Jim Bryan for Congress: First District of Florida

Jim Bryan on Jeff Miller's Voting Record

On Sunday September 21, the Northwest Florida DAILY NEWS (nwfdailynews.com) ran a story about my campaign. They quoted my statement that the voting record of my opponent, incumbent Jeff Miller, was what made me decide to run. In response, Mr. Miller challenged me to provide specifics on his voting record, saying that his re-election campaign is based upon the very record I called into question.

Characterizing a voting record accurately and fairly is an exacting job, but I think I have risen to Mr. Miller's challenge. I also stand by what I said to the DAILY NEWS in my original statement — that I really think it is best for voters to check out Mr. Miller's complete voting record on their own. Many sources for the information are available either on a home computer or at a library. My primary source and others are mentioned at the bottom of this page.

I want to start by commenting on Mr. Miller's record on three extremely important issues. After that, I will present a bill-by-bill listing of Mr. Miller's NO votes on 33 significant, contested bills that I thought were important for getting America moving again.

1. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.

Mr. Miller voted against this bill on September 24 and again on October 3, when, fortunately, it passed. He responded in part to the justifiable anger and fear expressed by an overwhelming majority of the constituents who called, e-mailed, and wrote to his office about the bail-out. Certainly, the corporations and executives who got us into this mess deserve punishment. The reason Mr. Miller should have voted for instead of against the Act was to prevent his constituents from being punished. Right now, credit is getting pretty close to frozen. A car dealer can't get the credit to get new cars on his lot, and if he could, many potential buyers would be unable to get loans. Florida's Chief Financial Officer, Alex Sink, said on the radio to forget about selling bonds for any state projects for the time being. Well-managed retirement funds may not be able to pay their retirees, and multimillion-dollar energy projects are on hold.

I do not think the rescue bill is perfect. I don't even think it is close to the best Congress could have done. It is, however, something. It is not a permanent solution, but it buys our economy the time we need to come up with and implement long-term solutions. It does give Congress oversight authority, although it does not provide as much specific authority as it should have, and it does limit the salaries of CEOs of participating corporations. I would have voted for the bill the first time around and worked to correct its faults before the second vote.

2. Senator Jim Webb's overwhelmingly successful GI Bill.

This legislation originated in the Senate and then became an amendment to a military authorization bill, H.R. 2642. This was an extremely complicated bill which existed in nine different versions. In the end, it passed by an overwhelming margin, and in the end, Mr. Miller voted for it. In the beginning, however, Mr. Miller followed the Bush administration's lead and opposed it as being too expensive. Only when the measure was clearly veto-proof did Mr. Miller finally hop onto the bandwagon.

3. "Yes, but... " votes on veterans' issues.

These are instances of voting YES on bills which do not appropriate the funding the measures require. This amounts to casting a NO vote in a far less visible way.

Mr. Miller voted for H.R. 5856, for example, which authorizes major medical facility projects and major medical facility leases for the Department of Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 2009 — but does not appropriate the money. Mr. Miller also voted for H.R. 5892. It directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to modernize the disability benefits claims processing system of the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure the accurate and timely delivery of compensation to veterans and their families and survivors. Again, unfortunately, it does not appropriate the money to make all that happen.

We know that Veterans' hospitals are badly understaffed and that 400,000 veterans are waiting in line for treatment — sometimes just because of paperwork delays. My statement on Veterans' Issues on this site makes it very clear that I am committed to full funding of needed veterans' programs, facilities and procedural streamlining. I have yet to see Mr. Miller speak out for full funding or work for it on the House floor. Mr. Miller's committee assignments also give him the responsibility of oversight: I invite him to give evidence that he took action in Congress to reform the claims processing system and correct the situation at Walter Reed prior to public disclosure of the problems.

Jim Bryan

33 BILLS ON WHICH JEFF MILLER VOTED NO

I picked 33 examples of significant, contested bills on which Mr. Miller voted NO and arranged them in nine general categories (energy, the economy, national security, education, etc.). Details on how I picked those 33 bills and information on how I obtained these records appear at the bottom of this page.

Set aside your opinions on the virtues of the individual bills and simply read through them. I think you will be able to see the same pattern as I did in Mr. Miller's voting: consistent opposition to measures that would help get America back on track.

ENERGY AND EFFICIENT TRANSPORTATION TAX RELIEF REDUCING SECRECY IN GOVERNMENT HELPING SMALL BUSINESS HOUSING AND EMPLOYMENT HEALTH NATIONAL SECURITY, MILITARY AND VETERANS ISSUES EDUCATION ECONOMY

ENERGY AND EFFICIENT TRANSPORTATION

  • H.R. 6 To reduce our Nation's dependency on foreign oil by investing in clean, renewable, and alternative energy resources, promoting new emerging energy technologies, developing greater efficiency, and creating a Strategic Energy Efficiency and Renewables Reserve to invest in alternative energy, and for other purposes. Miller's vote: NO
  • H.R. 6899 To advance the national security interests of the United States by reducing its dependency on oil through renewable and clean, alternative fuel technologies while building a bridge to the future through expanded access to Federal oil and natural gas resources, revising the relationship between the oil and gas industry and the consumers who own those resources and deserve a fair return from the development of publicly owned oil and gas, ending tax subsidies for large oil and gas companies, and facilitating energy efficiencies in the building, housing, and transportation sectors, and for other purposes. Miller's vote: NO
  • H.R. 3221 Moving the United States toward greater energy independence and security, developing innovative new technologies, reducing carbon emissions, creating green jobs, protecting consumers, increasing clean renewable energy production, and modernizing our energy infrastructure. Miller's vote: NO
  • H.R. 6251 To prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from issuing new Federal oil and gas leases to holders of existing leases who do not diligently develop the lands subject to such existing leases or relinquish such leases, and for other purposes. Miller's vote: NO
  • H.R. 6052 To promote increased public transportation use, to promote increased use of alternative fuels in providing public transportation, and for other purposes. Miller's vote: NO
  • H.R. 6003 To reauthorize Amtrak, and for other purposes. Miller's vote: NO

TAX RELIEF

  • H.R. 6275 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide individuals temporary relief from the alternative minimum tax, and for other purposes. Also H.R. 4351 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide individuals temporary relief from the alternative minimum tax, and for other purposes. Miller's vote: NO
  • H.R. 2761 To extend the Terrorism Insurance Program of the Department of the Treasury, and for other purposes. Miller first voted NO, then changed his vote to YES when a consensus emerged.
  • H.R. 2776 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide tax incentives for the production of renewable energy and energy conservation. Miller's vote: NO

REDUCING SECRECY IN GOVERNMENT

  • H.R. 1309 To promote openness in Government by strengthening section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the Freedom of Information Act), and for other purposes. Miller's vote: NO
  • H.R. 1255 To amend chapter 22 of title 44, United States Code, popularly known as the Presidential Records Act, to establish procedures for the consideration of claims of constitutionally based privilege against disclosure of Presidential records. Miller's vote: NO

HELPING SMALL BUSINESS

  • H.R. 976 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide tax relief for small businesses, and for other purposes. (Note: This vote refers to vote of February, 2007, on the bill as introduced in the House, not to later substitutions.) Miller's vote: NO.
  • H.R. 1332 To improve the access to capital programs of the Small Business Administration, and for other purposes. Miller's vote: NO
  • H.R. 5819 To amend the Small Business Act to improve the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, and for other purposes. Miller's vote: NO
  • H.R. 1332 To improve the access to capital programs of the Small Business Administration, and for other purposes. Miller's vote: NO

HOUSING AND EMPLOYMENT

  • HR 2 To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for an increase in the Federal minimum wage. Miller's vote: NO
  • H.R. 5818 To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make loans to States to acquire foreclosed housing and to make grants to States for related costs. Miller's vote: NO.
  • H.R. 5749 To provide for a program of emergency unemployment compensation. Miller's vote: NO
  • H.R. 3524 To reauthorize the HOPE VI program for revitalization of severely distressed public housing, and for other purposes. NO by Jeff Miller
  • H.R. 3246 To amend title 40, United States Code, to provide a comprehensive regional approach to economic and infrastructure development in the most severely economically distressed regions in the Nation. NO by Jeff Miller
  • H.R. 1982 To authorize appropriations for the rural housing and economic development program of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Miller's vote: NO

HEALTH

  • H.R. 3162 To amend titles XVIII, XIX, and XXI of the Social Security Act to extend and improve the children's health insurance program, to improve beneficiary protections under the Medicare, Medicaid, and the CHIP program, and for other purposes. Miller's vote: NO
  • H.R. 2900 To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise and extend the user-fee programs for prescription drugs and for medical devices, to enhance the post market authorities of the Food and Drug Administration with respect to the safety of drugs, and for other purposes. Miller's vote: NO
  • H.R. 2831 To amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to clarify that a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice that is unlawful under such Acts occurs each time compensation is paid pursuant to the discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, and for other purposes. Miller's vote: NO

NATIONAL SECURITY, MILITARY AND VETERANS ISSUES

  • H.R. 3159 To mandate minimum periods of rest and recuperation for units and members of the regular and reserve components of the Armed Forces between deployments for Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom. Miller's vote: NO
  • H.R. 2956 To require the Secretary of Defense to commence the reduction of the number of United States Armed Forces in Iraq to a limited presence by April 1, 2008, and for other purposes. Miller's vote: NO
  • H.R. 1 To provide for the implementation of the recommendations of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Miller's vote: NO
  • H.R. 2929 To limit the use of funds to establish any military installation or base for the purpose of providing for the permanent stationing of United States Armed Forces in Iraq or to exercise United States economic control of the oil resources of Iraq. Miller's vote: NO

EDUCATION

    H.R. 362 To authorize science scholarships for educating mathematics and science teachers, and for other purposes. Miller's vote: NO
  • H.R. 3036 To reauthorize and enhance the National Environmental Education Act. Miller's vote: NO
  • H.R. 3021 To direct the Secretary of Education to make grants to State educational agencies for the modernization, renovation, or repair of public school facilities, and for other purposes. Miller's vote: NO
  • H.R. 1657 To establish a Science and Technology Scholarship Program to award scholarships to recruit and prepare students for careers in the National Weather Service and in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration marine research, atmospheric research, and satellite programs. Miller's vote: NO
  • H.R. 362 To authorize science scholarships for educating mathematics and science teachers, and for other purposes. Miller's vote: NO

ECONOMY

  • H.R. 6604 To amend the Commodity Exchange Act to bring greater transparency and accountability to commodity markets, and for other purposes. Miller's vote: NO

SOURCES AND HOW I PICKED THE 33 BILLS

Since a complete, bill-by-bill record of his votes does not appear on Mr. Miller's Web site, I pulled his record mainly from the bill-by-bill tabulation at washingtonpost.com. This site shows, without comment, all of the bills from the current (110th) and previous Congresses. As of September 24 (the 110th Congress is still in session) the site showed about 360 House of Representatives (H.R.) bills with individual member's votes from introduction to the final decision. You can Google on "congress voting records" for a link to that and comparable sites. About a third of the bills introduced are comparatively unimportant (e.g., naming post offices or transferring small parcels of land). Others are consensus bills where all the votes are, "Aye." I picked 33 significant bills that had opposition.

I encourage you as a voter to make the effort to check this out for yourself. When I am in Congress, I intend to give everyone a direct, easy way to see exactly how I have voted. If I ever say, "Trust me on this," it's time for you to find a yourself new Representative. For the time being, since I do not yet have a voting record, please take time to read the issue statements I have put on this Web site.

Jim Bryan