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!

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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?