This month the Department of Labor announced that the nation’s unemployment rate for September was 9.6% after another 95,000 jobs were lost during the month.  This latest set of bad employment news further demonstrates the severity of our economic downturn and the pain that nearly fifteen million Americans are going through as they struggle to find work to pay their bills, provide for their family, and keep a roof over their head.  From his first days in the Oval Office, President Obama urged members of Congress to support a “recovery plan” centered on the theory that, in severe downturns, the government must step in to boost “demand” in the economy.  During debate on the proposal, as a top selling point, one of the President’s top economic advisors promised that the unemployment rate would remain below 8 percent if Congress passed the $862 billion stimulus spending plan. The Democrat-controlled Congress subsequently passed the plan into law in February 2009.  

Unfortunately, this September jobs report demonstrates that the stimulus has not created the jobs promised by the Obama Administration.  In fact, our economy now has 7.3 million fewer jobs than originally forecast.  Further, September was the 17^th consecutive month that the national unemployment rate has remained above 9 percent.  In our area, every county in California’s Second Congressional District region has seen a significant increase in unemployment since the legislation became law.  Click here to read more about the failure of the stimulus to create jobs in the North State and Republican plans to get us back on the path to economic prosperity by unleashing the ingenuity of the American entrepreneur and small business leader—the true engine for job creation and strong economic growth in our nation.

House Republicans recently released A Pledge to America, a new governing agenda focused on addressing the American people’s top priorities. The Pledge is the culmination of a months-long engagement with the American people, known as America Speaking Out, in which House Republicans sought their ideas and priorities for Congress.  I held many meetings across the 2nd Congressional District to gain insight into what you are thinking about the direction of our country and shared those views back in Washington.  

Based on your suggestions, A Pledge to America will provide concrete plans to create jobs, halt the looming tax increases on American families and small businesses, rein in our massive budget deficit and cut spending, and ensure America’s safety from both threats overseas as well as on our own borders.  We are also offering a plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare that is very similar to legislation that I offered earlier this year.  Further, we are proposing a number of reforms to change the way Washington does business, including requiring legislation coming to the House floor to be posted on the internet for at least three days.  It’s time that the American people take back their government and I will do everything in my power to make that a reality.

Share your thoughts

Our nation is a facing a debt crisis. The public debt now exceeds $9 trillion. Under President Obama’s leadership, it will more than double in just ten years.  Economists warn that the rapidly escalating debt will dramatically stunt economic growth, because Americans will spend fewer dollars on starting a small business, purchasing goods, or hiring new workers since they’ll need to buy more and more bonds instead. Meanwhile, our defense leaders warn that the massive debt threatens our national security, because fewer dollars will be available to ensure that our nation’s military remains the finest in the world, and we will increasingly be at the mercy of foreign countries, most alarmingly China, to buy a larger chunk of our debt. At the end of the day, the debt is threatening whether we’ll leave our children and grandchildren with a more prosperous and secure nation than what we’ve enjoyed.

Tackling the debt crisis is a priority that must not be delayed. In addition to reining in discretionary spending, Republicans recognize that lowering the debt will require serious reforms to entitlement programs, which already account for nearly 60 percent of all federal spending and will ultimately consume every tax dollar going to the federal Treasury. Most urgently, to help get our economy moving forward, we support immediately blocking the nearly $4 trillion tax increase on families and small businesses that is schedule to take effect on January 1, 2011. A strong economy is vital to generating increased tax revenues and reducing the debt, and raising taxes now would substantially impede job creation and economic growth. Taken together, I believe these reforms will allow our nation to get control of the debt and help ensure that the United States remains the strongest and most prosperous country in the world.

Share your thoughts

At a hearing on Medicare fraud in June before the House Ways and Means Committee, the committee on which I sit, the Chief Counsel for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG), an independent agency watchdog, testified to the committee about some alarming examples of fraud and abuse in the Medicare program.  Examples of this fraud include overbilling for services, billing for services never rendered, and billing on behalf of phantom beneficiaries.  Currently, a person employed by a company that perpetrates Medicare fraud may switch to a different company and continue doing business with Medicare.  The OIG asked the Ways & Means Committee for legislation to provide the Justice Department with several tools to improve their ability to combat these abuses.  

Medicare fraud is a crime against senior citizens, legitimate health care providers, and every American who pays taxes. It is imperative for us to remain vigilant to prevent Medicare fraud, and to ensure that those who do commit fraud don't get a second chance at their crimes. With Medicare already on an unsustainable fiscal path, it is inexcusable to allow more and more taxpayer dollars to be defrauded. Law enforcement officials have informed Congress that there are gaps in our current anti-fraud laws, and I am pleased to offer legislation that would close the loopholes so that these offenders will pay the price for their crimes.

For more information on the June hearing on fraud, waste, and abuse in the Medicare program, please click here.

I had the opportunity recently to join with other House conservatives in meeting with Michael Oren, the Israeli Ambassador to the United States. Ambassador Oren is a historian who has a tremendous understanding of the challenges in the Middle East. He provided a comprehensive discussion of the Middle East Peace Process and the many challenges threatening the security of both Israel and the United States. These threats include Iran’s nuclear program and the rearming of the terrorist group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Ambassador Oren stressed the importance of the U.S.-Israel friendship as his nation confronts these and other challenges. I could not agree more strongly. It is essential that the United States stands with Israel when it is forced to respond to grave threats to its security, and maintains strong military and economic ties with Israel. While I do not oppose U.S. efforts to bring Israeli and Palestinian leaders together for talks, I am not particularly optimistic that the negotiations will result in an enduring peace agreement considering Hamas’ refusal to even recognize Israel’s right to exist. I also believe it is critical that President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton avoid any further public rebukes and bullying of Israel and boldly demand that Palestinian leaders address the Hamas challenge and other barriers to peace. Further, I believe our nation should keep all options on the table to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon. A nuclear Iran would threaten the very existence of Israel and U.S. troops serving in the region, and would spark a dangerous arms race in the world’s most volatile region. It is essential that we strengthen both our resolve along with our support for Israel in the face of this threat.           

I wanted to let you know about a hearing I took part in, sponsored by the “Rural Solutions Group”, which discussed the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) assault on rural America. You can view video of my immediate reaction to the forum here. The Rural Solutions Group is an informal group of like-minded House lawmakers focused on addressing issues important to rural America.  The Obama Administration has dramatically expanded the size and scope of the federal government, from health care to increased regulation of the free market.  But the massive government intrusion being perpetrated by the EPA’s various rulemakings has been done out of sight of the American public.  There is no region that has felt the devastating impact of EPA regulation more than Northern California.  Click here to read more about examples of the EPA overreach in rural America.

It will be an uphill fight, but I will continue working with my colleagues in Congress in doing all we can to change the Administration’s course on these and other damaging regulations that will cause undue harm to rural America and the rest of our nation. We simply can't allow big government to dismantle our way of life through overregulation.