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Toomey got sworn in last week for his second term as a U.S. senator, and it appears from his recent op-ed, that he's still drinking from the obstructionist conservative kool aid fountain. So, it looks like we can expect the same BS from him and his colleagues for this coming term, except he won't have Obama to blame for not getting anything accomplished.
Same old talking points with no definitive plan or process for improvement . . . Just talk.
Sen. Pat Toomey: Working to make U.S. more secure and more prosperous
Security and prosperity, these are the two most important responsibilities of the federal government.
Increased violence and terrorism in recent years have demonstrated the need for enhanced security. From tougher sanctions against the Iranians to stop them from obtaining a nuclear bomb; to stopping dangerous sanctuary city policies across the country; to better protecting kids in classrooms from predators; and to keeping firearms away from criminals and the dangerously mentally ill, we must take stronger action to improve our security. I've been at the forefront fighting for each of these priorities during my first term in the Senate and will continue to in my second.
I also intend to work hard to create an environment of greater economic opportunity and security.
We've been living through the worst economic recovery in 60 years. Wages have stagnated, our workforce participation rate is at a record low and the income gap has grown.
It's not for lack of meddling on behalf of the federal government.
The Federal Reserve has driven interest rates to zero and bought several trillion dollars' worth of bonds. The federal government launched a massive spending binge that caused huge deficits and doubled our nation's debt. The Obama administration disastrously took over the health care industry and has inflicted countless tax increases and stifling regulations on virtually every segment of our economy.
Some believe that the lack of economic growth is the new normal. This is a cop-out. There is nothing normal about meager growth; it is the inevitable consequence of failed policy. We can have a strong recovery that generates greater opportunity and a higher standard of living for all Pennsylvanians but we must change the policies coming out of Washington to get there. Specifically, we can reform our overly complicated and burdensome tax code and roll back many of the heavy-handed regulations imposed since 2008.
Tax reform is an area where we can start. The United States has the highest business tax rate in the developed world and many giveaways to politically favored industries and companies. These features put our country at a disadvantage economically and hurt American companies and workers competing on the global stage. By reducing the business tax rates and eliminating the corporate welfare, we will be in a much better position to entice businesses to locate and start up here. The result will be greater economic growth, substantial job growth and increased wages. It's equally important that we simplify and lower tax rates applied in the individual tax code. These changes will result in more work, savings and investment, which together raise our standard of living.
On the regulatory front, we have the opportunity to roll back many of the job-killing regulations that have devastated our economy over the past eight years. We can start with Dodd-Frank, an ill-conceived response to the financial crisis which has made credit less available and more expensive for consumers and small businesses. It has also virtually stopped the creation of new community banks and even codified "too big to fail," which puts taxpayers on the hook for bailing out failing financial institutions.
We must also begin the process of repealing Obamacare. The heart of Obamacare — the individual health care market — is failing. Insurers are abandoning the market, premiums are skyrocketing, and people have lost the coverage they were promised they could keep. I am looking forward to moving quickly toward a system that gives Americans more affordable choices in coverage and takes Washington bureaucrats out of the doctor's office.
Congress must tackle bureaucratic overreach. Consider the eight-year campaign the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies have waged to kill Pennsylvania's coal industry through crushing regulations that lack legislative authority. Thousands have lost their jobs, mines have closed, and power plants have been shuttered. Regulators should be required to comply with the law and any major, new regulation should be subject to congressional approval before going into effect.
It is an honor to serve the people of Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate. I appreciate the trust put in me to fight for you. With the right steps, I am confident that our country can be more secure and have a growing economy that works for everyone, not just a select few. I'm eager to get back to work.
You go Pat . . . Call me or answer my e-mails when you finally get something done.
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I am SURE Pat and his cohorts will fix EVERYTHING very quickly !
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Scott Perry started his e-mail message with "and we're baaack"
I'm not sure if that's supposed to be clever, or funny, or a downright ominous warning that Perry and the freedom caucus are still in Washington D.C.
Based on his previous couple of years in the house, I'll take it as a warning.
Here is what Scott is patting himself on the back for and some of the items he deems serious and necessary to attack in the new session:
January 8, 2017
This week marked the beginning of the 115th Congress and we got right to work. I introduced bills to balance the federal budget and to require more accountability in the Department of Homeland Security, and the House overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan resolution in support of Israel.
Balanced Budget Amendment
Hard-working people and businesses throughout Central Pennsylvania know what it’s like to live on a budget. They have to make tough decisions to live within their means every day and Washington should have to do the same. We need to stop spending money we don’t have. The federal government has run up an unsustainable debt of nearly $20 trillion. Interest payments alone on this debt are expected to hit $255 billion this year, $498 billion by 2020, and a whopping $830 billion by 2026. If we keep ignoring our debt crisis out of political expediency, Social Security, Medicare and other vital programs simply will go bankrupt. That’s why I introduced a bill this week that seeks to balance the federal budget via an amendment to the U.S. Constitution and confront the debt crisis that threatens the economic security of every American.
DHS SAVE Act
In October 2015, the DHS Inspector General (IG) released a scathing report of the Federal Protective Service’s (FPS) management of their vehicle fleet, a report that reads like a laundry list of poor management decisions. The IG found that FPS had more vehicles than officers, and officers were authorized to drive from home to work with government-owned vehicles. Additionally, the report stated that FPS was “not in compliance with federal and departmental requirements.” For this reason, I introduced the Department of Homeland Security Stop Asset and Vehicle Excess Act, or the DHS SAVE Act, to require the Under Secretary of Management for the Department of Homeland Security to manage vehicle fleets throughout the Department. According to the IG, FPS wasted more than $2.5 million in FY14 on its vehicle fleet due to numerous management failures.
Specifically, the DHS SAVE Act:
Improves the management of DHS’s vehicle fleets by authorizing the Under Secretary for Management at the headquarters level to oversee the components’ vehicle fleets;
Requires the components to evaluate their fleets on an ongoing basis;
Includes penalties for mismanagement of component fleets; and
Requires DHS to identify alternative methods for management of component fleets.
The management failures demonstrate a culture of waste by DHS regarding taxpayer money. That is reprehensible and unacceptable. With the second largest civilian vehicle fleet in the federal government, DHS must have stricter controls in place at the headquarters level in order to rein in rogue components. Every dollar wasted on mismanagement is one less that goes to actually protecting the public.
House Stands with Israel
The United Nations has proven again and again to have an obvious anti-Israel bias and isn’t the appropriate forum for resolving disputes between Israel and the Palestinians. Bilateral negotiations are clearly the best path forward that can result in a positive outcome. I’m proud to have voted with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to a pass H. Res. 11, legislation to reject the recent anti-Israel UN resolution. This strongly bipartisan legislation in Congress calls for the repeal of the anti-Israel U.N. resolution and makes clear that the Obama Administration's failure to veto it violated longstanding U.S. policy to protect Israel from such one-sided U.N. actions.
Let's hope Scott and his buddies actually accomplish something that will be beneficial to all of us.
I'm not holding my breath . . . But I can hope.
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After all the high fives since the election, it might dawn on them that they control every branch of government and must deal with the job of actually governing.