Harrison Township, MI – U.S. Congresswoman Candice Miller (MI-10) today commented on the new rules and agenda for the upcoming 112th Congress. Miller will be sworn into the 112th Congress on Wednesday afternoon, January 5th, by House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and the new rules package is set to be the first vote for the 112th Congress.
“I am honored and humbled by the opportunity to serve the people of Michigan’s 10th District in the United States House of Representatives. I will continue to work to ensure that the voices, values and priorities of the people I represent are heard loud and clear in this Congress,” Miller said. “I was proud to join with my Republican colleagues last fall to make our Promise to America in the 112th Congress. Now we will keep that promise and deliver on the priorities of every American. I was glad to serve as a member of the House Republican Transition team that drafted a new set of rules to govern the proceedings in this new Congress. These new rules will help to foster greater transparency and accountability in Washington; will see to it that rather than simply increasing taxes and spending, Congress must cut spending on a current federal program if it intends to create new spending; and we will actually pass other spending cuts that will help to reduce our deficit.
“House Republicans understand that Washington doesn’t have a revenue problem; Washington already takes more than enough of the taxpayers’ hard earned money and has a spending problem. The new Republican Majority will end Washington’s culture of spending and replace it with a culture of cutting. Our majority is also focused on the issue most important to the American people: that is implementing policies that will allow the private sector to create more jobs and get our economy back on track. Our rules also put in a strong new requirement that we pass no laws beyond the limits of the authority granted to Congress by the Constitution, a document we all swear an oath to preserve and protect. I am ready to get to work," Miller concluded.
Since November, Miller has been serving as a member of the Majority Transition team to manage the transition to a new majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Transition team was charged with reviewing all House procedures and structures, with the goal of ensuring the new Congress can get to work immediately on the priorities of the American people.
The reforms recommended by the transition team and expected to be adopted as the new House rules on Wednesday, January 5th include:
• Requirement for every bill to cite its specific constitutional authority and for every bill to be available online for the American people to read and review
• A prohibition on the consideration of any “suspension” bill that creates a new program unless it eliminates or reduces a program of equal or greater size, also known as “cut-as-you-go”
• A prohibition on the consideration of any “suspension” bill that increases authorizations, appropriations, or direct spending in any given year unless fully offset
• And, for the first time among either party, a requirement that internal Republican Conference rules and resolutions are made available online for the American people to read and review http://rules-republicans.house.gov/News/Read.aspx?id=442
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