H.R. 3501: The Fido Deduction?

Regular Crumb Crunchers will remember my frequent praise of Michigan Congressman Thaddeus McCotter (R-11) for his principled stand on issues such as taxes, freedom, the Constitution, the SwindleUs Bill and the bailout of Wall Street. He was on such a roll....

On July 31, 2009, unnoticed in the midst of heated debate about health care 'reform' and the onset of the House's August recess, Rep. McCotter introduced H.R. 3501, the Humanity and Pets Partnered through the Years, or HAPPY, Act. I won't even address the silliness of federal legislation being dubbed The Happy Act. It's the bill's purpose that sent me searching for a pooper scooper.

H.R. 3501 would amend the Federal Tax Code to create a deduction for pet care expenses. I kid you not. Here's the actual bill language as posted at Thomas, the Library of Congress site:

H. R. 3501

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a deduction for pet care expenses.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 31, 2009

Mr. MCCOTTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

---

A BILL

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a deduction for pet care expenses.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years (HAPPY) Act'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds the following:

(1) According to the 2007-2008 National Pet Owners Survey, 63 percent of United States households own a pet.

(2) The Human-Animal Bond has been shown to have positive effects upon people's emotional and physical well-being.

SEC. 3. DEDUCTION FOR PET CARE EXPENSES.

(a) In General- Part VII of subchapter B of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to additional itemized deductions for individuals) is amended by redesignating section 224 as section 225 and by inserting after section 223 the following new section:

`SEC. 224. PET CARE EXPENSES.

`(a) Allowance of Deduction- In the case of an individual, there shall be allowed as a deduction for the taxable year an amount equal to the qualified pet care expenses of the taxpayer during the taxable year for any qualified pet of the taxpayer.

`(b) Maximum Deduction- The amount allowable as a deduction under subsection (a) to the taxpayer for any taxable year shall not exceed $3,500.

`(c) Qualified Pet Care Expenses- For purposes of this section, the term `qualified pet care expenses' means amounts paid in connection with providing care (including veterinary care) for a qualified pet other than any expense in connection with the acquisition of the qualified pet.

`(d) Qualified Pet- For purposes of this section--

`(1) QUALIFIED PET- The term `qualified pet' means a legally owned, domesticated, live animal.

`(2) EXCEPTIONS- Such term does not include any animal--

`(A) used for research or owned or utilized in conjunction with a trade or business, or

`(B) with respect to which the taxpayer has claimed a deduction under section 162 or 213 in any of the preceding 3 taxable years.'.

(b) Clerical Amendment- The table of sections for part VII of subchapter B of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by striking the last item and inserting the following new items:

`Sec. 224. Pet care expenses.

`Sec. 225. Cross reference.'.

(c) Effective Date- The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2009.

Now, I love my dogs and their care can get pricey, but this is beyond ridiculous. Do our elected officials really have nothing more important to concern themselves with? Here's a novel idea: If you can't afford to care for a pet, don't get one!

Thaddeus, when you're right, I'm with you all the way... but if you leave a steaming pile on the House agenda, I'm gonna have to rub your nose in it.

NOTE: About 10:15 this morning, I called Congressman McCotter's Washington office for comment but the appropriate legislative aide was unavailable. A very nice young woman took my contact information and promised my call would be returned. I'll post an update as soon as that happens.

Republicans Gone Wild: Michigan Congressional Delegation

Say it isn't so....

Michigan has seven Republican members of Congress. Six of them - SIX! - voted in favor of the unconstitutional, retroactive, ridiculous 90% tax on corporate bonuses paid by A.I.G. Only Rep. Thaddeus McCotter had the good sense to see it for what it is.

I wrote yesterday about Congress and the Administration knowing for A YEAR about these bonuses, and how Chris Dodd specifically exempted them from penalties in the SwindleUs bill because they were 'contractual obligations'. Congress has no power or authority to break private contracts.

So what is WRONG with these people? I know some of them personally and I know they are not ignorant. If there is a good excuse for this behavior, I'd love to hear it. Perhaps they're hoping for political cover, counting on the courts to toss this rubbish because it is - and it IS - unconstitutional? That's pretty spineless.

To say I am 'disappointed' in them doesn't begin to describe it. They're breaking my heart. If we can't count on Republicans to vote against this lunacy, we really have no hope of saving America. I'm sure this won't make me very popular with the GOP, but intellectual honesty demands I do more than serve as a cheerleader. My country comes before my party.

I will be contacting Representatives Camp, Ehlers, Hoekstra, Miller, Rogers and Upton to tell them what I just told you. Then I will contact Rep. McCotter's office to thank him for standing alone against the madness. Join me, won't you?

Congressman Thaddeus McCotter: An American Statesman

Finally...a voice of sanity and reason in Congress. No wonder he had to fight to keep his Republican leadership position; he makes too damned much sense and clings tenaciously to his principles. Shocking!

I have remained skeptical of the proposed Detroit Big Three 'bailout' or 'bridge loan', despite my principle livelihood depending on the automotive industry; our company is a tier 2 parts supplier. There are some real potential benefits to a Chapter 11 filing, such as the ability to scrap the union contracts and start over - a tempting prospect indeed from a competitiveness standpoint.

The national security argument, however, cannot be ignored; it has moved me to the 'yea' side of the ledger. That it has come to this is deeply distressing, but here we are nonetheless. We must play the hand we were dealt.

Resurrecting the GOP

No one can deny it; the Republicans took a drubbing on election day. Why? Some would have you believe it was a failure to 'move to the center', become more 'moderate', more 'Democrat Lite'. What nonsense. Republicans lost precisely because they DID move to the vast, squishy, nebulous middle; they became philosophically vacant. Dick Armey rightly noted in "Armey's Axioms" that "When we act like them, we lose. When we act like us, we win."

Congressman Thaddeus McCotter demands a return to First Principles, and he calls them the “enduring principles” of the Republican Party:

1. Our liberty is from God not the government.

2. Our sovereignty rests in our souls not the soil.

3. Our security is through strength not surrender.

4. Our prosperity is from the private sector not the public sector.

5. Our truths are self-evident not relative.

So simple, yet so powerful. Why have Republicans, especially those in leadership roles, forgotten this?

Ronald Reagan understood this. He spoke of freedom, honor and peace with such eloquence it is as relevant today as it was in 1964. Only the names have been changed - and that may not be true much longer. The bear is rising again, looking with malice at its old turf. When it comes to Vladimir Putin, you can take the man out of the KGB, but you can't take the KGB out of the man.

The Wall Street Journal noted the results of recent polls showing a majority of Americans agreeing with principles of Ronald Reagan:

A Rasmussen survey conducted Oct. 2 found that 59% agreed with the sentiment expressed by Reagan in his first inaugural address: "Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." Just 28% disagreed with this sentiment. That survey also found that 44% of Obama voters agreed with Reagan's assessment (40% did not). And McCain voters overwhelmingly supported the Gipper.

If Republicans hope for more than permanent minority status, they would do well to heed this advice. Let the east coast, blue-blood, country club set whine and moan. They may find themselves less accepted on the A-list party circuit, poor dears, but the health, even the survival, of our country requires occasional sacrifice from each of us.

Bailout of Wall Street Called "Socialist", "Communist". Congressman Offers Alternate Plan

Michigan Congressman Thaddeus (Thad) McCotter (R-11) issued the following press release this morning. Good on ya, Thad! [emphasis added ~Ed]

Washington, DC – Representative Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI), Chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, today released the following statement:

“I was not elected to abet American socialism.

Thus, I am opposing the Bush administration’s taxpayer funded, trillion dollar Wall Street bailout; and, alternatively, proposing a pro-taxpayer, free market, private recapitalization plan for the banking system; ending financial chaos; and preventing the advent of Wall Street Socialism.

Drawn from the free-market ideas of the public and our members, this proposal is premised upon the following principle: Our prosperity is from the private sector not the public sector.

True, some will still assert the administration’s support of Wall Street’s leveraged bailout at taxpayers’ expense is the only answer to this crisis of confidence. They are dead wrong.

First, we must never punish the innocent to profit the guilty.

Secondly, a taxpayer bailout is never the first or only resort. If it is claimed to be so, the object of the bailout is already too far gone to be saved.

Thirdly, this trillion dollar taxpayer bailout will not prevent a Great Depression. It will promote a Greater Depression.

While there exist a host of other reasons, for the sake of brevity let me reiterate: The Paulson Plan is premised upon a public bailout. A better plan is premised upon private recapitalization. Thus, I oppose the Paulson Plan’s raid on the taxpayers; and I will continue fighting to ensure the Wall Street crowd who made this mess pay to clean it up.”

Congressman McCotter is not content to simply criticize the plan on the table; he has drafted a plan of his own, EARN or the "Expedited American Recapitalization - Now" Act:

Expedited American Recapitalization - Now (EARN) Act Proceedings: A sunset bill that makes available to financial institutions a pre-packaged recapitalization (EARN) proceeding in which debt forgiveness is expedited. (This is similar to expedited bankruptcy proceedings. The strike warrant price will determine values.)

Inducement to EARN Proceedings: To induce financial institutions to undergo EARN proceedings, future government recapitalization (if necessary) may not be offered to a financial institution which does not go through an EARN proceeding.

Incentivize Private Recapitalization: If, within a limited one year window (commencing upon this legislation’s enactment into law), a person invests in (i.e., recapitalizes) a financial institution that has undergone an EARN proceeding, this investment over its lifetime is subject to a ZERO capital gains tax rate. If, within the same one year window, a person purchases a toxic asset, this investment over its lifetime is subject to a ZERO capital gains tax rate.

Government Backstop: If no private capital is forthcoming, the government can take a preferred equity stake in an EARN financial institution. No dividends may be paid to any other investor until the taxpayers’ claim is redeemed with appropriate interest. The government shall also hold voting rights, as determined by the percentage of its equity shares owned, in an EARN financial institution only until such time as the taxpayers’ claim is redeemed with appropriate interest. (This addresses CEO salaries and bonuses without permanently vitiating the private sector’s setting of compensation.)

Distressed Homeowner Relief: 5% of all government recapitalization invested in an EARN financial institution must be dedicated to an across-the-board reduction in the face value of “toxic” mortgages. This will help keep people in their homes; stabilize the foreclosure crisis; and begin to stabilize and raise all homeowners’ values.

Non-EARN Financial Institutions: Financial institutions choosing not to participate in an EARN proceeding, may wall off their toxic assets (as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury) which were purchased between December 2003 and August 2007. For these toxic assets, the current mark-to-market rule will be suspended and replaced with a more accurate three year rolling average mark-to-market; and for a fee, insurance of these toxic assets can then be purchased from the federal government. If, within the above referenced one year window a person purchases a toxic asset, this investment over its lifetime is subject to only HALF the capital gains tax rate applicable at present; if the capital gains tax changes, the toxic asset’s purchaser possesses the option, upon alienating the toxic asset, of being taxed at the capital gains rate applicable at the enactment date of this legislation into law.

Market Transparency and Congressional Oversight: To ensure Market Transparency, the Secretary of the Treasury is empowered to examine any and all appropriate financial records at any time of financial institutions and individuals covered under this act; and Congress at any time may request of the Secretary of the Treasury any and all information required to protect the taxpayers’ investment incurred under this act.

End “Too Big To Fail”: Make an express commitment to a future, pro-active regulatory system in which a market share cap provision is imposed upon financial institutions to prevent future taxpayer bailouts and market meltdowns due to entities deemed “too big to fail.”

American Families’ Prosperity Package: Make an express commitment to further American families’ prosperity in a free market future by enacting pro-growth legislation, including, but not limited to: an “all of the above” American energy security plan; income tax and capital gains relief; the repeal of Sarbanes-Oxley; suspend the mark-to-market rule for all financial institutions for six months and replace it with a more accurate three year rolling average mark-to-market; GSE privatization; and dollar stabilization. (See Gingrich and RSC proposals.)

Ultimate Cost to Taxpayers: ZERO!

Bill Perkins, a private, Houston-based venture capitalist placed a $130,000 dollar, full-page ad in the New York Times which consisted only of the following cartoon. Note the demise of Capitalism and Private Enterprise.

Mr. Perkins explains it to Fox Business. Or at least tries to.

David Littman, the brilliant former Chief Economist for Comerica Bank, now with the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, wrote a scathing Op-Ed in today's Detroit News (links added by me). In Reject Bailout Rush to Socialism, Littman says,

"The proposed federal intervention (up to a $1 trillion bailout of distressed assets and bonus-paying firms) is the antithesis of what the competitive markets of capitalism would permit."

[SNIP]

Yet, to cover their corrupting decisions and past complaisance, Washington's major mouthpieces -- from former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd -- now say that unless we trust them with a new round of our scarce resources, the U.S. economic system will collapse. This rhetoric is meant to panic us into accepting a new federal steward of our hard-earned dollars. But when you dissect the palaver, what you see is a bare-knuckled proposal to further centralize federal control over the marketplace of investments and savings. Such a revolutionary move is socialism. It will not simply be a matter of taxing the rich or those with some ability to pay for the purpose of redistributing shelter to the poor. It will represent an institutionalization of financing immoral behavior.

[SNIP]

There may yet be time to stop this debacle, but 'we the people' are going to have to help. Call, fax or e-mail your member of Congress and your Senators. Ditto the White House. Let's demand a free market solution - before it's too late.