Whether I’m home in Tennessee or working up in Washington, I’m often asked, “Why doesn’t Congress get anything done?” It’s an understandable question given that, six years after Republicans retook Congress from Nancy Pelosi’s control, Obamacare remains law, our national debt remains unacceptably high, and our borders are still unsecure. So I want to attempt to answer it as best I can.
First, the gridlock in Washington is real and, in some ways, it’s gotten even worse. In fact, President Obama has vetoed more bills this Congress than in the first six years of his administration combined. But every time President Obama pulls out his veto pen, I see it as a small victory for conservatives – because it means Congressional Republicans did our job; we put legislation on the President’s desk and forced him to go on record and defend his decision to the American people. It also lets Americans see where the logjam exists in our federal government. If a bill passes the House, passes the Senate, and is vetoed by President Obama, then it isn’t Congress who is sitting on its hands and obstructing good ideas, it is the President.
After President Obama’s State of the Union address last year, I said this: “Our Republican majority in Washington will work its will. We will look for opportunities to find common ground, but we also won’t let veto threats and political posturing from a lame-duck White House stop us from pursuing a bold, conservative agenda.”
That is exactly what we have done. In fact, this Congress, my colleagues and I in the House of Representatives have passed more than 600 bills on the House floor; a double-digit increase over the 25 year average — and more than 200 of those bills have been signed into law. This includes legislation to combat the opioid epidemic, fight the scourge of human trafficking, and to enact tougher sanctions on North Korea just to name a few.
This year, Congress also used a procedural tool known as “reconciliation” to advance an Obamacare repeal bill all the way to President Obama’s desk for the first time since the measure became law in 2010. After the President vetoed it, Congress held a vote to override the veto but lacked the two-thirds support required under the Constitution.
Many times, my colleagues and I in the House of Representatives took votes to advance conservative priorities, only to see these bills languish in the Senate. During the last Congress, when Harry Reid still wielded control over the upper chamber, House Republicans passed more than 350 bills — 98 percent with bipartisan support — that never received consideration by Senate Democrats. Even now, under Republican control, the Senate is still bogged down because of the filibuster rule, which requires a bill to have 60 votes to move forward; a difficult feat given that there are only 54 Republicans. That is why, for more than a year now, I have publicly urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to drop this archaic rule.
As a member of Congress, I can’t always control what President Obama, or even my Senate counterparts, may do — but I am responsible for my own record, and I’ve always asked Tennesseans to judge me by that standard. That is why, this Congress, I have:
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Authored and passed legislation to defund Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider
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Voted against a $1.1 trillion spending bill that continued Washington’s path to bankruptcy
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Wrote and unanimously passed an amendment to cut off funding to sanctuary cities
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Voted against implementation of President Obama’s dangerous nuclear agreement with Iran
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Cosponsored legislation to halt our refugee resettlement program until national security concerns can be fully addressed
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Authored and passed a bill to protect government discrimination against pro-life healthcare providers; and
- Worked with my Republican colleagues to develop “A Better Way” — a comprehensive plan offering conservative solutions to address our nation’s most pressing challenges, including a plan to replace Obamacare and to overhaul our broken tax code
Solutions don’t always come quickly in Washington, but that doesn’t mean we give up. Sometimes, when it seems as though nothing is getting done, we just have to look more closely. As your representative, I’ll continue taking on the important battles and working to deliver results.