| Discharge Petition Would Force Vote to Repeal and Replace ObamaCare |
This week I filed a discharge petition on H.R. 5424, the Reform Americans Can Afford Act, which would repeal the Democrats’ health care law and replace it with commonsense solutions to bring down health care costs. The petition would force a vote on the bill in the House of Representatives if it is signed by a majority of House members. House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH), Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA), and Ranking Member of the Ways & Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) announced their support for the petition.
Now more than ever it is critical that we repeal ObamaCare. More than four months after the Democrats’ health care overhaul became law, the bad news keeps coming. Employers are reluctant to hire more workers because they face new taxes and higher health costs. Millions of Americans are in danger of losing the coverage they have and like, while half a trillion dollars in Medicare cuts threaten senior citizens’ access to health care. Just last week, the latest Medicare Trustees report informed us that 9 in 10 seniors will lose their employer-sponsored prescription drug coverage as a result of the Democrats’ health care law. The facts couldn’t be clearer: The Democrats’ health plan is bad for patients, bad for jobs, bad for seniors, and bad for America. I will continue to call on all members of Congress to sign the discharge petition on the Reform Americans Can Afford Act. Click here for more information about my plan to reform our health care system.
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| Taxes for North State Families Set to Spike |
At the end of this year, a number of tax relief measures are scheduled to expire. Unfortunately, Congressional Democrats have taken no action to prevent these catastrophic tax hikes from taking effect. As a result, American families and businesses will face the largest tax increase in our nation’s history if Congress fails to extend this vital tax relief. A new studyfrom the nonpartisan Tax Foundation offers more insight into how this looming tax increase will affect taxpayers across the country. In our Northern California Congressional District, the average family’s annual federal income tax bill will more than double, from $1,192 to $2,494.
Tax increases of this magnitude would be damaging at any time, but they would be truly catastrophic given the current weak state of our economy. With millions of Americans struggling to find work and make ends meet, it would be unacceptable for Congress to force North State families to pay an average of $1,300 more per year to the federal government. Instead of asking taxpayers to hand over even more of their hard-earned money, it’s time for Congress to cut wasteful spending and force the government to start living within its means. As your representative, I will continue working to protect Northern California workers, families, and small businesses from these devastating tax increases.
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| YouCut Offers Real Opportunity to Cut Federal Spending |
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As Congress prepared to enter the August District Work Period, the House voted on another YouCut initiative, a proposal that would eliminate the Advanced Earned Income Tax Credit (AEITC), saving taxpayers $1.1 billion over the next decade. The AEITC is not widely used by those eligible for the program and has been found to have a notoriously high rate of waste, fraud, and abuse. Although not adopted during the initial vote, I’m pleased to report that it was included in a bill passed this week. YouCut is a website that allows Americans to submit suggestions on how best to cut out of control federal spending. One of the selections is chosen as a weekly winner and it is offered on the House floor. Thus far, the total amount of savings offered through YouCut legislation amounts to more than $120 billion. Unfortunately, to this point, House Democrats have turned their back on nearly every opportunity to cut federal spending. I’m deeply concerned about our mounting debt and it is essential that we undertake all efforts to reduce federal spending. We are risking our future economic prosperity and threaten to leave future generations with a lower standard of living. I spoke on the House floor on this issue and you can see that video here.
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| Activist Ruling Just Beginning of Fight to Protect Traditional Marriage |
Recently a federal judge in California ruled that Proposition 8, which California voters passed in 2008 to ensure that marriage in the state consists of one man and one woman, is unconstitutional and I want to share my thoughts with you on this important issue. I believe that this is simply another example of judicial activism and legislating from the bench. The will of the people, made clear at the ballot box, has been completely ignored. This fight is just beginning and we will do everything in our power to ensure that the will of the people will be upheld and that traditional marriage—defined for millennia and across the world as the union of one man and one woman—remains uncompromised and the central institution of the family in our society.
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| Beale Air Force Base Chosen As Permanent Home for New Intelligence Mission |
I’m extremely pleased to share the good news that Beale Air Force Base has been chosen as the Air Force’s “sole preferred alternative” for the MC-12 spy plane mission. Beale, located in the Yuba-Sutter area, a standout among Air Force bases nationally, has over 4,000 personnel and has a total economic impact of over $451 million in the surrounding counties. This development will only increase the positive economic impact. Along with the planes, Beale AFB will be adding approximately 550 servicemembers. Previously, I had joined with other California representatives in contacting Air Force Secretary Michael Donley to urge his consideration of Beale for this mission. The MC-12 is a medium- to low-altitude, twin-engine turboprop aircraft that provides intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support directly to ground forces. The Air Force stated that Beale AFB was chosen over six other bases to permanently house the spy planes, already deployed in the War on Terror, because of its “access to training opportunities, synergy with existing Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance flying missions, and co-location with the Distributed Ground Station mission.” I’m extremely pleased the Air Force concluded that Beale’s unmatched attributes make it a perfect fit for the MC-12. This decision will provide a boost to our local economy and help ensure that Beale remains one of our nation’s premier reconnaissance bases long into the future.
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| Federal Government Needs Strategy to Combat Drug Cartels on Federal Lands |
In my ongoing efforts to assist in fighting the issue of marijuana cultivation on federal lands, I have introduced a resolution calling on the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to develop a coordinated strategy to permanently dismantle Mexican drug trafficking organizations responsible for this cultivation. Earlier this year I arranged a meeting between the ONDCP, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Department of Homeland Security to discuss strategies to combat this serious problem. You can see video of the speech I gave on the House floor here.
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