Rep. Mike Conaway's blog

National Defense Authorization Act of 2009

Last week, the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act by a vote of 389 to 22. It is a bipartisan bill that provides our troops with the key funding needed to succeed in our mission in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

While I am pleased that aid is on the way to our troops, I am disappointed as to what is not in this bill. Unfortunately, my colleagues and I were not able to have the opportunity to take a stance on an issue that is very important to the safety of our troops, an amendment that our friends in the Senate voted unanimously in favor of: the release of the detainee photographs to our enemies abroad.

 

Washington, May 19 - "I thank my colleagues for their hard work on producing this important piece of legislation, and I look forward to watching the President sign this bill," Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO) said. "Reforming the system we use to buy major weapon systems is not only good for taxpayers, it's good for the security of our nation."

 

Last week we heard some very discouraging news from some of the nation’s top employers. Over 60,000 jobs were lost, U.S. retail sales posted the first drop in annual sales, and more bank failures were announced. The bad news seems to keep coming with no end in sight. No one refutes the severity of our current situation; but what is the best way to get us out of this crisis? President Obama and Democratic leaders in both the House and Senate worked for months to craft a massive spending package that, in their minds, will pull us off the precipitous decline and cure all of our woes. Herein lies the difference between small government, free-market conservatives and big government liberals.

Two days ago, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which is designed to provide the Treasury Department with the authority to purchase troubled assets on the books of private financial institutions in an effort to resolve the current financial crisis. While I know that something must be done to get our economy back on solid ground, I could not support the proposal that was brought to the floor.

Cross posted at Conaway Blog

Yesterday the U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to pass the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement with a vast majority of Republicans supporting the agreement and a minority of the Democratic Party supporting the measure.

 

This well-negotiated trade agreement between the United States and Peru is a solid win for a vast array of sectors and workers in the U.S., and I am proud to have voted for it.