A Pledge to America

Last week, House Republicans unveiled a new governing agenda to address America's most pressing problems. Titled "A Pledge to America," this plan contains specific policies to restore fiscal sanity and transparency to the government and encourage the private sector to create jobs.

Under the Democrat-led Congress, these priorities have been noticeably absent from the legislative calendar. Reviewing the legislative agenda from the past two years, it's easy to see why citizens feel ignored. When the unemployment rate was rising to over 9 percent and the American people were struggling to stay afloat, the Obama administration spent a year forcing through a government health care takeover that will actually discourage job growth and raise medical costs. Amid legitimate and growing concern that our crippling national debt is jeopardizing our children's future, the majority party passed one spending bill after another, raising the deficit to a record $1.5 trillion.

Decisive action is needed immediately to control government spending and create jobs, and the Pledge to America is designed to provide just that. House Republicans recognize that tax hikes during a recession would have disastrous effects on the job market, so the Pledge contains plans to prevent tax increases by permanently extending the Bush tax cuts. In order to put America on the path to a balanced budget, our plan sets strict caps on discretionary spending, significantly reduces Congress' own budget, immediately cancels unspent funds from the failed "stimulus" bill, and would save $100 billion in the first year by cutting spending to pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels.

Perhaps the greatest example of the Obama administration's big-spending, out-of-touch liberal agenda is the government health care takeover. Forced into law over the vocal opposition of the American people, Obamacare has not become any more popular since its passage six months ago. As parts of the law are implemented, it is becoming even more clear that Obamacare will raise costs, reduce health care choices and unacceptably expand government control over our daily lives. Furthermore, we simply can't afford the $1 trillion price tag during this time of record deficits. That's why one of the top priorities of the Pledge to America is to repeal this misguided law and replace it with commonsense, incremental reforms that truly will lower health costs without limiting choices or exploding the deficit.

The Pledge to America reflects the priorities of the American people because it was developed based on the feedback of the millions of Americans who have called and written to their representatives, spoken out at town hall meetings and participated in online forums like America Speaking Out and the YouCut project. I served on the committee that crafted this new agenda, and I am certain that it adheres to the principles of limited government, spending restraint and traditional values that Oklahomans cherish.

Challenges like high unemployment and the growing national debt will not be solved with the same tired, old Washington tactics. The Pledge to America provides concrete solutions for getting the country back on track, and I will join congressional conservatives in working to ensure it is put into action.

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