For Immediate Release
April 9, 2008
Media Contact: Ray Yonkura
(202) 225-2676
Jordan: Congress Needs to Stop Talking and Start Working
Washington, DC -- Congressman Jim Jordan (R-Urbana) today released the following column:
Every year, Congressman John Boehner of Ohio hosts a statewide farm forum. He invites farmers and others involved in agriculture and agribusiness to discuss farm policy with a top-level speaker who provides a vision for agriculture in Ohio and America.
There are panel discussions at the event on current agriculture policy, timely issues that farmers need to be aware of, and ideas for changing farm legislation in the future.
This year’s farm forum has come and gone, but with one notable change. Because congressional Democrats have failed to enact a new farm bill, there was great uncertainty in the room about the direction of agriculture policy in America. For the first time in recent memory, as farmers begin to put crops in the field, they will be unclear as to how U.S. farm policy will affect them at harvest time.
Unfortunately, Democrats’ failure to agree on a farm bill is just one example in a long line of missing deadlines for important legislation:
· Of the 12 appropriations bills Congress is supposed to pass by the start of the fiscal year (October 1), none were enacted on time last year.
· The Democrat-led House allowed the Protect America Act to expire earlier this year by refusing to agree to a comprehensive extension of the bill that passed the Senate by a two-to-one margin. This bill would modernize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows our intelligence services to listen to phone calls from terrorists to points inside the United States.
· At a time when our economy needs a boost, they have failed to take action on ensuring a free trade pact with Colombia, the largest export market for U.S. agricultural products in South America. They have also failed to advance mutually beneficial trade deals with South Korea and Panama, which would create jobs and provide opportunities for American businesses to expand.
· With gas prices at an all-time high, they have repeatedly blocked efforts to expand domestic energy production and thereby help cut prices and reduce our dependence on Middle Eastern oil. Instead, they passed tax increases on American (yes, American!) energy companies, which will only push prices higher.
· They also missed an important deadline to pass temporary tax reform legislation to prevent millions of Americans from being ensnared by the Alternative Minimum Tax. Their tardiness will delay tax refund checks for up to 38 million taxpayers.
Ironically, while Democrats couldn’t find time to work on these important issues, they found endless time to schedule high-profile hearings with baseball players to ask if they ever used steroids. Instead of finding ways to cut wasteful federal spending and avoid the fiscal train wreck that we face in just a few short decades, they’re investigating whether Karl Rove sent “political” e-mails.
When I speak to groups and individuals in our district, we talk about the biggest challenges facing our nation and world. Among them are the need to confront terrorism, cut taxes and spending, revitalize our economy, and stand up for the traditional values that make our country great.
These are the real issues facing America, and these are the issues that the Democrat majority in Congress should put on the front burner for immediate consideration. Each day we spend grandstanding is a day we’re not at work on behalf of the American people.
