This Week in Washington- Friday, March 26, 2010
These past two weeks in Washington have focused greatly on health care. After more than a year of debate on how to improve our health care system, this past Sunday, Nancy Pelosi passed her government takeover of health care. This bill ignores the needs of Americans and instead it is full of bad ideas, sky-high taxes, and impossible regulations and mandates. On March 16th, I spoke out on the House Floor about the government take over of health care.
Instead of creating more bureaucracy and raising taxes on Americans, Congress must focus on producing common sense economic polices that will create jobs, bring down the deficit, and help businesses grow.
Legislation:
· Government Takeover of Health Care: On Sunday, March 21st, the House voted to pass their $1.2 trillion, sweeping government takeover of health care by a vote of 219-212. The package was comprised of H.R. 3590, the Senate-passed bill, and the so-called "fix it" reconciliation bill, H.R. 4872 and included funding for elective abortions and $569 billion in tax increases. On March 23rd, the president signed the Senate bill into law. On Thursday, March 25th, the Senate passed an amended version of the reconciliation bill, removing provisions that did not affect the budget and were thus deemed violations of the "Byrd Rule," by a vote of 56-43. The House then passed the amended reconciliation bill on March 25, 2010, by a vote of 220-207. The reconciliation bill will now be presented to the President for his signature. I voted against this job-killing plan because it will put the government between doctors and patients and will causes taxes to skyrocket.
· TRICARE Bill: On Saturday, March 20th, the House passed H.R. 4887 by a vote of 403-0. The bill would amend the health care bill to clarify that the TRICARE program and the Nonappropriated Fund Health Benefits Program of the Department of Defense qualify as "minimal essential coverage," so as to avoid fines or having to choose another plan. The Senate, however, has not acted on the bill. I voted for this bill because the health care bill did not protect the health plans that many members of the military, their families and military retirees depend on.
· FAA Reauthorization: On Thursday, March 25th, the House passed H.R. 1586, the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act, with an amendment, by a vote of 276-145. The bill would appropriate $53 billion to reauthorize FAA operations and programs for three years, through FY 2012. The bill would increase the maximum amount of Passenger Facility Charges, which are collected by airlines and given directly to airports from $4.50 to $7, an increase of 56 percent. The bill also increases taxes on aviation-grade kerosene used in non-commercial aviation by 14.1 cents-per-gallon, from 21.8 cents to 35.9 cents. In addition, the bill would retroactively reinstate the Air Traffic Controllers' 1998 labor contract, provide $20 million in back pay, and force the FAA back to the table to renegotiate. The FAA estimates that this will cost $7.5 billion over the course of the contract. On March 24, the House passed H.R. 4915, a short-term extension which would extend certain authorities of the FAA for approximately three months, through July 4, 2010, by voice vote. The Senate has not acted on the short term extension. I voted against this bill because it did not strike the right balance for our aviation community to move forward.
· Disaster Response/Summer "Jobs": On Wednesday, the House passed H.R. 4899 by a vote of 239—175. The bill would appropriate a total of $5.72 billion for FEMA disaster relief, a dubious summer "jobs" program, and Small Business Administration fee reductions and eliminations as well as loan guarantee costs. The legislation appropriates over $5 billion and only rescinds $620 million. A Republican motion to recommit the bill to offset the cost of the spending was defeated. I voted against this bill because it will not create jobs and costs too much.
· Small Business and Infrastructure Jobs Tax Act: On Wednesday, the House passed H.R. 4849, the Small Business and Infrastructure Jobs Tax Act of 2010, by a vote of 246-178. The bill is yet another failed "jobs" bill. H.R. 4849 would spend another $42.6 billion, primarily for federally subsidized tax-credits for local infrastructure programs, new supplemental welfare spending, and temporary tax incentives for investments in small businesses. Only $3.5 billion of the bill's total cost would go to small business tax incentives. The cost of the bill is offset with $42.7 in tax increases, including a $7.7 billion tax hike on U.S.-based subsidiaries of foreign companies that provide employment in this country. The net result of the bill would be a tax increase of $82 million. I voted against this bill because it raises taxes and does not do enough to help small businesses.
Small Business Committee:
The Small Business Committee held a hearing on March 24 entitled, "Small Business Participation in the Federal Procurement Marketplace." Click here to read about what was discussed at the hearing.
The House will be in recess until April 12. Have a good weekend.
Sincerely,
Sam Graves