My issue with Mr. Barton’s actions are in the timing. Debates on CSPIA took place over the summer and the law was passed in August. Why now, with less than a month before the February 10 date in which the law takes effect, does Mr. Barton all of the sudden see the mistakes in the legislation? Were small businesses simply never considered during the debate? Were they considered and dismissed as unimportant? Was our Congress again whipped into a knee jerk reaction in the wake of all the ‘lead in toys’ reports? We’ve seen this over and over from both sides of the aisle, legislation rushed to signature without being adequately fleshed out.

We deserve more from our legislators. Planning for contingencies, especially common contingencies like small business exemptions, should be made before legislation is passed, not in another rushed knee jerk days before legislation takes effect. Efforts could be made specifically to get a stay on this particular law to allow adequate time to make comprehensive small business protections while still protecting our children. We don’t have to rush into anything. Especially something that will weaken the CSPIA’s original intent which is to protect children from the effects of lead exposure.

Please understand this isn’t partisan rancor. There are plenty of Democrats to blame for this as well; Henry Waxman comes to mind. However, Mr. Barton is my representative and as his constituent, I must hold him accountable for any failure or show of incompetence. I know there are those that would say I should at least be grateful that Mr. Barton is acting at all, but I’ve never been one to thank the fox that raided the henhouse for cleaning up the mess later. While we should support Mr. Barton’s moves for a new hearing and any efforts to protect small business owners from this mismanagement of government, we should also remain ever vigilant to keep an eye on any legislation coming out of this debacle. We must ensure especially that no freebies or special accommodations are made for those who have really put our children in danger, such as Mattel, whose PAC for the first time in October 2008 made a sizable contribution to Mr. Barton’s campaign.

Rodney Hopper II

Let’s look at some of the actions that Mr. Barton has taken issue with in one day back on the job. One day. Mr. Barton refers to the House of Representatives as the Peoples House because it is the body “closest to the people”. Given the canned or non responses I get whenever I try to contact Mr. Barton’s office, my representative’s office and the decidedly unapologetic pro-corporate anti-consumer policies he’s championed, I would submit that Mr. Barton hasn’t been close to “the people” in quite some time. Mr. Barton should spare us this ‘everyman’ act.

Mr. Barton indicates that he feels that “that legislation is best made when regular order and process are followed and the input of all members is heard and considered”. I guess this doesn’t apply to the Combating Autism Act, which he refused to release from his subcommittee despite UNANIMOUS Senate approval. If you can find a word that describes bipartisan better than unanimous, I’d love to hear it.

Mr. Barton decries the new House rules that remove term limits from committee chairs. Let’s not forget that it was Mr. Barton’s party who just five years ago removed term limits for the Speaker of the House. Chalk it up to another piece of the Contract with (on?) America that was later in breach.

Mr. Barton complains about removal of the “motions to recommit”. I suppose Mr. Barton hasn’t heard the term “Do Nothing Congress” or he simply doesn’t have a firm grasp on the reasons behind Congress’s single digit approval rating. We have too daunting a challenge ahead of us to live through political maneuver after political maneuver. I can’t find any record of Mr. Barton being so outspoken about fellow Republican Bill Frist’s continuous threats of the “nuclear option”, the removal of filibusters in the Senate.

Mr. Barton laments the idea that Congress can now subpoena anyone at anytime. Imagine that, a separate but equal legislative branch that will actually enact checks and balances and oversight over the other two branches of government. For my money, this is a welcome change from the rubber stamp Congress that all too eagerly helped former President Bush create a climate of secrecy and corruption that helped bring this country to the brink economically, militarily, and morally.

Mr. Barton continues his complaint with elaborate sobs about uneven committee assignments, which are approved by a full House vote, meaning Republicans have their chance to vote on committee assignments just as Democrats do. He continues this odd diatribe by essentially calling Nancy Pelosi a brutal dictator. If Mr. Barton is seriously this afraid of Nancy Pelosi, this is more a sign of his own impotence than any attribute of Mrs. Pelosi. I’d hate to think what would happen if he ever had to actually face down a real brutal dictator.

Looking at his rant as a whole, I think what I find most troubling is Mr. Barton’s third paragraph, which effectively pits 170 million vs 130 million, 60% vs 40%, Democrat vs Republican, and, really, neighbor vs neighbor. It’s time to move past this divisiveness and these crybaby playground who hit who first games and work together to fix the problems facing this country. The task is simply too daunting and the risks of failure are simply too great. We deserve better and if Mr. Barton can’t provide it, he should consider retirement.

Rodney Hopper II

Barton’s original mailer:

Published: Thursday, January 15, 2009 2:34 PM CST
Joe Barton
U.S. Congress

The House of Representatives is often called the “People’s House” because it is the government body closest to the people with members facing election every two years.

I know that elections have consequences. Democrats won fair and square and earned the right to govern by holding on to control of the House and gaining seats. However, whether I am in the majority or the minority, it doesn’t change my core belief that legislation is best made when regular order and process are followed and the input of all members is heard and considered — regardless of party affiliation.

But on our first day back at work, Democrats effectively took away the legislative rights of conservatives — silencing the voices of the more than 130 million people represented by Republican Members of Congress, including more than 60 percent of Texans.

They’ve changed the rules of the House to stack the deck in their favor. These new rules are really old rules. They revert back to the undemocratic one-party rule and backroom politics that ran Washington for decades and led to higher taxes, unruly spending and larger government.

I believe that how we do things here in Washington is almost as important as what we do because the two are interlinked. The rules governing the way legislation is crafted has a direct effect on the final product.

After Republicans gained the majority in the House in 1995, the chamber adopted rules to limit the terms of all committee chairs to three terms in order to reward new ideas, innovation and merit rather than the strict longevity that determined chairmanships in the past — a reform that was reversed last week by the new Democratic rules package. The new rules imposed upon Congress by the Democrats consolidate the power of committee chairs by ending those term limits.

They further shut down free and open debate on the House floor by refusing to allow all members the opportunity to offer substantive alternatives to important legislation — opportunities that Republicans guaranteed to Democrats as “motions to recommit” during their 12 years in the minority. This proposed change prevents conservative members from exposing and offering proposals to eliminate tax increases and earmarks hidden by the Democratic majority in larger pieces of legislation.

Another one of the rule changes pushed through by liberals acts as a gag order. It effectively eliminates the minority member’s rights to give opening statements during congressional hearings. On top of that, Democrats have basically given themselves the ability to subpoena anyone at anytime — no matter the cause.

Democrats have also set up an unfair advantage by breaking with tradition and stacking the most influential committees with extra members from their party.

I am the highest ranking Republican on the Energy and Commerce Committee and the situation there is a perfect example of this injustice. Democrats took an additional three seats on this vitally important committee. Unfair ratios can be found on other major committees as well, including Ways and Means, Appropriations and Education and Labor. It all adds up to millions of Americans being left without proportional or adequate representation in committees responsible for writing critical legislation that will affect the lives of every citizen.

These new rules are turning President Obama’s pledge of openness and transparency into another empty political promise.

The new president wants Congress to work together to pass legislation to help our ailing economy, but Nancy Pelosi and the other Democratic leaders have crafted rules to shut Republicans out of the process.

And for those of you that still don’t think rules and processes are important, remember the rules and processes are what separate the United States from military dictatorships. The rules and processes are what ensure our government is “of, for and by the people.”

I know because of these changes I will have to work harder to make sure my conservative viewpoints — the ones you sent me here to represent — are heard and considered. As we move forward, I promise Republicans will strive to be the party of better solutions, not just opposition. Democrats may be trying to silence our voices, but they can’t stifle our spirit.

Congressman Joe Barton, R-Ennis, represents the Sixth Congressional District of Texas.