Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: Yes to a More Prosperous Nation
By Rob Wittman
October 21, 2017

It’s easy to say no, to stick with the status quo. Business as usual in Washington means gridlock, stalemating, and postponing. It’s predictable. But, like the American people, I am tired of this.

Our system is designed to move slowly. Although change can happen quite suddenly, it takes a lot of time and effort to get there. When our founders wrote the Constitution, they intentionally included a system of checks and balances, shared by presidents, representative and senators, and judges. This system allows for any of these three branches to stand up and stop an initiative in its tracks. What works for rural doctors in Wyoming may not work for our shipbuilders in Newport News; so we debate, we bargain, and we debate some more. I think it should be difficult and we must fully analyze these policies to ensure that they are doing what is right for the American people.

However, by no means am I satisfied with the status quo. Now, that debate must turn into meaningful effective legislation. The House has done its job by passing our budget resolution, a health care solution, and all 12 appropriations bills, and we are waiting eagerly to work with our counterparts in the Senate to find long lasting solutions to these important issues.

Starting Monday, the House has seven scheduled weeks in session before the end of 2017 and the agenda is chock-full. We must pass a final budget resolution, address the Iran Deal, pass a funding package, reform the Flood Insurance Program, aid our failing health care system, send the National Defense Authorization Act to the President to sign, and of course our once-in-a-generation opportunity to pass tax reform. After years of inaction, how will we get all of this done?

Together.

Now more than ever we must come together to work quickly and efficiently. I urge my fellow members not to cater to special interests by holding their votes hostage. It is critical that we put our constituents and America first to get us back on the road to recovery. We currently have unprecedented momentum; the American people are eager for Congress to do its job.

This week the Senate passed their budget resolution. This means accomplishing two of our goals: completing a budget and starting the tax reform process. Once we pass a budget, the House and Senate tax writing committees will be hard at work on a bill that fills in the framework released by Congressional leadership and the administration. My ultimate goal for this reform is to provide relief for small business owners, simplify the tax code, and promote economic growth. At the end of the day, Americans should be paying less in taxes than before, and I believe this blueprint sets up Congress to deliver a tax plan that supports middle-class families, protects jobs, and gives the American economy the boost it needs.

Right now, I have the courage to say yes – yes to a better, more prosperous nation.