Saturday August 01, 2015

McMorris Rodgers: GOP-Controlled Congress ‘Just Getting Started’

By Cathy Burke | Saturday, 01 Aug 2015 07:29 AM

WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 28: Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) speaks during a press conference after a closed meeting with fellow Republicans, on Capitol Hill, July 28, 2015 in Washington, DC. The House plans to move on Wednesday to extend highway and transit programs for three months. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

A GOP-controlled Congress in just seven months has enacted entitlement reform, balanced the budget, improved veterans’ care, protected phone data privacy and ensured a congressional say in an Iran nuclear deal, but is “just getting started,” Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers said Saturday.

In the weekly Republican address, the House Republican Conference chairwoman handed a glowing report card to lawmakers for the first seven months since the GOP took over the majorities in both chambers.

“Already, we enacted the first real entitlement reform in nearly two decades,” she added. “Now, seniors will have the peace of mind to count on Medicare and taxpayers will save $2.9 trillion over the long term.”

She also hailed the “first 10-year House-Senate balanced budget plan since 2001,” and the enactment of “new tools to fight the evil of human trafficking; new resources to improve care for our veterans; and a plan to advance American trade and promote American jobs.”

Also, she said, Congress “ended the bulk collection of phone data, and ensured that Congress will have a say on the bad nuclear deal with Iran.”

And since 2010, when Republicans gained control in the House, McMorris Rodgers said lawmakers have also cut spending by more than $2.1 trillion, “protected 99 percent of Americans from permanent tax increases,” enacted reforms in job skills, student loan, VA and Medicare – and “stopped the transfer of terrorist detainees into the United States.”

“We enacted the most significant measure to help Americans with disabilities in 25 years,” she added. “And we passed the most sweeping pro-life legislation in history.”

Still, there’s “much more to do,” she said, including bills to accelerate the discovery, development, and delivery of life-saving innovations; reduce the power of the federal government in education; and modernize the VA system.

“Here’s the bottom line: we are just getting started on solving problems to empower you have the opportunity to pursue your own future and reach your full potential,” she said.

Thank you; and,  now help us to elect a Republican President and get these thieves out!

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