A group of extreme Republicans in Congress have opposed the
President's legislative agenda at every turn. That's no secret.
But the 113th Congress' obstruction is reaching new levels.
Right now, our lawmakers are in a position to take action on
multiple national measures that would help our economy and millions of
Americans. That's not an exaggeration: They could vote tomorrow. And they
should.
Consider this for a second. If our current
Congress simply scheduled a vote on pressing national issues, we could:
Fix our broken immigration system. This past
June, the Senate passed a bill to ensure everyone plays by the same rules and
we grow our economy. Multiple reports confirm that there are enough votes in
the House to get it done. And still: No vote.
End workplace discrimination for millions of
LGBT Americans once and for all. This isn't difficult: Nobody
should be discriminated against because of who they are or who they love. The
Employment Non-Discrimination Act would make it illegal to fire someone based
on their sexual orientation or gender identity, and it passed the Senate
earlier this year. Once again, no vote in the House.
Confirm a leader of the Federal Housing
Finance Agency. The housing market is coming back, but we can do more to help
responsible homeowners. Congressman Mel Watt, the President's nominee, was
endorsed by Senators on both sides of the aisle. And yet, at a critical time
for the housing industry, when we’re working to implement the rules that will
prevent another "too big to fail," Senate Republicans used the
filibuster to block his nomination.
Confirm three well-qualified judges to fill
long-standing vacancies on the federal D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Cornelia
Pillard, Robert Wilkins and Patricia Millett were all selected by the President
as nominees for this critical court. Once again, one by one, Senate Republicans
blocked each nomination.
And that's just to name a few.
In the 1940s, President Harry Truman notoriously dubbed the 80th
Congress the "Do-Nothing Congress." And yet, even they managed to
enact 906 laws, including the Marshall Plan, and the piece of legislation that
created the Department of Defense and the National Security Council. It’s time
for the current Congress to match up a little more favorably.
Remember: They can still allow these incredibly important
measures to come to a vote.
It’s time for this obstruction to come to an
end, and for Republicans in Congress to start doing their jobs:
David Simas
Deputy Senior Advisor
The White House
@Simas44
The White House
@Simas44