American voters made history in the 2002 mid-term congressional elections. First, more Americans went to the polls than in 1998, reversing a discouraging trend during mid-term cycles. And when they cast their ballots, voters bucked another well-established trend of American politics, i.e., the president’s party historically loses seats during a mid-term election.
Instead, the nation woke up on Wednesday morning to a unified government in Washington. The president’s party not only gained seats in the U.S. House, the Republicans recaptured majority control of the U.S. Senate. The victory underscores the popularity of President Bush and offers resounding approval of the president’s policies and priorities.
Now it’s time to get to work on the people’s business. The campaign pledges must now grind their way through Washington on the road to becoming public policy. The president and Republican congressional leaders will set the tone in the nation’s capital. Both Republicans and Democrats have the opportunity and obligation to end the gridlock and make good on the president’s agenda just approved in the election. From growing the economy, creating jobs, protecting the homeland, rooting out terrorism, cleaning up corporate corruption, strengthening Medicare and Social Security, establishing greater energy independence and efficiency and improving education, our work is cut out for us.
As the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, the election bears good news for Iowa. In the upcoming 108th Congress, I will have the privilege of returning as chairman of an influential committee that has jurisdiction over tax, health care, welfare, pensions and international trade. During my brief service as chairman of the committee in the first half of 2001, I referred to the 21-member panel as the 'Quality of Life' committee because the public policy issues we consider hit folks so close to home.
Whether you’re a retiree depending on your monthly Social Security check or an office worker who pays into the retirement program, the Finance Committee bears legislative authority over keeping the system viable for current and future retirees in the 21st century. If you’re a health practitioner in Iowa, chances are good you’re well aware about the inequitable federal formula that shortchanges Iowa hospitals, health clinics and doctor’s offices. If you’re a senior citizen struggling to pay for prescription medicines, it is the Senate Finance Committee that will tackle the challenge of updating the 60-year-old Medicare program to streamline services and improve the coverage of modern medicine, including pharmaceuticals. Or, if you’ve invested hard-earned money in a 401(k) or the stock market, you want to make sure Wall Street and corporate America play by the rules.
Workers and investors of fallen corporate giants have every reason to be stark-raving mad. Corporate wrongdoers need to understand there’s no room for shady bookkeeping, abusive tax shelters or off-shore tax havens. While I work to close corporate tax loopholes, I'll also work toward a bipartisan solution to the foreign sales corporation dispute so American companies can better function in the global marketplace.
The economy is on everyone's minds. And it's important to build confidence in the markets with strong policing of corporate wrongdoing and with reliable, certain tax policies.
As incoming chairman, my early priorities will include working for full Senate passage of legislation that passed the Finance Committee but stalled under the Senate's Democratic leadership. These bills include legislation to rein in corporate tax shelters and corporate inversions, to protect workers' pensions in the face of corporate wrongdoing, and to help build energy security that includes alternative energy tax incentives. Renewable fuels have a tremendous impact on Iowa's economy by creating jobs and creating alternative uses for Iowa's agriculture products.
My to-do list includes pushing for Medicare equity and a prescription drug benefit for seniors, working for full Senate approval of my bipartisan legislation to help the families of children with disabilities buy into Medicaid and pushing to make last year's tax cuts permanent. The tax cuts help taxpayers across the board with child care, rate cuts, education incentives, and retirement savings incentives. They help to create jobs. Small businesses create most jobs in America. If we don't make the tax rate cuts permanent, small businesses will pay a tax penalty of almost 15 percent in 2011.
And finally, I’ll work to advance renewal of the six-year old welfare reform laws and look at how Medicaid funding issues affect the health care coverage of low-income children, families, disabled individuals and older Americans. Given state budget shortfalls, Washington will need to address the squeeze on state budgets as the economic downturn puts more pressure on government health programs by families in need.
When I was chairman the first time, and as ranking member, I worked with members on both sides of the aisle to advance common-sense initiatives. That's in line with this committee's history, and I look forward to continuing the tradition.