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Dateline: Thursday, June 16 (Day 3131)
Location: 102nd Session of Congress
Editor: OMFG Staff and Speaker AlexJ1890
Video : just because it's Day 3131.. In the Year 2525

The Word of the Day:
: 1 : Getting Caught Up
: 2 : This Week's Congressional Activity
: 3 : The Week Ahead

Editor’s Note:
The Speaker's Word will be published every Thursday, by the OMFG and Speaker AlexJ1890.


Follow-up to Previous Congressional Activity


Boy, if only.. Congress is definitely not using a rubber to stamp Tax legislation this month, in fact, they have humped this topic harder than anything in recent memory.

You'll remember, in last week's Speaker's Word, we had premature etaxulation a couple times before we could really get it on. It took vigorous stroking to get a proper Tax Discussion underway, then it still took two tries to get a Vote in. In the end, in a complete reverse cowboy from Congress' usual Max Tax position, the people were rewarded with a generous spurt of 1% Tax.
Before we could even finish an after-Tax smoke, we quickly realized we'd gone down a bit too down low, a bit too quickly, so Congress wiped their collective brow and got right back to it.

One thing led to another, and Congress finally eased gently into Raising the Work Tax to 2%, which led to a Proposal and Vote, and climaxed at 26 Yes to 14 No.
A completely satisfied and exhausted Congress then rolled over and went to sleep.


June 2016 Budget

Normally, setting the Budget for the month is among the first few things Congress handles each new term. Initial Sign In, Elect a Speaker, then the Budget. This month we were so excited to get all up in the post-Resource War Tax talks that the Budget got.. forgotten? In such a case, the previous month's Budget is carried over, continued without change.

On June 10th, a full two weeks after the 102nd Congress was officially seated, a Budget Discussion was opened. With a starting point of the April Budget (re-used for May), blending with the ongoing Tax talks (1%? 5%? 2%?), Congress launched into examining the amounts being paid to line-holders, and discussing where some fat may be trimmed. This is a thread worth reading, folks, it shows a (fairly) serious view of Congress doing serious business.

At publication time, the Proposal is in place and is has the required ten Approvals to move to a Vote. Here's your Budget for the remainder of the month of June:

Every single line-holder took a hit, in the interest of developing a Budget based on actual income, abandoning the notion of chipping at the Reserves while waiting for Plato to get the stick outta his.. implementation of economic changes.

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Embargo Canada

Following up on last week's official trolling of Canada with a Discussion-Proposal-Vote cycle to Attack Canada, Congress has decided to properly spank Canada with a Trade Embargo.
Congressman and Chief Propagandist Derphoof led the charge with this Discussion post:


In the true spirit of international diplomatic trolling, many Congressmen expressed their views:
"This is useless and meaningless, but so is eRepublik, and that's why I support it." 
"THE GRAND IMPERIAL FLEET STANDS READY TO BLOCKADE."
"Full support for taxing the s--t outta baby seal oil!"

One Congressman wasn't sure if this was totally trolling, or actually legit legislation. 
Derphoof explained, "Taxes will not be affected. This is not a troll post. I wholeheartedly wish to embargo Canada for the full year, if not longer."

While a Trade Embargo will have zip-nada actual negative effect on Canada, this is the one way America can make an official statement, literally, for the books. A totally legit trolling Law.
Embargo Kanada for a Year Vote passes: 15 Yes, 5 No, 7 Abstain

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US Does Not Renew Russian MPP

Now, this one happened in Private Congress, so there's no link, but now that it's done and has been covered in official government media, the thread should be cleaned of any OpSec stuff and moved to the Public area.. soon.

The general jist of it is that Russia hasn't been a very good ally, not helping the US and other Pacifica members in times of need, and most recently they signed an MPP with an enemy state, Bulgaria. It is hoped that Russia will soon understand that they have chosen the wrong path, and reconsider the value of the longstanding Eagle and Bear relationship.
It is unknown at this time what effect Russia's choice of MPPs will have on its standing in Pacifica, but that'll be news for another newspaper.


What to Look for Next Week

We're all waiting for the post-Resource Wars changes to start kicking in, and Congress is made up of players just like you. We're all hoping to let the Tax rate ride at 2% for a while, having learned a lesson from jumping too quickly earlier this month. We are hoping that the bumpy road with Russia, and increased interest in Latvia-Lithuania war, and winding down Training Wars, etc., all yield a nice quiet ride to the end of the term.
But we are ready.
Some Congressmen never put away their Max Taxes hammer.
Some Congressmen want real war with Canada, Serbia and Romania notwithstanding.
Congress stands ready.. sometimes a bit too ready.. but we're ready.



The Legislative Branch and Public Congressional Proceedings are where Congress conducts almost all its business, and are there for you to follow our Discussions and Votes.

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The Speaker's Word Day 3131
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