Newsletter: Washington Watch - 3/30/15

Statement

HOUSE AND SENATE APPROVE FY16 BUDGET RESOLUTIONS

For the first time since I've been an elected member of Congress, the Senate has joined the House in passing its own budget resolution, and we now have an opportunity to pass a unified budget to govern federal spending. This is great news for the American people, and it is a testament to how hard both chambers are working to get our fiscal house in order.

As many of you may know, my colleagues and I on the House Budget Committee recently unveiled our vision for the FY2016 federal budget, A Balanced Budget for a Stronger America, and this week our budget was passed by the full House. The FY2016 House budget builds on the fiscal success we've had in recent years by reducing federal spending by $5.5 trillion over the next decade and getting to balance in less than 10 years. It also repeals Obamacare and provides a path for implementing patient-centered health care reform, overhauls our broken tax code (referencing the FairTax as a tax reform option that will boost America's economy), and strengthens our major entitlement programs so that future generations can count on them.

I'm excited about the opportunities ahead in the 114th Congress, and I hope you are as pleased as I am with the FY2016 House Budget. I invite you to read more about the House budget by clicking here.

BIPARTISAN HOUSE MAJORITY PASSES MEDICARE REFORM BILL

On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2, the "Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015," by a vote of 392-37. The bill repeals the current system that is used to reimburse Medicare physicians and institutes a new system that is based on the quality of health care provided, not the quantity of health care provided. This is the first time in 17 years that the House has been able to work together to reform physician payments, which will ensure that doctors are available to treat Medicare beneficiaries, and I am proud of our achievement. Now I urge the Senate to take up and pass this bill expeditiously so the President can sign it into law.

I hope that the positive working relationship that the House has created by reaching across the aisle on the issue of Medicare will have positive effects in future months as we struggle with ways to reauthorize our nation's transportation system and reform our income tax code.

BUILDING ON OUR BIPARTISAN SUCCESS

On Thursday, I took to the House floor to discuss the looming expiration of our nation's surface transportation programs. As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I've gotten a first-hand look at where our challenges are and how we can solve them. I'm confident that we can craft a bipartisan bill that provides long-term certainty and better stewardship of your tax dollars.

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