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Friends and Citizens!

There have been some great discussions, proposals, and votes going on in congress, and I'd like to give you an update on where we are with my campaign goals!

Everything in-game should be fairly self-explanatory, and my vote was yes on all of them (update MPPS, donate money, etc), with the NOTABLE EXCEPTION of the proposal to impeach new-POTUS Woxan, which was brought forth by everyone's favorite congressman, Pizza the Hut.

The discussions inside the halls of congress have been much more interesting:

BUDGET AND FINANCE COMMITTEE

Military Funding

Currently, the military budget is broken out by branch by congress (X gold for Marines, Y gold for AB, etc). There are a few individuals who have wondered why we don't simply give the JCS a lump sum and let them divide it among the branches as they see fit. This question does, in fact, make sense...but here's the kicker: It's been asked and answered! The CJCS does not want the lump sum because he or she will inevitably come from one of the branches, and any changes in how the funding pie is divided could easily be seen as an attempt at favoritism. For this reason, it is best that congress continues to break out the funding, with the input of the JCS.

I am on the side of things that congress should continue to dictate the percentages, because of the position of the CJCS, and because I see the following progression of political positioning occuring:
1) Someone proposes that JCS handle the breakout
2) People complain that congress doesn't have enough oversight
3) Laws are ratified such that congress handles the breakout
4) Lather, rinse, repeat
Folks, military funding is not the place for such political maneuvering, and as such, I'm sticking with the status quo on this one.

GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE

Federal Election Coordinator Responsibilities

A discussion is ongoing regarding some of the responsibilities of the new Federal Elections Coordinator. The particular discussion is how to deal with PTO threats and enemies which find themselves elected into congress. The first proposal set a standard which required only the President, SoH, and possibly 1/2 of congress in order to bar someone from congress. I was against this proposal because if a rogue party were to somehow take the presidency and 50% of congress, we would be done for.

An alternate proposal came out which tapped the FEC as the office of record for this issue, including a multi-party commission to help approach this issue and keep the nation safe. Although it is a small step, I support this proposal.

Public Affairs Coordinator

Citizens, one of my major campaign goals was to have the forums reorganized such that citizens were more able to see what was going on in congress. As I slightly feared, this goal may have been a bit lofty to reach. I have been doing my part by publishing what's going on in congress within this newspaper, and asking you to request your congressperson to do the same. Well, America, your voices have been heard! Congress is in the process of creating a Public Affairs Coordinator whose responsibility it will be to publish a newspaper such as this with what's going on in congress.

While it is my true wish that every citizen be able to go to the forums and view the discussions, such issues as security and logistics make that very difficult, if not impossible. I support this initiative in order to help create more transparency in government, and to help keep YOU more informed! While I cannot say that this reaches my campaign goal, but with my support, this certainly goes a long way to achieving the transparency I wanted to impart to you!

SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE

South Africa

As a member of the SCI, I was one of the required 5 proposals this week to help fund the South Africa campaign. I voted to approve [CLASSIFIED] in funding to various organizations to make this happen, and to assure our success!

MILITARY SUBCOMMITTEE

Militia Communication

Citizens, you've heard this from me before, so I'll keep it short. My plan is to initiate communication between the congressionally funded militias and congress. With the help of the Secretary of Defense Angelini and Policy Adviser Harrison Richardson, a proposal is currently being discussed that will include bi-weekly communication between militias and congress. More details on that proposal as it develops, but things are looking very, very good!

LIFE IS GOOD, AMERICANS!

Please leave your comments, questions, requests, etc below, and thank you for reading!