On the House Floor
This week, the House passed H.R. 1585, the National Defense Authorization Act, which authorizes spending for the Pentagon in Fiscal Year 2008. The House also passed H.R. 2761, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Revision and Extension Act, and H.R. 2082, the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008. Finally, the House passed H.J.Res. 69, a continuing resolution which funds the government at current levels until December 21, 2007, when a final budget for the current year is expected to be finalized.
High Alert
Ten weeks in to Fiscal Year 2008, it appears as though a federal budget may finally be within reach for the current year. Next week, Congress is scheduled to vote on a massive “omnibus” budget package, combining eleven of the twelve annual spending bills. The good news is that after a prolonged battle over how much money taxpayers will be forced to spend next year, Democrats have agreed to a number close to what the President and Republicans in Congress have advocated – nearly $20 billion less than what had been proposed. But there is also trouble waiting in the omnibus; in a bill this massive which is being written in such a short time, significant changes in policy are sometimes slipped in undetected. To be sure this does not happen, my conservative colleagues and I have compiled a list of potentially harmful provisions that should not be inserted in the budget. This includes weakening sanctions against the communist regime in Cuba, overturning the Mexico City Policy that prevents taxpayer dollars from being used to fund abortions overseas, expanding controversial wage mandates for employers, ending an IRS private debt collection program, and the list continues. We are not sure what, if any, of these policy changes will be smuggled in at the last minute, but we will be looking for them, and we will not accept them.
Pain at the Pump
In 2006, then-Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) proudly said: “Democrats have a common sense plan to help bring down skyrocketing gas prices.” More than a year later, gasoline prices have raised significantly, increasing from a nationwide average of $2.33 per gallon on the day Rep. Pelosi became Speaker to $3.09 per gallon now (in the State of California, the average is up even more to $3.39 per gallon). So the question is, just what has been done to increase supplies of American-made energy and lower prices for working families? Both the House and the Senate have considered energy legislation in recent weeks, H.R. 6, but without the hope of actually lowering gas prices for American families. According to an independent study by CRA International, H.R. 6 would “restrict the supply of energy available to the U.S. economy” and increase costs for a wide array of consumer goods and services. CRA’s assessment of the disastrous economic impacts of the legislation include a net loss of 4.9 million American jobs by 2030, a $1700 decrease in the average American household’s annual purchasing power, and a net loss of $1 trillion in U.S. economic output. Increasing taxes and cutting-off American-made supplies – as the current proposal would do – defies logic, common sense, and would devastate the economy. With consumers facing rising gas prices and the highest home-heating costs in history this winter, it is painfully clear that the majority’s prescription for energy policy is a recipe for economic disaster. That is why Republicans are fighting for a balanced plan that increases supplies of American energy to help lower consumers’ prices today and invests in future fuels at the same time.
Quote of the Week
“Unfinished work is piling up – legislation to aid borrowers affected by the housing mess, rescue millions of middle-class families from a big tax increase and put stricter gas-mileage limits on the auto industry. Two months into the new fiscal year, Democrats are still scrambling just to keep the government open.” – Wall Street Journal, December 13, 2007.
|
