NEWS from the RSC

From the Chairman

The fireworks in Washington will begin a few days early this week, although there is little cause for celebration. For starters, Democrats plan to hold a vote on their so-called budget – which is not actually a budget at all. This “fudge-it” budget will set an overall spending level for one year. That’s it. Unlike a real budget, the Democrats’ “fudge-it” contains no information on how spending will be divided up and makes no attempt to plan for future spending. It’s a way to duck responsibility for a future of more trillion dollar deficits, but it isn’t a budget.

Democrats are also poised this week to hold the final votes on legislation that, under the guise of “financial reform,” would create the structural framework for a permanent political economy. Incredibly, this so-called reform package does not address the root causes of the financial crisis and continues the trend of taxpayer bailouts for institutions deemed too-big-to-fail. It would make credit more inaccessible even for credit-worthy families and entrepreneurs. All the while, it shamelessly fails to implement needed reforms to the failed and insolvent Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – the biggest recipients of taxpayer bailouts with $145 billion and counting.

As always, Republicans have better solutions on the table. The RSC has a real budget proposal that achieves a surplus by 2019 (H.Con.Res. 281), and the House Republican plan for real financial reform (H.R. 3310) was unveiled over a year ago.

Sincerely,

Congressman Tom Price

Chairman, Republican Study Committee

RSC Media Activity – Republican Study Committee members work hard to ensure that the conservative viewpoint is well-represented in all corners of the media. Visit our Media Center for more.

·       Reps. Jeb Hensarling(TX-05) and Paul Ryan (WI-01): Big Government Debt Mortgages Our Children's Future; Washington Examiner, June 21.

·       Rep. Trent Franks (AZ-02): Obama Administration Has Disastrously Mishandled Ariz. Immigration Situation; The Hill, June 25.

·       Rep. Bill Cassidy (LA-06): Gulf Spill Shouldn’t End Offshore Drilling; Roll Call, June 28.

Outlook – Here is a preview of upcoming Democrat proposals to advance their big-government, anti-taxpayer agenda.

·       The House is scheduled to hold a final vote on the Democrats’ permanent bailout bill this week, as well as a supplemental funding bill for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Democrats will likely try to use the troop funding bill to pass their “fudge-it” budget as well as billions of dollars in totally unrelated domestic spending.

House Floor Activity – The following key legislation came through the House of Representatives last week.

·       The House passed the DISCLOSE Act, a bill that defies the First Amendment by restricting and obstructing political speech by private companies and nonprofit groups while giving broad exemptions to labor unions and a few large special interest groups.

·       The House and Senate both agreed to sanctions on Iran’s energy and financial sectors in an attempt to derail its drive for nuclear weapons. However, the language includes broad waivers demanded by the Obama administration which, if utilized, could undermine this effort.

RSC Reports

·       Each week, the RSC Budget and Spending Taskforce compiles a weekly report on the latest budget and spending news. Additionally, the RSC Money Monitor tracks how bills passed by the House affect authorizations, mandatory spending, and federal government revenue.

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House Republican Study Committee
Rep Tom Price, M.D., Chairman

Paul Teller, Executive Director
Brad Watson, Policy Director
Natalie Farr, Professional Staff
Emily Henehan Murry, Professional Staff
Bruce “Fez” Miller, Professional Staff
Jonathan Day, Director of Member Services and Business Outreach
Alex Shively, Director of Conservative Coalitions
Ryan Murphy, Communications Director
Brian Straessle, Deputy Communications Director
Curtis Rhyne, Research Assistant

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