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Op-Eds

  • Notes from Brett - Manufacturing in America

    In 1982, I was a senior in high school and can vividly remember coming home to see my dad and several of our family friends around our kitchen table. It was a memory that would stick with me for life, but for all the wrong reasons. They had all just been
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  • Notes from Brett - Doctors, not unelected Washington bureaucrats should decide the most appropriate care

    As a member of the House Energy and Commerce Health subcommittee, I have voted to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and participated in dozens of hearings that revealed astronomical costs, billion-dollar slush funds, and countl
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  • Notes from Brett: Disconnect between EPA and Rural Americans

    There seems to be a huge disconnect between rural, hard-working Kentuckians and the bureaucrats at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA.)
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  • Notes from Brett: Historic Solution to a Historic Problem

    Congress has an opportunity this week to make a historic decision that would permanently change the culture of spending in Washington. Our nearly $15 trillion of accumulated debt is a threat to our nation's economic recovery, our national security and
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  • Notes from Brett: Veterans Day

    I watch the work of our service men and women with admiration, and I am continually grateful for their bravery. Our country is fortunate to have such exceptional individuals.
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  • Notes from Brett: The time is now to pass a balanced budget amendment

    Sadly, our nation is facing a spending-driven debt crisis that was entirely preventable. Our $14 trillion deficit is a national security risk that holds our entire economy, as well as the health and welfare of future generations, hostage. We must put our
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  • Notes from Brett: A Plan for Job Creators

    Last week the Department of Labor announced that Kentucky's unemployment rate fell below 10%. While there were mixed reactions to this news, I stand firm that we must do a better job to get our economy back on track.
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  • Notes from Brett: Our Mission Ahead

    Every two years, Members of Congress take a solemn oath to support and defend the Constitution, and we are reminded of our responsibility to protect the future of our nation, no matter how difficult the decisions.
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  • Notes from Brett: Lame Duck

    As my first term in Congress comes to a close, I have become all too familiar with the gridlock, political games and "gotcha" politics that have become commonplace on Capitol Hill. Fortunately, the American people are now more aware of the broken, "busin
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  • Notes from Brett: Jobs

    I have been in office for 18 months, and since then all Washington has done is spend trillions of dollars expanding the federal government, all while millions of Americans have lost their jobs, and our unemployment rate has reached nearly 10 percent.
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  • Notes from Brett: Competitiveness

    We are facing real problems in our country right now. While other countries are saving, investing and building, the United States is spending, borrowing and patching.
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  • Notes from Brett: Keeping America Competitive

    The debate in Congress and at town hall meetings across the country is over how best to find new, real-world solutions that will again make America competitive in the global economy.
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  • Notes from Brett - Keeping America Competitive

    We are facing real problems in our country right now. While other countries are saving, investing and building, the United States is spending, borrowing and patching.
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  • Notes from Brett: Taxes

    One month ago was Tax Day - the day that hardworking Americans sent their money to Washington. And since taxes claim almost 27 percent of the average American's income, most individuals worked the first three months of this year just to pay them.
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  • Obama's Health Care Reform: Overspends and Under-delivers

    Last week, President Obama signed into law a health care reform bill that was trumpeted by some as the cure for our country's ills.
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  • Notes from Brett: Health Care

    It was clear from watching President Obama's Health Care Summit on Thursday that while the American people strongly oppose the comprehensive plans the president and Congressional leadership have proposed, there are numerous areas where nearly every me
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  • Notes from Brett: President's Budget

    Fiscal sanity needs to start today. Americans around the country have been forced to make tough decisions. It is time we do the same in Congress. After hearing President Obama's speeches last week, I was hopeful that his words would be met with si
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  • Notes from Brett: A New Year

    Happy New Year! This is the time of year when many of us make New Year's resolutions. I hope the majority in Congress makes a resolution to begin working together on behalf of the American people.
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  • Commemorating Veteran's Day

    The National Mall in Washington, D.C. receives 24 million visitors from all over the world who come to view the monuments that represent America's history.
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  • Notes from Brett: Clean Water Act

    ‘Dramatically increasing the role of the federal government in controlling waters on private property would produce dire consequences for Americans'
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  • Notes from Brett: Concerns with Closing Guantanamo

    In June, I visited Guantanamo Bay and saw firsthand how this facility operates. The individuals held there are directly linked to al-Qaeda and pose a great threat to the United States.
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  • Notes from Brett: Government Option Becomes Only Option

    While many are focused on fighting the government takeover of the health care system, a lesser-known bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week that paved the way for a government takeover of the student loan industry.
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  • Out of Control Spending

    As you know, spending in Washington is out of control. Many people joke that economists shouldn't tell the majority leadership what comes after a trillion because they will find a way to spend it. The American people are tightening their belts durin
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  • Health Plan Will Increase Costs for Families and Kill Jobs

    During a recent telephone town hall, a constituent from Bowling Green told me, "Being a two-time cancer survivor, and possibly having it for a third time, I'm very concerned about health care reform. I know money is tight for everyone right now, but
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  • Cap-and-Trade Hurts Kentucky Families

    As the cost of gas and home utility bills rise, Kentucky families are dealt an even greater economic hardship than they are already facing. We must be committed to a plan that leads to energy independence, more jobs here at home, and a cleaner environmen
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  • Savings Solutions

    Over the past year, millions of Americans have watched the value of their 401(k)s, college savings plans, and other vital savings accounts plummet. In fact, a poll commissioned by National Public Radio last week found that the number-one economic issue o
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  • A Vote for a Better Solution

    America is in the middle of a serious recession that is hurting working families and small businesses. Now, more than ever before, we need to work across party lines to put our country back on a path toward economic growth.
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