The House Continues Its Work On Pro-Growth Legislation

Congressman Robert Hurt

Weekly Column 1/28/13

 

The House of Representatives has wasted no time in addressing the pressing issues that we as a nation confront. Over the past week, the House acted to put our nation back on a path to fiscal sustainability, and we have introduced two bills that will rein in the federal government’s over-reach to protect individual liberties and get our economy back on track.

 

“No Budget, No Pay”

 

This past week, the House passed the “No Budget, No Pay Act.” At a time when the Senate has proven that it will not take the steps necessary to reduce the national debt and deficits, this legislation keeps faith with the American people by fulfilling our responsibility of honoring our financial obligations while ensuring that the United States Senate to finally adopts a budget and joins us in confronting our nation’s spending problem. We have spent too much, but we must pay our bills – and in order for the federal government to fulfill those obligations, the Senate and the President must get serious about reducing the debt.  On behalf of 5th District Virginians and all Americans, we must come together to adopt measures that will preserve the American opportunity for our children and grandchildren. I supported the House-led “No Budget, No Pay Act” because I believe that this legislation is the first step toward that goal. At this time, this bill awaits action in the United States Senate.

 

Reining In Federal Over-Reach

 

This week, I cosponsored two pieces of legislation that will remove the federal government as a barrier to job creation and restore individual liberty. The first is the Tax Code Termination Act, sponsored by Congressman Bob Goodlatte of Roanoke. This legislation moves us toward much-needed tax reform, which is critical to our nation’s future prosperity. By removing the current, over-complicated tax code and replacing it with a simpler, fairer, and flatter code, we will create greater economic certainty that our families, farmers, and small business owners need while ensuring that all Americans are keeping more of their hard-earned tax dollars.

 

In addition to working toward reining in federal overreach in our tax code, I am also committed to ensuring that our seniors, families, and small businesses across the 5^th District are not negatively impacted by the President’s health care law. This week, I cosponsored the Protect Seniors’ Access to Care Act to ensure that our seniors continue to have access to affordable, quality care.  The President’s health care law impacts our individual liberty by providing for a massive overextension of the federal government into private health care decisions of individuals and families. One example of this is the creation of the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) – a board set up by the President’s health care law which appoints 15 unelected bureaucrats to make determinations limiting seniors’ access to care and interfere in decisions that should be kept between our seniors and their doctors. As the House continues to work on behalf of the American people, scaling back federal government over-reach and upholding our individual liberties, the repeal of IPAB is a positive step toward ensuring our seniors can access the quality, affordable care that they need.

 

House Committee On Financial Services

 

Finally, I am pleased to once again represent the people of Virginia’s 5^th District on the House Committee on Financial Services and am honored to accept the appointment to be Vice Chairman of the Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises. Reducing over-regulation and providing for our Main Street banks to lend private capital is critical to restoring a vibrant economy and creating jobs. In this role, I will continue to work on behalf of the 5^th District to see that our family farms and small businesses have access to these critical resources and to foster an environment where they can expand and create the jobs that our 5^th District families need.

 

If you need any additional information, please visit my website at hurt.house.gov or call my Washington office: (202) 225-4711, Charlottesville office: (434) 973-9631, Danville office: (434) 791-2596, or Farmville office: (434) 395-0120.