Representative Mike Rogers – Report From Washington “What’s In Store For 2015”

Mike Rogers x3With the beginning of the New Year and the start of a new Congress, the work Washington faces is no small task.  From helping create more jobs to making health care more affordable for working families to finding solutions to our illegal immigration crisis, Congress has its hands full.

For the first time in eight years, the Senate is now controlled by Republicans, so conservative legislation passed by the House of Representatives will stop collecting dust on former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s desk. Now, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell actually has a chance to pass these bills in the Senate and send them to the President.

As Congress was sworn in in January, the first priority of the House was to address one of the many Obamacare problems: that it’s hurting workers’ take home pay by forcing employers to cut their hours. The Save American Workers Act would change that. Obamacare’s definition of a full-time employee is 30 hours a week and this bill would make it 40, reducing the chances that employers would cut employee hours just to comply with all of Obamacare’s burdensome mandates.

But I remain absolutely convinced that the only way to truly fix Obamacare is to repeal it. Congress will try, again, to do that and I will support it.

Next up, gas and energy prices. Every single one of us across East Alabama has welcomed the recent drop in gas prices. It’s been a boost in the wallet and a relief in times when wages have been stagnant. But gas won’t stay low forever – it never does. That’s why the House passed the Keystone XL Pipeline Act.  This bill would get that pipeline started, which would run from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and would help America become more energy independent while also creating more good-paying jobs. How President Obama could threaten to veto it is just beyond common sense.

There is also President Obama’s executive amnesty order, which I believe is unconstitutional and illegal. The House is planning to pass a bill to stop it and help deal with sealing our borders.

Let’s not forget threats overseas. Just look at the attack by terrorists in Paris. The slaughter of innocent people is tragic and our hearts ache for their losses.

That’s why we must continue to stand strong in our national defense and security at home. I will continue my chairmanship of the House Armed Services subcommittee that oversees our nation’s nuclear weapons, missile defense and space programs.  As Chairman, I plan to keep pressure on foreign leaders like Russia’s Vladimir Putin, who continues his aggressive push into European territory like Crimea and Ukraine.

All that said, I am honored to fight for you. Let’s hope President Obama will work with Congress to help get our country back on track. I’d like to hear from you.  Please sign up for my e-Newsletter at www.mikerogers.house.gov, like me on Facebook at Congressman Mike D. Rogers, follow me on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram at RepMikeRogersAL, on Tumblr at www.repmikerogersal.tumblr.com and subscribe to my YouTube page at MikeRogersAL03.

 

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