Legislative priorities in the new year

In life and legislative work, a new year brings new opportunities and new undertakings. As we enter 2024 and the second session of the 118th United States Congress, there is much work to do and I’m optimistic we can achieve results for the American people. Commonsense policies promoting economic growth and productivity in our communities can benefit our country as a whole. With no shortage of obstacles to overcome to curb wasteful spending, deliver tax relief and manage federal programs, it is time to get to work for the American people.

After the Farm Bill was given a one-year extension last year, fully reauthorizing Farm Bill programs is again a top priority in 2024. The savings and preparedness secured by federal crop insurance, as opposed to ad-hoc, after-the-fact disaster relief, is a key component of a strong Farm Bill. Typically renewed on a five-year basis, longer-term certainty in the Farm Bill is critical to properly stewarding taxpayer funds and the investments of our hardworking producers.

Similarly, the Federal Aviation Administration is due for its own five-year renewal. Last year, the House passed a full five-year FAA reauthorization on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis, which included improvements to the air travel safety rules that would eliminate red tape and promote improvements to airport equipment and facilities. However, in December, the Senate failed to pass an FAA reauthorization out of committee, forcing Congress to settle for a three-month extension of FAA programs through March 2024. While President Biden signed this extension into law prior to the end of the year, Congress must work together to pass a full FAA reauthorization ensuring the U.S. remains competitive in the rapidly advancing field of aeronautics and air transportation and travel.

As we work to address the economic failures of the Biden administration, much of our focus on the Ways and Means Committee this year will be on tax and trade policy. A number of provisions from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act have already expired, with more expiring over the next couple of years, and Congress should act quickly to ensure the lower tax rates for all Americans enacted through TCJA are extended. In the years following TCJA’s enactment, our tax code has eased the tax burden on families and small business, encouraged wage growth, maximized federal revenues and spurred economic growth. This is a stark contrast to the proposals of the Biden administration, which have inflamed inflation and bloated government spending levels.

We must also take action to ensure competitiveness through an aggressive trade policy agenda. This includes reauthorizing critical tariff and duty relief programs like Generalized System of Preferences and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, which have long expired. Both GSP and MTB help American workers and consumers while ensuring developing economies look to the United States, not China, as a model for free and fair economic policy. We must also look at upcoming reauthorizations for programs that give American workers and job creators a competitive advantage around the world.

We must encourage the Biden administration to change course and take strong trade policy seriously – something the administration has failed to do.

Finally, in order to responsibly fund the essential functions of our government, we must direct taxpayer dollars to where they are needed most. As Jan. 19 and Feb. 2 deadlines approach to pass federal funding, Congress must do everything possible to avoid a harmful shutdown and fulfill urgent funding priorities – such as providing the resources needed to end illegal immigration and secure our southern border. I recently visited the southern border with House Speaker Mike Johnson and more than 60 of my Republican colleagues and the situation there has only gotten increasingly dire.

Good government combines the genius of our Constitution with the priorities of the present. I am committed to holding the Biden administration accountable, addressing Washington’s spending problem, confronting the challenges facing Americans, and advancing policies to strengthen our nation.