Foster's First Votes Weaken National Security

Just After Being Sworn in, Foster Voted in Lock-Step with Democrats to Block Bipartisan FISA Bill and Divert Critical Intel Funds to Pet Projects

Washington– It took the new Democrat Rep. Bill Foster (IL-14) no time at all to prove his allegiance to the liberal Democrat House leaders, despite the potentially dangerous consequences for the very voters he was elected to represent.  Last night, just after Bill Foster was sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives, Foster dutifully cast two partisan votes that compromise America’s national security. 

Bill Foster immediately abdicated his duty to protect the American people and instead cast his very first vote as a member of Congress to block the bipartisan Senate bill to renew the Protect America Act (House Roll Call 116).

Bill Foster is already playing partisan politics with America’s national security. In a weak attempt to distract voters from the Democrats’ negligence to renew the Protect America Act, Foster voted in lock-step with the liberal Democrat leadership to fund duplicitous pet projects over critical human intelligence programs. 

Bill Foster cast his second vote in the House to gut human intelligence funding in order to stuff the Intelligence Authorization bill chock full of pet projects, including Jack Murtha’s “boondoggle” earmark, and a funding mandate to monitor climate change as a potential “security threat” (House Roll Call 117).

“Bill Foster didn’t waste any time in showing his true liberal colors.  It only took Foster a matter of hours to prove to Illinois voters that he would be a lapdog for Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s dangerous national security agenda,” said NRCC spokesman Ken Spain.  “Bill Foster’s votes to strip our intelligence community of critical funding and tools are the first pieces of evidence that he is out of touch with the voters of his district and not serious about national security.”

Comments

[Scott Mesick]

No one should be surprised, it is what he said he was going to do. The Republicans who care need to come out and work for Oberweis or his replacement should he step down. As bad a candidate as he is, he beats Foster hands down.

[GB]

Remember that Tim Johnson down in the 15th also voted to block this FISA bill. Is he, too, guilty of "partisan votes that compromise America’s national security"? Does he, too aid and abet terror as you are insinuating? No American wants to make this country less safe; stop trying to always assume moral high ground with inflammatory language, a poor reflection of the actual issue at hand, and little room for dissent. When you decry partisan bickering, yet you capitulate to the same, it speaks volumes about your intentions as well.

[Mario]

I expect the Illinois GOP and Oberweis (or whoever could/might succeed him as a candidate this year) to scrutinize carefully every vote cast by Foster. In a short amount of time, he will have amassed a record that could be attacked in preparation for the November election.

[raz60115]

Gotta disagree with the premise of the post.

The bill had nothing to do with national security. The telecoms have current immunity to cooperate with the nosy feds. The bill had everything to do with retroactive immunity for cooperating with the feds while the feds admittedly broke the FISA law.

Foster's vote was a vote for the rule of law; the partisans here are trying to put illegal behavior, which the administration admits to, beyond judicial accountability and review.

Score one for Foster, and I was a Lauzen voter.

[GB]

Score one for seeing through the fog. Go raz.

[TheReallyRightGuy]

This is a totally ridiculous issue. We're never going to be trusted by the American people until we get beyond fear mongering and offer concrete principles and benefits.

[George Kocan]

I would like to see a developed argument for the allegation of illegal behavior.

[Pete Speer]

Bill will get his just reward -- from the Trial Lawyers Association. As will the Democrat House Campaign Committee.

But the weak wimps in the republican Party will not pass the word to the MSM now....and bring it up later as well.

No money, Mr. State Chairman?

Foster needs to be shadowed day by day, published on day by day. Nothing less will do.

[Michael Burns]

Perhaps we wouldn't be having this problem to begin with if the GOP would do a better job of paying attention to the needs and concerns of it's constituents--rather than catering to Big Oil and Big Defense interests.

Any scenario that would allow a screw-up like this to happen should be very telling to Illinois voters: the choice of voting for a Democrat is merely the lesser of two evils--which doesn't say much about what people think about either party to begin with. It's just that in Illinois, there is a perception that GOP lawmakers will do more harm than Democratic ones in Washington.

Very sad.

[Pete Speer]

Not quite true, raz.

The utility companies cooperated with the federal government under the rule of law at the time. It is quite correct to now fpormally give them past immunity. That is all the bill does