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Mark Begich on EnvironmentDemocratic Jr Senator |
Anchorage is a city on the edge of the wilderness. Within a half-hour drive, visitors can stand amid wild, untamed mountain peaks. For the people of Anchorage, this spectacular environment is our neighborhood. Alaska’s wildlife are our neighbors.
Proponent's argument to vote Yes:Rep. OBEY (D, WI-7): The cash for clunkers program has proven even more wildly popular than its strongest supporters had predicted. Just last month, Congress passed the program, which provided up to $4,500 if you trade in your old gas guzzler for a new car that gets better mileage. That was done in the hopes of spurring some new car sales and encouraging people to be a little more environmentally friendly. We provided $1 billion in the supplemental to get it going, enough for about 250,000 sales--which was just about exhausted in one week. This bill transfers $2 billion from the Department of Energy's Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee program, which doesn't expect to award funding until late next year.
Opponent's argument to vote No:Rep. LEWIS (R, CA-41): In the majority's haste to slam legislation with no time for consideration or amendments, we are now seeing the effects of such shortsighted martial law tactics.
Senator Feinstein tried to negotiate some changes to improve the program but was told that it was this way or the highway. Not one hearing on the Cash for Clunkers program, not one hearing on how the first billion dollars has been spent, not one hearing on how much money the program will need to get through the fiscal year.
Many of my colleagues will say, This is a great program, and it is necessary for the revitalization of the car industry. I'm not really going to argue with those goals. However, are we sure this program is working like it's supposed to? I don't think so. This program has only been up and running 1 week. If that is how the government is going to handle billion-dollar programs affecting all Americans, I ask, Whatever will we do if the administration takes control of our health care system?
112th Mid-Term Humane Scorecard: The Humane Society Legislative Fund has posted the final version of the 2011 Humane Scorecard, where you can track the performance of your federal lawmakers on key animal protection issues during last year. We rated legislators based on their voting behavior on measures such as agribusiness subsidies, lethal predator control, and the Endangered Species Act; their cosponsorship of priority bills on puppy mills, horse slaughter, animal fighting, and chimps in research; their support for funding the enforcement of animal welfare laws; and their leadership on animal protection. All of the priority bills whose cosponsorships we're counting enjoy strong bipartisan support; in the House, each of the four now has more than 150 cosponsors.
The Humane Scorecard is not a perfect measuring tool, but creating some reasonable yardstick and allowing citizens to hold lawmakers accountable is central to our work. When the Humane Scorecard comes out each year, it helps clarify how the animal protection movement is doing geographically, by party affiliation, and in other categories. It helps us chart our course for animals by seeing where we have been effective, and where we need to improve.
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AK Gubernatorial: Sean Parnell AK Senatorial: Lisa Murkowski AK politicians Retiring in 2014 election: GA:Chambliss(R) IA:Harkin(D) MI:Levin(D) NE:Johanns(R) NJ:Lautenberg(D) SD:Johnson(D) WV:Rockefeller(D) Senate Vacancies 2013: HI:Inouye(Deceased) HI:Schatz(Appointed) MA:Kerry(Resigned) MA:Cowan(Appointed) SC:DeMint(Resigned) SC:Scott(Appointed) Retired as of Jan. 2013: AZ:Kyl(R) CT:Lieberman(D) HI:Akaka(D) ME:Snowe(R) ND:Conrad(D) NE:Nelson(D) NM:Bingaman(D) TX:Hutchison(R) VA:Webb(D) WI:Kohl(D) |
Senate elections Nov. 2012: AZ:  Flake(R)
vs.Carmona(D)
CA: Feinstein(D)
vs.Emken(R)
vs.Lightfoot(L)
CT:McMahon(R) vs. Murphy(D)
DE: Carper(D)
vs.Wade(R)
vs.Pires(I)
FL: Nelson(D)
vs.Mack(R)
HI: Hirono(D)
vs.Lingle(R)
vs.IN: Donnelly(D)
MA:Brown(R) vs. Warren(D)
MD: Cardin(D)
vs.Bongino(R)
vs.Sobhani(I)
ME: King(I)
vs.Dill(D)
vs.Summers(R)
MI: Stabenow(D)
vs.Hoekstra(R)
vs.Boman(L)
MN: Klobuchar(D)
vs.Bills(R)
MO: McCaskill(D)
vs.Akin(R)
MS: Wicker(R)
vs.Gore(D)
MT: Tester(D)
vs.Rehberg(R)
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ND: Heitkamp(D)
vs.Berg(R)
NE:Kerrey(D) vs. Fischer(R)
NJ: Menendez(D)
vs.Kyrillos(R)
vs.Diakos(I)
NM: Heinrich(D)
vs.Wilson(R)
NV: Heller(R)
vs.Berkley(D)
NY: Gillibrand(D)
vs.Long(R)
vs.Noren(I)
vs.Clark(G)
OH: Brown(D)
vs.Mandel(R)
PA: Casey(D)
vs.Smith(R)
RI: Whitehouse(D)
vs.Hinckley(R)
TN: Corker(R)
vs.Clayton(D)
TX: Cruz(R)
vs.Sadler(D)
vs.Roland(L)
vs.UT: Hatch(R)
vs.Howell(D)
VA: Kaine(D)
vs.Allen(R)
VT: Sanders(I)
vs.MacGovern(R)
WA: Cantwell(D)
vs.Baumgartner(R)
WI:Thompson(R) vs. Baldwin(D)
WV: Manchin(D)
vs.Raese(R)
WY: Barrasso(R)
vs.Chesnut(D)
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Contact info: Email Contact Form Fax Number: 202-224-2354 Mailing Address: Senate Office SR-144, Washington, DC 20510 | |||