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IT’S A NEW YEAR AND THE HOUSE IS READY TO KEEP PUSHING THE ACCELERATOR ON JOBS AND ECONOMIC INITIATIVES.  According to the latest count, there are now 27 bipartisan jobs bills awaiting consideration by the U.S. Senate.  Even though the economy has added jobs for two consecutive months, the national unemployment rate is still at 8.5 percent—underscoring the necessity that jobs and the economy remain at the top of the priority list. 

FOR NATIONAL POLITICS, 2011 WAS AN UNFORGETTABLE YEAR, staging major debates on federal spending, the national debt and the appropriate role of government—leading to a rollback in federal spending to levels near those of 2008.  These and several other issues are featured in my 2011 Year in Review Newsletter.

INCLUDED IN THE LATEST TAX AGREEMENT WAS A PROVISION ON THE KEYSTONE PIPELINE.  Under current law, the President is required to approve the Keystone pipeline—therefore allowing the transfer of energy resources from Canada to Texas and creating an estimated 20,000 jobs in the process—or demonstrate the project is NOT in the national interest.  A countdown clock is now available from the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

CAPITALISM AND THE RIGHT TO RISE—that was the title of a recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, referencing a term introduced by Representative Paul Ryan, Chairman of the House Budget Committee.  Read it here.

CALIFORNIA’S HIGH-SPEED RAIL PROJECT IS STARTING TO HIT SOME RESISTANCE, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.  My colleague from California, Kevin McCarthy, recently introduced legislation, H.R. 3143, to freeze federal funding for the high-speed rail project and direct federal auditors to review the project to better determine its feasibility.  I’m proud to be an original cosponsor of this bill, especially in light of the growing concerns with the project.

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN TERRORISTS AND MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS IS GROWING.  It comes as no surprise that international terrorist groups are looking toward Mexico and attempting to link with drug cartels in order to gain better financing and access to the U.S.  Worth reading is a recent report by ProPublica that highlights the relationship between the drug cartels and Hezbollah, and the profits acquired through the illegal drug trade.  

TENSIONS WITH IRAN ESCALATE—After a recent incident involving the presence of a U.S. aircraft carrier in international waters, a new report citing various sources confirms Iran’s uranium enrichment at a specific underground bunker with the capability to upgrade material more quickly than main stockpiles.  Read more from CBS news.  In a somewhat related story, the U.S. Navy freed several Iranian fisherman captured by pirates in the Northern Arabian Sea.  

A NEW U.S. DEFENSE STRATEGY WAS ANNOUNCED and the major concerns remain proposed reductions in troop strength and dissolving the capability of the U.S. military to engage enemies on multiple fronts.  With this new strategy in mind, the President will soon propose his budget to Congress and the process for debating new U.S. defense policy and determining budget allocations and priorities will begin.  Check out my press release.

WITH SUCH LARGE CUTS TO THE DEFENSE BUDGET LOOMING, a recent editorial in the Washington Post caught my attention.  From the editorial: “the President cited Dwight D. Eisenhower’s maxim that military spending must be weighed in light of a broader consideration: the need to maintain balance in and among national programs.  When Mr. Eisenhower spoke those words, defense spending represented more than 9 percent of U.S. gross domestic product. Under Mr. Obama’s plan it would drop from about 4.5 percent to under 3 percent. Meanwhile, other than cuts to finance the new entitlements in his health care bill, the president has yet to propose meaningful trims in the exploding costs of entitlements such as Medicare, which did not exist during Mr. Eisenhower’s presidency. Would Ike have regarded what Mr. Obama is proposing as “balanced”? It’s hard to see how.”  It’s a good point—but I would appreciate knowing what you think, which you can do by emailing me here.