This week, the House approved S. 3504, the Fetus Farming Prohibition Act of 2006, without opposition. The House also rejected an attempt to override President Bush’s veto (the first of his presidency) of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act which would have funded the willful destruction of human embryos for the first time.

Also passing was H.R. 2389, the Pledge Protection Act of 2005, which denies jurisdiction to any federal court, and appellate jurisdiction to the Supreme Court, to hear or decide any question pertaining to the interpretation of the Pledge of Allegiance or its validity under the Constitution.

Additionally, H.R.5683 passed 349 to 74, transferring the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial in San Diego to federal ownership. Overzealous liberal groups had sought to force the City of San Diego to remove a large cross, which is a prominent local landmark, from the memorial. In order to preserve the memorial as it has stood since 1954, 76 percent of the voters of San Diego supported donating the Mt. Soledad Memorial to the federal government. After a superior court judge in California invalidate that election, this bill became necessary.

Tele-Town Hall

On Wednesday evening, I hosted a live town hall meeting to provide constituents with the opportunity to discuss what we can do to help stop illegal immigration. What made this meeting different from traditional town halls and community workshops I have convened in the past is that I conducted the discussion from Washington. Using new technology, we were able to have what amounted to a mega-conference call. Calls were made to tens of thousands of households in my district, inviting people of all partisan affiliations to patch into the live call. After making some remarks about congressional efforts to solve the grave problems associated with illegal immigration, I then was able to speak personally with a number of constituents. As technology advances, it allows me to communicate with the people I serve more effectively. In this case, I had an opportunity to talk directly with several hundred people at once from the comfort of their own homes. I am eager to expand the use of this medium to keep my finger on the pulse of the people of my district. If you are interested in being a part of my next tele-town hall meeting, please visit my website at www.house.gov/doolittle or call my office at 916-786-5560.

Middle East

Last year, by working in conjunction with European allies, the United States pressured Syrian troops out of Lebanon and free elections were conducted. Unfortunately, until Hezbollah disarms, as U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559 demands, true democracy in Lebanon will not be achieved. Hezbollah and its sister thug organization, Hamas, are the front line faces of Iranian and Syrian thug-ocracy. While coalition forces are transforming the brutal former regime of Saddam Hussein into a functioning democracy in Iraq, despite terrorist resistance, Israel is confronting the same enemy just across its northern border. America must stand firmly beside our friends in Israel who are confronting the world’s greatest threat to free societies – the barbaric forces of Islamofascism.

Quote of the Week

“…the House of Representatives failed to approve a constitutional amendment defining marriage in America as the union of one man and one woman…..While the battle to preserve marriage in Congress may be over for now, the focus will shift, once again, to the states where at least six marriage protection amendments are pending on the November ballot and all are expected to pass. Maybe then, when more than half of the states in our union have constitutionally protected the definition of marriage, will Congress get the message and take action to preserve traditional marriage.” Gary L. Bauer, American Values, July 18, 2006.