WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Elaine Luria secured a seat on the House Committee on Homeland Security, where she will bring an experienced military voice and perspective to security issues facing our nation.
“As a 20-year Navy veteran, I am honored to join the House Committee on Homeland Security,” said Congresswoman Luria. “Especially in light of recent events, I look forward to using my experience to improve oversight and management of our federal response to domestic threats.”
A veteran of deployments supporting Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, Congresswoman Luria’s served at sea on six ships as a nuclear-trained Surface Warfare Officer and culminated her 20-year Navy career by commanding a combat-ready unit of 400 sailors. Congresswoman Luria was one of the first women in the Navy’s nuclear power program and among the first women to serve the entirety of her career on combatant ships.
The House Committee on Homeland Security has jurisdiction over matters related to national defense. It has six subcommittees on transportation and maritime security; emergency preparedness, response, and recovery; border security, facilitation, and operations; cybersecurity, infrastructure protection, and innovation; oversight, management, and accountability; and, intelligence and counterterrorism. The Committee was created in 2002 in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks and at the recommendation of the subsequent 9/11 Commission Report.
Congresswoman Elaine Luria represents Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District. She serves on the House Armed Services Committee, where she is the Vice Chair of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, where she serves as Chair of the Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee, and the House Committee on Homeland Security.
Paul Plante says
Today, Congresswoman Elaine Luria “secured” a seat on the House Committee on Homeland Security?
An interesting word, that – “secured!”
So how did Congresswoman Elaine Luria “secure” a seat on the House Committee on Homeland Security?
For a better idea as to how that happens, how Democrats like Congresswoman Elaine Luria “secure” committee seats in the House of Representatives, let us go to an OpenSecrets article entitled “Prolific fundraising gives Pelosi the edge in speaker election” by Karl Evers-Hillstrom on November 16, 2020, to take an up-close, in-depth look at how people like Congresswoman Luria actually do that, to wit:
Still, amid turmoil within her caucus, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is not expected to face opposition when Democrats choose their leaders this week.
Many Democrats have tried, and failed, to challenge Pelosi for the role of top House Democrat.
The lack of a challenger this time around signals that while House Democrats are stung by their 2020 losses, the caucus isn’t strong or united enough to choose a new leader.
Then there’s Pelosi’s ability to bring in campaign cash.
No other Democrat can say they’ve mustered anything close to the amount of money Pelosi raised for the party in 2020.
That matters in an era where positions of power in Congress — whether they’re leadership roles or committee assignments — come at a price.
end quotes
And let’s stop right there a moment and let’s scroll back up a bit to this: positions of power in Congress — whether they’re leadership roles or committee assignments — come at a price.
HMMMMMMM!
Oh, really!
How interesting!
Committee assignments like what Congresswoman Luria “come at a price,” which is to say, she bought the assignment from Nancy Pelosi, which takes us back to that article, as follows:
Pelosi’s joint fundraising committee, the Nancy Pelosi Victory Fund, raised a whopping $23.7 million through September 2020, up from $3.7 million through the entirety of the 2018 cycle.
It transferred $20 million to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, House Democrats’ campaign arm.
Pelosi’s campaign committee transferred another $1.6 million to the DCCC.
Then there’s Pelosi’s leadership PAC, PAC to the Future, which contributed the maximum $10,000 to nearly every House Democrat running in a remotely competitive race.
Those are just committees with Pelosi’s name on them.
Pelosi also hosted numerous high-dollar fundraisers that brought in millions of dollars for Democrats, including a June event for wealthy donors featuring celebrities including John Legend and Jennifer Lawrence.
The committee for the event, Hold the House Victory Fund, raised $7.5 million for the DCCC and 30 frontline House members.
Other House Democrats in leadership positions raise big money for the DCCC but they aren’t close to Pelosi.
House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) each gave around $1 million between their campaigns and leadership PACs.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who oversaw impeachment inquiries as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent roughly $900,000 to the DCCC.
Schiff used his elevated profile to raise $10 million from small donors in the 2020 cycle, an incredible amount for a Democrat in a deep blue district.
Members of Congress are expected to pay “party dues” if they want to remain on their preferred congressional committees.
end quotes
Party dues?
My goodness, what an interesting concept!
So how much in party dues did Congresswoman Luria fork over to Nancy Pelosi to “secure” this seat on the Homeland Committee?
Getting back to that article, it goes on as follows:
Any member angling to become chair of a committee must bring in significant funds, and they are expected to raise even more money once they become chair.
That encourages committee chairs to take large PAC contributions from industry players aiming to gain influence with the committee on key issues.
Some members gain cache within their caucus by spending hours calling wealthy donors and asking them to donate to the party, activity that doesn’t have a paper trail like direct campaign contributions.
Often called “dialing for dollars,” the practice has received criticism for effectively turning lawmakers into telemarketers.
end quotes
Isn’t democracy just grand!
The only difference between people like Elaine Luria and Nancy Pelosi versus the working girls on Dupont Circle in Washington is in what it is they are selling access to.
Paul Plante says
Meanwhile, if we go to a USA TODAY article entitled “Timeline: How a Trump mob stormed the US Capitol, forcing Washington into lockdown” by George Petras, Janet Loehrke, Ramon Padilla, Javier Zarracina and Jennifer Borresen on Jan. 15, 2021, we find this following entry, to wit:
1:46 p.m.
Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., tweets she is being evacuated after reports of a pipe bomb outside.
“Supporters of the President are trying to force their way into the Capitol and I can hear what sounds like multiple gunshots.”
end quotes
In light of her securing this seat on the democrat-controlled House Committee on Homeland Security, which makes her very dangerous indeed to our liberties as a supposedly free people, at least before 20 January 2021, one has to seriously wonder who she was TWEETING that message or signal to, and why.
We need a more detailed timeline that focuses in on what was happening before 1:46 P.M. on 6 January 2021, what was happening at 1:46 P.M. on 6 January 2021 when Democrat Luria sent out her signal or coded message, and what happened after Democrat Luria sent out that TWEET.
And given her position on the House Homeland Security Committee, we very much need to know how she knew they were supporters of the president, and not a false flag operation by the Democrats because those commandos storming and climbing that wall looked like ANTI-FA commandos to me, and there clearly were anarchists in the crowd who would not be Trump supporters.
And the timing of her TWEET is certainly very curious, indeed:
1 p.m.
Lawmakers gather for a joint session in the House of Representatives chamber to count Electoral College votes.
1:10 p.m.
Rioters begin grappling with police on the Capitol steps.
1:46 p.m.
Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., tweets she is being evacuated after reports of a pipe bomb outside.
“Supporters of the President are trying to force their way into the Capitol and I can hear what sounds like multiple gunshots.”
2:11 p.m.
Rioters breach police lines on the west side of the Capitol.
Moments later, rioters scale the walls.
(If you watch the video, at 2:11 P.M, twenty-five minutes AFTER the 1:46 P.M. TWEET of Congresswoman Luria, the majority of the people can be seen outside the Capitol)
2:22 p.m.
Reports say Vice President Mike Pence has been escorted out of the Senate chamber.
(Look at the elapsed time between the Luria TWEET and when Pence was escorted from the Senate chamber and ask yourself why the big gap in time between the two events)
2:33 p.m.
C-SPAN reports rioters have crossed Statuary Hall, the chamber that separates the House and Senate, heading for the House and Senate.
2:39 p.m.
Rioters are photographed breaking Capitol windows.
2:44 p.m.
Shots are reported fired in the House chamber.
2:47 p.m.
Huffington Post reporter tweets image of rioters at dais. “They’re in the chamber.”
2:53 p.m.
Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., tweets he has been safely moved from the House chamber.
(Why is the Republican still in the House Chamber at 2:53 p.m. when Congresswoman Luria, a Democrat, was evacuated at 1:46 p.m., a little more than an hour earlier?)
4:05 p.m.
A congressional correspondent tweets that congressional leaders are being evacuated from the Capitol.
8 p.m.
Congress reconvenes to resume counting Electoral College votes.