Goodlatte: 'Fulfilling our Pledge to America'

By Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA 6th District)

Last fall House Republicans released “A Pledge to America” which was the result of our conversations with everyday Americans, including many of my constituents in the Sixth District of Virginia. It was based on the principles of smaller and more accountable government, economic freedom, lower taxes, fiscal responsibility, protecting life, American values and the Constitution.

When the 112th Congress was sworn into office earlier this year, House Republicans were committed to pursuing legislation focused on the principles contained in the “Pledge to America” and I am happy to report that the House has done just that.

First and foremost, House Republicans have focused on advancing policies that will put an end to the economic uncertainty we face and create jobs. Just a few months ago House Republicans released our “Plan for America’s Job Creators”. This comprehensive agenda includes over 30 bipartisan bills that have passed the House with the goal of protecting job creators from tax increases, reining in the regulatory red tape and burdensome mandates that hinder job creation and promoting American energy independence.

Second, House Republicans have made it a top priority to stop the out-of-control spending that has plagued Washington for years and worked to reduce the overall size of government. The House passed a budget that cut $6.2 trillion in government spending over the next ten years.

The House-passed budget eliminates hundreds of duplicative programs, contains no earmarks, curbs corporate welfare, and reforms entitlement programs, bringing non-security discretionary spending to below 2008 levels. While the House-passed budget is a significant step in the right direction, I believe we need to be even more ambitious in controlling spending which is why I supported a budget which would have made additional spending cuts to put the government on track to turn trillion-dollar deficits into a budget surplus within ten years. Unfortunately the Senate did not adopt either budget nor have they passed any budget in the last three years. This is a big problem.

Third we pledged to work to repeal the new health care law that kills jobs, raises taxes, threatens seniors’ access to care, will cause millions of people to lose the coverage they have and like, and increases the cost of health care coverage and replace it with commonsense reforms that lower health care costs and empower patients.

With that in mind, one of the first major acts of the 112th Congress was to pass a bipartisan repeal of the President’s sweeping health care reform law. Unfortunately a narrow majority of the Senate voted against the repeal.

I am proud to represent one of the most beautiful and diverse districts in the country and I am honored to carry the voice of the 6th Congressional District to Washington, D.C. Be assured, as your Congressman I will not shy away from the challenges that remain. I look forward to working in the second session of the 112th Congress on real solutions that will further reduce government spending, continue to grow our economy, and create more American jobs. House Republicans remain committed to creating effective public policy that benefits the American people.