Legislative Update

This past month in Washington, DC was very busy with the repeal and replacement of Obamacare passing, and a bill to continue funding the government through the end of Fiscal Year ’17.

I supported, and the House passed, the American Health Care Act. This is the House version to repeal and replace Obamacare. It is the first step in ridding Americans of this disastrous, costly law.

There are many myths being reported about the American Health Care Act. First and foremost is the myth that pre-existing conditions will not be covered. That is not true. The bill explicitly maintains protections for pre-existing conditions.

The bill also repeals the Obamacare taxes, and the mandates. I look forward to continuing working with my colleagues and the Trump Administration, to make other important policy changes that will help reduce health care costs and improve the quality of care for all Americans.

Additionally, this month, the House passed a funding bill that will fund our government through the remainder of FY17. Notably, this bill provides a $20 billion increase for our military, provides a more than 2 percent raise for our soldiers, and includes the largest increase in border security funding in almost a decade.

This month, Congress also passed a couple of bills condemning the North Korean regime and calling for a review of the government’s actions to determine if they have reached the status of a state sponsor of terror based on the technical definition.

Also, the House passed a bill that will help Veterans stay on the Veterans Choice Program, giving them more flexibility in how they receive health care services.

In the coming weeks and months, I expect the House will take up the Financial CHOICE Act that will roll back many of the detrimental regulations implemented under Dodd-Frank. Also, I believe the House will begin tackling tax reform. Additionally, appropriations season is upon us, therefore the Appropriations committee will be busy developing, debating and passing funding bills for Fiscal Year ’18.

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