Detroit News: A hundred days in, House Republicans deliver change
In January, 14 ballots came and went and there was still no Speaker of the House. Some salivated at the prospect of a drama-filled Republican-led House, destined to crash and burn. Pundits promised that although the 15th ballot delivered the Speaker’s gavel to Kevin McCarthy, the disaster had only just begun.
While it is still early in the 118th Congress, 100 days past the Speaker’s election, the House is working in a more transparent and commonsense manner than before to deliver results.
Following the Speaker election, House Republicans immediately began work to deliver on their Commitment to America by creating an economy that’s strong, a nation that’s safe, a future that is built on freedom, and a government that’s accountable.
House Republicans have advanced policy to strengthen our economy by passing significant pieces of bipartisan-supported legislation like the REIN IN Act and the Lower Energy Costs Act. Together, these essential measures will combat wasteful spending that has fueled inflation and lower gas and utility bills for American families by unleashing domestic energy production.
Accountability and transparency are being returned to Washington by ending proxy voting and establishing a committee to examine the weaponization of the federal government. House Republicans fully reopened the Capitol and its office buildings to members of the public. Proudly, I authored a key provision in the Parents Bill of Rights, an effort to ensure parents always have a voice in their children’s education. Promises to deliver results for America are being kept, and we are only beginning to scratch the surface.
The House majority has also established effective select committees to protect the health of our nation and strengthen American competitiveness. The House established a new Select Committee on COVID-19 to provide better transparency and accountability of misused funds as well as help prevent future pandemics by pursuing their root causes. This committee exposed the circular involvement Anthony Fauci played in the critical months in early 2020 in his attempt to “disprove” and downplay the lab leak hypothesis. Whether you believe he made a mistake, or that his intentions were pure, or he made a calculated attempt to protect gain-of-function research, we know his actions played a central role on how the origin was covered by media.
Moreover, House Republicans also established a Select Subcommittee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party to ensure American leadership on the world stage. This committee is advancing policy to help outmaneuver China by securing our supply chains, helping us lead in emerging technologies, and bolstering our national security.
House Republicans also picked up support from unlikely partners, including President Joe Biden, to block Washington D.C.’s soft-on-crime criminal code. Despite publicly opposing the resolution to end the COVID-19 national emergency, Biden signed it.
Government in Washington is divided, but significant legislation advanced by the House has garnered bipartisan support. These efforts should not waste away in the Senate. The Lower Energy Costs Act and REIN IN Act both picked up Democrat support, and many other bills have also earned support from both parties.
The House resolution nullifying the use of environmental, social, governance (ESG) investing in employer-sponsored retirement plans and the Strategic Production Response Act that would limit drawdowns from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve both passed with bipartisan support. These policies represent a return to common sense, and there is simply no reason for these initiatives to waste away in the Senate or on the president’s desk.
The House Republican majority has spent the first 100 days delivering on the commitment we made to the American people.
This op-ed was published in the April 18 edition of The Detroit News.