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Jeff Sessions on Welfare & Poverty

Republican Jr Senator (AL)

 


Basic tradition is opportunity to work hard & keep fruits

SESSIONS: When asked about the role a judge's opinion of the evolving norms and traditions of our society had, you replied, "traditions are most often looked to in considering the liberty clause of the 14th Amendment." One of the basic American traditions is the opportunity to work hard at an honest vocation and keep the fruits of our labor. It is that tradition of liberty that has given America its reputation as a land of opportunity. Nonetheless, at times, this tradition has not been respected by governments. For example, during Reconstruction, many Southern states enforced laws and policies designed to keep newly freed blacks in a state of constructive servitude by depriving them of economic self-sufficiency. Do you believe economic liberty is a value protected by the 14th Amendment?

SCOTUS nominee Elena KAGAN: Washington v. Glucksberg, 1997, would be the starting point for any consideration of a due process liberty claim, including one involving economic liberty.

Source: ScotusBlog.com on Kagan confirmation hearing , Jul 9, 2012

Eminent domain for private development is Court over-reach

SEN. SESSIONS: The Supreme Court’s Kelo [decision deals with the] property that people own.

ALITO: Kelo involves the power to take property for public use through eminent domain. What occurred in that case was the taking of the homes of people of modest means for the purpose of building a large commercial facility that was thought by the city to be beneficial to the economic welfare of the city. People live in homes and they have a sentimental attachment to them. The neighborhood means something to them. And taking their home away and giving them money in return, even if they get fair market value for the home, is still an enormous loss for people.

SESSIONS: The Constitution said you could take property for public use. The court felt that was too restrictive, basically, and a majority just changed it to say you could take property for a public purpose, which includes some private redevelopment. See, that’s not founded in the Constitution. That’s an overreach, in my opinion.

Source: Sam Alito Senate Confirmation Hearings , Jan 11, 2006

Voted NO on instituting National Service as a new social invention.

Congressional Summary:Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act:
    Adds to National and Community Service Act of 1990 (NCSA) purposes:
  1. providing year-round opportunities in service-learning;
  2. involving program participants in emergency and disaster preparedness, relief, and recovery;
  3. increasing service opportunities for retiring professionals;
  4. encouraging service by individuals age 55 or older and continued service by national service alumni;
  5. focusing national service on the areas of national need.

Proponent's argument to vote Yes:Sen. BARBARA MIKULSKI (D, MD): [In developing national service over many years] we were not in the business of creating another new social program. What we were in the business of was creating a new social invention. What do I mean by that? In our country, we are known for our technological inventions. But also often overlooked, and sometimes undervalued, is our social inventions.

We created national service to let young people find opportunity to be of service and also to make an important contribution. But not all was rosy. In 2003, when I was the ranking member on the appropriations subcommittee funding national service, they created a debacle. One of their most colossal errors was that they enrolled over 20,000 volunteers and could not afford to pay for it. That is how sloppy they were in their accounting. I called them the "Enron of nonprofits."

And they worked on it. But all that is history. We are going to expand AmeriCorps activity into specialized corps. One, an education corps; another, a health futures corps; another, a veterans corps; and another called opportunity corps. These are not outside of AmeriCorps. They will be subsets because we find this is where compelling human need is and at the same time offers great opportunity for volunteers to do it.

Opponent's argument to vote No:No senators spoke against the amendment.

Reference: Serve America Act/GIVE Act; Bill H.R. 1388 ; vote number 2009-S115 on Mar 26, 2009

Other candidates on Welfare & Poverty: Jeff Sessions on other issues:
AL Gubernatorial:
Chris Countryman
David Carrington
Kay Ivey
Parker Griffith
Robert Bentley
Stacy Lee George
Tommy Battle
Walt Maddox
AL Senatorial:
Arnold Mooney
Bradley Byrne
Doug Jones
John Merrill
John Rogers
Luther Strange
Marcus Bowman
Richard Shelby
Ron Crumpton
Roy Moore
Tommy Tuberville

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