e-News 11/18/16

• Priority #1: Jobs and Economic Growth
• Midnight Rules Threaten To Drag Down Our Economy
• Prioritizing Veterans Care
• Support for Continuing Iran Sanctions
• Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act
• Salute: Cedar Hill and Essex Fells Elementary are Blue Ribbon Schools!

 

Priority #1: Jobs and Economic Growth

The last recession ended in 2009, but the economy has been limping along ever since.  Job growth has been weak. Household income has stagnated. Business investment has barely budged.

In all this time, the economy has never grown by more than 3 percent in a single year. There is real concern that 1% to 2% economic growth may become the “new normal” for America. 

That is simply unacceptable.  In the new Congress, economic growth and job creation will be Priority #1. 

In order to hit the ground running, the House Leadership has developed a wide-ranging agenda, called A Better Way, to address solutions.  Learn more here.

The central elements of the Better Way agenda are:

• More financial independence and no more bailouts.Reward people who work hard and do the right thing, and put an end to bailouts.
• More affordable and reliable energy. Connect our energy boom to consumers, responsibly produce more of our own resources, and end needless delays that hold up jobs and projects.
• More choices for workers and students. Make it easier for people to excel in schools and workplaces, and rip up the red tape that gets in their way.
• Real Internet innovation. Establish clear and consumer-friendly rules that prevent the FCC from making up regulations as it goes along.
• A crack down on lawsuit abuse. Improve protections for consumers and small businesses.

One likely damper on job creation is the growing federal regulatory burden.

Of course, sensible regulations can be compatible with a strong economy, and it is the federal government’s responsibility to set clear, firm rules that all Americans can live by. But bad or unnecessary regulations can slow the economy down significantly, and the evidence suggests red tape is holding back the recovery.

The federal government has taken very few outdated regulations off the books, while constantly adding new ones: 3,408 in 2015 alone. The American people now spend $1.89 trillion every year just to comply with Washington’s rules— approximately $15,000 per household.

From heath care and finance to manufacturing and energy, job creators spend more time jumping through hoops than expanding opportunities.

Midnight Rules Threaten To Drag Down Our Economy

The practice of “midnight rulemaking” by presidential administrations creates cumbersome and costly regulations that often go unchallenged by Congress.

• Outgoing presidential administrations frequently rush to complete high-cost or politically-driven regulations during their last weeks and months in office. These rules are known as “Midnight Rules.”

• The rush to produce midnight rules undercuts time for sound analysis, public transparency, and responsiveness to public comments suggesting better ways to regulate—or showing that no regulation is needed at all.

• Midnight rules can be issued to defy a new electoral mandate delivered by voters, entrenching a defeated agenda through regulations at the “stroke of midnight” as the administration leaves office.

• Midnight rules have been a tool for Presidents to push last minute agendas to simply score political points.

• The impact of these poorly made rules often outlast the impact of the administration that created them.

This week, the House passed the Midnight Rules Relief Act as a swift response for Congress to quickly overturn midnight regulations before they can have a negative impact on the American economy.

• The bill amends the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to allow CRA resolutions that disapprove of multiple midnight rules to be passed by the new Congress.

• A rapid response mechanism establishes a strong incentive for presidential administrations to avoid issuing problematicmidnight rules in the first place.

Learn more about H.R. 5982, the Midnight Rules Act, here.

Prioritizing Veterans Care

Congress this week completed legislative action on legislation designed to assure that veterans needs receive top priority attention.  H.R. 5392, the No Veterans Crisis Line Call Should Go Unanswered Act—requires the Veterans Administration (VA) respond to calls to its crisis hotlines in a timely manner.

This is one of those bills that should not even be necessary, but sadly—and tragically—it is.  We learned through media reports earlier this year that more than one out of three calls to the VA crisis hotline were going unanswered.  Some were being sent to voicemail.  Many were not answered at all. That is disgraceful and inexcusable!

Through this legislation, we are forcing the VA to make improvements so that veterans actually get the help when they need the help.

Read H.R. 5392, the No Veterans Crisis Line Call Should Go Unanswered Act, here.

Support for Continuing Iran Sanctions

On Tuesday the House passed legislation that will ensure the next two Presidents will have a set of sanctions to use if Iran continues to violate the Iran Nuclear Agreement.  The Iran Sanctions Extension Act would reauthorize the Iran Sanctions Act for another ten years, while providing clear statutory authority to re-impose or "snap-back" many of the most powerful sanctions on Iran's energy industry if Teheran again rushes towards a nuclear weapon. This bill would also give Congress, not the Executive Branch, final say on when Iran gets permanent relief. 

The Iranian regime continues to finance global terrorism, test-fire ballistic missiles, abuse its own people, and, as recently as last week, violate the nuclear agreement. Today’s 419 to1 bipartisan vote will go a long way toward maintaining our ability to immediately reinstate sanctions against Iran over the next decade.

Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act

For almost five years, the Obama Administration and international diplomats have debated ways to protect the Syria’s civilian population targeted by the Assad regime and its backers.  Those debates have resulted in no results. Ceasefires have failed, resulting in an aggressive Syrian and Russian campaign against eastern Aleppo which UN officials described as “crimes of historic proportions.”

The Assad regime and its allies, including the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah, have used chemical warfare, barrel bombed civilians, and used starvation as a weapon against the Syrian people.

The conflict in Syria has killed more than 450,000 people, and destroyed more than 50% of the country’s critical infrastructure and driven 14 million from their homes.  This tide of refugees has been described as the greatest since World War II. 

Clearly, a new approach is necessary to address this bloody status quo.  We need to look for additional ways to work with partners to dial up pressure on Assad and his allies.

This week, the house passed H.R 5732, the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, legislation that would give the Administration more tools to impose new sanctions on any parties that continue to do business with the Assad regime.

We should be going after the elements of Assad’s regime: money, airplanes, spare parts, oil.  The military supply chain.  And yes, we want to go after Assad’s partners in violence.  Russia’s air campaign has enabled the Syrian regime along with Iranian and Hezbollah forces.  Russian planes have targeted schools, helicopters, and public spaces.

Learn more about H.R. 5732, The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act here.

Salute: Congratulations to Cedar Hill Elementary School in Montville and Essex Fells Elementary in Essex Fells for being named a 2016 National Blue Ribbon School! Less than .5% of the nation's schools receive this distinction.  Kudos to the faculty, staff, parents and students!