The Week Just Past: Prevented the Largest Tax Hike in History

Hurricane Sandy Emergency Assistance on the Way

Health Care Law May Mean Less Hiring in 2013

Rodney Serves Again As Appropriations Subcommittee Chair

The Week Just Past: Prevented the Largest Tax Hike in History

“While most Americans were ringing in the New Year, Congress was still struggling to reach bipartisan consensus in order to prevent the largest tax increase in American history. As you know by now, Vice President Biden and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell hammered out an imperfect agreement which was quickly ratified by the Senate.

“Faced with Senate intransigence and the opposition of the President to any genuine budget cuts, I joined a majority of colleagues in the House to vote to protect as many Americans as possible from a truly damaging income tax increase. In addition, we voted to provide badly-needed certainty to families and businesses alike by making the lower tax rates permanent. It also must be noted that the Biden-McConnell deal stopped the onerous Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) from hitting more middle class families, including thousands in New Jersey. These are all huge victories for the vast majority of New Jersey taxpayers!

“With that said, there are many provisions of this legislative package that I oppose. And, frankly, deficit reduction was a casualty of these negotiations as this legislative package contains very few spending reductions.

“I recognize that the federal government has a very serious spending problem that has led to a $16 trillion national debt that threatens our country’s future. We’ll never get our debt under control unless we tackle its main drivers: too little economic growth and too much spending.

“In this regard, the so-called ‘fiscal cliff’ legislation is truly a missed opportunity to do something significant to reduce our long-term debt and deficit problems. We missed an opportunity to enact a package that will promote economic growth, create jobs, reduce the deficit, reform our tax code and fix our entitlement programs.

“In the final analysis, I weighed the benefits and the costs of action—and of inaction. But the question remained: Will the American people be better off if this law passes? The answer to that question was ‘yes.’

“In 2013, Congress must recommit to creating jobs and cutting spending.  We can all hope that the process that produced the flawed ‘fiscal cliff’ package in 2012 will not be repeated.”

Rodney Frelinghuysen

Hurricane Sandy Emergency Assistance on the Way

Reacting to pressure from Rodney and other members of the New Jersey and New York House delegations, Speaker John Boehner this week agreed to expedite the process of providing emergency assistance to Hurricane Sandy victims. 

“Getting critical aid to the victims of Hurricane Sandy should be the first priority in the new Congress, and that was reaffirmed today with members of the New York and New Jersey delegations,” Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) said in a joint statement released after the meeting with Rodney and other GOP lawmakers from New York and New Jersey. 

“I am pleased that we have now a firm commitment from House Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor to provide a vote on emergency assistance to New Jersey, the greater New York metropolitan area and other states affected by Hurricane Sandy,” Rodney said. 

“Emergency funding for the victims of Sandy has been a high priority for me and I have been working side-by-side with Governor Christie, the Appropriations Committee and my bipartisan Congressional delegation to provide assistance to the tens of thousands of residents and businesses who are suffering tremendously.” 

The meeting was held after Speaker Boehner’s decision to pull a Sandy relief bill from the floor at the last minute on New Year’s Day. 

The House voted to provide $9 billion to shore up the National Flood Insurance Program earlier today and will vote on another $51 billion for Sandy victims on January 15. The bulk of the total, $33 billion, will be provided in an amendment that Rodney will offer to the House.

“I am optimistic about the prospect of passage of my amendment to provide $33 billion in additional funding when the House takes up the emergency supplemental,” Rodney said. “The Appropriations Committee has ‘scrubbed’ the proposal: the funding is ‘Sandy-related’, it contains no earmarks, no state-specific provisions unrelated to the storm.”

Recommended Reading: Paul Davidson, writing in the Thursday USA Today, “Health Care Law May Mean Less Hiring in 2013.”

Rodney Serves Again As Appropriations Subcommittee Chair

The House Leadership has reappointed Rodney as Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development. The Subcommittee has funding and oversight responsibilities for Department of Energy, the Army Corps of Engineers, the “nuclear Navy,” the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and other agencies.

“The nation faces challenging fiscal realities, yet we have serious responsibilities – the defense of our country and support for American innovation and competitiveness. I am honored to be asked by Leadership to service in this important capacity.”

In announcing the appointment of Rodney and the 11 other Appropriations Subcommittee Chairs, Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (KY) said, “As a nation, we have a tremendous amount of work to do to get our finances in order and our debt in check. The 12 members that were chosen to lead our Appropriations Subcommittees will shepherd tax-dollars in a responsible, frugal, and common sense way to help address the nation’s financial challenges. Each and every one of these hard-working members is committed to reducing our deficits, helping Americans get back to work, and ensuring a sound financial future.”