Fred Upton: Part-time Republican?

Congressman Fred Upton of Michigan consistently votes against Republican principles on issues ranging from taxes, spending and national defense to government health programs and abortion. From the Upton record:

• “Yes” to Condemning the Troop Surge Strategy in Iraq. In what could perhaps be called a remarkable display of “bipartisanship”, Congressman Upton voted with the Democrats to condemn the Bush Administration’s surge strategy in Iraq, which later proved to be the key factor in turning the tide in that country. Upton also spoke on behalf of this resolution on House floor.i

• “Yes” to Bailing Out Wall Street. Congressman Upton was a reliable vote when it came to bailing out the financial services industry with $700 billion of taxpayer money, voting for the first attempt, which failed, and for the second attempt, which passed.ii

• “Yes” to Obama-Pelosi Spending. Congressman Upton voted for the Democrats’ $409 billion Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009, increasing spending by 8.4% over the previous year. It gave President Obama $19 billion more than he’d requested, contained $7.7 billion in earmarks, grew Congress’s spending on itself by 11%, and sent $545 million overseas to help pay for abortions. Twenty Democrats voted no; Upton said yes. iii

• “No” to Republican Efforts to Stop the Obama-Pelosi Spending Spree. Whether it was a vote to try and cut $355 billion out of the Democrats’ wasteful “stimulus”iv, a vote to save taxpayers $20 billion by returning HUD and the Department of Transportation back to FY 2008 funding levelsv, a vote to save taxpayers $5.75 billion by returning the Obama Administration’s EPA back to FY 2008 funding levelsvi, or a vote to save taxpayers $2 billion by returning funding for the State Department and USAID back to FY 2009 levelsvii, Congressman Upton voted with the other party- and against his own.

• “No” to Tax Cuts. Congressman Upton was one of three Republicans to oppose extending the Bush tax cuts, costing American taxpayers $80.5 billion over ten years.viii In addition, Upton voted with Democrats to try and make future tax cuts harder to passix, and he also opposed the Republican amendment to President Obama’s “stimulus” bill to stimulate people with tax cuts instead of stimulating bureaucrats with $787 billion of the people’s money.x

• “Yes,” “Yes,” and “Yes” Again for Federal Funding of Abortion. Congressman Upton voted repeatedly in favor of taxpayer-funded abortion, both in America as well as internationally. He repeatedly voted for government facilitation of abortion in federally-funded clinicsxi, repeatedly voted in favor of federal funding for Planned Parenthoodxii, and repeatedly voted to fund organizations who sponsor abortion in other countries (such as the United Nations Population Fund)xiii. Upton opposed his Republican colleagues when they offered a simple procedural motion to require federally funded abortion clinics to notify the parents of any underage pregnant girl before performing an abortion on her.xiv

• “No” to More Energy and Light Bulbs, “Yes” to the Global Warming Panic. In 2007, Upton helped Democrats pass an omnibus energy bill imposing vast new regulations on energy companies and creating dozens of new government energy programs.xv Among other provisions, this bill used an energy bill to create new social welfare programs, authorized $1 billion in clean energy funding for other countries, and banned drilling in certain locations. On global warming, he told the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment hearing that the debate is done and it’s time to spend: “I have said at nearly every climate change hearing that for me I don't dispute the science. Right or wrong, the debate over the modeling and science appears to be over.”xvi Upton’s proudest achievement? Co-authoring the ban on incandescent light bulbs with California Democratic Congresswoman Rep. Jane Harman.

• “Yes” to Putting Millions of Acres of Federal Land Off-Limits to Domestic Energy Production. Congressman Upton voted repeatedly in favor of putting more federal land off-limits to domestic energy production, including areas such as the Great Lakesxvii and off the coast of Floridaxviii. Congressman Upton also voted for a bill to eliminate 1.2 million acres from mineral leasing and energy exploration in the state of Wyoming – withdrawing 331 million barrels of recoverable oil and 8.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas from domestic energy supply.xix

• “Yes” to Doubling the Size of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Congressman Upton voted with House Democrats to double the size of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), raising taxes to pay for it. In a bizarre twist, the bill didn’t require that HHS cover poor children before middle-class children.xx In 2007 and 2008, Congressman Upton voted with Democrats to override President vetoes of similar legislation.xxi

i 110th Congress, 1st Session, H. Con. Res. 63 (“Disapproving of the decision of the President announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq”), Roll Call 99, Feb. 16, 2007. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll099.xml. ii 110th Congress, 2nd Session, H.R. 3997, Roll Call 674, Sept. 29, 2008. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll674.xml 110th Congress, 2nd Session, H.R. 1424, Roll Call 681, Oct. 3, 2008. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll681.xml iii 111th Congress, 1st Session, H.R. 1105 (Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009), Roll Call 86, Feb. 25, 2009. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll086.xml iv 111th Congress, 1st Session, H. Amdt. 16 (Neugebauer of Texas) to H.R. 1 (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009), Roll Call 42, January 28, 2009. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll042.xml v 111th Congress, 1st Session, H. Amdt. 372 (Jordan of Ohio) to H.R. 3288 (Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010), Roll Call 624, July 23, 2009. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll624.xml vi 111th Congress, 1st Session, H. Amdt. 279 (Jordon of Ohio) to H.R. 2996 (Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010), Roll Call 468, June 26, 2009. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll468.xml vii 111th Congress, 1st Session, H. Amdt. 307 (Buyer of Indiana) to H.R. 3081 (Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2010), Roll Call 517, July 9, 2009. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll517.xml viii 109th Congress, 1st Session, H.R. 4297 (Tax Relief Extension Reconciliation Act), Roll Call 621, Dec. 8, 2005. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll621.xml. ix 108th Congress, 2nd Session, “On Motion to Instruct Conferees”, S. Con. Res. 95 (Congressional Budget for the U.S. Government for FY 2005), Roll Call 97, March 30, 2004. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2004/roll097.xml x 111th Congress, 1st Session, H. Amdt. 22 (Camp of Michigan) to H.R. 1 (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009), Roll Call 44, January 28, 2009. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll044.xml xi For an example of Congressman Upton voting against prohibiting the District of Columbia using congressionally appropriated funds to pay for abortions, see 101st Congress, 1st Session, H. Amdt. 228 (Dornan of California) to H.R. 3026 (District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1990), Roll Call 205, Aug. 2, 1989. For an example of Congressman Upton voting against prohibiting federally-funded clinics from offering abortion counseling and referrals, see 104th Congress, 1st Session, H. Amdt. 718 (Livingston of Louisiana) to H.R. 2127 (Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996), Roll Call 614, Aug. 2, 1995. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/1995/roll614.xml xii On two recent occasions, Upton has opposed amendments offered by House Republican Conference Chairman Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) to prohibit federal funding of Planned Parenthood: I. 110th Congress, 1st Session, H. Amdt. 594 (Pence of Indiana) to H.R. 3043 (Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008), Roll Call 684, July 19, 2007, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll684.xml; II. 111th Congress, 1st Session, H. Amdt. 389 (Pence of Indiana) to H.R. 3293 (Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010), Roll Call 643, July 24, 2009, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll643.xml. xiii 106th Congress, 1st Session, H. Amdt. 304 (Campbell of California Amendment to Amendment by Smith of New Jersey) to H.R. 2415 (Foreign Relations Authorization Act, FY 2000 and FY 2001), Roll Call 312, July 20, 1999. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/1999/roll312.xml 105th Congress, 1st Session, H.J. Res. 36, "Approving the Presidential finding that the limitation on obligations imposed by section 518A(a) of the Foreign Operations Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 1997, is having a negative impact on the proper functioning of the population planning program", Roll Call 22, February 13, 1997. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/1997/roll022.xml. xiv 103rd Congress, 1st Session, “On Motion to Recommit with Instructions” to H.R. 670 (Family Planning Amendments Act of 1993), Roll Call 106, March 25, 1995. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/1993/roll106.xml xv 110th Congress, 1st Session, H.R. 3221 (New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act), Roll Call 832, Aug. 4, 2007. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll832.xml xvi Hearing on “The Climate Crisis: National Security, Public Health, and Economic Threats,” Thursday, February 12, 2009, House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Washington, D.C., p. 7. http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_111/20090212/transcript_20090212_ee.pdf xvii 107th Congress, 1st Session, H. Amdt. 127 (Bonior of Michigan) to H.R. 2311 (Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2002), Roll Call 203, June 28, 2001. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2001/roll203.xml. xviii 107th Congress, 1st Session, H. Amdt. 107 (Davis of Florida) to H.R. 2217 (Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002), Roll Call 181, June 21, 2001. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2001/roll181.xml xix 111th Congress, 1st Session, H.R. 146 (Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009), Roll Call 153, March 25, 2009. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll153.xml xx 111th Congress, 1st Session, H.R. 2 (Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009), Roll Call 16, Jan. 14, 2009. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll016.xml

xxi 110th Congress, 1st Session, “On passage, the objections of the President to the contrary notwithstanding”, H.R. 976 (Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007), Roll Call 982, Oct. 18, 2007. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll982.xml 110th Congress, 2nd Session, “On passage, the objections of the President to the contrary notwithstanding”, H.R. 3963 (Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007), Roll Call 22, Jan. 23, 2008. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll022.xml