Archive → September, 2011
Endorsed by Liberty-Candidates.org
Thank you very much for the endorsement! I am proud to be a Liberty Candidate for 2012!
27 September 2011
United States of America
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Liberty Candidates 2012 Endorses:
Michael Koffenberger who is running for Congress in the 19th District in the State of Pennsylvania
LIBERTY-CANDIDATES.ORG enthusiastically welcomes Michael Koffenberger to the growing slate of candidates championing a return to Constitutional governance in the United States!
A Liberty Candidate will defend the great American principles of:
Individual Liberty
Constitutional Government
Sound Money
Free Markets
a Non-interventionist Foreign Policy.
This endorsement is the hallmark of a true Liberty Candidate. To qualify, Candidates must submit answers to the liberty questions (http://tinyurl.com/libertyapplication). Then, each application is voted on by a committee made up of peers and other liberty minded individuals. Each candidate’s website is visited by committee members to see that a candidate’s answers and his/her stance on the issues coincide.
If accepted, each Liberty Candidate is added to the Liberty-Candidates.org site with prominent links back to his/her site(s). All Liberty Candidates are eligible to participate in the Liberty Candidate Money Bombs.
With candidates like Michael Koffenberger serving the people at the city, county, state and federal level, there is real hope for change in America.
Let Freedom Ring!
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Platts Weekly Expose 2
This is the second of many weekly analysis pieces detailing what Congressman Platts has voted on, or bills that he has sponsored/co-sponsored. I will briefly describe his action, the bill, and then detail how I would handle the same. Since it is not my full time job to read the entire bill (yet – with your help), I will read the summaries and base my decisions on those. I will also try and describe how libertarian principles apply in my decisions. During weeks that Congressman Platts is not in session or co-sponsoring bills, I will re-visit some of his older votes on legislation that has a had detrimental effect on our liberties.
This week, Congressman Platts became a co-sponsor of HR 2966 which would amend the Horse Protection Act to prohibit a host of actions with horses that would result in slaughtering them for human consumption. With all the economic problems, numerous wars overseas, a falling dollar value, high unemployment and high taxes, our focus is turned to enacting legislation so that we do not eat horses? Perhaps they are anticipating harder times ahead where someone might have to do this to survive? All I can say is…this is unbelievable.
He also became a co-sponsor of HR 2250, which provides additional time for the EPA Administrator to review numerous standards it submitted earlier in the year. More specifically, for the EPA to submit “achievable” standards for industrial, commercial and institutional boilers, process heaters, and incinerators, and for “other purposes.” A better bill would find a way to eliminate much of the overzealous rules and regulations that the EPA has burdened this country with. Protection of life (via clean air and water in this case) and property (land) are two of the most important functions of the federal government detailed in the Constitution. The EPA has more than overstepped its boundaries. Regulations concerning the amount of water in your toilet and what light bulbs to use, are but two examples. Clearly there is a need to fully revisit the EPA. Let’s not forget that the EPA determined the air quality around the 9/11 World Trade Center attack was safe. How many people have died or become terminally ill as a result of lung diseases caused by breathing this air? The EPA has about 18,000 employees with a budget over 10 billion dollars. That alone is enough reason to revisit its functionality and usefulness.
This week was short on Congressman Platts co-sponsoring legislation, and yet another week lost without him submitting a bill to return our lost liberties, regain fiscal sanity, bring our troops home, or return our government to its Constitutional limitations. This is one of the main reasons that I am challenging him in the 2012 elections. To my knowledge, he has never submitted one bill that would greatly affect a return to the principles above. He has been a consistent vote to the Republican Party and other leaders, while submitting small pieces of legislation that further regulate every facet of our lives.
For Liberty,
Mike Koffenberger
Libertarian Candidate, U.S. House of Representatives
District 19 – PA
www.mikeforpa.com
Congressman Platts Expose 1
This is the first of many weekly analysis pieces detailing what Congressman Platts has voted on, or bills that he has sponsored/co-sponsored. I will briefly describe his action, the bill, and then detail how I would handle the same. Since it is not my full time job to read the entire bill (yet – with your help), I will read the summaries and base my decisions on those. I will also try and describe how libertarian principles apply in my decisions. During weeks that Congressman Platts is not in session or co-sponsoring bills, I will re-visit some of his older votes on legislation that has a had detrimental effect on our liberties.
This week, Congressman Platts became a co-sponsor of H.Res 298. This resolution calls for the Secretary of Health and Human Services to coordinate efforts to provide outreach and education on epilepsy and seizure incidents. Congressman Platts is at this moment one of 12 Republican and 7 Democrat lawmakers to co-sponsor this legislation. In my opinion, this is one of those pieces of feel good legislation with no particular purpose. Should those who may have more of a chance of contact with epilepsy patients know what they are dealing with? Yes. Should the federal government pay for brochures or training? No. I know that first responders already receive training that deals with seizure patients. This is the type of legislation that should never be considered since it is not the federal government’s job to educate the public. A private charity, perhaps the Epilepsy Foundation, would do a better job in educating the public about seizures and not cost the taxpayers a dime.
Congressman Platts became a co-sponsor on HR 822, the “National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011.” This legislation, which has well over 200 co-sponsors, would allow a person carrying government issued identification and a valid permit to carry a concealed firearm in one state, to carry concealed in another. While this is not a perfect bill, I would also co-sponsor this legislation as it enhances freedom and starts turning the cycle of gun ownership back to founding principles detailed in the 2nd Amendment. As long as there are no extra restrictions or legislation detailed in the fine print of this bill, it is a step in the right direction. Should you need a permit to carry a concealed firearm? I do not think so. Paying for a permit violates the rights given in the 2nd Amendment. I would understand and agree with legislation that prohibits those that have committed serious felonies (those that violate others’ lives, liberty or property) to be restricted, as well as some fashion of the clinically insane being prohibited, but that is all.
He became a co-sponsor of HR 358. This bill prohibits federal funds from being used to cover any cost of a health plan that includes abortion services under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). No federal funds should be used for anyone’s health care (other than federal employees). In my opinion, this legislation makes the Republican members feel good about restricting abortions in some fashion and they think that it would appeal to their pro-life base. While a full repeal of the PPACA would be better, and would be a bill I would sponsor, this is one very small step in the right direction. I would vote for this bill for that reason.
It should be noted that Congressman Platts has not sponsored (as the primary sponsor) a bill since May 10, 2011. That bill is HR 1821, “To Strengthen Families’ Engagement in the Education of Their Children.” This bill would award grants to assist families in becoming engaged in their chidrens’ education. It also establishes a bureaucracy called the “State Family Engagement Coordinating Council” (yes really) which would coordinate this engagement. This is ridiculous social engineering legislation. It also emphasizes that education must be removed from the purview of the federal government once and for all. No good comes from Washington to your child’s education. Test scores have been in decline since the start of the Department of Education in 1980 after President Carter signed the Department of Education Organization Act on October 17, 1979. As a libertarian, it gives government too much power and violates states rights.
It is my belief, and one of the main reasons that I am challenging him in the 2012 elections, that Congressman Platts has not shown leadership in returning our liberties, ending unconstitutional legislation, and returning our country to fiscal sanity. To my knowledge, he has never submitted one bill that would greatly affect a return to the principles above. He has been a consistent vote to the Republican Party and other leaders, while submitting small pieces of legislation that further regulate every facet of our lives.
For Liberty,
Mike Koffenberger
Libertarian Candidate, U.S. House of Representatives
District 19 – PA