Leadership for a Stronger America
In October, Creighton University’s nine-state Mid-American Economy Report showed the survey’s Business Confidence Index reached its lowest level since March 2020. This is a far cry from the promises of a thriving economy President Biden made as a candidate before taking office. Recent polling by the Economist and YouGov reveals 66 percent of Americans believe the country has become more politically divided since then, and 63 percent of Americans foresee the divisions getting worse in the next few years. The policies and rhetoric of the Biden administration have repeatedly failed to unite and get our country back on track. To contrast, House Republicans have coalesced around our Commitment to America agenda, our commonsense policy platform to ensure Americans everywhere have a chance at the American dream. It is based on four key pillars: a government that’s accountable, a nation that’s safe, a future built on freedom, and an economy that’s strong.
The American people need an accountable government, yet in the last two years, a Democrat-controlled Congress has failed to conduct oversight of the executive branch. In the 117th Congress, the House of Representatives has held no hearings on Biden’s botched departure from Afghanistan and no hearings on the Justice Department’s maligning of parents engaging in local school board meetings as “domestic terrorists.” Instead, the president signed a bill into law funding 87,000 new enforcement agents at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This is unacceptable, and I have introduced legislation to block this funding and refocus the agency on customer service. This is just the first of many steps House Republicans plan to make government work for, not against, you.
To ensure Americans flourish, Republicans are working to build a future on freedom and protect public safety. While health insurance premiums are skyrocketing and life expectancy is dropping in the U.S., the Democrats’ socialist drug pricing scheme is jeopardizing lifesaving cures. Health innovation is a top priority of mine, and even before COVID-19 highlighted the benefits of telehealth capabilities, I have been working consistently to empower the use of promising technologies to increase access to quality health care particularly to the benefit of rural areas.
The American economy continues to be hindered by unresolved supply chain issues. As Creighton’s director of the university’s Economic Forecasting Group, Dr. Ernie Goss, recently confirmed, disruptions to the supply chain and workforce shortages remain the top two problems for business managers and manufacturers in our region. Amidst these difficulties, the Biden administration is inexplicably pushing a regulatory crackdown on gig workers which will surely make life more difficult for contractors in the trucking industry, further driving up commodity prices and input costs. This is not a recipe to compete with China.
To ensure shortages of vital goods such as infant formula never happen again, we must strengthen supply chains and expand domestic production. Recently, President Biden has threatened oil companies with the imposition of a counterproductive windfall gas tax. Gas prices are high because President Biden has blocked domestic production, plain and simple. Unable to save you money at the pump, but sure to make the U.S. more dependent on foreign oil, a windfall tax was a bad idea when I led 50 of my colleagues in opposing it in May, and it is a bad idea now, especially when a shortage has made diesel nearly $0.50 more per gallon than it was one month ago.
In the years following Republican-led tax reform in 2017, economic confidence and new employee hirings exploded to the benefit of all Americans. To get back to an economy that’s strong and thriving, we are in serious need of steady leadership. Republicans have solutions, such as the JOBS for Success Act, which can boost our workforce and provide support for those looking for employment. I will never stop advancing policy which creates stability for growing businesses and improving prospects for Americans now and in the future.
Read more about House Republicans’ Commitment to America at CommitmentToAmerica.com.