A Return to Normalcy
One month into the 118th Congress, we are forging ahead with our Commitment to America. In order to restore a strong American economy, we are working to exercise oversight over reckless federal spending and the failed White House policies that have hamstrung recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the severe inflation and large-scale layoffs we’ve seen throughout the first 23 months of the Biden presidency.
Despite the fact President Biden declared “the pandemic is over” in an interview with 60 Minutes last September, he has since extended the Public Health Emergency (PHE) while pursuing harmful proposals such as student loan debt cancelation and heavy-handed vaccine mandates. This week, the Republican-led House took action to check these abuses of executive power and uphold government accountability.
On February 1, 2023, with my support, the House passed a measure to require executive branch agencies to reinstate pre-pandemic work policies unless they submit a certified plan to Congress showing such policies positively impact the agency’s objectives and operational costs. Lax telework arrangements have had negative consequences for veterans seeking care through the VA, taxpayers seeking adequate customer service at the IRS, and Americans in need of other basic government services. House Republicans have promised to deliver a government that’s accountable, and that begins with ensuring federal government employees are showing up to do the jobs taxpayers pay them to do. That’s also why one of the first orders of business in the Republican-led Congress was to fully reopen the House of Representatives. Proxy voting is over, and the People’s House is fully open again for visitors and official business.
Furthermore, oversight is ongoing regarding billions of taxpayer dollars lost to fraud and improper unemployment insurance payments intended for federal pandemic relief. The SHOW UP Act would require federal agencies to show up for work and get back to the business of serving the American people, and I was glad to support its passage.
In addition, this week I supported House passage of resolutions to end the Public Health Emergency first declared in January 2020. After pressure from Congress, the Biden administration announced an expiration of these designations on May 11th. The COVID-19 pandemic is no longer an emergency, and it’s time to end the PHE designation and move forward.
Contrary to attempts by the Biden administration to undermine successful border policies initiated under the Trump administration, these measures would not eliminate policies such as Title 42 which is executed under the authority of the U.S. surgeon general.We should closely examine what pandemic policies – like increased access to telehealth – have benefited Americans and work to make those permanent, but we should take a look at these policies on a case-by-case basis. Any changes needed can be legislated, which would provide more certainty to both patients and health care providers.
I have long spoken out against and opposed COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Among the victims of onerous federal vaccine mandates have been hardworking health professionals. Disregarding the rights of those who served and sacrificed so admirably when the pandemic hit hardest – in the midst of a workforce shortage – is not only bad policy, it’s wrong. To support health care workers, I cosponsored the Freedom for Health Care Workers Act, and on January 31, this bill passed the House by a vote of 227-203. Next week the House is scheduled to vote to end the vaccine mandate for foreign travelers legally entering the United States by air. This is another important step toward returning to normalcy.
Republicans are executing a plan to revitalize economic growth and get our nation back on track. Unleashing production and innovation are key to creating an environment where small businesses and families can get ahead and students can succeed. Our country has come through the COVID-19 pandemic. While we’ll always remember the lives lost and lessons learned, the best thing we can do as we look ahead is get government out of the way so the American people can flourish.
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