Columns
Blaine's Bulletin: America's New Congress
Washington,
January 8, 2015
With the 114th Congress officially underway, the first week was a good indication of House Republicans commitment to Americans that we are focused on creating jobs, dismantling the president’s health-care law, and keeping our nation’s gas prices low.
With the 114th Congress officially underway, the first week was a good indication of House Republicans commitment to Americans that we are focused on creating jobs, dismantling the president’s health-care law, and keeping our nation’s gas prices low. The very first bill the House voted on this Congress was the Hire More Heroes Act which passed with a vote of 412-0. I was excited to vote for this bill for a couple of reasons. First, it would incentivize small businesses to hire veterans by exempting veterans who already receive health insurance through the Department of Veterans Affairs or reservists covered under TRICARE from being counted towards the number of employees required by the employer mandate under the Affordable Care Act. Remember, a caveat in the employer mandate is a requirement that all businesses with more than 50 full-time employees provide health insurance to their employees or pay a fee. This bill would ensure that small businesses are able to expand and grow without being penalized under the health-care law. In keeping theme with jobs and health-care, the House also passed the Save American Workers Act. I was proud to be an original cosponsor of this legislation that would repeal the 30-hour definition of “full-time employment” in the president’s health-care law. I have talked with many employees who have seen their hours get cut and their full-time jobs suddenly become part-time jobs. This legislation would put back in place the original 40-hour work week that so many Americans depend on to pay the bills and care for their families. Lastly, the House took action for the ninth time to start construction on the Keystone XL pipeline. You and I both know that construction of the Keystone pipeline would bring much needed jobs to Americans and the reduction of our dependence on foreign oil would jump-start our economy. The House and Senate are committed to working on real solutions to better Americans while the administration is still the party of ‘no.’ And that is made clear with the veto threat that was issued regarding the Save American Workers Act and the Keystone pipeline – regardless of the fact that an overwhelming percentage of Americans are supportive of these policies. This is just the first indication the administration is not listening to you and your priorities as Americans. In addition, the House of Representatives reconvened and had a roll call vote to formally vote on the 114th Speaker of the House. I heard from several of you requesting that I should not vote for Speaker John Boehner and instead cast my vote for someone else. I understand and share your frustration with the lack of productivity of Congress, Harry Reid’s Senate and Barack Obama’s White House have been real obstacles to us accomplishing our goals. In November, the Republican Conference met to nominate a Speaker of the House. That day, there wasn’t a single House member that stepped forward to run for the job except for Rep. Boehner and he was unanimously nominated by Republicans to run against the Democratic nominee for Speaker, Nancy Pelosi. Fast forward to January and during a day when House Republicans should have been celebrating the historic majority and having a Republican Senate to work with, it was a day of theatrics and distractions. At the end of the day, Rep. Boehner received 216 votes for Speaker, including the votes of the vast majority of conservative House Members. Now that Republicans control both the House and the Senate, we need to stand united to confront the president and his policies together. With the first week of the 114th Congress complete, I am ready to continue working on tax reform, balancing the budget, repealing and putting real solutions to replace the president’s health-care law, and fighting against Operation Choke Point – and that’s just scratching at the surface. Welcome to America’s new Congress, now let’s build upon this first week of work. |