E-Newsletter 5/30/12

Statement

Thank you for the opportunity to update you on the work of the 112th Congress. I trust this finds you and your family well.

For daily updates, please take a moment to "Like" my Facebook page by clicking: .

This Week (May 27 - June 2)

In a holiday-shortened week, the House will be voting on a considerable amount of legislation. I've highlighted two key votes below and you can review the other expected votes on the Majority Leader's Weekly Schedule. Also, two of the committees I serve on will be holding hearings this week.

Key Votes on the House Floor
Food and Drug Administration Reform, H.R. 5651
This bipartisan legislation will reauthorize the user-fee programs for prescription drugs and medical devices. It will also establish user-fee programs for generic drugs, and biosimilars.

Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA), H.R. 3541
H.R. 3541 would outlaw abortion decisions based on the gender and race of the unborn child.

At the Committee
Committee on the Budget
On Thursday, May 31, the Budget Committee, on which I serve, will hold a hearing titled "The Broken Budget Process: Legislative Proposals." Chairman Paul Ryan will gavel the hearing to order at 10:00 a.m. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, President of the American Action Forum, will testify on policy proposals to improve the budget process. Visit the hearing page for more information, a revised list of witnesses, or to watch the live webcast.

Also this week, the Budget Committee will hold a hearing, "Removing the Barriers to Free Enterprise and Economic Growth," on Friday, June 1 at 9:00 a.m. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush will testify before the committee. For an updated witness list, additional information and a live webcast, click here.

Committee on Education and the Workforce
The Education and Workforce Committee's Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) will hold a hearing, "Barrier to Lower Health Care Costs for Workers and Employers," on Thursday May 31 at 10:00 a.m. Live webcast and additional information, including a witness list, are available here.

Last Week (May 20 - May 26)

I spent last week "back home again in Indiana" meeting with Hoosiers, and enjoyed some meaningful time with Kathy, Teddy, and Ryan over the Memorial Day weekend as we honored our nation's fallen. Much of last week's activities focused on the newly-released Red Tape Rollback Annual Report.

As you may know, in the spring of 2011, my office embarked on a critical initiative, in partnership with the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, to identify and roll back unnecessary and overly burdensome federal regulations that kill jobs and hurt our economy. This program was named "Red Tape Rollback." This report was created to highlight the success we have had in the last year, as well as to show the real world impact a runaway federal bureaucracy has had on Indiana workers.

Many of the letters I receive from Hoosiers encourage more bipartisanship to solve our nation's problems. On many issues, I am open to a dialogue with other members of Congress who hold differing views, in hopes of finding solutions in the best interests of all of our constituents. Of course, I believe that the ideas found in our founding documents absolutely reflect what is in our nation's best interests.

With that in mind, I recommend to you a recent column by Jonah Goldberg, "The Federalist Solution," which suggests a different way of making policy in a nation as big and as diverse as ours without changing our founding documents. In fact, he mostly reiterates what our Founding Fathers intended. Citing a Yale law professor's recent essay, Goldberg makes the case for a return to federalism -- which Goldberg defines as "the process whereby you push most political questions to the lowest democratic level possible." This approach would reduce the federal government's role on many issues and empower state and local governments to make decisions in the best interest of their unique populations -- meaning that voters in voters in Nancy Pelosi's district and voters in the 4th district of Indiana would be able to have laws that reflect their differing values.

Thank you for your continued interest in Congress and for supporting my efforts in Washington. Take care.

Sincerely,

Todd Rokita

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