On the third anniversary of President Obama’s inauguration, we find ourselves still entrenched in a recession while millions of American families battle unemployment. In fact, his failed policies of overregulation and record spending have created a total national debt that now exceeds $15 trillion. When broken down, this leaves each American saddled with a staggering $48,754 bill.

Since the President took office:

• 46.2 million Americans on food stamps—a record high
• 8 percent of Americans unemployed for nearly three years
• 141,000 lost jobs, 563,000 left the workforce or gave up looking for work
• Our national debt grew by more than $4 trillion
• Gas prices have doubled since he took office
• Finally, our national debt is greater than the size of our economy for the first time since World War II

These facts are sobering. America is facing real challenges that require a bold and decisive leader. In order to right the course, we need to dramatically reduce our spending, cut waste, and balance the budget. It’s time for President Obama to shelve his talking points and work with Congress to restore prosperity to this great nation.

Last year, the House passed 28 jobs bills that would help get our economy back on track and put the American people back to work. With our nation’s unemployment rate above 8 percent for 35 straight months, we need to maintain our focus on creating more jobs for the out-of-work and under-employed. This year, I would like to see the Senate consider these bills, and join the House Republicans as champions for low taxes and regulatory reform—so that government can function as unobtrusively as possible for our small business owners and entrepreneurs. You can view a list of the House passed jobs bills here.

At the end of January, President Obama will request another increase in the debt ceiling. Since coming into office, we’ve seen nothing from the President but a pattern of reckless spending that has driven our country deeper into debt. Tackling our spending problem will require tough choices—and everything must be on the table. If we are to ensure peace and prosperity for our children and grandchildren, we must pass along a government that is lean and efficient. As a staunchly fiscally conservative Member of Congress, I will continue to advocate for a Balanced Budget Amendment to our Constitution.

The repeal of President Obama’s unconstitutional healthcare law is another item high on my agenda. As I’ve mentioned before, Obamacare will dramatically alter how Americans choose a physician, how often they can see a doctor, and how much they pay for these services. Individuals who want to keep their health care coverage may also have a hard time doing so. A recent Kaiser study reported that 80 percent of small businesses will be forced to give up their current coverage by 2013.

All of us will be watching closely as the United States Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of Obamacare in June. I believe that the individual mandate is unconstitutional and that the Supreme Court will ultimately concur.

This does not absolve us from addressing health care costs, which remain all too high. If we are to ensure the quality and availability of healthcare in our country, we must repeal and replace Obamacare with an innovative, long-term solution for all Americans. That’s why I strongly support the bipartisan plan to save Medicare put forth by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Rep. Ron Wyden (D-OR). This proposal would give future seniors the choice to either purchase private insurance coverage or stay in the traditional federal plan.

This plan accomplishes an important goal—it begins a conversation that we must have now, before it is too late. Without action, the Medicare program will be insolvent as early as 2020. In the coming year, I will continue to work to preserve Medicare for today’s seniors and future generations. As an important safety net for millions, we cannot allow Medicare’s future to remain in doubt by inaction.

Congress is set to address Medicare physician reimbursement rates in February, and I will continue to fight for a long-term SGR “doc fix” that will stabilize rates for hospitals and physicians who are facing drastic cuts. Without a long-term solution, many seniors may have difficulty finding doctors to treat them. It is my hope that Congress will act decisively when we return to Washington, so that today’s seniors won’t have to worry about how they will get treatment tomorrow.

With 35 million seniors depending on Medicare, Congress must act soon to ensure the solvency of the Medicare program. In the coming decades, Medicare will face $38 trillion in costs it cannot afford to cover. And President Obama’s decision to gut $500 billion from Medicare to spend on Obamacare—an entitlement that does not even benefit seniors—only makes the situation more precarious. 

I look forward to addressing these critical issues, as well as the Keystone XL Pipeline, sequestration, the Bush tax cuts, and many others during the New Year. I encourage all of you to stay up-to-date on our legislative progress by signing up for my e-newsletter, or by following me on Facebook or Twitter. If you have any additional questions on any of these issues, please do not hesitate to call my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 225-2931. I wish you all a happy and healthy New Year.

Today, the House is expected to vote on H.R. 3630, the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2011, which addresses several key issues that must be resolved by the New Year.

In order to create jobs and foster energy independence, this bill directs President Obama to act on the Keystone XL pipeline, a project that has been delayed for more than three years. Approving the pipeline will reduce energy prices and our dependence on foreign oil while creating up to 118,000 jobs nationwide—at absolutely no cost to taxpayers.

This pipeline could also create jobs for Georgians. Once the Keystone oil reaches Houston, it will be shipped by existing pipelines to Rome, Atlanta, North Augusta, and Athens for customers. With millions of barrels of Middle Eastern oil shipped to us daily and the unemployment rate at 9 percent, we cannot afford to wait any longer.

H.R. 3630 also includes a two-year “doc-fix” on Medicare reimbursement rates for physicians. Right now, hospitals and Medicare physicians are facing drastic cuts. Without this fix, seniors may have difficulty finding doctors able to treat them. While I am committed to a long-term solution, this temporary fix will allow seniors to keep their physicians while giving Congress time to replace the SGR formula.

As I’ve said before, Washington has a spending problem—not a revenue problem. Raising taxes during a recession won’t eliminate our nation’s budget issues. H.R. 3630 extends the payroll tax holiday for middle class workers for another year. The bill reforms government programs and gradually reduces unemployment insurance from 99 to 79 weeks, and ultimately 59 weeks. In addition, it freezes federal pay, closes Obamacare “slush funds”, and reforms the welfare system by prohibiting individuals from accessing welfare funds in strip clubs, liquor stores, and casinos. This overhaul will save billions over the next ten years.

Next year, House Republicans will continue to focus on job creation while taking up other critical issues. However, H.R. 3630 begins to address debt reduction, welfare reform, and job creation. I urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to support this critical legislation.

To learn more about the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2011, click here.

While Georgia’s unemployment rate remains at a stagnant 10.2 percent, the recent imposition of burdensome regulations has only exacerbated our nation’s unemployment crisis. This year alone, the Government Accountability Office reports that the Obama Administration proposed more than 200 major regulations, each costing more than $100 million, proving once again that this administration continues to rule-make what it cannot legislate. These burdensome regulations not only stifle economic growth, they are handed down by unelected bureaucrats who have no accountability.

The Small Business Administration estimates that federal regulations cost $1.75 trillion dollars in 2011. In an effort to reduce the amount of ineffective, costly, and time-consuming regulations that kill American jobs, House Republicans passed H.R. 10, The REINS Act, yesterday. This is an important step in the right direction.

Currently, unelected federal bureaucrats who bear no responsibility to the American people can enact rules with disastrous consequences. For example, when the administration could not garner enough Congressional support to enact it’s for Cap and Trade legislation, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) simply moved forward to implement several provisions from the Clean Air Act under its rulemaking authority.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that President Obama’s EPA proposed costly new regulations on America’s power sector that could make electricity more expensive for our citizens. Further, according to the article, if the EPA has its way, companies will be forced to build new power plants in such a short amount of time that reliability will suffer. The permits, regulations, and financing of a new plant simply can’t be completed overnight.   

This legislation would stop this from happening in the future. The REINS Act will increase transparency and seize back our intended power, thereby ensuring that each lawmaker is held accountable for the regulations they support—instead of hiding behind federal agencies.

To learn more about how the REINS Act will lessen the burdens of federal regulations on job growth, click HERE.

ICYMI: GOP Doctors Caucus Video Highlights Medicare Reimbursement Rate Issue

GOP Doctors Caucus co-chair Rep. Phil Gingrey M.D. (GA-11) today joined fellow Members of the GOP Doctors Caucus to release a video addressing Medicare reimbursement rates for physicians. The GOP Doctors Caucus is composed of 21 medical providers in Congress who use medical expertise and experience to develop patient centered, patient driven healthcare reforms focused on quality, access, affordability, portability, and choice.

To watch the full video, click HERE.

LIHEAP UPDATE: Georgia State Utility Regulators have approved $10 million in emergency assistance to help low-income and senior Georgia residents who are unable to pay their heating bills. To learn more, visit the Georgia Public Service Commission’s website here: http://www.psc.state.ga.us/

For additional assistance with utilities, please contact the following organizations:

• Georgia Power and Project SHARE: 1-800-25-SHARE
• The Salvation Army: (912) 651-7420
• United Way: (404) 527-7200

I am aware of and am working to bring you more information on the funding shortage for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance program (LIHEAP). As the cold weather sets in, this is very concerning, particularly for elderly households or those with small children. I will keep you updated as more information becomes available. In the meantime, the following organizations offer assistance for utilities:

Georgia Power and Project SHARE: 1-800-25-SHARE

The Salvation Army: (912) 651-7420

United Way: (404) 527-7200

Today, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce will conduct a markup on H.R. 1173, the Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement Security Act of 2011, which I co-authored with Dr. Charles Boustany (R-LA). This legislation would repeal Obamacare’s failed CLASS Act program—which was deemed insolvent back in March.

As I’ve mentioned in prior posts, the CLASS Act program is an ill-conceived component of Obamacare that aimed to provide long-term care insurance for the elderly and disabled. Since its inception, Republicans have argued that the math behind the program simply didn’t add up. Finally, in October, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius admitted it was unsustainable. Unfortunately, that hasn’t curbed Democratic support.

Recently, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) announced he would oppose any efforts to repeal CLASS and that the program ‘has not been cancelled and simply stands in recess.’ However, the fact that Rep. Waxman would continue to support this failed program is troubling. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported that the CLASS Act is not financially sound and may require a massive taxpayer bailout in order to stay afloat. In essence, this program does the exact opposite of what was originally intended.

Initially, the CLASS Act program, called a “cost-saving” measure, was alleged to offset $86 billion of Obamacare’s costs during the program’s first ten years. In order to do so, it would collect ten years of premiums while only paying out five years in benefits. Fortunately, the CBO has since acknowledged that these tricky accounting tactics do not reflect a viable plan.

Despite the program’s collapse, repealing the CLASS Act is more important than ever before. We must ensure that Congressional Democrats do not attempt to enforce another of the Obama Administration’s broken programs. I urge you to contact Members of Congress and voice your support for repeal of the dangerous CLASS Act program.

To watch my opening statement on the importance of repealing the CLASS Act, visit my YouTube page here.

As co-chair of the GOP Doctors Caucus, I am excited to announce that the GOP Doctors Caucus will launch a new monthly challenge encouraging Members and their constituents to participate in a health care discussion. At the end of each month, the Member engaging in the most dialogue will receive the prized Golden Stethoscope.

December Golden Stethoscope Challenge Action Items

• Post three tweets and facebook posts per week on Obamacare or GOP health care issue
• Post at least one blog post per month on Obamacare or GOP health care issue
• Give at least one floor speech on Obamacare or GOP health care issue per month
• Participate in at least one special order on Obamacare or GOP health care issue per month. Bonus points will be awarded to Members who organize a special order.
• Complete at least two radio or television interviews on Obamacare or GOP health care issue per month
• Create two constituent communications (e-newsletter, YouTube Q&A video) per month focusing on Obamacare or GOP health care issue
• At the end of each month, e-mail a word document of your submissions to Amy.Larkin@mail.house.gov

On Monday, the Supreme Court announced that it would review the constitutionality of President Obama’s health care law. I applaud this decision as a step in the right direction towards striking down one of the costliest, most detrimental pieces of legislation in American history.

In order to avoid a disastrous change to our quality of health care, we must repeal and replace Obamacare before it is too late. Many of you are familiar with the serious implications that Obamacare poses to our deficit, but I want to focus on the far reaching personal effects that the health care law will have on all of us.

With 2,700 pages of burdensome new regulations for business owners, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports that Obamacare will cost our country at least 800,000 jobs. In fact, in March of 2010, AT&T announced a loss of $1 billion in the first quarter—and that was only considering one provision of the health care law. Shortly thereafter, AK Steel Corp., Caterpillar Inc., Deere & Co., and Valero Energy also announced major losses due to Obamacare. But that’s not all—this disastrous government takeover of our health care system will also dramatically alter several aspects:

• Who—Obamacare will drastically alter the way you choose a physician. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports that 67 percent of doctors will limit the number of new Medicare patients and more than a quarter will stop treating Medicare patients altogether as a result of Obamacare.
• How Often—With rising health care costs for physicians, 56 percent of doctors report that they would reduce the number of appointments for current Medicare patients. As a result, Obamacare will make visiting your physician more difficult.
• How Much—Despite President Obama’s prior claims that the health care law would lower premiums, the opposite has proven true. This year, the Kaiser Family Foundation’s annual survey of employer-sponsored health premiums shows that single coverage premiums have shot up eight percent, and family premiums have increased by nine percent.

In 2010, President Obama claimed that if you liked your health coverage, you could keep it under the health care law. And now? Well, we’ve learned that is simply untrue. According to the Kaiser study, 80 percent of small businesses will be forced to give up their current coverage by 2013. Unfortunately, Obamacare’s mandates will make it more difficult and expensive for employers to offer insurance to their workers.

The damage that Obamacare will cause to both our economy and the quality of health care that Americans receive has only begun to emerge. If you would like to add your name to the petition to repeal Obamacare, I encourage you to visit www.RepealItNow.org.

To learn more about the negative impacts of Obamacare, take a look at my blog posts, press releases, and opinion pieces on the topic available on my website here.