The First 100 Days…

Rep. Keith Rothfus | April 16, 2015

One hundred days ago, the new Republican majority was sworn in to the United States Congress. We immediately set our sights on policies to help grow local economies in every corner of the country. For too long, Washington D.C.’s economy has boomed at the expense of growth elsewhere in American cities. Our goal is to provide you the freedom to innovate and achieve a better life. To that end, we crafted and passed over a hundred pieces of legislation, many of which are designed to lessen the government’s involvement in your everyday life. Below is a snapshot of some of the work we have done in the first one hundred days:

• A Budget To Pay Down Our National Debt: On March 25, the House passed a budget that actually comes to balance. Unlike President Obama’s irresponsible proposal, which never balances and returns us to trillion dollar deficits, the House-passed proposal funds our national priorities while putting us on a path to begin paying down our $18 trillion debt.
• Repealed The President’s Health Care Law: Back home, people in Pennsylvania tell me the countless ways this law is not working for them and their loved ones. From skyrocketing deductibles and higher out-of-pocket costs, to fewer options for high-quality care, this law is not what the President packaged and sold to people five years ago. We passed H.R. 596, H.R. 22, H.R. 30, and H.R. 1191, which represent our effort to both repeal Obamacare in its entirety while at the same time pass targeted repeal bills that can overcome a Presidential veto.
• Protected The 2nd Amendment Rights Of Law Abiding Citizens: When ATF planned to implement an outrageous ammunition ban, my colleagues and I confronted the agency on your behalf. Our combined efforts resulted in the agency dropping their plan for the ban and was a big win for American freedoms and civil liberties.
• Prioritized Grants For Regional Trauma Centers: When a loved one gets into an accident the expert care these trauma centers provide can mean the difference between life and death. On March 18, I was proud to support H.R. 647, which prioritizes grant funding to ensure our six regional trauma centers in Western Pennsylvania have adequate resources to care for you and your family.
• Fought To Marginalize The Obama Administration’s Anti-Coal Agenda: The House has passed a number of bills to rein in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) egregious overreach. I continue to lead on an initiative in Congress that will protect Western Pennsylvania power plants from EPA regulations, prevent further plant closures, and help clean up the environment. With my support, we have passed legislation to block the EPA’s intrusive “Waters of the US” rule and reform the federal government’s rule-making process to require more input from private sector stakeholders. We also passed bills like H.R. 351 and H.R. 161, which counter the EPA’s agenda by actually expanding our domestic energy production. Our House-passed provisions will positively impact the health of local economies, especially towns in Pennsylvania. Unlike President Obama, the House is committed to green-lighting energy projects that give more people opportunity to earn a living wage and support their families.
• Ended Unjustified Bonuses At The VA & Restoring Accountability: I expect disciplinary action when executives at the VA fail to responsibly care for our veterans, not tens of thousands in bonuses. For years, I have been advocating against these excessive performance awards, because the money is better spent providing our veterans with the first-rate care they earned. On March 3rd, the House passed provisions to keep the VA from issuing bonuses to these executives who failed our nation’s heroes.