Weekly Columns

If you are an American taxpayer, you most likely have bills that need to be paid on a schedule, like an electric bill or a car payment. For many taxpayers, paying those bills might just get a little easier this year. The new tax code has already promised bigger paychecks for individuals and families, but the wave of its effects since passage into law is being realized across the nation from the corporate level to the individual taxpayer.

At 11:59 PM EST on January 19, 2018, the United States Senate refused to take up a spending bill which would have kept the government open until February 16, 2018. This bill not only would have kept the federal government open and running efficiently, it would have included many provisions to support people's health insurance and protect our national security.

This week, the House will once again consider another funding measure to keep the government running and to avoid the possibility of a government shutdown. This spending bill will be the fourth Fiscal Year 2017 continuing resolution that the House has taken up to fund federal agencies, the military and a wide range of discretionary programs. Unfortunately, this means that the federal government is going to continue to run on funding levels that were set more than a year ago.

When the American people elected President Trump and a Republican majority, they expected big things in 2017. This past year brought with it several positive changes because the Trump administration and Congress have been focused on the American people's priorities. One of the biggest accomplishments was the first major tax reform in more than three decades. And that's just in year one.

As promised, Congress and the Trump Administration delivered substantial tax reform to tens of millions of American taxpayers and hundreds of thousands of US corporations and businesses before Christmas. For years, many of my colleagues and I have called for tax reform - reform that would benefit American workers by letting them keep more of what they earn, bring American companies back to our shores, promote economic growth, and lower taxes on businesses.

This week, Congress will start to wrap up its first legislative year and work to accomplish some of its major objectives. This year has been a productive one, but we are racing to the finish line to accomplish two of our most important priorities – funding the government and tax reform.

Each fiscal year, it is imperative that Congress funds our government agencies to meet the needs of the American taxpayer and that they remain open for business.