US Senator Bill Nelson and his Senate colleagues are back up to their old tricks of trying to get a Passport revocation rule instated for back/unpaid taxes. This time they are trying to do it through enacting an amendment to the “Veteran Jobs Corps Act of 2012” which who could be against such a piece of legislation until of course you look at fine print and notice the provisions of the act that have nothing to do with veterans or jobs. The following Senators are Senator Nelson’s partners in crime so to speak on this issue:
Sen Blumenthal, Richard [CT] – 9/10/2012
Sen Franken, Al [MN] – 9/11/2012
Sen Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [NY] – 8/2/2012
Sen Merkley, Jeff [OR] – 9/10/2012
Sen Murray, Patty [WA] – 7/30/2012
Sen Schumer, Charles E. [NY] – 9/10/2012
Sen Stabenow, Debbie [MI] – 9/10/2012
Sen Wyden, Ron [OR] – 8/2/2012
Link to legislation
*Rand Paul of Kentucky appears to have launched a filibuster against this bill for unrelated to passport reasons. Perhaps this might be a good opportunity to reach out to him specifically related to the passport provisions.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/09/13/Paul-filibuster-ties-up-vet-jobs-bill-vote/UPI-99291347548592/
*It appears that Harry Reid is personally going to try to ram this through over the weekend. Supposedly the Senate will be in session all weekend.
http://www.rollcall.com/news/democrats_take_pains_to_avoid_rand_pauls_pakistan_amendment-217581-1.html?pos=hln
@SwissPinoy, In the lake of Zug or from anywhere else outside the US, it’s almost impossible. Even being inside the US and sending letters to representatives doesn’t work very well. But I’m just a subway ride away from Congress, so I can actually go there and talk to someone in person. I could call and set up a meeting myself, but I think they would pay more attention if I said I’m representing Americans abroad. So, I asked ACA if it could set up a metting for me, and they said that we can discuss it after ACA sets up its office here, later this month or next month.
In the meantime, do you think I should try to meet a representative anyway? Would it be correct to say I’m representing Americans abroad, without ACA? Can I claim I’m representing the “Isaac Brock Society”?
@John Brown, Yes, Paul Ryan cosponsored the bill in 2006.
Reid (the guy who stuck the original version of this legislation in the Senate “highway bill”) is really in a tearing hurry to get this passport confiscation thing through. What’s his agenda?
https://twitter.com/FATCA_Fallout/status/246318252421169152
*One thing I can say is none of the amendments offered to date change or alter any of the non Veteran related provisions in the bill. Does anyone know they exist?
*I just got a copy of a “US Patriot Act Information Form – Customer Identification Verification”. On it, it has my name with what is supposed to be my address, that kind of looks like this:
I couldn’t help but to laugh at that one! It’s so silly!
Both sides are hurrying to get this through so that they can be the champignon of the fight to support the veterans with jobs prior to the election. Harry Reid and Schumer and Bill Nelson know that they can stick in exactly what they want and it will go through like a greased pig.
Sen. Paul Offers to Triple Funding in Veterans Bill with New Amendment
………….Following a discussion on the Senate floor last night with Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid (Nev.), during which Sen. Reid expressed his desire to quickly pass the $1 billion jobs bill for veterans, Sen. Paul has decided to alter his amendment to offer additional funding to the veterans job bill………..
Paul: My amendment would halt all foreign aid to Pakistan, Egypt, and Libya, and would use those funds to triple the size of the veterans jobs bill. The only thing now standing in the way of this is the Democratic Senate Leadership.”
*As much as I want to fight this I get the feeling this is a bit of fake battle in the that there is simply no way for this House of Representitives to pass this before the election.
I sent a message opposing this to congress via Popvox:
” I oppose it because… it includes too many riders and items that do not belong in it.
For instance, please remove the section: “Revocation or Denial of Passport in Case of Certain Unpaid Taxes.” It does not belong in this bill or any other bill. People are correct to make the analogy that this is like denying Americans a driver’s license due to unpaid taxes. It’s serves
only as outright demonstration that the government treats people as if
it owns them. You can’t leave to visit family abroad, take care of
business abroad, get a job abroad, etc, etc, if you have outstanding
taxes because they’ll take your passport away. So they’re saying, “you
must stay on the farm until you have worked off your debt.” Modern debt
bondage in the “land of the free.” This is ridiculous.
I don’t even owe any taxes. But this type of thing, hidden in entirely
unrelated bills, is exactly why Americans have such a low approval
rating of Congress. Stop trying to sneak in things that you know would
not pass if people voted honestly on it.
Please oppose S. 3457.”
PopVox is easy! I think I’ll be using it more. Sure beats looking up Congress members individually.
@all- maybe I missed it but I’d like to know exactly what evidence they have of people skipping out of the country, over unpaid tax obligations? Is this a law that is just looking for a problem? Is it possible that this law is actually directed to expats who have not gotten right with the IRS?
They should also ask themselves where is the line to be drawn on the power of government to restrict the right of people to leave the country? How would this law differ in any substantial way from the travel restrictions that other totalitarian regimes; Cuba, the old Soviet Union, Maoist China or (pardon the analogy) even Nazi Germany, imposed on their citizens?
*recalcitrantexpat, I view it as being a preparation for America’s future situation. Some politicians are convinced that Americans abroad are going to be punished like hell for no reason. They believe that Americans abroad are going to resist and reject such unjust punishment, viewing it as being criminal, and thus these politicians feel that they must support and strengthen such crimes by preventing Americans abroad from returning to the States.
I see there are new co-sponsors…
S. 3457: Veterans Jobs Corps Act of 2012
Sen. Charles Schumer [D-NY]
Sen. Debbie Ann Stabenow [D-MI]
Sen. Jeff Merkley [D-OR]
Sen. Richard Blumenthal [D-CT]
I posted the following on the facebook page of the Agent Orange Legacy, since they are endorsing the bill:
*At PopVox, if you folks click to “appreciate” our comments, then they will appear at the top of the opposition list here:
https://www.popvox.com/bills/us/112/s3457/report#nation
Each comment that I “appreciated” is now at the top of the “opposing comments” list.
More lack of confidence in Congress:
‘Moody’s Investors Service Inc. warned Tuesday it could strip the U.S. of its coveted triple-A credit rating ifCongress fails to produce a budget that will bring down the federal debt burden.’
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/383000/20120911/moody-s-warns-downgrade-credit-rating-without.htm
‘In the real world, the US doesn’t even have a debt problem – net interest payments on the public debt are less than 1% of America’s national income, or as low as they have been for more than 60 years…But Moody’s wants us to be scared of the federal debt, so as to advance a rightwing agenda.’
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/sep/13/moodys-threat-downgrade-us-debt-political-fiscal
@bubblebustin Hmm, I wouldn’t have pegged you as a “liberal” I don’t think I’d peg most of you as “liberal” you all don’t seem to me to be the kind of the hippy draft dodger mentality we come to think of most of the people who leave the country, especially as most of you say you left under the guise of looking for work or a relationship. From what I’ve read you’ve always come off to me as pretty conservative, but then my group of friends and peers are very liberal, very Democrat, very college educated and very gay, haha, so that would make me a super-mega-ultra-liberal in the Confederate’s eyes I guess, lol.
@whoaitssteve, just when did ‘liberal’ become such a dirty word to some people? I’m not offended by being labelled as being liberal, in fact being liberal is to be open-minded. The Canadians I know don’t view being liberal or conservative in as polarizing a way as those in the US do, after all, two of our major political parties are the Conservatives and the Liberals, and neither are as far apart or the right as right as the Americans might think they are by their labels. I remember Rosie O’Donnell condemning Canadians for electing a Conservative government!
bubblebustin –
being liberal is to be open-minded
Don’t think so. Exemplified by Hubert Horatio Humphrey, the nominee of Chicago 1968? In my political dictionary, that label has become totally tainted. But the seven liberal arts are something to respect: grammar, dialectic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music.
@WhoisIt’sSteve: The impression that you have is incorrect. The Canadian participants are from the major political parties, Conservative, Liberal and NDP. Some are hippy draft dodgers, as you called them.
The miscalculation on the part of the US is that the Expat Tax jihad would unite expat community against the current president despite their political differences. A lot of the folks here were/are democrats, or voted primarily for democrats; there are a few Republicans and Libertarians–though those who have renounced, like me, defy US categories. I can’t stand either party any more.
“Liberal” is not a bad word, provided one has the traditional historical definition in mind. I am both liberal and conservative, truth be told. My white grandparents did not attend my father’s wedding to his Korean bride, but then, they reconciled and we were one happy family with little half-Korean grandkids. I also believe in balancing the budget and the abolition of the IRS and the Federal Reserve bank, investing in real assets like gold. So am I a liberal or a conservative product of miscegenation? At certain point, despotic government unites all people who love freedom.
Doesn’t really matter what either party things about any other issue. I know the rollcall for FATCA legislation and that the rhetoric behind it is persecute me and to make my tax and economic situation impossible. This makes only one issue to concern me in the election.
@usxcanada
‘Liberal’ defined as “open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values”. Although I can’t claim that I consistently behave in a liberal manner as described, it is something worth aspiring to, IMO.
Important to note that the whole political spectrum inCanada is to the left of the US . I used to hear it said that a Canadian Conservative would be a US Democrat (not sure how much that even holds anymore, because the US really’s been evolving out of step with the rest of the first world countries, it’s hard to make such comparisons at all.)
Americans, such as the aforementioned Rosie O’Donnell, not knowing anything about Canadian politics, make erroneous assumptions. And FWIW, as a bunch of us Conservatives were leaving a local meeting this Spring, some were heading to a bar to watch the US Super Tuesday returns and referring to the Republican candidates as a “bunch of right wing wing-nuts” 🙂
More Co-sponsors
S. 3457: Veterans Jobs Corps Act of 2012
Sen. Robert Casey [D-PA]
Sen. Joe Manchin [D-WV]