Holland Sentinel - U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga -- In Search of a Willing Dance Partner

Op-Ed

By Rep. Bill Huizenga

On Sunday, The Holland Sentinel wrote an editorial calling on elected officials to bridge America's current fiscal divide -- the problem is The Sentinel didn't acknowledge one chamber in Congress is already doing the very thing they called for.

First and foremost, let's put to rest this notion that a "clean continuing resolution" actually exists. What the Senate passed is a spending increase. The leadership in the Senate is trying to pull the wool over the watchful eyes in West Michigan by claiming it passed a "clean" spending bill.

The number the Senate has put forward was originally attached to various pieces of House legislation in exchange for delaying portions of Obamacare. The first being a full defund, which was rejected. The second was a one-year delay of all of Obamacare and a repeal of the medical device tax (that has negatively impacted jobs in West Michigan), but the Senate again said no. The third spending bill passed by the House included a one-year delay of the individual mandate in addition to ending a special carve-out for members of Congress and congressional Staff. The administration has already delayed the employer mandate for one year; I agreed with the majority in the House that individuals and small businesses deserve the same relief as large corporations.

One of the founding principles of our great nation is the law must apply equally to those that write the laws as it does every other citizen. As Obamacare is currently structured, it does not. Despite this glaring contradiction the Senate rejected this offer as well.

In fact, the Senate went a step further by not only refusing to negotiate but also stripping what they didn't like from the bill while keeping what they liked -- more spending. With our nation nearly $17 trillion in debt, saying better fiscal stewardship is needed in Washington might be one of the biggest understatements of all time. Prior to the shutdown deadline, the House attempted to meet the Senate in a conference to try and negotiate the Senate's spending measure and the House position, but the Senate even rejected that proposition. A government shutdown then followed due to a lapse in these spending bills.

Since the shutdown, the House has acted in a bipartisan fashion to reopen the government in a step-by-step approach. By the end of this week, approximately half of the entire federal government could be funded and operational if the Senate would act. Already, the House has passed the following legislation with bipartisan support:

-- 25 Democrats voted with Republicans to fund research, clinical trials and treatment through the National Institutes of Health (Oct. 2).
-- 23 Democrats voted with Republicans to reopen national parks, memorials and monuments (Oct. 2).
-- 35 Democrats voted with Republicans honoring our promise to give veterans the benefits they earned (Oct. 3).
-- 36 Democrats voted with Republicans to pay our National Guard and Army Reserve personnel (Oct. 3).
-- 23 Democrats voted with Republicans to make sure funds are available to provide disaster relief (Oct. 4).
-- 22 Democrats voted with Republicans to ensure proper funding for nutrition assistance to low-income pregnant women, new mothers, infants, and young children (Oct. 4).
-- 189 Democrats voted with Republicans to provide for the compensation of federal employees furloughed during the shutdown (Oct. 5).
-- 20 Democrats voted with Republicans to fund the Food and Drug Administration (Oct. 7).
-- 23 Democrats voted with Republicans to ensure funding is available to Head Start for low-income children (Oct. 8).

This legislative list demonstrates that the Republican-led House is more than capable of taking the lead in taking a bipartisan approach solving problems -- and it isn't done acting. What is missing is a willing dance partner. Our system requires the Senate to function and address legislation sent to it by the House. The chambers are equal bodies. Tabling motions, not putting forward serious solutions, and refusing to negotiate are neither positions of strength nor examples of leadership. West Michigan deserves better and The Sentinel is right to call for "action rather than political paralysis," but let's make sure the residents of Holland get the full story.

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