By Senator Rand Paul - (R - KY)
August 24, 2015
From Duke Ellington to Tony Bennett, jazz is a part of the American soul. One group taking the genre to new levels is the New Orleans-based Soul Rebels. The Village Voice said of the group, “[t]he hip-hop-inflected eight-piece Soul Rebels are arguably the most dynamically au courant of the city's many fine brass bands.”[1]
Have not had a chance to take in one of their concerts? Well, you’ve paid for one of their concerts overseas. That’s right. Earlier this summer, the U.S. Department of State spent nearly $50,000 of taxpayer money to, “support the Soul Rebels to travel to Turkey to give public performances as part of the 22nd Istanbul Jazz Festival.”[2]
What is most surprising is that the Soul Rebels were already on a European tour, making taxpayer financing for the stop in Turkey unnecessary. In fact, after Turkey, the Soul Rebels went on to make stops in Belgium, France, Ireland, Norway, and met up with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga at the “North Sea Jazz Festival” in the Netherlands.[3]
The group is hardly a fledgling act needing Uncle Sam’s help. The Soul Rebels have put out six albums since 1999, including Power=Power (2013), where they incorporate their unique sound to popular songs by the likes of Bruno Mars and Nicki Minaj. That is not the only company they are keeping. They share a label with, Tom Jones, They Might Be Giants, and Alison Krauss.[4]
So, the question has to be asked, why does such a cutting edge, established group need Uncle Sam to pay for the band to play at a well-established European jazz festival?
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[1] Gehr, Richard, SOUL REBELS+JON CLEARY & THE ABSOLUTE MONSTER GENTLEMEN+LOST BAYOU RAMBLERS; The Village Voice; New York, NY, June 2014.
[2] IZMIR FOUNDATION FOR CULTURE, ARTS AND EDUCATION; USASpending.Gov; Washington, DC; May, 2015
[3] North Sea Jazz Festival, Songkick.org http://www.songkick.com/festivals/32691-north-sea-jazz/id/21183698-north-sea-jazz-festival-2015
[4] http://www.rounder.com/artists/#D
Showing posts with label Government Spending. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Government Spending. Show all posts
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Thursday, July 30, 2015
More Stuff in the News: Government Spending, Cough Medicines, Veterans Healthcare, Illegal Fishing, Mesothelioma
U.S. Representative Evan Jenkins (R-W.Va.) said on the House floor on Tuesday, July 28, 2015, that West Virginia can’t afford more regulations from this administration. He spoke during debate on the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, which would require any federal rule or regulation with an annual economic impact of $100 million or more to face an up-or-down vote in Congress before being enacted. H.R. 427 was passed 243-165. The REINS Act guarantees that no major regulation over $100 million becomes effective until Congress approves it. Furthermore, it guarantees a fast up or down vote within 70 legislative days.
Congressman Bill Johnson (R-OH) and Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA), members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, introduced the DXM Abuse Prevention Act in a bipartisan effort to prevent teen abuse of over-the-counter (OTC) cough medicines containing the cough suppressant dextromethorphan, commonly referred to as DXM. The bill would establish a national age-18 requirement for the purchase of medicines containing DXM.
The House passed U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson’s (TX-03) Help Veterans Save for Health Care Act (H.R. 2514) as part of H.R. 3236. Johnson’s bill would help veterans with service-connected disabilities save for, pay for, and access quality health care. The passage of the Help Veterans Save for Health Care Act preceded the House’s approval of H.R. 1994, the VA Accountability Act that would, in light of the VA wait-listing scandal, make it easier to fire bad VA employees.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation cosponsored by Congressman David Jolly (FL-13) to fight the problem of illegal fishing from foreign vessels in the Gulf of Mexico. The Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Enforcement Act of 2015 (H.R. 774) passed the House by voice vote. The Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Enforcement Act stiffens penalties for those caught illegally fishing in U.S. waters by potentially stripping poachers of their boats and equipment and laying the groundwork for criminal charges based on the laws of their home countries. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Gulf of Mexico’s commercial and recreational fishing industries contributed more than $30 billion annually to the region’s economy in 2012. Globally, illegal and unreported fishing account for up to $23.5 billion worth of seafood, or about one in every five fish taken from our oceans.
U.S. Representative John Katko (NY-24) has introduced bipartisan legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives to establish a national mesothelioma patient registry. The ‘Mary Jo Lawyer Spano Mesothelioma Patient Registry Act of 2015’ is district-focused legislation named in honor of Mary Jo Lawyer Spano, a Central New York woman who late last year lost her four-year battle with mesothelioma, an asbestos-related form of cancer that affects the lining the lungs, chest, heart, and abdomen. Spano’s sister, Meg Meccariello, who also suffers from mesothelioma, and mother, Elizabeth Lawyer, met with Rep. Katko early this Congress to advocate for the development of a National Mesothelioma Patient Registry.
Congressman Bill Johnson (R-OH) and Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA), members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, introduced the DXM Abuse Prevention Act in a bipartisan effort to prevent teen abuse of over-the-counter (OTC) cough medicines containing the cough suppressant dextromethorphan, commonly referred to as DXM. The bill would establish a national age-18 requirement for the purchase of medicines containing DXM.
The House passed U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson’s (TX-03) Help Veterans Save for Health Care Act (H.R. 2514) as part of H.R. 3236. Johnson’s bill would help veterans with service-connected disabilities save for, pay for, and access quality health care. The passage of the Help Veterans Save for Health Care Act preceded the House’s approval of H.R. 1994, the VA Accountability Act that would, in light of the VA wait-listing scandal, make it easier to fire bad VA employees.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation cosponsored by Congressman David Jolly (FL-13) to fight the problem of illegal fishing from foreign vessels in the Gulf of Mexico. The Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Enforcement Act of 2015 (H.R. 774) passed the House by voice vote. The Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Enforcement Act stiffens penalties for those caught illegally fishing in U.S. waters by potentially stripping poachers of their boats and equipment and laying the groundwork for criminal charges based on the laws of their home countries. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Gulf of Mexico’s commercial and recreational fishing industries contributed more than $30 billion annually to the region’s economy in 2012. Globally, illegal and unreported fishing account for up to $23.5 billion worth of seafood, or about one in every five fish taken from our oceans.
U.S. Representative John Katko (NY-24) has introduced bipartisan legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives to establish a national mesothelioma patient registry. The ‘Mary Jo Lawyer Spano Mesothelioma Patient Registry Act of 2015’ is district-focused legislation named in honor of Mary Jo Lawyer Spano, a Central New York woman who late last year lost her four-year battle with mesothelioma, an asbestos-related form of cancer that affects the lining the lungs, chest, heart, and abdomen. Spano’s sister, Meg Meccariello, who also suffers from mesothelioma, and mother, Elizabeth Lawyer, met with Rep. Katko early this Congress to advocate for the development of a National Mesothelioma Patient Registry.
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