Jeffrey Chiesa

HR83 Executive Action on Immigration (Rejected 22 to 74 on 12/13/2014, Roll Call 353). Senator Cruz raised a constitutional point of order that the bill violates the Constitution's separation of powers because the bill would fund President Obama's executive action on amnesty. 

With this fiscal 2015 omnibus appropriations bill, Congress is failing to address its fiscally and constitutionally irresponsible budgeting and appropriating process that is currently yielding annual federal deficits measured in the hundreds of billions of dollars that contribute directly to the dramatic growth of our already $18 trillion national debt.

This bill essentially gets the federal government out of the way of economic development. While one could correctly argue that the federal government should not have been involved in this issue in the first place, and that from a constitutional standpoint it should be left up to the states, private property owners, and TransCanada to work out an arrangement, this bill is definitely a step in the right direction since it would remove unconstitutional federal regulatory road blocks against the pipeline project.

The federal government has no constitutional authorization to determine the value of employees' labor in the private sector, whether in the absolute sense or relative to other wages. Wages instead should be determined by the market.

This proposed constitutional amendment would effectively repeal the free speech provision of the First Amendment, since restricting the amount of money that may be spent on political speech would restrict political speech.

most of the $3.6 billion requested by President Obama would be used to expand his amnesty program of deferred action for childhood arrivals, an unconstitutional usurpation of Congress' power to "to establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization."

Amendment to HR5021 Gas Tax (Rejected 28 to 69 on 7/29/2014, Roll Call 246). Transfers local transportation infrastructure projects to the states.

S2578 Contraception (Rejected 56 to 43 on 7/16/2014, Roll Call 228). Would force employers to pay for contraceptives (including abortifacients) even when they object on religious grounds. 

There is no constitutional authorization for federal workforce-training programs. This is not to say that workforce training is a bad thing, but such programs are best handled by the private sector, which would surely provide more and better jobs if the federal government were to siphon less money out of the economy for programs to improve the economy.

Fischer's record indicates that he is supportive of central bank inflationary policies that create economic havoc. Moreover, the Federal Reserve, America's central bank that creates money out of thin air, is unconstitutional.

Opposing the nomination of such a high-ranking establishment operative to be point person for implementing the unconstitutional ObamaCare law should be a no-brainer for Constitution-supporting senators.

Any debate on the Senate floor that could prevent a federal minimum wage increase is a good thing. A federal minimum wage is unconstitutional, since nowhere in the Constitution is the federal government authorized to dictate how much private businesses pay their employees for services performed as part of a private, voluntary contract. Furthermore, many studies have demonstrated that minimum wage increases always lead to more unemployment among the poor and unskilled workers, the very people whom the wage increase is ostensibly intended to help.

By paying people unemployment benefits, the federal government is essentially subsidizing unemployment. That the federal government does this in the first place is bad enough, but any extension of said benefits is even worse. At a time when government debt is nearly $17 trillion, paying unemployment benefits is fiscally irresponsible. Furthermore, the U.S. Constitution nowhere authorizes the federal government to provide unemployment benefits to workers. This type of welfare should be handled on the state or local level, if handled by the government at all.

HR4152 Ukraine Aid (Passed 98 to 2 on 3/27/2014, Roll Call 88). Provides $150 million for direct aid to Ukraine.

Childcare funding is an unconstitutional activity of the federal government.

The federal government should live within its means, suspending the debt limit is even worse than raising it, and most of the spending responsible for the ballooning national debt is unconstitutional.

Both farm aid and food aid are unconstitutional. The food subsidy programs are supposed to help the poor, but in practice they have done little to lift people out of poverty, as evidenced by the growing number of recipients of these programs.

This budget agreement Congress is failing to address its fiscally and constitutionally irresponsible budgeting and appropriating process that is currently yielding annual federal deficits measured in the hundreds of billions of dollars that contribute directly to the dramatic growth of our $17 trillion national debt.

The economic havoc, caused by inflation, that Yellen contributed to as vice-chair and that she intends to continue as the new chair of the Fed. Furthermore, a central bank, such as the Fed, that creates money out of thin air is not authorized by the Constitution.

This budget agreement Congress is failing to address its fiscally and constitutionally irresponsible budgeting and appropriating process that is currently yielding annual federal deficits measured in the hundreds of billions of dollars that contribute directly to the dramatic growth of our $17 trillion national debt.

The federal government is overstepping its constitutional boundaries by dictating the hiring practices of private employers. While the exemption for religious organizations is a good thing, the bill is still a serious infringement on private property rights as it limits what a person can and cannot do on his or her private property, in this case a business.

The federal government should live within its means and because most of the spending responsible for the ballooning national debt is unconstitutional.

Amendment to HR2775 Continuing Resolution (Passed 81 to 18 on 10/16/2013, Roll Call 219). Continues funding government operations, including ObamaCare.

The bill contains appropriations for huge amounts of unconstitutional spending.

Amendment to HJR59 Continuing Resolution (Passed 54 to 44 on 9/27/2013, Roll Call 209). Continues funding the federal government, including ObamaCare.

The bill called for more spending and of the spending is unconstitutional.

a reduction in foreign aid, particularly in the form of military assistance, is a good thing. The Constitution does not authorize the government to give foreign aid and meddle in other nations internal affairs, so while Paul's amendment would allow for the resumption of aid to Egypt, it would still be an improvement on the status quo.

forcing a vote on an unconstitutional action of the federal government is a bad thing. The U.S. government should not be in the business of subsidizing higher education to begin with, and continuing a low interest rate on student loans would merely encourage this unconstitutional activity. Additionally, owing to the ease of obtaining government loans for education and the sheer amount of unpaid student debt, the nation is now facing a colossal "student debt bubble" that could have severe negative economic consequences.

The large-scale amnesty and new visa programs coupled with a lack of effective border security would lead to both large increases in legal immigration and continuing large-scale illegal immigration, even though the U.S. government has the duty under Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution to "protect [every state] against Invasion." Furthermore, we have assigned pluses to the nays because, by granting amnesty, increasing levels of legal immigration, and permitting continued large-scale illegal immigration, this bill provides a transition to the open borders sought by the advocates of a North American Union and other regional government schemes threatening our national sovereignty.

It is the constitutional duty of the United States to "protect [every state] against Invasion" (Article IV, Section 4).

Both federal food and farm subsidies are unconstitutional. Though the CBO estimates that S. 954 would cost $18 billion less over 10 years than under current law, this reduction would only be 1.9 percent of projected spending.

The federal government does not have the constitutional authority to prevent states from enacting their own product-labeling requirements.

The Internet sales tax would essentially be a tax on interstate commerce, which is unconstitutional according to Article I Section 9: \"No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.\" Furthermore, requiring online retailers to collect sales taxes from numerous states would pose onerous burdens to small businesses and hinder economic growth.

Amendment to S649 "Assault Weapons" Ban (Rejected 40 to 60 on 4/17/2013, Roll Call 101). Sen. Feinstein offered an amendment that would ban the future manufacture, import, sale, transfer, or possession of certain semi-automatic firearms.

Banning high-capacity ammunition clips for law-abiding citizens is a clear violation of the Constitution - the Second Amendment guarantees that our "right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

Amendment to S.Con.Res 8 UN Arms Trade Treaty (Passed 53 to 46 on 3/23/2013, Roll Call 91). Sen. Inhofe offered an amendment to "uphold Second Amendment rights and prevent the United States from entering into the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty." 

The federal government should allow entrepreneurs to develop energy resources, rather than deny access.

Any reduction of unconstitutional federal agencies and massive amounts of debt-laden, unconstitutional federal spending, without revenue increases, is desirable.

The federal government should live within its means and because most of the spending responsible for the ballooning national debt is unconstitutional.

Federally financing disaster relief is unconstitutional.