“And the bill is passed.”
When that phrase is spoken, followed by the distinct strike of the Speaker’s gavel, it proclaims that the people’s House has fulfilled another promise made to the American people.
It is moments like these—officially passing a bill in the House—that never tire, which is a good thing considering this Congress’ productivity. So far this year has represented the most productive session of the U.S. House of Representatives dating back to World War II. Since the beginning of the 115th Congress in January, the House has passed 316 bills, with 16 months left to go. Importantly, a majority of the bills passed have received bipartisan support.
In addition, as members of Congress, we’ve held countless hearings across all House committees on energy development, trade and the importance of research, to name a few; attended numerous intelligence briefings on international threats like North Korea; and participated in weekly planning sessions to debate strategy and make sure our progress continues.
While many of today’s headlines and stories swirl around chaos and scandal, regrettably, much of this short- and long-term progress has gone unnoticed. Despite the rhetoric and commentary from mainstream media and the partisan sniping in Washington DC, the House has been hard at work providing the reforms and improvements that we promised and ran on just last year.
Among the 316 bills that have passed the House since January, some of our greatest accomplishments have done things such as roll back burdensome federal regulations for small businesses and farmers, encourage economic growth for Main Street by reforming Wall Street, improve care within our Veterans’ Administration, enhance our national security both at home and abroad, and reform our healthcare system. One of the top legislative priorities for me is to encourage economic growth for businesses of all sizes across the 18th District.
Specifically in regards to national security, we have already passed legislation to rebuild our military and provide the resources they need, all while issuing the largest pay raise for our troops in the last eight years. We have also not forgotten the need to secure our southern border, pass bipartisan funding for border security, crack down on human trafficking, and reform our immigration laws to protect law-abiding Americans from criminals who are in our country illegally.
With all that said, the House is not done working to rebuild our economy. The main goal here will be comprehensive tax reform. Reforming our 70,000-page tax code will bring relief to businesses to allow higher wages and increased opportunity for their employees, while also making the entire process easier for American families to understand and navigate. Additionally, we are going to focus on revitalizing and investing in our nation’s infrastructure—roads, bridges, locks and dams, rail and air—so we can safely and effectively move goods, services and people.
While this session of the House has been productive, there is plenty of work left to do. We need to address and pass healthcare reform, pass a strong infrastructure bill and bring forth comprehensive tax reform. I stand ready to work with my Republican and Democrat colleagues to fulfill the promises we made to the American people. As Walt Disney said, “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” iBi
