During consideration of the fiscal 2024 financial-services appropriations bill (H.R. 4664), Representative Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.) offered an amendment to strike all funding for firearms and ammunition for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The House rejected Harshbarger’s amendment on November 8, 2023 by a vote of 187 to 238 (Roll Call 625). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the federal government is not constitutionally authorized to engage in domestic law enforcement, as the 10th Amendment clarifies. IRS agents should not be armed with guns, ammunition, or military-style equipment. Rather, the IRS ought to be defunded and abolished. The American people must demand that Congress end the weaponization of the federal bureaucracy, reject all efforts to create a nationalized police force, and work to repeal the 16th Amendment (income tax).

During consideration of the fiscal 2024 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill (H.R. 5894), Representative Mary Miller (R-Ill.) offered an amendment to defund the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) by $536,922,000 — its total earmarked budget for fiscal 2024.

The House rejected Miller’s amendment on November 14, 2023 by a vote of 131 to 300 (Roll Call 648). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution does not authorize Congress to establish a federal regulatory agency, such as OSHA, to inspect workplace conditions. Nor does the Constitution empower the federal government to require Americans to take vaccines, especially experimental mRNA injections, as a condition of their employment, as OSHA tried to do.

The articles of impeachment (“Willful and Systemic Refusal to Comply With the Law” and “Breach of Public Trust”) contained in House Resolution 863 would impeach Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas for high crimes and misdemeanors, including for his handling of issues involving immigration and border security.

The House adopted the articles of impeachment on February 13, 2024 by a vote of 214 to 213 (Roll Call 43). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because Secretary Mayorkas deserves impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold office in the future. He has failed to uphold his duty to support and defend the U.S. Constitution by repeatedly violating laws enacted by Congress regarding immigration and border security. His unlawful conduct has allowed illicit drugs and millions of illegal aliens to enter and remain in the United States annually by means of insecure borders. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution gives Congress power to “establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization,” as well as to call forth “the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions,” and Article II, Section 4 provides that “all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of … high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

Representative Kay Granger (R-Texas) made a motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 4366, the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024,” which would appropriate $467.5 billion in federal funding for fiscal 2024. Among other provisions, it would provide $307.8 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs; $103 billion for federal transportation and housing programs; $50 billion for the Department of Energy; $38.6 billion for the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency; $37.5 billion for the Department of Justice; $26.3 billion for the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration; and $24.9 billion for NASA.

The House agreed to Granger’s motion on March 6, 2024 by a vote of 339 to 85 (Roll Call 64). We have assigned pluses to the nays because most of the spending would go to federal government departments, agencies, and programs that have no authorization or basis in the Constitution. Furthermore, this reckless spending is currently yielding high inflation and record increases in the national debt.

Representative Kay Granger (R-Texas) made a motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 2882, the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024,” which would appropriate $1.2 trillion in total funding for fiscal 2024. Among other provisions, it would provide $825 billion for the Department of Defense; $224.7 billion for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education; $89.8 billion for the Department of Homeland Security; and $58.3 billion for the Department of State. Furthermore, H.R. 2882 would provide $300 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and $500 million for Israel defense assistance; extend the National Flood Insurance Program through September 30, 2024; and prohibit funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency through fiscal 2025. The House agreed to Granger’s motion on March 22, 2024 by a vote of 286 to 134 (Roll Call 102). We have assigned pluses to the nays because of the many unconstitutional agencies and programs that it would fund, because it funds our further entanglement in the Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Hamas conflicts without a congressional declaration of war, and because this reckless spending is yielding record increases in the national debt.

H.R. 7888, titled the “Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act,” would reauthorize for two years, until 2026, Title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which governs electronic surveillance of foreign terrorism suspects. Among other provisions, the bill would require additional procedures for searches by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) involving U.S. citizens and FBI surveillance requests to the secret FISA Court.   The House passed H.R. 7888 on April 12, 2024 by a vote of 273 to 147 (Roll Call 119). We have assigned pluses to the nays because FISA has been used to spy on U.S. citizens without a warrant in violation of the Fourth Amendment. While the bill includes provisions to ostensibly protect the privacy of U.S. citizens, those provisions fail to uphold Americans’ Fourth Amendment-protected rights.

The “Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act” (H.R. 8035) would provide $60.8 billion for security assistance to Ukraine and replenishing U.S. stockpiles of military equipment already provided to Ukraine.

The House passed H.R. 8035 on April 20, 2024 by a vote of 311 to 112 (Roll Call 151). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the United States should not interfere in the war in Ukraine by providing aid to one of the combatants. Congress has not declared war, as required by the U.S. Constitution to go to war, and foreign aid, not being one of the powers delegated to the federal government, is unconstitutional. Moreover, the United States should pursue a sound foreign policy of noninterventionism, based on U.S. national interests and the intent of the Founding Fathers.

Representative Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) made a motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 4824, the “Carbon Sequestration Collaboration Act,” which would expand the Department of Energy’s carbon-storage program to include carbon-sequestration projects. The bill would also require the Energy Department to submit a report to Congress within two years “to identify and address scientific challenges for widespread adoption of terrestrial carbon sequestration.”

The House agreed to Lucas’ motion on April 30, 2024 by a vote of 364 to 44 (Roll Call 156). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the federal government has no authority under Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution to engage in energy or environmental policy. Furthermore, carbon sequestration is closely connected to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which is antithetical to the Constitution and U.S. sovereignty.

Representative Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) made a motion to suspend the rules and pass S. 546, the “Recruit and Retain Act,” which expands the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) federal grant program intended to support the recruitment efforts of law-enforcement agencies, including local police, throughout the country.

The House agreed to Hunt’s motion on May 14, 2024 by a vote of 370 to 18 (Roll Call 196). We have assigned pluses to the nays because Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution does not authorize Congress to support local law-enforcement agencies. Federal funding of local police departments and county sheriffs comes with strings attached, usually in the form of oversight, regulations, and other homogenized standards — none of which are constitutional.

H.R. 5403, the “CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act,” would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) without congressional authorization. It would bar the Fed from offering services directly to individuals or maintaining accounts on their behalf, including through intermediaries. These restrictions would not apply to digital currencies that are “open, permissionless, and private.” The bill would also prohibit the Fed from testing a digital currency without congressional authorization.

The House passed H.R. 5403 on May 23, 2024 by a vote of 216 to 192 (Roll Call 230). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because Article I, Sections 8 and 10 of the Constitution state that only Congress has the power to “coin Money,” referring to precious metals such as gold and silver. Not only do the Federal Reserve and fiat money violate these provisions, but a digital currency can be easily tracked, allowing the government to monitor all financial transactions.