THE JUICE – Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of eastern Washington, new chair of the House Republican Conference (#4 in House GOP), is the highest-ranking woman in Congress. The fifth-termer sat down with Playbook in her Conference office in Cannon: “Coming out of the 2012 election, there's a renewed focus among Republicans on messaging and communication and the importance of just better connecting with people … It is recognizing the changing demographics, and making sure that people understand, from different backgrounds and different experiences, exactly what Republicans are about … Yes, it's getting our members on TV shows and get those interviews, and radio. … But it's so much more than that. … I want to do a lot more as far as getting our members out front and really highlighting their experiences, their expertise, and making sure that people know who they are. So I'm personalizing it more. …
“I want us to be articulating those aspirational goals that we have, so that the debate isn't just a matter of … going down on the House floor and the Republicans lining up on one side and Democrats lining up on the other. But that we are putting this debate in terms of how it applies to these aspirational goals that we have for America, so that we're thinking beyond just the crisis of the moment. … We have to modernize, as Republicans, not moderate.”
--As Conference Vice Chair beginning in ’08, McMorris Rodgers started an annual House Republican "New Media Challenge”: “It's fashioned after the NCAA playoff. So, whoever signs up, we put them in the brackets, and then we get down to the final four … One week it would be how many new Facebook friends, or next week it's tweets or YouTube subscribers.”
--AFTER HOURS: Whether McMorris Rodgers is in D.C. or back home, Thursday night is “date night” – usually dinner and a movie -- with her husband, Brian Rodgers, a retired 26-year active-duty Navy commander. Their two children are Cole and Grace: “The best thing that's happened since I was elected to Congress was getting married and becoming a mom and having a 2-year-old little girl and a 5-year-old little boy.”
Today marks 1,350 days since the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate passed a budget. The Republican-led House of Representatives has passed two budgets in that time, keeping our commitment to the American people to reign in Washington's wasteful spending and preserve the futures of our children and grandchildren. Spending is the problem, and Senate Democrats must take action to address it. Check out the chart below:
Chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) delivered this week's address, discussing the House's recent action to permanently extend current tax rates for 98% of Americans. It's now House Republicans' focus in the 113th Congress to cut out-of-control spending to reduce our crippling debt, and reform our tax code.
Chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) will deliver the Weekly Republican Address tomorrow, Saturday, January 5. Here's a sneak peek of Rep. Camp delivering the address, in which he's expected to discuss last week's House-passed legislation to extend current tax rates for 98% of Americans, and moving forward with meaningful tax reform. You can watch the address here tomorrow.
In this week's address, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) discusses the House's repeated action to avert the fiscal cliff. House Republicans have continually offered serious solutions to avoiding the automatic tax hikes on all Americans and small businesses set to take place January 1. It's now up to the Senate Democrats and the president to work with us. Watch the address below:
Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) will deliver the Weekly Republican Address tomorrow, Saturday, December 22. Here's a behind-the-scenes look of Speaker Boehner delivering the address, in which he's expected to discuss the House's recent action to cut wasteful spending and avert the fiscal cliff. It's now up to the Senate Democrats and the president to put forth a serious solution and work with the House to avoid tax hikes on every American that will take place January 1, 2013. You can watch the address here tomorrow.
President Obama calls for a balanced approach to averting the fiscal cliff. Once again, his actions do not match his rhetoric. See the chart below for the balance of his latest proposal:
We believe that in order to avert the coming fiscal cliff, a balanced approach is necessary. The president, however, does not seem to agree. Even though the negotiations with the White House continue, Republicans are ready to ensure that taxes will not go up on any Americans making one million dollars a year or less.
Speaker Boehner distributed a chart today courtesy of Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan clearly showing that even if the president gets all the tax increases he wants, they barely scratch the surface in covering the massive projected spending. Spending is the problem--it's math. The president must outline serious spending cuts and work with House Republicans to establish a balanced approach to averting the fiscal cliff.
Republicans have put forth a balanced approach for dealing with the upcoming fiscal cliff. If the president does not agree with our plan, he has the obligation to instead show the spending cuts that he prefers. Republicans are seriously trying to avert this crisis; the president does not appear to be.
The president has repeatedly called for a 'balanced approach' in developing a plan to avert the fiscal cliff. Unfortunately, his rhetroic has only included raising taxes on America's small businesses and he refuses to address any serious spending cuts. Our debt is more than 16 trillion dollars--the size of our entire economy. The only way to get our fiscal house in order is through entitlement reform and cutting the reckless spending in Washington. Take a moment to watch why we're in this fight, and catch video of Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Jeb Hensarling on our plan to avert the fiscal cliff:
House Republicans have proposed a plan to avert the coming fiscal cliff. If the president does not agree with that proposal, he has an obligation to submit a plan of his own that can pass both houses of Congress. House Republicans are willing and ready to work with the president to avoid this crisis. Watch this week's press conference below:
House Republicans are committed to working with the President and Senate Democrats to avoid the fiscal cliff. They are open to raising revenue through meaningful tax reform that lowers rates for all, as long as it is accompanied by significant spending cuts and entitlement reform that secures those programs for future generations.
Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) thanks our military and their families for their dedicated service and sacrifice, and asks us to keep the victims of Hurricane Sandy in our thoughts and prayers this holiday season.
The 'fiscal cliff' looms closer--triggering the largest tax increase in our nation's history. Republicans are ready to work with the President and Democrats for a balanced approach of instilling tax reform and significant spending cuts to prevent it from taking effect, and help grow our economy. Tax increases will only hurt small businesses and prevent them from hiring--devastating impacts on our economic recovery.
