By VICTORIA SPARTZ
5th District Congresswoman
It’s been a difficult start to the new session, and unfortunately, thus far it has been as partisan as ever with Democrats completely circumventing committee processes, eliminating real debate and passing radical legislation.
Committee assignments
I was selected to serve on the House Committee on Education and Labor, and the House Committee on the Judiciary. The Education and Labor Committee has broad jurisdiction over pre-K, K-12, higher education, and career and technical education, as well as employer-provided healthcare plans, workplace safety, and employer-labor relations.
I cherish the Constitution, so I was very pleased to be appointed to the House Judiciary Committee, which handles a broad range of issues: Constitutional rights, regulatory oversight, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, U.S. courts, antitrust policies, intellectual property, copyright, criminal justice, and immigration policies.
I also serve on the House Republican Policy Committee which helps shape policies for House Republicans.
The Broken Budget Process
The federal budget process has been broken for decades. The last time Congress passed all of its appropriations bills under regular process was 1997. This year, no effort is being made whatsoever for Congress to do its job. Instead, the House fast-tracked a $1.9 trillion COVID spending bill with only 9 percent of money going to fight the pandemic. This level of spending is unsustainable and detrimental to our children.
This abuse has come about beginning with the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, which was intended to help with deficit reduction. It has effectively done the opposite by allowing both parties to abuse the process and push trillions in spending outside of regular order. We need real, bipartisan reforms to establish a more transparent and efficient budget process.
In the news
Leader Kevin McCarthy released a series of videos profiling freshman members. Click here to watch and learn some things about me you might not know!
The Indianapolis Monthly recently published an extended interview covering my background, motivation for public service and legislative priorities for Congress.
I joined several of my freshman colleagues in penning an op-ed on the diverse experiences that call us to reject socialism and fight to defend the rights to life, liberty and property.