Congress

Today’s must-read is a Politico article highlighting Republican division and the difficulty they are having in setting their agenda:

“House Republicans — who start their annual retreat in Williamsburg, Va., on Wednesday — are facing something of a conundrum: They have the majority but don’t know what to do with it.”

This article from National Journal today says it all:

The 5 Top Republicans Open to Shutting the Government to Get Their Way

MESSAGE FROM THE DEMOCRATIC WHIP

Earlier this week, Democrats and Republicans reached a bipartisan agreement that extended middle class tax cuts and delayed the arbitrary spending cuts which were scheduled for early January. Our work, however, to restore our nation's fiscal stability is not over.

“In the 113^th Congress, we will continue to have an outstanding Whip team that, thanks to these new members, is more diverse than ever before," stated Democratic Whip Hoyer. "They reflect the diversity of our Caucus, bringing a wide range of views and perspectives to the table. Over the past two years, our Whip team has helped maintain unity in our Caucus on a number of votes important to protecting our middle class and creating opportunities that lead to good jobs and a higher quality of life for all Americans.  I look forward to working closely with the new and returning Chief Deputy Whips to bring Democrats from different segments of our Caucus together as we pursue our shared goal of helping grow America’s middle class and moving our country forward.” 

“I thank the Ranking Member, Ms. Slaughter, and thank her for the work that she is doing and has been doing over the years, as our representative and leader on the Rule Committee.

"It is vital that the voices of the 5 million Americans represented by delegates and the Resident Commissioner in the U.S. House of Representatives are heard in our legislative process," stated Democratic Whip Hoyer. "By changing the House rules to silence these voices in the 112th Congress and again in this new Congress, House Republicans are doing a disservice to our greatest traditions of political inclusion and common-sense, democratic principles.  I strongly urge them to reconsider and to allow the Delegates and Resident Commissioner to vote in the Committee of the Whole House."

“With the swearing-in of the 113^th Congress today, I am hopeful that the House can refocus on the issues that matter to our constituents: creating middle-class jobs, reducing deficits, and keeping Americans safe.  After two years of the least-productive Congress in modern history, with little progress made on our most pressing national challenges, the 113^th Congress must do better.  This means doing more to help our businesses compete, expand, and create well paying jobs through House Democrats’ Make It In America plan.  It also means getting serious about restoring fiscal discipline to Washington in a way that ends uncertainty for businesses and families by ceasing to lurch from one crisis to the next without significant progress.  We can and must do better, and a spirit of bipartisanship ought to guide us forward to achieve real results for the American people.