E-Newsletters
It has become clearer than ever that Washington is out of touch with America. Too many bureaucrats and politicians don't understand the effects of the rules and laws they create.
You probably hear a lot about the gridlock in Washington. People say that nothing is getting done in this town. Yet in the House, we have acted on a number of fronts.
Since the beginning of the year, the House has passed 189 bills that were sent to the Senate for its consideration. However, of those 189 bills, only 41 of them have been signed into law. That means that the Senate has refused to even consider a total of 148 House-passed bills.
Just hours before Americans sat down to their turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce, news trickled out of Washington that the president's massive health care law was experiencing yet another setback. This time, we learned that the website for small businesses looking to purchase health insurance for their employees will be delayed for a whole year.
This week, we gather our families together to celebrate a day of giving thanks for our blessings. In his 1789 Thanksgiving proclamation, President George Washington called the occasion "a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."
In an essay on learning how to ride a bicycle, Mark Twain once observed that "the self-taught man seldom knows anything accurately, and he does not know a tenth as much as he could have known if he had worked under teachers."
Teachers play an essential role in our educational system. We rely on them to teach our children the skills they need to succeed in life. But we know that each teacher has a slightly different style in educating our nation's students.
We've heard the promise many times since 2008: "If you like your health insurance plan, you can keep it." In fact, we've heard it at least 29 times according to one report.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower was one of our nation's most decorated citizens to ever wear the uniform of the United States. As our 34th president, Eisenhower left a lasting legacy by proclaiming November 11th as Veterans Day. Previously, Americans celebrated Armistice Day, which recalled the Allied Victory in World War I.
Last week, the House of Representatives passed legislation called theWater Resources Reform and Development Act, or WRRDA, by a near unanimous vote of 417-3. This bill will authorize the key missions of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, including navigation and flood prevention projects.
The government shutdown may be behind us, but our nation's fiscal woes remain in front of us. The deal that was agreed to last week does nothing to deal with our out-of-control spending or reduce our tremendous debt. Instead, all it does is guarantee more borrowing.
It's been a long couple weeks in Washington as Congress and the White House seek a solution that would fully end the government shutdown. In the meantime, the House of Representatives has worked in a bipartisan manner to pass legislation that would fund and reopen key priorities and agencies in the interim.