was approved by the House on February 19 by a vote of 253 - 189.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:12:15Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/full-faith-and-credit-act-introduced-in-the-house", "Full Faith and Credit Act Introduced in the House", "2011-01-26", "2011", "2011-01", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Legislation will ensure debt service payments in the event the debt ceiling is reached\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2013 Congressman Tom McClintock (R-CA) yesterday introduced HR 421 -- the Full Faith and Credit Act -- directing the United States Treasury, in the event the debt ceiling is reached, to pay principal and interest due on debt held by the public before making any other payments. The legislation is being co-sponsored in the House by Republican Study Committee Chairman Congressman Jim Jordan, Congresswoman Virginia Foxx and Congressman Scott Garrett. This bill is a companion to an identical measure introduced yesterday by Senator Pat Toomey.\n\nMaintaining the good credit of the United States is essential to economic prosperity and national security. In the event of a shortfall in the federal budget, default on credit obligations should not be our first option, it should be the last. A default on debt would lead to catastrophic consequences, including loss of the nation\u2019s triple-A credit rating, sky-high interest rates and rapid inflation, all of which would make a return to prosperity, job growth, and balanced budgets an impossibility.\n\n\u201cThe \u2018full faith and credit\u2019 of the United States should not hang in the balance on every adjustment to the national debt limit,\u201d said Congressman McClintock. \u201cStates protect their credit by pledging first call on revenues to their debts and so should the federal government. After all, before you can \u2018provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty,\u2019 you have to be able to finance them.\u201d\n\n\u201cA pitiful scare tactic already being used by the Treasury Secretary in the debt ceiling debate is the threat of allowing the federal government to default on its obligations,\u201d said Republican Study Committee Chairman Jordan. \u201cThis is government mismanagement at its worst. Secretary Geithner knows full well that he has the authority to prioritize federal spending so that default is not an option. This bill will take Secretary Geithner\u2019s disastrous scenario completely off the table.\u201d\n\n\"America's sterling credit rating is vital to our future prosperity,\u201d said Congresswoman Virginia Foxx. \u201cThis bill offers a simple safeguard to protect our credit and prevent a sovereign debt crisis. It's the sort of common sense solution that we can easily put in place without wading into the debate over raising the debt ceiling.\"\n\n\u201cThis important piece of legislation ensures America\u2019s debt rating and the threat of default on our debt cannot be used as political weapons. This bill will remind the markets and the world that America will never default on its debt while giving Congress time to have a meaningful, reasonable discussion about how to rein in out-of-control spending and prevent our country from sliding further into debt,\u201d remarked Congressman Scott Garrett.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:12:09Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/statement-by-congressman-tom-mcclintock", "Statement by Congressman Tom McClintock", "2011-01-08", "2011", "2011-01", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "\u201cI am stunned and shocked by the horrific crime committed in Tucson this morning, and my heart goes out to the victims of this brutal act and to their families. My prayers join those of every good American for the full recovery of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and we are all heartened by the optimism of her surgeons. She was struck down in the performance of a duty central to representative democracy \u2013 reaching out and listening to her constituents. The attack on her was an attack on everything that is good and decent in our society and indeed strikes at the heart of our form of self-government.\n\n\u201cI look forward to celebrating her speedy and triumphant return to the House of Representatives.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:12:09Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/letter-to-usda-forest-chief-regarding-plumas-national-forest", "Letter to USDA Forest Chief Regarding Plumas National Forest", "2011-01-07", "2011", "2011-01", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Letter from Congressman Tom McClintock to USDA Forest Chief Thomas Tidwell regarding the Plumas National Forest:\n\nRead Letter Here", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:12:09Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/mcclintock-sworn-in-to-112th-congress", "McClintock Sworn In to 112th Congress", "2011-01-05", "2011", "2011-01", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Congressman Tom McClintock (R-Granite Bay) was sworn into the 112th Congress today by House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH).\n\nDescription: 112th Congress, swearing-in ceremony, left to right, Congressman McClintock's Mother, Chris McClintock, Speaker John Boehner, Congressman McClintock's wife Lori, Congressman McClintock and son Justin and daughter Shannah. Click photo to enlarge.\n\nCongressman McClintock has been appointed to serve in the 112th Congress on the House Natural Resources Committee and the House Budget Committee and will serve as Chairman of the Water and Power Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:12:09Z"]], "truncated": false, "filtered_table_rows_count": 28, "expanded_columns": [], "expandable_columns": [], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "units": {}, "query": {"sql": "select url, title, date, year, month, party, chamber, state, member_name, bioguide_id, domain, scraper, source, date_source, text, has_text, collected_at, updated_at from releases where \"party\" = :p0 and \"state\" = :p1 and \"year\" = :p2 order by date desc limit 101", "params": {"p0": "Republican", "p1": "CA", "p2": "2011"}}, "facet_results": {"party": {"name": "party", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?party=Republican&state=CA&year=2011", "results": [{"value": "Republican", "label": "Republican", "count": 28, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?state=CA&year=2011", "selected": true}], "truncated": false}, "chamber": {"name": "chamber", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?party=Republican&state=CA&year=2011", "results": [{"value": "House", "label": "House", "count": 28, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?party=Republican&state=CA&year=2011&chamber=House", "selected": false}], "truncated": false}, "state": {"name": "state", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?party=Republican&state=CA&year=2011", "results": [{"value": "CA", "label": "CA", "count": 28, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?party=Republican&year=2011", "selected": true}], "truncated": false}, "year": {"name": "year", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?party=Republican&state=CA&year=2011", "results": [{"value": "2011", "label": "2011", "count": 28, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?party=Republican&state=CA", "selected": true}], "truncated": false}}, "suggested_facets": [], "next": null, "next_url": null, "private": false, "allow_execute_sql": true, "query_ms": 714.4364439882338, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}