House of Representatives | Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion - Part 22
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House Republicans desperately want to reform taxes, but so far the only plan they have developed has gained no leverage. That's because border adjustment makes up a majority of the plan, which few, including top retailers, want anything to do with. The border adjustment is a tariff. It adds a tax on imports, which will inevitably raise prices on consumers. Common sense economics: A business must make a profit in order to supply goods and services. It cannot do that without money. In order to make money when a tax is added or raised, the business must raise the price on its goods in order to make that profit.

The Republicans in the House have suggested to overhaul the tax code with a "border-adjustment" proposal, but it has caused a massive split with companies before anyone has even drafted legislation. I brought up this proposal when President Donald Trump explained that he would make Mexico pay for a border wall by placing a 20% tax on imports because it mirrors the House GOP's plan. I also mentioned how these plans will screw the consumer and businesses have started speaking out against it:
Some retailers and other big importers doubt the dollar would rise that much. They warn of tax bills that would exceed profits, forcing them to pass costs to consumers. Some are in the early stages of working on an alternative plan they can present to lawmakers, says a person familiar with those plans.

House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and ranking Democrat Elijah Cummings (MD) erupted into a fight at a hearing on Thursday over possible Russian interference in our election. The fight started when the two sides discussed a possible Oversight investigation into the phishing schemes against the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Democrats argued it must happen:
“It’s clear that politics have prevented this committee from being willing or able to do the necessary objective and nonpartisan oversight on the Russian attack,” said Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.).

FBI Director James Comey just cannot win! Yesterday, Kemberlee blogged that the Department of Justice will review his investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server. Today, House Democrats are angry after a confidential briefing over allegations that Russia "hacked" the DNC and Hillary campaign chair John Podesta to sway the election towards President-elect Donald Trump. Those briefed believe Comey is "unfit to lead the agency."

The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approves House Resolution 11 (full embed at bottom) which criticizes not only anti-Israel UN Security Council Resolution 2334, but also the U.S. abstention. It was the criticism of the abstention that split Democrats, with several speakers claiming Republicans were politicizing support for Israel in Congress. Several speakers claimed the Resolution was a swipe at Obama as he was leaving office. Potential DNC Chair Keith Ellison voted No.

Republicans gathered on Capitol Hill with Vice President-elect Mike Pence to discuss Obacamare where he announced that President-elect Donald Trump plans to use executive action to repeal the law:
“It will be an orderly transition to something better ... using executive authority to ensure it’s an orderly transition," Pence told reporters. "We’re working now on a series of executive orders that will enable that orderly transition to take place even as Congress appropriately debates alternatives to and replacements for ObamaCare.”

The House Republicans sure do know how to get the ball rolling on a new session. They kept control, but still can't seem to operate properly! Someone seriously needs to provide a proper communications course for all Republicans in D.C. In one of their first moves, the House Republicans caused a fuss over the weekend after Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) proposed changes to an independent watchdog group, the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). According to the media, House Republicans gutted their own independent watchdog group and that Republicans wanted more power. In other words, mass hysteria! A close look at the amendment, which I notice missing from many articles, shows that Goodlatte actually attempted to strengthen the OCE by pushing it farther from the House, thus making it even more independent, and making sure the board does not violate the rights of those accused. But if the Republicans had rolled out the idea a tad better, they may have avoided the backlash and not been forced to retreat with their tails between their legs.

In 2007, I could have sworn President Barack Obama was supposed to be the savior of the Democrat Party. The smooth talking, suave Illinois senator had everything to bring the party together and end any GOP dominance. Well, it turns out, the Democrats have lost 1,030 seats across the board since Obama took office in January 2008. This includes seats in state's houses and senates, governorships, and Congress.

The House and Senate have become agitated with the CIA as the agency has continued to deny both sectors with briefings or information on claims that Russia hacked into America's election, but passed information to the mainstream media. Senate Homeland Security Chairman Ron Johnson (R-WI) told a radio station in his home state that the CIA just denied his request for a briefing:
“I’m not happy they denied a briefing to me,” the Wisconsin Republican told a public radio interviewer in his home state on Friday morning. “I need information from the administration, and right now they're withholding it.”

This little bill flew under the radar, didn't it? While the Democrats deal with infighting and President-elect Donald Trump chooses his Cabinet, the House of Representatives quietly passed H.R. 4919, also known as Kevin and Avonte's Law. This law allows the attorney general to hand over money to local law enforcement agencies to develop human tracking devices:
The programs mission would to find “individuals with forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s Disease, or children with developmental disabilities, such as autism, who have wandered from safe environments.”

Former Philadelphia Rep. Chaka Fattah has received 10 years in prison for racketeering, fraud, and money-laundering after his conviction on June 22. A jury found Fattah guilty "on 22 counts related to misspending federal grant money and for schemes linked to an illegal $1 million loan he received from a friend to help fund a failed 2007 mayoral campaign in the city."

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill introduced by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) that protects FBI whistleblowers. Chaffetz said:
"While a great many changes remain to be made in how DOJ and the FBI respond to whistleblowers, this commonsense clarification is not minor. If implemented, it would have far-reaching implications in protecting whistleblowers at the FBI, just as Congress intended in 1978 in the first whistleblower protection law.”
Case after case has shown the FBI did not not protect its whistleblowers as well as other departments. Whistleblowers often faced retaliation and threatening emails. A few even lost their jobs all because they wanted to expose wrong doings in their divisions.

Here's more proof that the Democrats learned absolutely nothing from the 2016 election. They've been relegated to America's liberal coastal communities and Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio is a lone man calling out in the wilderness for a change in direction. Some liberals are responding by doubling down on identity politics and charges of sexism. The New York Post reports:
Democratic minority challenger accused of sexism Rep. Tim Ryan’s challenge of the female Democratic minority leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, has ignited charges of sexism.

House Republicans have chosen to go with a short-term spending bill to fund the government through March 31 instead of a full year bill:
Appropriations Chairman Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Kentucky, said in a statement that his committee would immediately start working on “a Continuing Resolution (CR) at the current rate of funding to extend the operations of our government through March 31, 2017.”

Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) said the House Republicans hope to change the tax code without raising the deficits:
“We designed our blueprint to break even within the budget, considering that economic growth,” Rep. Kevin Brady (R., Texas), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said at The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council. If there are some deficits, he said he would accept them if the result was stronger growth.
They started working on a plan earlier this year and will make a tax overhaul a priority in 2017.

Defeat after defeat on Tuesday has left the Democrat Party in shambles. So much so they cannot decide on a leader. Rep. Nancy Pelosi has led the House Democrats since 2002 while Sen. Chuck Schumer will replace Harry Reid as Senate Minority Leader. But now the Democrats have delayed a vote on leadership in the House, possibly a sign that Pelosi's time has ended. In the Senate, anti-Trump protesters in DC have begun protesting Senator Shumer's new role.

After his meeting with President Barack Obama, President-elect Donald Trump drove down to Capitol Hill to meet with Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell:
"I think we’re going to do some absolutely spectacular things for the American people," Trump said, sitting next to Ryan at a conference table in the Capitol. "We can’t get started fast enough." After meeting with McConnell, Trump said his top priorities were immigration and border security, addressing health care and "big-league jobs."