Recent Blog Posts

"Give Us Their Names"

By Tom McClintock on May 21, 2013

Mr. Speaker:

One of the most disturbing aspects of the unfolding scandal involving the misuse of the IRS is what can only be described as an insatiable appetite for names, names, and more names.

Conservative groups – and only conservative groups – seeking to organize under Section 501 were subjected to pages of intrusive and irrelevant questions – but with a common theme: Give us the names.

Freedom Under Siege

By Tom McClintock on May 15, 2013

Mr. Speaker:

Just a week after the President extolled the benign virtues of big government and told university students to ignore those who warn of its dangers, Americans woke up to headlines that this government has been targeting groups and individuals that it doesn’t like for intimidation and harassment.

I appreciate the President’s sudden interest in getting to the bottom of this. But I must remind the House that more than a year ago, I and other members rose on this floor to warn of these tactics directed at Tea Party groups by the IRS.

At the time, the administration responded by saying that this was just a normal backlog.

Now we know that was a deliberate and premeditated lie.

Protecting Our Credit

By Tom McClintock on April 26, 2013

Mr. Speaker:

On Wednesday, the Democratic Whip charged that the Full Faith and Credit Act places America at risk of default. As Churchill once said, “It would not be possible to state the opposite of the truth with greater precision.

Quite the contrary, this measure guarantees that whatever political storms are raging in Washington, America’s debt will ALWAYS be paid IN FULL and ON TIME.

I would remind him that if the full faith and credit of the United States is ever compromised – all programs are jeopardized. This bill protects the public credit so the public credit can protect seniors AND disabled veterans and all of our other obligations.

Keep Yosemite Tourist-Friendly

By Tom McClintock on April 24, 2013

Mr. Speaker:

I rise today in strong opposition to a proposal by the National Park Service to remove long-standing tourist facilities from Yosemite National Park, including bicycle and raft rentals, snack facilities, gift shops, horseback riding, the ice rink at Curry Village, tennis courts and swimming pools, the art center and the historic stone Sugar-Pine Bridge. These facilities date back generations and provide visitors with a wide range of amenities to enhance their stay at – and their enjoyment of – this world-renowned national park.

To add insult to insanity, all this comes with a quarter-billion dollar price tag.

Protecting the Public's Right to Enjoy Yosemite Sacramento Bee Editorial Response

By Tom McClintock on April 15, 2013

The Bee’s Sunday editorial (4/14/2013) once again misstates my position on several issues, this time pertaining to Yosemite Valley.

The Bee reports that I oppose legislation to purchase an additional 1,600 acres of land adjacent to park boundaries. In fact, the Bee was clearly informed I have not taken a position on that bill and will not do so until I can see the property and understand its role in the Park’s mission and operations.

Immigration Issues

By Tom McClintock on March 6, 2013

Statement on Immigration to the Diocese of Sacramento
Congressman Tom McClintock
March 6, 2013

America is a nation of immigrants. With the singular exception of full-blooded Native Americans, we are all either immigrants ourselves or we are the sons and daughters of immigrants. America’s motto is “E Pluribus Unum” – from many, one. From many nations we have created one great nation – the American nation.

Water and Power Issues

By Tom McClintock on March 5, 2013

Water and Power Sub-Committee
House Natural Resources Committee
March 5, 2013

The Water and Power Sub-Committee meets for the first time in the 113th Congress to take up two bills that could increase our nation’s hydro-electric capacity by roughly 150,000 kilowatts – or the equivalent generating capacity of the four hydro-electric dams on the Klamath River.

They do so at no cost to taxpayers – indeed, these projects will produce millions of dollars of new revenue for taxpayers by leasing existing federal facilities.

Millions of dollars of new revenue, millions of watts of new clean hydro-electricity, and all the jobs these projects would produce, and yet the federal bureaucracies stand in the way.

Water Issues

By Tom McClintock on February 27, 2013

Self-Evident Water Truths
Association of California Water Agencies
Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.
February 27, 2013

Water – particularly in California – has become such a complicated tangle of competing interests and ideological agendas that I think we have lost sight of some self-evident truths.

Self-Evident Truth #1: More water is better than less water. Can we agree on this first point? I know I’m stating the obvious – but I keep hearing, that, “no, conservation is the key to the future because conservation lessens demand.” That may be true, but ultimately conservation is the management of shortage and abundance is better.

Sequester: The Last Tool We Have

By Tom McClintock on February 26, 2013

Sequester: The Last Tool We Have
House Chamber, Washington, D.C.
February 27, 2013

The decline and fall of the Roman Empire offers us a sobering warning of a great a nation that became over-extended and war-weary abroad, while it became utterly profligate and decadent at home. Its economy in shambles and its treasury bankrupt, the mightiest military power on Earth finally fell easy prey for backward hordes that had previously existed only beyond the fringe of civilization.

Three years ago, Admiral Mike Mullen sounded the alarm for our nation with this chilling warning: "Our national debt is our biggest national security threat."