Washington, DC – U.S. Representative Judy Biggert (R-IL-13) today joined her House Republican colleagues to unveil A Pledge to America, a new governing agenda designed to meet the challenges facing American families and businesses. Following months of engaging the American people through websites, town halls, constituent meetings, and other forums, House Republicans developed the Pledge as a roadmap of concrete solutions that can be implemented immediately to address priorities that have been neglected or ignored under the current leadership in Washington.  It focuses on a range of issues, from reforms in Congress itself to job creation, spending restraint, national security, and health care.  The full agenda, A Pledge to America, can be found at http://judybiggert.house.gov.  Biggert issued the following statement endorsing the Pledge:

           “Since July, I have held 14 town hall meetings, a job fair, a small business fair, toured area businesses, and held meetings with dozens of local leaders and community groups.  If there is one common theme that has come through loud and clear it’s that people are fed up.  They are fed up with a Congress that doesn’t listen, politicians who think we can spend our way to prosperity, and Washington leaders who don’t understand that new taxes and mandates hurt job creation.  The American people are frustrated with business as usual, and this Pledge is our way of showing that House Republicans are listening and ready to make a change – starting today.

           “These ideas aren’t shocking or unexpected – they came from months of engagement with the public, websites like AmericaSpeakignOut.com, and time-tested principles as old as the Constitution.  They represent the common-sense wisdom that Americans have been asking for and Congress has been ignoring, and our promise to turn that trend around.  These are promises like ensuring the public has time to read a bill before it’s voted on, that the laws protecting our borders are enforced, and that small businesses aren’t targeted for job-killing tax hikes.  We also make concrete cuts to rein in spending, endorse proven strategies for reinvigorating job growth, and pledge specific health care reforms that lower costs for patients – not just grow government.  And it promotes policies that preserve our safety, like keeping foreign terrorist combatants out of Illinois prisons and courtrooms.

           “We have many challenges ahead of us, and this is by no means a comprehensive document, but it’s a serious agenda that Congress should enact today.  I urge my colleagues – on both side of the aisle – to come together and start working immediately to fulfill the Pledge and show the American people that Congress is listening.  To start, we should immediately hold an open vote on a bipartisan plan to stop the $3.8 trillion tax hike that will go into effect on January 1st if Congress fails to act.”

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