Scorecard 117-1

The House adopted the article of impeachment (“Incitement of Insurrection”) against President Donald Trump on January 13, 2021. The article, contained in House Resolution 24, was then sent to the Senate to decide whether or not to convict Trump and remove him from office. The article alleges that Trump engaged in “high Crimes and Misdemeanors by inciting violence against the Government of the United States.” He did so, the article claims, by repeatedly issuing “false statements asserting that the Presidential election results were the product of widespread fraud and should not be accepted by the American people or certified by State or Federal officials”; by reiterating the claim that “we won the election” at his January 6, 2021, Washington, D.C., rally; and by saying in his January 6 speech, “if you don’t fight like hell you’re not going to have a country anymore.”

The Senate acquitted Trump on February 13, 2021 by a vote of 57 to 43 (Roll Call 59; a two-thirds majority of those present and voting is required to convict). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the Senate may not constitutionally convict a private citizen, which is what Trump was at the time of this vote, and also because he had not committed any crime — much less “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” (the constitutional standard for impeachment) — by exercising his right to free speech regarding the election results and political activism. Also, to interpret his “fight like hell” remark as a call to violence is ludicrous. In the same speech, Trump stated, “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”

H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, would follow the precedent set in 2020 of spending multiple trillions of dollars within one year on unconstitutional programs in the name of coronavirus relief. As summarized by a Treasury Department fact sheet posted after the House and Senate had approved the $1.9 trillion spending bill, 90 million Americans would receive more than $242 billion in direct payments ($1,400 for individuals, $2,800 for married couples, and $1,400 for each dependent); families would receive $3,600 for children under age six, and $3,000 for other children under age 18; state and local governments would receive $325 billion in emergency direct payments; states, territories, and tribes would receive $10 billion for capital projects; etc.

The Senate passed H.R. 1319 on March 6, 2021 by a vote of 50 to 49 (Roll Call 110). We have assigned pluses to the nays because Congress is failing to address its fiscally irresponsible budgeting and appropriating process that yielded annual federal deficits of $3.1 trillion in fiscal 2020 and an expected $3.0 trillion in 2021. Moreover, virtually all of the coronavirus aid provisions, including direct checks, federal unemployment benefits, and subsidization of the economy, are unconstitutional.

H.R. 1799 would extend the authorization for the Treasury Department’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) from March 31 to June 30, 2021. The PPP provides Small Business Administration-backed loans to businesses of 500 employees or less struggling as a result of the draconian COVID-19 lockdowns issued by governors across the country beginning in 2020 and extending into 2021. PPP loans do not have to be paid back so long as employers only use the funds for legitimate business expenses, such as PPP-approved payroll costs, mortgages, rent, operation expenditures, personal protective equipment as may have been required by state-issued emergency orders, property damage as a result of violent mob protests that occurred in 2020 and not covered by the business’s insurance, and suppliers’ costs for contracts or other bills of goods and services purchased prior to taking out the loan.

The Senate passed H.R. 1799 on March 25, 2021 by a vote of 92 to 7 (Roll Call 140). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the Constitution does not authorize the federal government to bail out or lend funds to business.

S. 1260, the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, would authorize $250 billion over five years for federal funding of scientific research and development programs, including more than $52 billion for the U.S. semiconductor industry; $81 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF), including $52 billion for the existing NSF programs and $29 billion for a new NSF directorate for technology and innovation that would support research and development in key areas such as artificial intelligence, automation, quantum computing, biotechnology, and advanced energy; and $23.5 billion (in fiscal 2021 alone) for NASA.

The Senate passed S. 1260 on June 8, 2021 by a vote of 68 to 32 (Roll Call 226). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the Constitution does not authorize Congress to fund research and development programs.

H.R. 3684 would spend $1.2 trillion altogether, with $550 billion being new spending. Among numerous other provisions, H.R. 3684 would spend $110 billion on roads and bridges, $66 billion on rail projects, $65 billion on broadband, $62 billion on Energy Department programs, $55 billion on water infrastructure, $39 billion on public transportation, $25 billion on airports, and $7.5 billion on electric vehicle-charging stations. The bill also mandates that states create carbon-reduction programs subject to federal approval, creates a mileage-tax pilot program, requires car companies to equip all vehicles with “advanced alcohol monitoring systems,” and defines “gender identity” as a protected class.

The Senate passed H.R. 3684 on August 10, 2021 by a vote of 69 to 30 (Roll Call 314). We have assigned pluses to the nays because Congress is failing to address its fiscally irresponsible budgeting and appropriating process that yielded a federal deficit of $2.77 trillion in fiscal 2021. Moreover, virtually all of the bill’s provisions fall outside the Constitution’s specified powers.