Be sure to listen to Eric’s podcast appearance on National Review Online’s The Corner.  He discusses Nancy Pelosi’s ill-advised attempt to alter the House Rules today and the House Republicans successful efforts to preserve your right to a recorded vote on the tough issues with NRO's Stephen Spruiell.   Click here to listen to the podcast.

House Democrats wanted to change the rules to make it easier to raise taxes.  They wanted to hide their Members from a direct vote on the tough issues.  They wanted to change rules on minority floor rights that have been in place since 1822.  They failed.

House Republicans are shutting down the floor, because the Democrats are threatening to change a rule and deny Republicans any opportunity to offer a motion to recommit on the "paygo" provisions of their legislation. That's a lot of wonky talk; bottom line - the Democrats are preventing their Members from having to vote on the tax increases that they are trying to impose on the American People.

The Democrat intelligence authorization bill must be opposed.  Among the numerous problems that are found in this legislation, there is one that clearly stands out as the most ill-advised - House Democrats are trying to cut funds from America’s human intelligence efforts that track international terrorist groups and redirect those funds to the study of glacial melting.  Great strategy, huh??? 

From the earliest days of our Republic, one of our most cherished values has been the freedom of religion – today that freedom was under direct assault. As the House was debating the reauthorization of the Head Start program, the issue of faith-based organizations was introduced.

The Mechanicsville Local has a great article on several Virginia elected officials who are attending the FightSMA national conference to address the critical issue of spinal muscular atrophy. This is an issue that we all need to learn more about; here’s an excerpt from the article:

Spinal muscular atrophy affects the motor neurons of the spinal cord and brain stem, rendering them unable to communicate with muscle cells properly. It is estimated that it occurs in as many as one in 6,000 births. The National Institute of Neurological Disease and Strokes (NINDS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) states, however, that out of the 600 disorders it tracks, SMA is one of the closest to being cured. FightSMA is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating that cure. The Smith family and others from across the country will meet with their Senators and Representatives to urge them to support the creation of the first ever spinal muscular atrophy legislation.