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In the early 1990s, Alito was the lone dissenter
in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a case in which the 3rd Circuit struck down a Pennsylvania law that included a provision
requiring women seeking abortions to notify their spouses.
Senators refused, 51-44, to increase spending by $5 billion, or nearly
40 percent, for Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in fiscal 2006. This was a bid to raise funding for
the No Child Left Behind Act. [Vote #269] The underlying bill (HR 3010, later passed) appropriates $12.8 billion for Title I in 2006, about $10 billion less
than Congress authorized.
In similar votes, the Senate rejected proposals to raise spending for
the Head Start preschool program [Vote #272], Pell Grants for needy college students [Vote #268], special education for students with disabilities [Vote #273], and after-school programs[Vote #279]. [
Santorum voted against all of the above proposals.
"Like all Americans, I have confidence that our
legal system will provide a thorough review of the facts and evidence and render a fair and deliberative decision in this
case." - Santorum, Oct 29, 2005
That chamber's Finance Committee, voting along party lines, approved legislation
that would trim overall spending on Medicare and Medicaid by about $10 billion over five years... Democrats
cited what they believed was inadequate assistance for victims of Hurricane Katrina. In particular, Democrats wanted to temporarily
extend Medicaid coverage to thousands of people currently ineligible for the program, even though they have lost their jobs
and their home... Republicans said they weren't thrilled with the bill either...
Separately, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Robert Goodlatte, R-Va.,
has drafted a plan to cut the food stamp program by $1.1 billion over five years. It would tighten eligibility requirements,
leading to a drop of perhaps 300,000 working families from food stamp rolls. It also would make legal immigrants wait 10 years
instead of five to be eligible for the program and limit benefits for able-bodied beneficiaries without children.
Santorum still not speaking out about the battery lawsuit by Sherwood's former mistress, in spite of Santorum's
blanket condemnation of permissiveness in his book
''Santorum should take this opportunity to ask Cheney what really happened
with the CIA leak.'' -- Jay Reiff
In a speech this week to the George Washington University
College Republicans, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said of the 2006 elections, “It’s OK if the Republicans lose control,
for our country in the long run, because one cycle won’t make a difference, two cycles won’t make a difference,”
... Of the current debate over spending
and the budget, he said, “Republican politicians are the same as Democratic politicians in that they like to spend money.
Democrats want to raise taxes to pay for it, and Republicans allow the next generation to pay for it.”
Other states prohibit gambling regulators from raising money for political campaigns to
avoid appearance of conflict of interest when a gambling company contributes to a gambling regulator's
favorite candidate or cause.
"The Bush administration wants to hold a fire sale on Amtrak and dump its best asset, the Northeast
Corridor," Mr. Lautenberg (D, NJ) said in a statement. "Selling the Northeast corridor is the first step in President Bush's
plan to destroy Amtrak and intercity rail service in America."
After voting against funding Amtrak, Santorum wrote, "Keeping the rail lines open and the trains running should be one of Congress' priorities in the upcoming
budget discussion." Mar 25, 2005
He is probably in a worse position now than almost any other incumbent running for
re-election," said Norman J. Ornstein, a resident scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.
Washington Post 'Politics Hour' Q&A: While it is still too
early to tell how well the Dems will do in '06, I think it is incredible how well Casey is doing against Santorum. The latest
poll is 52-34 percent. Am I wrong, or would it be a miracle for Santorum to make up that much ground -- even with just over
a year left? Dana Milbank: Not a miracle; remember that statewide polls this far out from an election are not
particularly reliable. That said, Santorum seems to be doing himself more harm than Casey is doing him, with his remarks about
the Catholic church and fining hurricane victims who don't evacuate. An interesting thing to watch
will be Santorum's handling of Miers. As a presidential candidate in '08, he would love to lead conservative opposition to
her and win favor with the Republican base. But as a Pennsylvania senate candidate in '06, he can't afford to take that position.
It explains why he's keeping out of view this week.
Budget cuts following Katrina and Iraq war
Oct 7, 2005
The accumulating costs of both hurricane relief and the war have prompted House GOP leaders
to unveil a new bid to squeeze the federal budget to pay the bill. Their plan would cut another $15 billion from federal benefit
programs such as Medicaid, food stamps and farm subsidies already slated for $35 billion in spending cuts... The challenge was vividly illustrated Thursday by a Republican battle over farm subsidies.
The Senate Agriculture Committee, slated to trim farm and food programs by $3 billion over five years, called off a vote as
midwestern Republicans such as Pat Roberts, R-Kan., balked at boosting payments to dairy farmers at the expense of other commodity
producers. Senators from traditional dairy states, such as Rick Santorum, R-Pa., and Pat Leahy, D-Vt., were
the losers in the first round, but the battle is hardly over. Still, comparable fights promise to break out all over
Capitol Hill when Congress turns in earnest to the budget after a weeklong recess that begins Friday. By Andrew Taylor,
AP
Heating aid program needs funds, study warns Oct
7, 2005
It could be a very cold winter for
Pennsylvanians needing help heating their homes unless Congress more than doubles funding for energy assistance, according
to a new study. The study estimates that $5.2 billion — an increase of $3.1 billion over last year — is needed
to insulate beneficiaries of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program from the sharpest jump in home heating costs since
1974...
According to the
study, Pennsylvania received $145 million in LIHEAP funding last year but would need about $355 million this year to cover
added enrollment and increased fuel costs... It's unclear whether Congress, which is already straining for ways to pay for disaster relief and
the costs of the war in Iraq, is prepared to meet the challenge. An amendment to increase LIHEAP funding by $3.1 billion
received 50 votes in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday but failed to overcome a procedural hurdle. Republicans Rick
Santorum and Arlen Specter supported the amendment. By Jeff Miller, Morning Call
We've lost track of the number of
times President Bush has told Americans to ignore their own eyes and ears and pretend everything is going just fine in Iraq.
Yesterday, when Mr. Bush added a ringing endorsement of his own policy to his speech on terrorism, it was that same old formula:
the wrong questions, the wrong answers and no new direction.
Sen. Rick Santorum ... said the speech was "one he should've
made a few years ago. I'm glad he made it now."
An attempt by Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) to race past reporters was thwarted when a
correspondent for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette leaped into his path. Santorum said he was "trying to get more comfortable with
the nomination" and then continued past the roadblock. From 'The Sales Calls Begin on Capitol Hill, but Some Aren't
Buying,' Washington Post, Oct 6, 2005
Republicans voting no: Allard, CO; Bond, MO; Coburn, OK; Cochran, MS; Cornyn, TX; Inhofe, OK; Roberts, KS; Sessions, AL; Stevens, AK
Santorum distributes K Street lobbying job listings in regularly scheduled meetings
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