Congressman Tim Griffin (AR-02) issued the following statement today, calling on the Senate to return to Washington and promptly take up and pass numerous bills the House has already passed to spur private-sector job creation and give Americans confidence in our economy:
“Today, President Obama said our credit downgrade ‘could have been entirely avoided if there had been a willingness in Congress to compromise.’ That’s nonsense, and the President knows it. The debt agreement we passed represented compromise, compromise with him and the Senate. The credit downgrade had been in the making for months and could have been avoided had the President showed serious leadership by (1) proposing a budget that cuts spending instead of his that doubles the debt in five years and triples it in ten years; (2) supporting the House budget passed in the spring that saves Medicare and moves us toward a balanced budget; or (3) supporting Cut, Cap and Balance. Any one of these would have done the trick.
“Since returning home a week ago, I have been listening to constituents across the Second Congressional District as part of my Jump-Starting Jobs Tour. Arkansans are concerned about the economic security of our nation. The House has passed more than a dozen bills designed to encourage private-sector job creation, yet the Senate has refused to act on them. I am ready and willing to return to the Capitol immediately to assist any way I can. The House’s pro-growth, pro-jobs bills are sitting on the Senate’s doorstep waiting for action and the ball is in their court. The Senate and the President need to act now.”
House-Passed Job Creation Legislation
1) Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act (H.R. 872)
This bill would reduce the regulatory burden on farmers, ranchers, forest managers, state agencies, and city and county municipalities.
Status: Passed the House (292-130) on 2011-03-31.
The Senate has taken no action to date.
2) Energy Tax Prevention Act (H.R. 910)
This bill would prevent the EPA from issuing new job-killing regulations on greenhouse gases to address climate change.
Status: Passed the House (255-172) on 2011-04-07.
The Senate has taken no action to date.
3) America Invents Act (H.R. 1249)
This bill would reform America’s patent system.
Status: Passed the House (304-117) on 2011-06-23.
Awaiting further Senate action.
4) Disapproval of FCC’s Net Neutrality Regulations (H.J.Res. 37)
This bill would express official congressional disapproval of the FCC’s net neutrality regulations.
Status: Passed the House (240-179) on 2011-04-08.
The Senate has taken no action to date.
5) Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act (H.R. 2018)
This bill would protect the states from having certain regulations imposed on them by the EPA.
Status: Passed by the House (239-184) on 2011-07-13.
The Senate has taken no action to date.
6) Consumer Financial Protection and Soundness Improvement Act (H.R. 1315)
This bill would strengthen oversight of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
Status: Passed by the House (241-173) on 2011-07-21.
The Senate has taken no action to date.
7) Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act (H.R. 1230)
This bill would speed up domestic energy production through offshore oil and gas lease sales.
Status: Passed by the House (266-149) on 2011-05-05.
The Senate has taken no action to date.
8) Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act (H.R. 1229)
This bill would amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to facilitate the safe and timely production of American energy resources from the Gulf of Mexico and to require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct certain offshore oil and gas lease sales.
Status: Passed by the House (263-163) on 2011-05-11.
The Senate has taken no action to date.
9) Reversing President Obama’s Offshore Moratorium Act (H.R. 1231)
This bill would amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to require that each 5-year offshore oil and gas leasing program offer leasing in the areas with the most prospective oil and gas resources and to establish a domestic oil and natural gas production goal.
Status: Passed by the House (243-179) on 2011-05-12.
The Senate has taken no action to date.
10) Jobs and Energy Permitting Act (H.R. 2021)
This bill would eliminate needless permitting delays that have stalled important energy production opportunities off the coast of Alaska.
Status: Passed by the House (253-166) on 2011-06-22.
The Senate has taken no action to date.
11) North American-Made Energy Security Act (H.R. 1938)
This bill would direct the President to expedite the consideration and approval of the construction and operation of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
Status: Passed by the House (279-147) on 2011-07-26.
The Senate has taken no action to date.
12) Budget for Fiscal Year 2012 (H.Con.Res. 34)
This is the House Budget. It would save $6.2 trillion in government spending over the next decade, would result in nearly 1 million new private-sector jobs next year, would bring the unemployment rate down to 4 percent by 2015, and would result in an additional 2.5 million private-sector jobs in the last year of the decade. In addition, the House budget would save Medicare and preserve retirement security as opposed to the status quo, in which Medicare goes bankrupt, and it would reduce deficits by $4.4 trillion over the next decade compared to the President’s budget.
Status: Passed by the House (235-193) on 2011-04-15.
The Senate has taken no action to date.
13) Cut, Cap and Balance Act of 2011 (H.R. 2560)
The CCB Act would allow an increase in the debt ceiling but only after Congress passes a Balanced Budget Amendment, which would force Washington to quit its spending addiction permanently. Nearly every state in the country has some form of a balanced budget requirement.
Status: Passed by the House (234-190) on 2011-07-19.
The Senate has tabled this bill.
14) Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act (H.R. 2)
This bill would repeal the job-killing health care law and health care-related provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.
Status: Passed by the House (245-189) on 2011-01-19.
The Senate has rejected a similar measure.
