Clinton Nixes Return of Your
Money
A disappointed Congressman Miller reacted to the President's veto: "It
saddens me that the President chose politics over progress, and an opportunity
to provide tax relief to the American people. Now that the President has
squandered this historic opportunity to put more money in the pockets of the
people, and less money in the bureaucratic coffers of Washington, we will have
to wait for a Republican president to be elected next year. And it will be
worth the wait. We are not willing to trade a downsized tax relief package for
the creation of new government programs, and increased spending."
The vetoed tax relief package would have cut taxes across the board by one
percent, eliminated the unfair marriage tax, eliminated the death tax, and
provided valuable deductions for those who care for a elderly relative in
their home. Miller Votes Against Raising Milk Prices
Speaking on the House floor in support of reforming the dairy pricing
program, Miller said: "It doesn't matter if the product in question is milk,
oranges, wheat, or sugar. Our agricultural programs must be reformed to meet
the needs of the 21st Century, not the 19th Century." Miller noted that
preserving this archaic program ultimately does "a disservice to taxpayers,
consumers, and farmers in all agricultural sectors." Unfortunately, those in
favor of the status quo ultimately prevailed over reformers in floor votes on
the dairy program. Previous presidents had customarily given advance warning and sought public
approval when exercising this power. But in 1996, President Clinton generated
tremendous controversy when shortly before the election, he declared a huge
region of Utah known as the Grand Staircase / Escalante area to be a national
monument with no warning or public input. Passage of this week's legislation
would insure that a President could not make such a decision affecting 50,000
acres or more, roughly the size of Washington, DC, in the future without first
giving local residents and officials, Congress, and the general public warning
and a voice in the decision-making process. The bill passed the House by a
vote of 408-2. On Thursday, President Clinton rejected an opportunity to provide
tax relief to the American people. Rather than give Americans the tax relief
they deserve, the President opted to keep the money in Washington for wasteful
big government spending.
Congressman Miller opposed legislation this week that would have
the effect of rasing milk prices. Miller also supported amendments to further
reform the program, including an amendment to eliminate the current pricing
system by 2001. The present milk pricing system was invented as a temporary
fix during the Great Depression before modern refrigeration, processing, and
transportation techniques.
Miller Supports Revising
Monument Law
Congressman Miller supported legislation this week to bring
greater local participation and public oversight to presidential actions under
the 1906 Antiquities Act. Currently this 90 year old law grants the President
power to designate certain unique lands as "national monuments" with little
warning to or input from residents of these areas, local and state officials,
or the Congress. Designation as a "national monument" places severe
restrictions on the use of lands within its boundaries.
Miller Votes to Reign in Class
Action Lawsuit Abuse
On Thursday, the House passed the Interstate Class Action
Jurisdiction Act (H.R. 1875), which will reform the class action lawsuit
process. The ability to file a class action suit is an important part of our
legal system because it promotes efficiency by combining multiple cases, but
outdated rules pertaining to class actions have resulted in abuses of this
process. For example, as the result of the adoption of different class action
certification standards in the various states, some classes might be
certifiable in one state but not another, and some state courts may certify
classes before the defendant has even been served with a complaint. Some
states have very lax standards for certification, resulting in many minor
controversies becoming subject to class action treatment. Trial lawyers have
used these inconsistencies to their benefit by picking and choosing where to
file their cases, and in some cases, picking and choosing plaintiffs. H.R.
1875 gives federal district courts original jurisdiction over large class
action lawsuits where plaintiffs or dependents are from different states. It
also clarifies the amount of money needed to get a case into federal court. I
believe that this legislation will help improve our legal system, and will
create a consistency in class action procedures which is absent but needed.
This legislation passed, 222-207, but is subject to a veto threat.
Coming Up
The fiscal year ends on September 30 at midnight. As such,
Congress next week will busily finalize and send to the President more
appropriations conference reports. Congress will probably have to authorize a
continuing resolution to allow government to continue past the end of the
fiscal year.