Rokita Votes to Solve Issues Brought to Him by Hoosiers and Restrain Federal Spending

Press Release

Representative Todd Rokita (IN-4) voted for an omnibus spending bill today that locks in major policy wins for Hoosiers and avoids a government shutdown.

Specifically, Rokita highlighted the changes in store for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) under the bill. The EPA would be cut by $60 million -- the fifth consecutive year for agency cuts, and a 21 percent reduction since 2010. Staffing levels would be taken back to before the rise of the internet -- 1989 to be exact. The IRS would see cuts nearing $350 million, taking that agency back to 2008 levels, and prohibiting them from targeting organizations based on their political beliefs or exercising their First Amendment rights.

In addition to spending cuts, this bill prohibits the EPA's regulation of farm ponds and irrigation ditches -- a concern Rep. Rokita has heard from farmers and property owners in recent months. It provides school districts flexibility from onerous lunch regulations and necessary relief from ill-conceived rules imposed by the federal government on Hoosier truck drivers.

Rokita also understands many Hoosiers want to stop President Obama's executive amnesty. "I believe the President has brazenly ignored the Constitution and the will of the American people, which is why I voted on legislation last week to block the President's action." Instead of welcoming an outright veto or shutting down the government weeks before Christmas, Rokita believes the best course of action is to challenge the executive authority with legislation that can actually get to the President's desk, given an incoming Republican-led Senate next year.

The omnibus spending bill passed the House with a vote of 219-206. The bill adheres to the terms of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, which reduces discretionary spending by $165 billion since 2010, saving taxpayers $2.13 trillion over the next ten years. In an effort to protect the retirement of nearly one million Americans with savings in multi-employer pension plans, including at least 2,200 Hoosiers, this bill also empowers unions to make the tough choices necessary to maintain plan solvency.

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