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What's Happening In Washington
This past week involved legislative action in both the House and Senate that I thought you should be aware of. There was even a piece of legislation signed into law by President Obama that specifically impacts Michigan. Without further adieu, let's get into the Huddle.
Restoring The System Of Checks and Balances
On Wednesday, the House passed H.R. 4138, the ENFORCE the Law Act of 2014, 233-184. The bill establishes a procedure for the House of Representatives or the Senate to authorize a lawsuit against the executive branch for failing to faithfully execute the laws. Specifically, the legislation grants Congress standing to bring suit against a President who refuses to faithfully enforce the law.
My friend and the chief sponsor of H.R. 4138, Trey Gowdy, gives an incredible speech on why this legislation is necessary. You can watch the speech HERE
On Thursday, the House voted on H.R. 3973, the Faithful Execution of the Law Act of 2014, and passed it by a vote of 244 - 171. Essentially, this legislation requires a report to Congress when any federal official establishes or implements a non-enforcement policy, regardless of the grounds of non-enforcement. It is the role of the executive to enforce the laws enacted by legislature and be transparent in doing so.
Life Saving Research
There was a great bipartisan piece of legislation passed by the Senate on Tuesday. The Kids First Research Act prioritizes funding for pediatric research on childhood cancers, autism, down syndrome, Fragile X, and countless other disorders and diseases that affect our children.
This good news is made even better by the fact that the bill is paid for by eliminating taxpayer dollars previously used to fund political conventions. I was proud to support this legislation when it passed the House in December and I look forward to President Obama signing it into law.
You can learn more about the Kids First Research Act HERE
Signed, Sealed, and Results Delivered
On Thursday, President Obama signed into law bipartisan legislation to preserve and protect public access to Sleeping Bear Dunes for future generations. This solution is a "win" for the park, visitors to the park, and the local community. You can read my statement on the signing HERE.
Representing You
Back in January, Congressman Dan Benishek and I toured Newaygo, Lake, Manistee and Benzie counties during the 2014 Congressional Snowmobile Ride. The ride was a great success and I wanted to share with you some of the footage from the trip as well as some of the interaction from a few of the town hall and meet and greets we held along the way.
Click here to watch a short video detailing the 2014 Congressional Snowmobile Ride
Michigan Minute
ObamaCare Update: More Broken Promises, More Questions
In an interview posted on Friday with WebMD President Obama admitted that many Americans may not be able to actually keep their doctor.
Even NBC's "Meet The Press" on Sunday picked up on this significant shift which resulted in NBC's David Gregory highlighting yet another one of President Obama's broken promises:
"So the President already apologized for saying if you like your plan you could keep it, that didn’t turn to be true for everybody. Now he seems to be backtracking on whether you can keep your doctor, if you like your doctor." Watch the video HERE
Here is a list of other instances where President Obama made similar promises regarding ObamaCare, insurance plans, and doctors that have proven to be false.
It's been 1,455 days since ObamaCare was signed into law and a piece published by Politico on Thursday revealed even more serious flaws in the Administration's ObamaCare record keeping and implementation strategy:
- The Obama Administration doesn't know how many people have paid for ObamaCare
- The Obama Administration doesn't know how many people are actually insured
- The Healthcare.gov system still isn’t ready and is actually still under construction
Check this out for yourself by reading: So how many have paid ACA premiums?
Financial Services Committee Update
On Thursday morning, I spoke to WHTC's Gary Stevens about the importance of creating private sector growth, prosperity, and jobs while not putting more debt on the credit card and jeopardizing our children's future. You can listen to my conversation with Gary HERE.
On Friday, the Financial Services Committee passed five bipartisan regulatory relief bills aimed at freeing up access to capital, reducing red tape, and spurring private sector economic growth.
H.R. 3584, the Capital Access for Small Community Financial Institutions Act of 2013, introduced by Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH) and Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH). The bill was approved 55-0. H.R. 3584 amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to allow privately-insured credit unions to be eligible for membership in the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) System. H.R. 3584 allows privately-insured credit unions to access the FHLBs’ low-cost, secured borrowings, which would provide a new source of mortgage funding for those financial institutions and their members.
H.R. 2672, the Helping Expand Lending Practices in Rural Communities Act, introduced by Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) and Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX). The bill was approved 55-1. H.R. 2672 amends the Dodd-Frank Act to create an appeals process for areas to be designated as rural for the purpose of exempting certain loans from the CFPB’s Qualified Mortgage Rule. The failure of the CFPB to accurately identify certain areas as a “rural” has made it harder for community financial institutions to offer mortgages to creditworthy borrowers.
H.R. 3623, the Improving Access to Capital for Emerging Growth Companies Act, introduced by Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-TN) and Rep. John Delaney (D-MD). The bill was approved by a vote of 56-0. H.R. 3623 reduces burdensome Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registration and disclosure requirements to help Emerging Growth Companies (EGCs) access the capital markets more efficiently, streamline the Initial Public Offering process and allow EGCs to deploy their assets to grow and create jobs.
H.R. 4164, the Small Company Disclosure Simplification Act, introduced by Rep. Robert Hurt (R-VA) and Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL). The bill was approved 51-5. H.R. 4164 provides a voluntary exemption for all EGCs and other issuers with annual gross revenues under $250 million from the SEC’s onerous requirements to file their financial statements in an interactive data format knows as eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). The bill also requires the SEC to conduct a cost-benefit analysis on the XBRL requirement and report to Congress within one year after enactment. H.R. 4164 allows small businesses to spend more time focusing on expanding and creating jobs rather than on redundant SEC compliance requirements.
H.R. 4167, the Restoring Proven Financing for American Employers Act, introduced by Rep. Barr. The bill was approved 53-3. H.R. 4167 amends the the Bank Holding Company Act to allow banks to invest in Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLOs) issued before January 31, 2014, and clarifies the definition of what constitutes an ownership interest in a covered fund for purposes of Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Act, also known as the Volcker Rule. CLOs provide nearly $300 billion in financing to U.S. companies and the legislation will prevent a “fire-sale” of CLOs that were captured by the final rule to implement the Volcker Rule. |
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