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The Start Of A New Congress
I am honored to have the privilege of representing West Michigan in the United States House of Representatives. With both the House and Senate under Republican leadership, the 114th Congress has the opportunity to advance a conservative agenda that promotes private sector job creation, makes commonsense reforms to the drivers of our nation’s debt, and rolls back federal government interference in the day to day lives of Americans across the country.
A Republican-led Congress can and must not only provide a unified check to President Obama’s out of touch agenda, but also deliver conservative solutions to make our economy stronger. Americans deserve a more efficient and effective government than what they have had under Democrat-controlled Washington and I believe a Republican-led Congress can deliver that.
The Speaker Vote
I know many of you have called, written, and taken to social media regarding my vote for Speaker. I did not make this decision lightly. Below is an excerpt of why I ultimately decided to support Speaker Boehner. You can read my full statement here.
"Over the past four years, House Republicans have bent the nation's spending curve and have grown our majority in the House to an 80 year high. While much more work needs to be done to get our nation's fiscal house in order, it is important to note that House Republicans have prevented President Obama from fully enacting his agenda over the last 4 years while Democrats have controlled Washington.
My vote for Speaker Boehner does not indicate that I am fully supportive of every decision our leadership has made and I believe my voting record proves that. We need to be bolder in our approach to crafting legislation. We need to be more aggressive and decisive when dealing with a President who disregards the very legislative process he once served in and I have expressed this to Republican leadership."
Keystone
On Friday, the House passed legislation 266 to 153 build the Keystone Pipeline. A number of Democrats (28) supported the legislation in the House and a similar piece of legislation is expected to garner bipartisan support and pass the Senate as well.
Here are several examples of bipartisan support Keystone has received:
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Teamsters: "Completing the final segment of the pipeline from Nebraska to the Canadian border would employ upwards of 2,500 Teamsters and would infuse millions of dollars into local economies. That’s not just where the pipeline is being built either — it’s right here in Michigan, where suppliers could see substantial growth."
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IBEW: "At a time when job creation should be a top priority, the Keystone XL Pipeline (KXL) project will put Americans back-to-work and have ripple benefits throughout the economy. During construction the project is expected to support at least 42,000 jobs and contribute $3.4 billion to the U.S. Gross Domestic Product."
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Operating Engineers: “The project is expected to generate approximately 3,000 job-years for Operating Engineers alone. With congressional approval of the pipeline, you can unleash this massive economic activity at no cost to taxpayers.”
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Plumbers & Pipefitters: "This shovel-ready project will put thousands of hardworking men and women to work at zero cost to taxpayers."
With the issues resolved in Nebraska, a Republican-led Senate poised to pass legislation, and bipartisan support from the American people, President Obama is running out of excuses to delay good-paying jobs and energy security. It's time to build Keystone!
The Road Ahead
This week, the House is taking President Obama's unconstitutional executive action head on. The legislation being considered on the floor Wednesday will do the following:
- Prevents any funds, no matter the source, to be used to carry-out the executive actions announced by President Obama on November 20, 2014, to grant deferred action to certain unlawful immigrants and for other purposes.
- Declares that the defunded policies and any substantially similar policies have no statutory or constitutional basis and therefore no legal effect.
- Provides that no funds may be used to grant any federal benefit to any illegal immigrant as a result of the policies defunded.
- Defunds the Obama Administration's so-called "prosecutorial discretion" memos that have gutted immigration enforcement within the United States.
Upcoming Event
On January 19th, I will be hosting an Academy Night for Second District High School Students at the United States Coast Guard SFO Grand Haven which is located at 650 South Harbor Drive. There will be liaisons from each academy on hand to answer any questions students or parents have regarding the academy process. The event will run from 7 pm until 9 pm. If you have any questions regarding Academy Night, please contact Matt Kooiman in my Grandville office. He can be reached at (616) 570-0917.
Congratulations!
Earlier today, I had the pleasure of announcing that 17 students from across West Michigan have been nominated to attend our nation's service academies. West Michigan has a tradition of sending distinguished nominees to the academies and I have confidence that these students will carry on that tradition and represent West Michigan and our nation with distinction. To view the list of nominees, click here.
Michigan Minute
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