This week, the House opened the Second Session of the 110th Congress. After commencing the session, the House passed H.R. 2768, a bill which regulates the way the Mine Safety and Health Administration protects workers by establishing certain requirements to maximize safety conditions. The House also passed H.R. 3524, a bill to reauthorize the HOPE VI housing program, which helps repair and rebuild dilapidated public housing. Finally, the House passed the National Defense Reauthorization Act, which ensures that our troops have the necessary body armor, protective vests, armored Humvees, and other equipment needed to fight and win the Global War on Terror. It also supports our military families and authorizes a full pay raise and bonuses for our soldiers.

Stimulus Opportunities

There is strong momentum right now for an economic stimulus package to move through Congress quickly, with the hope of staving off a potential recession. So far, the news coming out of this endeavor is positive: after a year of decisions made only by the Democrat leadership, Speaker Nancy Pelosi invited both Democrats and Republicans to engage in discussions on legislative proposals to stimulate the economy; House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel has indicated he supports tax cuts for small businesses; and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernake testified before Congress this week, citing the importance of the 2003 tax cuts in stimulating the economy. In sum, the early discussions have provided an opportunity which must not be lost. The 2001 and 2003 tax cuts proposed by President Bush and enacted by Congress provided a spark to an economy that was headed in the wrong direction. Since then, we have seen growth in our economy with increased jobs, reduced budget deficits, and historic revenues being collected by the federal government. Therefore, we must use this opportunity to make sure those tax cuts are made permanent, yet we must also take further steps to improve America’s competitiveness. A stimulus package should include a reduction in the corporate tax rate, which is currently one of the highest in the world, and increased depreciation limits for small businesses. These changes will immediately improve the competitiveness of American businesses to provide a better environment for growth in the economy. And, coupled with the permanent extension of the earlier tax cuts including the marginal rate reductions, the child tax credit, and the reduction in the death tax, the economic framework for American businesses and workers will be vastly improved.

Putting Veterans First

This week, the House considered H.R. 3524, a bill to reauthorize a federal housing program. Buried deep in the bill was language that would give convicted felons a broad “Hard to House” preference for participating in the program. Under current law, a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rule governs eligibility of criminals seeking federally-assisted public housing. H.R. 3524 would undermine HUD’s ability to enforce these rules and instead would extend a broad “Hard to House” preference to convicted felons – even those who were released from prison less than one year ago. House Republicans offered a motion to strip this preference for convicted felons and instead provide it to veterans; the motion was adopted by a 372-28 vote in the House. This victory continues the success that Republicans have had influencing legislation in the minority by offering common-sense proposals that appeal to a bipartisan majority.

Quote of the Week

“Global warming protest frosted with snow” – read the ironic headline of a Baltimore Sun story on January 17. Meanwhile, Russians are bracing for temperatures as low as minus 67 degrees Fahrenheit, placing government officials on alert due to the extreme cold. Nevertheless, environmental activists continue to push for tightened regulations on businesses, restricting the amount of carbon dioxide they can emit out of fear that the earth is getting too warm.