Perspective: Six-month assessment of Congress

In January, I wrote a bulletin about America's new Congress and the hopes and expectations the members of the House of Representatives had for the new session at that point in time.

Now that July is upon us and we're at the halfway point of the year, I would like to take a look at what the House has accomplished in the last six months to address the priorities of the American people.

We've passed legislation to create a friendlier environment for job creation, bills to stave off burdensome regulations, made the first real entitlement reforms in almost two decades, and passed through the House and Senate the first 10-year balanced budget plan since 2001.

This year the House also passed 12 bipartisan bills to combat the scourge of human trafficking, which is the trade of human beings for exploitation. Cybersecurity legislation has also been a priority of House Republicans due to the recent exploits by major retail stores and health-care companies. The House passed legislation that would firmly strengthen our nation's cybersecurity and safeguard your information and intellectual property.

Job creation and repairing our economy remain the main priorities of Americans and House Republicans. One bill the House passed this year would expand and make permanent tax provisions that allow small businesses to immediately deduct the cost of purchasing new equipment. In addition, the House passed another bill that would make it easier for small businesses to access capital.

An analysis by the National Federation of Independent Business projects that "nearly 200,000 more jobs and billions in higher economic productivity if Congress and the president agree to permanently increase the amount that businesses can deduct for capital investments, also known as small business expensing." The House has done its part, now the Senate needs to swiftly consider and pass these job creating bills and get them to the president's desk.

The House of Representatives still has a lot more work to do. The House has passed six of its 12 annual appropriations bills and we intend on finishing the seventh in the first couple of weeks in July. This summer will continue to be busy and, as always, I will continue to listen to the priorities of the people of Missouri's 3rd District.

U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., represents the state's 3rd District, which includes Jefferson City. His local office can be reached at 573-635-7232.

Web link:

luetkemeyer.house.gov