The new Congress was sworn in yesterday, and Republicans control both houses for the first time since before Barack Obama became President. Republicans hold a 54 to 46 edge in the Senate. And there are more Republicans in the House than there have been since Herbert Hoover was President.
So what should Republicans do? Here are my thoughts.
First, there are a few realities that must be faced. Barack Obama will still be President for two years. So to get anything passed into law, it requires his signature. The flip side of that, is that he can’t get anything on his desk to sign into law, unless Congress passes it in the first place. (Of course he has already shown that he’s more than willing to circumvent the law by his abusive use of executive orders.)
And secondly, even though it should be fairly easy to get conservative legislation through the House, the Senate may still be a problem. That’s because it takes 60 votes (of the hundred) in the Senate to overcome a filibuster (or even the threat of a filibuster), and even if all Republicans stick together (and that’s not a given), they are still six short of 60, and therefore need six Democrats to actually have a vote on anything.
Not to get too into the weeds here, but there is a procedure known as Reconciliation, in which certain bills can be voted on, and only a simple majority (51 votes) is needed. However, this is the exception, rather than the rule. So most votes require the 60 threshold, and therefore a minimum of six Democrat votes. Got it?
I also think it’s important that Republicans get off to an early start in pushing conservative legislation. That’s because 2016 is a Presidential election year, and most political pundits say not much gets done during the Presidential year. That gives us 2015, this year, so we need to hit the ground running.
Now for the types of things we should be pushing. The Keystone Pipeline. This is long overdue, even though gas prices have come down substantially lately. Harry Reid would never allow it to get to the President’s desk. Now that’s changed.
We should continue to push for a full repeal of Obamacare, with the realistic understanding that we don’t have the two-thirds necessary to override a veto in either house. It will take winning the Presidency next time around, and retaining both houses (which may be tough with the Senate) to accomplish this. In the meantime, we may be able to chip away at Obamacare by repealing the medical device tax (a job killer), mandatory Obamacare coverage at 30 hours per week, etc. But I won’t be satisfied until we accomplish a full repeal. Obamacare is a disaster.
I think we have a reasonably good chance of passing into law one or more trade deals. The United States has been negotiating with Canada, Mexico, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Chili, Malaysia, Vietnam, and others on the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) for several years now. Another trade agreement with Europe (the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership – TTIP) is also being negotiated. These trade deals, in my opinion, will create far more jobs in America than they will cost, and thus I generally support them. Most Congressional Republicans also support them, but most Democrats oppose them, because the unions oppose them. However President Obama has been verbally supportive thus far, so we’ve got a shot at getting one or the other done.
Some progress on reforming the tax code also may be possible. We have the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world. It’s embarrassing. And the tax code for both individuals and businesses is an incomprehensible mess. I’d like to implement a flat tax, or get rid of the federal income tax and the IRS altogether, and go to a sales tax. But neither seems to be in the cards anytime soon. That being said, Paul Ryan, the new Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee (Congress’s tax writing committee) thinks we can make some progress. I hope he’s right.
And speaking of committee chairman, you may recall that I was named Chairman of the House Small Business Committee, and I intend to push for policies that will help small businesses grow, prosper, and create more jobs for more Americans. And the best thing government can do for small businesses, is to get the heck out of the way. That means reducing burdensome regulations, and lowering their taxes (I know I already mentioned that, but you can never say cut taxes enough).
Anyway, that’s the way I see it. Let me know what you think.
