Chuck Schumer and the Democrats in Washington have shut the government down after rejecting a clean, nonpartisan, short-term continuing resolution (CR). There are no partisan elements whatsoever in this CR. It’s only 24 pages long – you can read it and see for yourself. The Democrats voted for an almost identical CR in March of this year – and both Republicans and Democrats voted for 13 almost identical CRs under President Biden. So, if it’s a clean, nonpartisan CR, what exactly are Democrats objecting to? They’re not objecting to what’s in the CR, they’re objecting to WHAT IS NOT in it. I’ve called them out for playing this brazen political game – they’ve turned it into a hostage-taking situation that will end badly for all Americans.

Before I detail the Democrat hostage demands, I’ll address the misleading claim that Republicans are the ones responsible for the government shutdown. House Republicans did our job and passed the CR while House Democrats voted no. In the Senate, 60 votes are needed for passage of the CR, and Chuck Schumer banded Democrats together to vote against it. In the Senate, there are 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats – so only seven Democrats are needed to pass the CR, but they refused. If just seven Democrats voted with Republicans to keep the government open, we wouldn’t be in this position right now.

Now, to the hostage demands. To keep the government open, Democrats are demanding $1.5 TRILLION in additional spending that hardworking taxpayers will be forced to pay. They don’t want to accept a clean, nonpartisan, short-term CR – they want YOU to foot the bill for their radical priorities so that they can appease the left-wing fringe of their own political base. The magnitude of absurdity on their part is staggering. If you want them to vote to fund the government, here are just some of their hostage demands that they want met:  

• Taxpayer-funded health care benefits provided to illegal aliens.
• The cutting of $50 billion that Republicans secured for rural hospitals in the Working Families Tax Cut.
• Half a billion dollars sent to the partisan Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

These partisan priorities are not what the overwhelming majority of the American people support, and they do not want to see their hard-earned tax dollars going to fund them. Speaker Johnson addressed them at length in a recent interview with CNN, and dispelled all the false narratives, claims, and sheer nonsense that Democrats have been funneling into the media. I highly encourage you to watch the interview and listen to the points that the Speaker lays out simply and succinctly. I voted alongside my Republican colleagues to keep the government open and working for the American people – our Democrat colleagues did the exact opposite, and now the entire nation will suffer.

A New Investigation

Recently, I joined my colleagues on the Education & Workforce Committee in launching an investigation into the National Education Association to determine whether this union may be profiting from members’ retirement investments through questionable arrangements with financial vendors. Here’s an excerpt from our letter announcing the investigation:

The Committee on Education and Workforce is investigating whether the National Education Association (NEA) and its wholly controlled subsidiary, NEA Member Benefits (NEA MB), have profited at the expense of its union members by steering them into high‑fee retirement products marketed through the NEA Retirement Program. The Program is offered exclusively through Security Benefit (SB), which markets and sells 403(b) annuities and mutual fund products to NEA members under SB’s agreement with NEA MB. The Committee is conducting this investigation to understand the extent to which such activity is compromising the integrity of union workers’ retirements and the need for making reforms to labor standards and retirement law.

To read more about our investigation, click here.

A Piece of American History

In January of 1776, Thomas Paine published Common Sense, a comprehensive pamphlet that made arguments in favor of America seeking independence from Great Britian. Indeed, this document was truly revolutionary. It exposed how British rule was the sole cause of all the problems that colonial society in America faced. Further, it pierced the heart of the British Crown’s authority and legitimacy by reminding its readers of the heavy-handed tyranny that was consistently thrust upon them.

To learn more about Common Sense, click here to visit the Jack Miller Center’s website – a fantastic organization dedicated to preserving American history, principles, and values. 

Quote of The Week

“The object of every free government is the public good, and all lesser interests yield to it. That of every tyrannical government, is the happiness and aggrandizement of one, or a few, and to this the public felicity, and every other interest must submit.”

-Brutus

 Have a blessed weekend,