The Path to Prosperity: America's two futures, visualized

Shuster Votes to End Onerous Health Care Mandate on Small Businesses

Today, the House passed legislation Congressman Bill Shuster cosponsored to repeal a useless and burdensome mandate on small businesses contained in the health care law.

The House acted to repeal Section 9006 of the health care law, which requires anyone with a trade or business to file an IRS 1099 form for vendors with whom they do $600 or more in business in a given year. For America’s small businesses this requirement, which would go into effect next year, is nothing more than a paperwork and compliance nightmare.

“As a former small business owner I know the burden wasteful paperwork can have on productivity and administrative costs,” Shuster said. “Our focus should be on making it easier for small businesses to invest, create jobs, and grow our economy. The 1099 reporting requirement in the Obamacare bill is another example of burdensome federal regulation and I enthusiastically voted for its elimination.”

Shuster is not alone in his opposition to the 1099 reporting requirement. Even the Internal Revenue Service’s own National Taxpayer Advocate noticed its negative impact on small businesses. In July the Advocate reported that “[T]he new reporting burden, particularly as it falls on small businesses may turn out to be disproportionate as compared with any resulting improvement in tax compliance.” And that “[S]mall businesses that lack the capacity to track customer purchases may lose customers, leaving the economy with more large national vendors and less local competition.”

Shuster Statement on President’s FY2012 Budget

Congressman Bill Shuster released the following statement on the President’s FY 2012 budget proposal:

“If you believed the President in his State of the Union Address when he talked about his commitment to ending unsustainable spending, you would think he presented the wrong budget to Congress today. Here we sit $14 trillion in debt with our heads underwater and the President proposes more spending, more borrowing and more taxes on a recovering economy.

You don’t throw an anchor to a drowning man. You don’t create jobs, grow an economy and reduce debt by spending more than you can afford. At no point in the President’s 10 year budget proposal will the government spend less than it will take in. The national debt under the Obama budget will increase by $7.2 trillion, with 40 cents of each indebted dollar paid to foreign creditors like China.

The American people made their voices heard in November. They want to stop the runaway spending binge President Obama and the Democrats started. I look forward to working with my Republican colleagues in working to present our own budget that will cut spending, burdensome regulations and taxes to put the economy back onto the path of growth and opportunity.”

The President's FY12 budget has arrived...

Remarks Honoring Rep. Giffords and the Victims of the Arizona Shootings

The House Floor Live: Opening Session of the 112th Congress

Watch the opening session of the 112th session of the House of Representatives live here!

speakerboehner on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

Jobs Report Yet Another Reason for Congress to Act on Taxes

Congressman Bill Shuster released the following statement on today’s job report:

“The economy added only 39,000 new jobs in November, marking the 19th consecutive month that unemployment has stayed above 9 percent. In the face of these numbers the outgoing Democrat leadership in the House voted yesterday to increase taxes on an estimated 750,000 small businesses.

The economy is still in a state of uncertainty. Businesses are trying to plan for next year under the looming threat of a massive tax increase that will take effect less than 30 days from now unless Congress does its job and extends the current tax rates into 2011 for all Americans.

The American people sent Washington a message on election day that they are tired of false promises and failed leadership on the economy. Instead of taxing more, Congress needs to spend less. I am committed to working with my colleagues in the incoming 112th Congress to roll big government back and let our business community do what it does best: innovate and create opportunities for all Americans.”

Shuster Votes NO on Flawed Tax Bill Opposes Massive Tax Increase on Small Businesses

“Real tax relief means that all Americans get the chance to keep more of their own money instead of sending it to Washington to be spent recklessly. We don’t need to tax any more, we need to spend less.

The Democrats’ flawed tax bill fails to recognize this by increasing taxes on many Americans who own small businesses and by law report their business income as personal income.

While many of these business owners make over $250,000 a year, they are anything but rich. Their income is used to make payroll and it is reinvested into their enterprises. Raising taxes on the people who create jobs and drive our economy is misguided and damaging to our economic recovery. For that reason, I support the complete extension of the Bush tax cuts for all Americans, not just for those selected for political expediency.”

Shuster Presents A Pledge to America

Today, Congressman Shuster released the following statement after House Republicans presented A Pledge to America, a new governing agenda focused on addressing the American people’s top priorities:

“Despite the American people’s vocal opposition to the expansion of government, massive spending and the accumulation of crushing debt, those in power have carried out a job-killing, big-spending agenda that is exactly the opposite of Americans are calling for.

Along with all my House Republican colleagues, I have been listening and meeting with American families throughout the year, and we understand that the nation’s focus is on issues like creating jobs, reining in spending and changing a dysfunctional Congress.

We have taken the priorities of the American people and put them together into an agenda that can by put into effect right now. That agenda is the “A Pledge to America.” Through this pledge we are presenting a set of bold solutions, renewing a commitment to our founding principles and offering a new way of doing business in Washington.

With Americans looking for job creation, we are offering a jobs plan to end the economic uncertainty for American small businesses and make America more competitive. As massive debt threatens the prosperity of our children, we have a credible plan to rein in the budget deficit. To honor the will of the people, we have a plan to repeal the new health care law and replace it with solutions to bring down costs. And, as Americans increasingly view Congress as a broken institution, we offer a plan for reform to provide real accountability and transparency.

The Pledge is an inspirational document but it goes beyond rhetoric. Each of the principles outlined in the Pledge is based on an actual piece of legislation that could be taken up in the House today if Speaker Pelosi decides to finally listen to the American people.”

The Pledge is the culmination of a months-long engagement with the American people in which House Republicans sought their ideas and priorities for Congress. The agenda offers concrete solutions that can be implemented immediately to tackle the issues that are most important to the nation, including job creation, spending restraint, national security, health care, and reform to Congress itself. The full agenda, A Pledge to America, can be viewed here.

A Pledge to America

Tomorrow Marks the 6th Month Anniversary of Obamacare - A Look at the Numbers

Six months after enactment of the Democrats’ new health care law, a look at the first stages of its implementation reveals how the legislation falls short with respect to costs, premiums, preserving Americans’ existing coverage, and providing full transparency and accountability:

4,103—Pages of regulations issued on the health care law through September 17, 2010

12—Number of final regulations not subjected to public scrutiny before taking effect

5—Missed implementation deadlines to date

16—Unanswered letters from House and Senate Republicans to the Administration on the health law

22—States that have joined legal actions to block all or part of the law from taking effect

667,680—Number of Missouri voters that rejected the health care law’s individual mandate, supporting a ballot referendum objecting to the federal law by a 71%-29% margin

500,000—Individuals with pre-existing conditions who could be denied coverage due to under-funding of the law’s high-risk pool program, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

40,000,000—Firms subject to the health law’s new 1099 reporting requirements, which the National Federation of Independent Business called a “tremendous new paperwork compliance burden”

9—Regulations released to date that will increase premium costs for individuals and employers, according to the Administration’s own estimates

$2,500—Premium reduction promised by candidate Obama “by the end of my first term as President”

750,000—Reduction in the American labor force due to provisions in the law that “will effectively increase marginal tax rates, which will also discourage work,” according to the CBO

$310,800,000,000—Projected increase in health care costs as a direct result of the legislation, according to the Administration’s own actuaries

7,400,000—Reduction in Medicare Advantage enrollment as a result of the health care law, resulting in a loss of choice for seniors and millions of beneficiaries losing their current health plan

51%—Percentage of American workers who will lose their current health coverage by 2013, according to the Administration’s own estimates

0—Public hearings held before President Obama appointed Dr. Donald Berwick—an advocate of health care rationing—to head an agency that “finances health care for one in three Americans” and spends $800 billion annually

Even though we have seen only a few of the law’s initial provisions take effect, the impact can already be felt by American families and businesses, who face higher costs, economic uncertainty, and loss of their current coverage. How much longer will these ill effects persist before the President and Democrats in Congress admit that their legislation will harm, not help, the American people?

Shuster Delivers First-Hand Account of Security Situation in Afghanistan

Congressman Bill Shuster has just wrapped-up a week long trip to the Middle East as part of a Congressional Delegation to get a first hand assessment of the security situation in Afghanistan its impact on regional allies.

What follows is Shuster’s first-hand report of what he saw in Afghanistan:

“Contrary to reports in the national media, progress is being made in Afghanistan. This improvement is noticeable since my last trip to the region and I believe it is the direct result of President Bush's commitment of additional resources beginning in 2008 and more recently, General McChrystal’s well thought out counterinsurgency strategy and President Obama’s willingness to surge combat troop levels in Afghanistan.

We did not just add over 30,000 troops to the effort in the surge. We also tripled the civilian security force which is critical to achieving stability. The Department of State, USDA, DHS and the FBI have all increased their presence and now have well over 1000 civilian employees in the field helping in stabilization efforts.

Our coalition partners are exceeding recruitment goals for the Afghan Army and Police. The Afghan economy grew a rate of over 20 percent in 2009. I could see and feel the improvements driving through the streets of Kabul. Improvements in infrastructure, roads, sanitation, schools and hospitals are transforming the city. I saw traffic jams and what seemed like thousands of Afghanis in the streets doing everyday business at a rate not seen on my previous tours of the city.

These improvements demonstrate that the strategy put in place by General McChrystal and continued by General Petraeus of protecting citizens and aggressively killing or capturing Talban insurgents is having a positive impact on the security situation in Afghanistan. That being said, significant challenges still remain. Because our troops and the Afghan Army and Police have been aggressively attacking the enemy, we have seen increase in casualties which is unfortunate but predictable. The government of President Karzai is still very fragile. He needs to stamp out corruption or he will lose faith with the Afghan people. I can see that he is fighting, but it is a struggle he must win.

Finally, sanctuaries for the Taliban and al Qaeda in Pakistan remain a significant challenge to the security situation in Afghanistan and the larger region. The devastating flooding that continues to affect large portions of Pakistan has been a set back for the Pakistanis to clamp down on the insurgents.”

Shuster Honors America's Freight Rail System

Shuster speaks out against stimulus waste notes importance of House GOP YouCut program

Shuster Condemns Federally Funded Abortions in Pennsylvania

NRLC Report Shows Pennsylvania will Receive $160 Million in Health Care Funding for Abortion

On Tuesday, the National Right to Life Committee revealed a troubling discovery; a new $160 million federally funded high risk pool health insurance plan established in Pennsylvania will cover abortion. This makes Pennsylvania the first state to receive federal funds for abortion under the health care reform law.

Congressman Shuster joined members of the pro-life community today to condemn this revelation and further express his opposition to federally funded abortions.

“It is morally wrong to support the destruction of unborn life and it is ethically wrong for the federal government to coerce Americans who oppose abortion to fund the practice through their own tax dollars,” Shuster said. “During the healthcare debate, President Obama said he would not support taxpayer funded abortion, but this week’s announcement proves his words were only lip service to move his liberal agenda forward.”

“It has long been the objective of the left to establish abortion as a federally funded right,” Shuster added. “Yesterday’s discovery by the National Right to Life Committee proves that this White House, with the support of Governor Rendell and pro-abortion pressure groups are committed to subverting the will of the American people and the spirit of the promises made when health care reform became law.”

“It gives the pro-life community reason to pause when the President of the United States lies to his constituents by saying, ‘no federal funds will be used to pay for abortions.’ It shows the worthlessness of his executive order prohibiting tax-payer funding of abortion through his health care program. It is our hope that a new Congress will repeal Obamacare and re-institute the Hyde Amendment,” said Scott Manganella of the pro-life organization Precious Life.

Linda Barr with Pregnancy Ministries of Franklin County added: "As a pro-life pregnancy resource center, we do not consider abortion to be health care. There are supportive services and adoption options available that preserve life rather than destroy it."

Shuster Introduces Bill to Improve Government Reaction & Response Times to Future Oil Spills

Congressman Bill Shuster, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Natural Resources Committee, has introduced legislation to strengthen the federal government’s ability to quickly respond in the event of future oil spills:

“The American people are rightly angry at their government’s inability to react to the devastation of the Gulf oil spill,” Shuster said. “The fact that the federal government did not have the equipment on hand to immediately combat the spill is inexcusable, as is the lack of a system in place before the spill to solicit clean-up proposals from experts and fast-track the deployment of cutting edge technologies to the Gulf.”

“The federal government should have access to the latest oil fighting technology at all times. The prospect of another massive environmental disaster like the Gulf oil spill requires preparation on behalf of the government and my legislation will help accomplish this.”

Shuster’s “Oil Spill Cleanup Technologies Act of 2010” would require the President, acting through the Secretary of Homeland Security, to quickly solicit and deploy oil and hazardous substance cleanup technologies in preparation of a massive oil spill in United States territorial waters.

In addition, Shuster’s legislation would require the federal government to coordinate with academia, small businesses and others to ensure the best oil spill fighting technologies are available to be implemented quickly and efficiently to react to a spill. Finally, the legislation would require the maintenance of a database so that the government knows what cleanup technologies are available and can deploy them quickly in the case of another spill.

“America is a world leader when it comes to technology and innovation,” Shuster added. “There is no reason we shouldn’t have a concrete plan in place to put those resources to use in the immediate aftermath of a spill like the one off the Gulf Coast.”

“I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass my legislation so America will never have to play catch-up again.”

Shuster at the Somerset America Speaking Out citizen dialogue

Shuster opposes the DISCLOSE ACT

Congressman Bill Shuster released the following statement in strong opposition to the “DISCLOSE Act,” legislation that would significantly undermine the First Amendment to the Constitution by restricting political speech in elections.

“The DISCLOSE Act is an outrageous attempt by Democrats in the House to fix the game in their favor when it comes to political speech. I find their contempt for the Constitution and the First Amendment striking since their legislation specifically exempts the Democrats' largest contributors.

I also find it suspicious that the legislation goes into effect after only 30 days – right in time for the November elections and fast enough to avoid judicial review of the Act’s obvious unconstitutionality. The speed of the Act's enactment is designed to protect the Democrats' donor base in the upcoming election.

America’s Founding Fathers didn’t intend for the First Amendment to only protect the free speech of the Democrat Party’s special interest groups. This legislation sends a chilling message to everyone who opposes President Obama’s agenda: ‘shut up or go to jail.’”

Shuster Statement on Military Leadership Change in Afghanistan

Congressman Bill Shuster released the following statement on today’s announcement of the resignation of General Stanley McChrystal:

“Throughout this week’s events we must not forget that our nation is engaged in a war where our sons and daughters continue to risk their lives every day to protect us all from the spread of Islamic terrorism.

We must remain focused on our objective in Afghanistan. This must remain paramount in the minds of our civilian and military leaders as they move forward with their transition of leadership in the Afghan theater.

That said, while his recent comments were unfortunate, I have a great deal of respect for General McChrystal and the service he has given our nation in Afghanistan and around the world in his previous leadership roles. I respect President Obama’s decision and I have great faith in General Petraeus’ ability to prosecute our strategy in Afghanistan successfully.”

Shuster in "The Hill:" A multitude of missed opportunities

A Multitude of Missed Opportunities

By Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.)

History will probably regard the disappointing record of the 111th Congress on issues of transportation and infrastructure as a litany of missed opportunities.

Our nation’s infrastructure, once the envy of the world, is rapidly falling into disrepair. These very real problems threaten our economic security and our way of life. The American Society of Civil Engineers Report Card for America’s Infrastructure gives America’s infrastructure a D grade and our roads a near failing D-. This is simply unacceptable.

Crippling congestion and poor roads cost businesses and commuters almost $90 billion a year in wasted time and fuel. Americans spend more than 4 billion hours per year stuck in traffic. One-third of America’s major roads are in poor or mediocre condition and 45 percent of major urban highways are congested. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the federal government needs to invest a minimum of $62 billion per year just to maintain our roads and bridges in their present condition. Our current annual level of investment is less than two-thirds of that amount.

Addressing these challenges requires leadership and vision that has unfortunately been sorely lacking in Washington. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act represented an unprecedented opportunity to truly invest in our nation’s infrastructure needs, create hundreds of thousands of jobs and contribute to a long-term economic revival.

However, less than 8 percent of the nearly trillion dollars spent on the stimulus was actually dedicated to roads and bridges. Despite promises from President Barack Obama to include a significant investment in the highway system, the stimulus provided a paltry $30 billion towards roads and bridges, most of which has been used for short-term repaving and maintenance projects and not much needed capacity improvements.

Instead of making a serious investment in infrastructure, where every $1 billion creates or sustains roughly 30,000 jobs, the stimulus provided a grab-bag of big government social spending that has done little to nothing to stimulate the economy or address our infrastructure crisis.

While I was encouraged the stimulus promised $8 billion designated for expanded passenger rail service, even this opportunity has been squandered. Instead of focusing on key corridors, scare federal dollars were spread too thin among too many rail projects, leading to incremental progress that could slow our already delayed entrance into high-speed rail. Perhaps the biggest missed opportunity was the failure to invest in the Northeast Corridor, which, for the most part, was kept out of the selection process. Failing to invest in the critical Northeast Corridor will insure continued congestion in our nation’s most densely populated region.

Finally, the failure to pass a long-term surface transportation bill has resulted in massive uncertainly to states, which must plan critical projects years in advance, and to the construction industry, which has been unable to invest, hire new employees, or purchase equipment, sending ripples through the economy. While Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) and Ranking Member John Mica (R-Fla.) have shown leadership on this issue in the House, President Obama, the Senate and the Department of Transportation have been content to delay any action until next year. These delays only further exacerbate the problems we are facing as a nation and will require even more difficult choices when action finally occurs.

These delays have serious consequences to our aging transportation system as well as the construction, engineering and materials industries that could flourish if the government invested in our roads and bridges.

We must not and cannot wait for another tragedy like the I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Minn., to occur before our leaders focus on these vital issues. The time for missed opportunities must come to an end. The time for talk and delay is over. The time to act is now.

Rep. Shuster is a member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.