e-News 1/6/17

• Congress’ Opening Day!
• Sussex Veterans’ Wait for Accessible Healthcare is Ending
• House Begins 115th Congress with Veterans Legislation
• Protecting Our Economy from an Avalanche of Regulations
• Salute: Congratulations to Montville Township!

 

Congress’ Opening Day!

Tuesday afternoon, I was honored once again to raise my right hand and swear to uphold the Constitution of the United States.  With this simple, yet profound act, I began another term as a member of Congress.

I am humbled to serve the people of the 54 communities of New Jersey’s 11^th Congressional District.  Once again, I pledge to continue to give my dedicated and tireless best to this important job.

The House is determined to “hit the ground running,” mindful that we now have the best opportunity in over a decade to tackle some of the most complex challenges facing our nation.  

Of course, we’ve got our work cut out for us.

Despite news of an improving economy, many families and businesses remain stressed and strained.  From my travels around my congressional district, I know they do not yet feel that we are in the midst of any serious recovery. Household budgets are stretched thin and people worry about rebuilding their investments, protecting jobs and assuring their children’s future.

At the same time, new threats to our national security, our interests and our allies have emerged across the globe – from Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and persistent jihadist groups like ISIS and al Qaeda.  Lest anyone forget, we have thousands of courageous, dedicated men and women in uniform – all volunteers – on duty in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and in other dangerous places around the world. 

Our Congressional agenda is simple. We are here to improve people’s lives. Grow our economy. Keep us safe. Improve our health care and our infrastructure. Restore self-government to every extent possible.

I am excited to roll up my sleeves and get to work!

Sussex County Veterans’ Wait for Accessible Healthcare is Ending

For over two years, I have been working with the Sussex Freeholders, state legislators and veterans leaders to bring greater access to health care to veterans in Sussex County and nearby communities by convincing the Veteran Administration (VA) to establish a community health clinic in Newton.  Despite bureaucratic barriers, administrative obstacles and technical delays, the VA now says it will open the clinic at 222 High Street on Monday morning.

The VA reports that the Newton clinic will be open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Financial support for the Sussex CBOC will be provided through the annual Military Construction-VA bill drafted by the House Appropriations Committee, which I chair. This annual bill provides advanced funding for veterans health care, fully funds veterans’ benefits and programs and contains the dollars to house, train, and equip military personnel, provide housing and services to our troops’ families, and help maintain military base infrastructure.

For more information on the VA New Jersey Healthcare System, click here. 

House Begins 115^th Congress with Veterans Legislation

The 115^th Congress began with consideration of two bills to help our veterans—the Ensuring VA Employee Accountability Act and the Biological Implant Tracking and Veteran Safety Act.

Our veterans should always come first, but for too long they’ve been let down by a failed system.  I am proud that our very first bills considered in the new Congress help the men and women who have served our country in uniform. These bipartisan initiatives will make the VA more accountable and ensure veterans receive the best quality health care available.

Protecting Our Economy from an Avalanche of Regulations

An avalanche of federal regulations has been deliberately unleashed at the direction of the President to his cabinet secretaries with no consultation with Congress and no regard for the costs to the taxpayers.

A published report this week indicated that the Obama Administration has unleashed 3,853 regulations, 18 new regs for every law enacted, a record 97,110 pages of red tape.

• Since 2009, the estimated cumulative costs of regulations have reached almost to $2 trillion.
• What’s worse, American families and small business owners are forced to cover these costs in the form of higher prices, fewer job opportunities, and fewer resources to innovate and create new products and services.
• Federal regulations too often are ill-considered, needlessly costly, or simply unnecessary.

This week, the House passed two measures designed to control and discourage the proliferation of unnecessary major regulations. 

We passed the Midnight Rules Relief Act, which seeks to solve the problem of an outgoing Administration issuing significant new rules in its final weeks.  To control these so-called “midnight rules,” the bill amends the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to allow CRA resolutions to disapprove multiple midnight rules simultaneously by the incoming Congress.

We also approved the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act (REINS) H.R. 26 curbs unnecessary major regulations:

• Requires agencies to submit major regulations to Congress for approval. No major regulation becomes effective until Congress approves them.
• Guarantees fast up or down votes on major rules—Congress must act within 70 legislative days.
• Guarantees that there is an additional safeguard – through Americans’ elected representatives – against federal bureaucrats imposing the heaviest burdens on America’s economy.

Read Paul Bedard’s article, “Obama unleashes 3,853 regs, 18 for every law, record 97,110 pages of red tape,” in the Washington Examinerhere.

Salute: Congratulations to the Township of Montville as it officially begins its 150^th Anniversary year!  Montville was officially incorporated on April 11, 1867.