Push back

[suffragette]

Congress is clearly pushing back against the Bush administration with the many amendments they are including in the Defense Act.

I've noticed several separate posts on different ones and wanted to start a thread to bring some of them together. It is heartening to see this direction finally.

I'm sure there are quite a few I haven't noticed, so please post additional ones here.

Pentagon Forced to Release Information to SOA Watch
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3321545

House Passes Amendment: Investigation of the Pentagon’s “Information Dominance” Program
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3330514

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=news-000002882703
The House also adopted, 234-183, an amendment by Barbara Lee , D-Calif., to require congressional authorization for any agreement obligating the U.S. military to defend Iraq.

http://www.uspirg.org/news-releases/product-safety2/product-safety-news2/washington-d_c_-congress-votes-resoundingly-to-close-tax-loophole-for-private-federal-contractors
Washington, D.C.: Congress Votes Resoundingly to Close Tax Loophole for Private Federal Contractors

Revenue from Fair Share Provision Will Pay for Tax Benefits for Military Personnel

Tonight, the US Senate approved the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act, which had passed the House of Representatives unanimously on Tuesday. The HEART ACT provides permanent tax relief for military families and it is partially paid for by a provision, championed by Senators Kerry and Obama and Reps. Emmanuel and Ellsworth, that closes the tax loophole that has allowed private contractors, including Kellogg, Brown, and Root (KBR) to avoid paying almost $100 million a year in payroll taxes for its U.S. employees by setting up foreign subsidiaries.

“By reining in tax-dodging private contractors who use gimmicks to avoid their basic responsibilities, this Congress chose good governance and accountability over cronyism and favoritism. We applaud Congress and the bill’s sponsors for having the good sense to pay for this reward for military families by closing sham tax havens for private military contractors.

This practice of using shell companies in the Caymans to hide from basic federal responsibilities is so purely disgraceful that when the public was informed, they were outraged. A coalition of consumer, labor, church and taxpayer groups, including AARP and the American Federation of State and Municipal Employees, sent a letter to the Senate Finance Committee last week in support of this provision.

Americans are working hard this summer and paying their fair share, and we expect federal contractors that receive billions from the federal government will do the same. We know full well, though, that some federal contractors will do anything it takes to avoid paying back into the system, and Congress and the public have to anticipate the next gimmick that they will use to avoid their responsibilities.”

Gotta love the appropriateness of funding this by closing that onerous loophole and making KBR pay.