In her weekly newsletter, Fourth District Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler bemoans the fact that the Senate won't go along with the bills the House has been passing.
Congress is in the middle of its August work time in the district, with the D.C. session set to resume in September. I’ve been thinking this might be a good time to bring you up to date on some of the legislation the House of Representatives has moved forward during the year’s first eight months.
One of the first major bills passed by the U.S. House was the repeal of the government health care takeover – delivering on a promise endorsed by most Missourians. Unfortunately, the Senate refused to follow suit and left us with an expensive health care program that fails to make good on a pledge to make quality health care more affordable. On a positive note, a federal appeals court in Georgia recently became the latest court to strike down all or parts of the law on constitutional grounds. There is no doubt this troublesome law will soon end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.
The House passed Cut, Cap and Balance – a bill that included immediate spending cuts to reduce the deficit by half next year, enforceable caps that bring spending into line with the average amount of spending since World War II, and ensured that a Balanced Budget Amendment would have to be passed before the debt limit could be raised again. This rational proposal would have met the parameters laid down by Standard & Poor’s rating service and prevented the downgrading of our credit rating. Unfortunately, as with health care, the House acted while the Senate failed to act. In this case, the Senate tabled this common sense, realistic approach to America’s budget problems. It is my view that America has a right to know where our Senators stand on issues involving spending discipline. By not allowing a vote on this proposal, Senate leadership opted not to listen to the people and failed to respect the people who are demanding that Washington live within its means.
I am particularly pleased with a money-saving House bill that was given a vote in the Senate and passed that chamber. It’s the repeal of the job-destroying 1099 information reporting requirements in the government takeover of health care. Eliminating this costly provision saves taxpayers $24.7 billion in tax increases and spares honest citizens the headaches that come with red tape compliance. This provision that was tacked onto the health care takeover legislation made a bad law even worse. Fortunately, we have repealed this burden.
There are a couple more pieces of legislation that have been put on the shelf by Senate leadership – legislation I co-sponsored that would undoubtedly aid Missourians and other Americans who are suffering from skyrocketing gas prices that are eating into household incomes. The House voted to repeal President Obama’s off-shore drilling ban on energy exploration by requiring oil and gas leasing in the areas with the most prospective oil and gas resources. The House also passed legislation to establish a domestic oil and natural gas production goal. Missourians and Americans from throughout this country need a break from high gas prices. One of the best ways of achieving this goal is to use the energy resources our country is blessed with and to stop depending so much on foreign countries for our oil.
With lawmakers getting the chance to return home to hear from the people who elected them, we can only hope that the fall will usher in a new spirit of cooperation in which the Senate embraces the good judgment of the House and puts America on course to a stronger, healthier economy.
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