View from the Capitol - Congresswoman Hartzler's Weekly Newsletter for the Week of July 27, 2015
Statement
As July ends, I leave Washington to spend August in Missouri's Fourth. I am looking forward to meeting with you and discussing your issues and what is going on in your lives. August will be a fun month, and I am eager to visit with the great people of our district.
This week was incredibly packed in Washington. Despite the heat, humidity, and busy schedule, I was happy to be able to go and visit those veterans who came to Washington as part of a Central Missouri Honor Flight trip. Honor Flight Network is a non-profit organization created solely to honor America's veterans for all their sacrifices. They transport our nation's heroes to Washington, D.C. to visit and reflect at their memorials. I met this week's trip at the World War II memorial to greet and thank these brave heroes for their service and welcome them to their memorial. I have a tremendous respect for our veterans and Honor Flight trips are always a highlight of my week when they come.
To help ensure our nation's veterans are getting the care and attention they have earned and deserve, the House passed a series of bill aimed at helping our veterans.
The first of these is the VA Accountability Act. This bill expands on a law we passed last year that allowed the VA Secretary to fire senior officials. During the bill signing of that bill, President Obama explained, "If you engage in an unethical practice, if you cover up a serious problem, you should be fired. Period." To date, however, only two employees have been fired since the original Phoenix VA waitlist scandal. The VA Accountability Act is straightforward legislation that gives the VA Secretary the authority to fire any VA employee found to be failing our veterans. The VA Accountability Act will root out the bureaucrats who are failing our veterans to make room for dedicated public servants who will get the job done.
We also passed the Hire More Heroes Act, which I co-sponsored, which will make it easier for veterans to land good-paying jobs. By exempting veterans who already have health coverage through the Department of Defense or the VA from the employer mandate in the president's health care law, we're making it easier for small businesses to hire more veterans. Our military men and women have made countless sacrifices on behalf of our freedom and security. We owe it to them to do everything in our power to ensure they have the opportunity to earn a good living and care for their families when their military service has ended.
Another bill we took up for our veterans is the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015. This bill does two things. First, it extends the Highway Trust Fund through the end of October, giving Congress more time to find a real, long-term solution that addresses the insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund. Additionally, this bill gives the VA the funding it needs to keep VA hospitals operating while also instituting much-needed reforms to make access to care much easier for our heroes. I am committed to making sure those who served and sacrificed for this country are duly taken care of when they come back home. I will continue to support bills like these that help our veterans get the care they deserve.
The House also passed the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, which I co-sponsored, giving the people a chance to rein in the Administration's economic overregulation by allowing Congress to vote on new regulations that cost over $100 million. President Obama recently issued his 500th major regulation--a "major" regulation is one with an economic impact of more than $100 million--at a combined cost of roughly $625 billion to the economy. In 2014 alone, federal regulations cost Americans $1.88 trillion! EPA rules such as the Waters of the US and the Greenhouse Gas Emissions are prime examples of regulations that simply do not weigh the economic harm it would inflict on Missourians. The federal government should not be in the business of regulating everything under the sun. It should allow the American people to prosper. The REINS Act does that, allowing our economy to grow and create more jobs.
Turning to the President's Iran Nuclear Deal, another topic weighing heavy on our minds in Congress, we learned this week from Secretary of State John Kerry's testimony that there are secret portions of this deal that even our top officials haven't seen. As we learn more about this deal, it continues to show just how bad of a deal it is. My colleagues in the House and I will continue to press the Administration for details, and we will continue to thoroughly scrutinize this deal before we vote on it in September. I have heard from many of you already as you call and write my office. I thank you for expressing your opinion and urge you to continue to do so--on this and any of the other matters our country is facing.
On another note, this week marked the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This law was passed in 1990 to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. I was visited by representative from the National Council for Independent Living who were in town to celebrate the anniversary and to discuss the importance of providing low-cost options that give individuals the flexibility to stay in their own homes and make their own long-term care decisions. They are doing great work on behalf of those with disabilities and I wish them the best in the future.
Lastly, this week also marked the 240th birthday of the Army Chaplain Corps. The military chaplain is an indispensable tool for our soldiers. Far too often their work goes unnoticed, but these selfless heroes provide spiritual guidance and ministry for our men and women in uniform. I urge you to join me in thanking our military chaplains for their vital role in keeping our nation safe and our troops grounded.
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