Washington has been a busy place this year. As folks across East Alabama may have seen in the news, time and time again, legislation passes in the House and either stalls or fails in the Senate.
It makes it tough to get things done around here.
A prime example occurred earlier this year. The House kept President Donald Trump’s promise to repeal and replace Obamacare.
Unfortunately, the legislation did not pass in the Senate when they could not get to 50 votes. Vice President Mike Pence was ready to break the tie.
The House also recently passed a bill that would reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). This important bill extends funding for CHIP and other programs low-income children rely on. The House passed legislation has not yet reached the Senate Floor.
This summer, the House worked hard to pass legislation that included $1.6 billion in funding to help build the wall on the Southwest border to help fulfill one of President Trump’s top priorities.
The House also passed two bills addressing illegal immigration. The first would help keep Sanctuary Cities from protecting illegal immigrants who’ve committed crimes and the second would impose tougher penalties on illegal immigrant criminals who have come in to the country. These bills have since stalled in the Senate.
The House passed comprehensive tax reform just before Thanksgiving. As of writing, the Senate is working on their version. Let’s hope they can pass it so we can get closer to delivering one of the largest tax cuts for hard-working families.
The momentum we have created in the House for President Trump’s agenda just has not carried over to the Senate. The House has done its job, now I hope our colleagues in the upper Chamber will begin to put America first.
As always, I want to hear from you on this or any issue.
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Mike Rogers is a member of U.S. Congress representing Alabama’s 3rd Congressional District. Sign-up for his e-Newsletter by visiting www.mikerogers.house.gov. To stay up to date, you can also like him on Facebook at Congressman Mike D. Rogers, follow him on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram at RepMikeRogersAL, on Tumblr at www.repmikerogersal.tumblr.com.
