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| New Year's Goals for Our Nation |
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This week, Washington, D.C., has been buzzing with the anticipation of a new administration. Flags are draped from buildings, barricades line the streets, and even some of our own Cincinnati law enforcement officers have traveled to D.C. to help provide security for the inauguration.
With a new administration, a new Congress, and a new year, we as a nation have the opportunity to re-chart our way forward. Just as we set goals on an individual level each January, our country has the chance to reflect and recalibrate. With that in mind, here are a few of the top goals that I would set for our country this New Year:
Get Washington’s spending addiction under control. If we’re ever going to break Washington’s bad spending habits, we must stop governing by crisis and start governing by principle, by common sense, and by regular order. This means balancing the budget. It means not spending beyond our means. It means cutting back on waste. And it means addressing the debt that is crippling our children’s future. I have long supported a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, and I believe that will be a critical step for the 115th Congress to take towards fiscal responsibility.
Restore Constitutional authority and roll back excessive regulations. Did you know federal regulations impose an estimated $1.88 trillion burden on American families? That's according to the Competitive Enterprise Institute and equals about $15,000 per household. Families cannot afford this. It also makes it more difficult for our businesses to grow and compete. During the first two weeks of the 115th Congress, the House of Representatives has already hit the ground running to provide some real relief, including passing the Midnight Rules Relief Act, which allows the incoming Congress to undo some of the tens of thousands of burdensome regulations that the current administration added -- many in the last few months of the administration. Learn more on my website at www.wenstrup.house.gov.
We don’t need more taxes – we need more common sense. Our current tax code is costing us jobs, growth, and competitiveness abroad. Out of the 34 industrialized nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), America ranks first with a 39.1% corporate tax rate – compared to an OECD average of 24.1%, according to the Tax Foundation. This is crippling our employers and needs to be fixed. I’m looking forward to efforts by our new Republican Congress to enact pro-growth tax reform so Americans are free to do what they do best – innovate, compete, and create jobs.
National security must come first. Providing for the defense of the United States is not optional – it’s a Constitutional command (just check the Preamble). We must be rebuilding our military, resourcing our servicemembers, and creating long-term innovative strategies for countering any threats to U.S. national security. I’m looking forward to an administration that has pledged to return to the responsible Reagan approach of “peace through strength,” and I will continue to use my positions on the House Armed Services Committee and Intelligence Committee to ensure we equip our troops and keep our country safe.
Repeal and replace the dysfunctional Obamacare. Having been a doctor for over 25 years, I’m deeply concerned by the harmful impacts of the Affordable Care Act on American families and local employers. I remain committed to continuing to work to repeal this failed law and -- with a continuum of care and certainty -- restore a healthcare system that allows families to pick a plan that works for them, not Washington. You can learn more about the plan at betterway.gop.
America must keep our promises to those who served. How we treat those who have served defines who we are as a nation, and I will never stop working to ensure they receive the respect, support, and honor they deserve. It is my privilege to have been selected as Chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Subcommittee to hold the Department of Veterans Affairs accountable and ensure our veterans get the quality of care they have earned and deserve. You can keep up with our work in real time at www.veterans.house.gov.
Here at the start of 2017, we stand on the brink of so many possibilities. We’re eager to roll up our sleeves and get to work accomplishing these important priorities. But the ultimate goal we must set for ourselves as a nation is to never lose sight of what we are fighting for. As President Ronald Reagan said, "Let us be sure that those who come after will say of us in our time, that in our time we did everything that could be done. We finished the race; we kept them free; we kept the faith."
What goals would you place at the top of the list for our nation in 2017? Leave a comment for me on my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/RepBradWenstrup.
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