With 100 members, the United States Senates has been described as the more deliberative body in Congress. George Washington referred to it as the saucer that cooled the spill-over from the House of Representatives.
For two decades I have had the privilege to represent Iowa in the U.S. Senate. My most recent assignments on the budget, agriculture, finance, judiciary, and aging panels have given me a unique opportunity to address a wide range of public policy and specialize in issues that matter most to Iowans.
All but four years since 1981, I have served on the Senate Finance Committee which holds jurisdiction over matters affecting the "quality of life" in America. From retirees counting on their monthly Social Security check, to single mothers depending on assistance from federal welfare benefits, to farmers looking for better export opportunities for their commodities, to elderly Americans needing assistance to afford prescription drugs, to millions of taxpayers working hard to make ends meet, action taken or not taken by the Senate Finance Committee can have an enormous impact on the quality of life for ordinary Americans.
The Finance Committee bears legislative authority to set federal tax policy and make changes to entitlement programs including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. What’s more, the powerful legislative panel also considers public policy involving international trade, unemployment benefits, welfare, and pensions. Plus, it controls oversight authority over the Internal Revenue Service and the Health Care Financing Administration, which runs Medicare. After having served the last 16 years on this committee, I will have the privilege to serve as its new chairman in the 107th Congress.
Although the Republican party will control the White House and Congress for the first time since 1954, the evenly split electorate in the 2000 presidential election sent a message to Washington: Work together and get things done. Iowans can be sure that my approach to lawmaking will reflect that point of view. I intend to get things done by building a consensus and forging coalitions among committee members.
As chairman, my agenda will include efforts to minimize the marriage tax penalty; repeal the estate tax; lower marginal tax rates; increase trade opportunities; simplify the pension system; modernize the Medicare program with a prescription drug benefit alongside other structural reforms; and reauthorize the 1996 Welfare Reform Act.
With 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats in the Senate, it would be impossible and imprudent to force legislation down people’s throats. When the new Congress convened in early January, calls for bipartisanship resounded throughout the Senate chamber and in front of the cameras. While the national media zeroed in on the first first lady ever to be sworn in as a member of Congress, the pundits contended that talk is cheap and predicted partisan fireworks will soon resume.
Meanwhile most Americans likely missed the opening day of the new Congress on Jan. 3, 2001. While they may not harbor high expectations for bipartisanship, I’ve made it my top resolution for the New Year. As the most senior Republican on the Finance Committee, I will work hard to peel away the layers of public cynicism and deliver results on the issues so important to the quality of life in America.