|
|
|
|
This week, I voted to fund the military, extend the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for six years, and prevent a damaging government shutdown.
Shockingly, Senate Democrats decided to side with illegal immigrants over paying our military and providing insurance for our children by blocking this legislation. They voted to shut down the government.
I never thought I would see the day in America when funding would be denied to our troops, military families, veterans and seniors or access to health care for children would be blocked over an unrelated illegal immigration issue.
But here we are.
To be very clear - we are in this situation because of the dysfunction of Senate Democrats. The House completed sending all twelve spending bills to the Senate in September. With legislation like this, the Senate requires 60 votes to pass, so right now one party cannot move these bills alone because there are only 51 Republican senators. Unfortunately, Senate Democrats have not been willing to come to the table to move these spending bills forward.
The same is true for the Children's Health Insurance Program. I have voted in support of extending the program on the House Floor several times this Congress and even more in the Energy and Commerce Committee. Unfortunately, that too has been sitting in the Senate.
Senate Democrats need to stop playing these dangerous political games. Come to the table, get to work on the spending bills we sent months ago, and be responsible legislators.
|
| Good Tax News Keeps Coming |
|
|
The great news resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act continued this week.
Apple announced that our new tax law will help it contribute $350 billion to the U.S. economy over the next five years. They also said they will create 20,000 new jobs and open a new campus.
In addition, Apple expects to pay about $38 billion in taxes for the money it plans to bring back to the United States.
The good news keeps coming. For more information about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, visit fairandsimple.gop.
|
| From our Nation's Capitol CXLVI |
|
|
Monday, January 15, 2018: On Saturday morning, I had the honor of visiting with one of our true American heroes, Winston Hencely from Effingham County. Winston was injured in November of 2016 while serving in the Army and stationed in Afghanistan when a suicide bomber ignited an explosion at Bagram Airfield.
Rep. Carter with Winston Hencely |
My wife, Amy, and I visited Winston while he was a patient at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington shortly after he returned from the attack. The progress he has made since that time is truly amazing. Later Saturday afternoon, I flew to Phoenix, Arizona, and on Sunday I was the keynote speaker at the annual meeting of Genoa Healthcare, a nationwide leading provider of specialized and essential pharmacy, phlebotomy and laboratory services to patients with mental health illnesses. After returning to Savannah around midnight last night, I proudly participate in the Savannah Martin Luther King Jr Day parade today. Although it is very cold outside, this is always a great parade and this year was no different as we honor the legacy of Dr. King. Later in the afternoon, I join the College of American Pathologists on their quarterly conference call and bring them up to date on the happenings in Washington. The current president of this national group is my good friend, Dr. Pat Godbey from Brunswick.
Tuesday, January 16, 2018: I’m at the airport bright and early this morning as I’m headed back to Washington for the week. I arrive at the Capitol in time for a noon meeting of the Georgia delegation with the Under Secretary of the Army along with other leaders to discuss the Army installations in our state.
Rep. Carter at the Savannah Martin Luther King Jr Day Parade |
Afterwards, I meet with the President of the Georgia State Board of Pharmacy, Bob Warnock, who is in town visiting. Bob and I were roommates in college and our wives, who were in physical therapy school together at the Medical College of Georgia, were in each other’s weddings. After our weekly staff briefing, I have a phone interview with Dave Williams of the Atlanta Business Chronicle to discuss offshore energy development. Next, I head to our weekly Messaging Advisory Group meeting where this week we have as our guest, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Ronna McDaniel. Afterwards, I head to a GOP education session for the Congressional Accountability Reform Act before heading to our weekly Whip Team meeting where we discuss what certainly will be a very interesting week with a looming government shutdown on Friday. Next, I head to the House Chamber for our first vote series of the week after which I stay on the floor and deliver a tribute to Billy Lee, owner of McDonough’s in Savannah, who passed recently. A link to my tribute can be found here. Afterwards, I head to a special GOP planning conference to discuss the upcoming vote on a continuing resolution to keep the government running and afterwards head to the Speaker’s office where a group of us advise him on critical issues.
Wednesday, January 17, 2018: I’m up early this morning as I have two radio interviews, first with Bill Edwards and Laura Anderson in Savannah and later with Scott James in Valdosta. Both interviews deal with a wide range of subjects including the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) and Treasury Department’s release of new withholding tables for employers as a result of the recently passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. These new withholding tables will result in bigger paychecks for employees and will be a welcome relief for American families in the new year. My first meeting this morning is with the GOP Conference as we continue our preparations to fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), fund our military and keep our government running beyond this Friday.
Rep. Carter meeting with the Acting Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management |
Afterwards, I head to a Committee on Energy and Commerce (E&C) Health Subcommittee meeting where we markup three bills to be sent to the full committee. Next, I meet with representatives from the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) to discuss pharmacy issues before heading to the House Chamber for our first vote series of the day. Later, I meet with the Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and his staff to discuss the proposed offshore enery plan, the impact it will have on the coastal region of Georgia, and to again request a public hearing on the issue in Coastal Georgia. Afterwards, I head back to the House Chamber for our second and final vote series of the day and remain in the Chamber to deliver a tribute to Stan Kaczorowski, a long-time member of the Chatham County Board of Elections, who passed recently.
Thursday, January 18, 2018: After filming videos on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in my office, I head to a meeting of the E&C Environment Subcommittee where we have a hearing on “Modernizing the Superfund Cleanup Program.” One of the witnesses for the hearing is Dr. Winston Porter, a former assistant administrator with the EPA Superfund program who currently resides in Savannah. During this hearing, I press the EPA to properly handle the LCP Chemicals Superfund Site in Brunswick. A link to my questions during this hearing can be found here.
Rep. Carter with Dr. Winston Porter |
Later, I head down to the House Visitors Center Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) to read the classified memo compiled by the House Intelligence Committee dealing with senior federal officials’ use of the Federal Intelligence Security Act (FISA) to target the Trump campaign. I found the report to be shocking and have called for it to be made public. Next, I head to my office where I have a conference call with representatives from pharmacy groups dealing with compounding medications and afterwards have a call with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb to discuss draft recommendations dealing with compounding pharmacies that were released today. Afterwards, I meet with the President of Greenwich Biosciences before heading to the House Chamber for our first vote series of the day. After heading back to my office to meet with representatives from the Embassy of Cuba, I head back down to the House Chamber to speak in favor of the CR that we will be voting on later. A link to my comments can be found here. Next, I head back to my office where we have our first tele-town hall of the new year and afterwards I head back to the House Chamber where I vote in favor of and we pass the CR to keep our government running until February 16 and extend the Children’s Health Insurance Progam (CHIP) for six years and send it over to the Senate.
Friday, January 19, 2018: Well, it’s here. The day we’ve all been waiting on. Will Senate Democrats come to the table to pass our CR and keep the government running, fund CHIP and our military or will they shut everything down? Today we find out. I start with an E&C Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing on the “Safety of the U.S. Food Supply and concerns over the FDA Food Recall Process.” A link to my questions can be found here. After our first and only planned vote series of the day, most members are ready to head home but House leadership encourages us to stay in town so that we can see what the Senate does with the CR we have sent them. As the day goes on and the Senate fails to act, the tension rises and it appears we are headed for a shutdown of the federal government.
Reps. Carter and Allen meeting with constituents with the Right to Life Committee |
Later in the day, I meet with my good friend David Sharpe, owner of STAXX solutions, and officials from the House Veterans Affairs Committee to discuss concerns with the peer to peer support programs. I also meet with constituents from the district who are in town with the Right to Life Committee and are participating in the march here today in Washington. While my plans were to fly home this afternoon, I, along with my House colleagues, anxiously ‘hurry up and wait’ to see what the Senate will do to avoid a shutdown. At 10:00 p.m. tonight the Senate rejects the CR we sent over yesterday, almost guaranteeing that the government will shut down at midnight tonight. At 11:00 and 11:10 p.m. I have phone interviews with Savannah television stations WJCL and WTOC to discuss the drama unfolding in our nations’ Capitol. As the clock strikes midnight, no compromise has been reached and we are officially in a shut down.
Saturday, January 20, 2018 (Shut down day 1): Although I stayed up late last night watching the Senate and hoping they could end this ridiculous and unnecessary shut down, I wake up this morning to the realization that the federal government is officially shut down. Although there have been a number of government shut downs over the years, with the latest one being in 2013, this is the first one I have experienced. This morning I attend a GOP conference where we discuss where we are and how this might play out.
Rep. Carter participates in a press conference with members of the House Republican Conference |
Since we have done our job in the House, most of the negotiations are taking place in the Senate and we have little choice but to wait on their next move. We have our first vote series of the day at 12:30 as the Democrats make a motion to not open the House for business today. Of course, that motion is defeated and then we have a quorum vote which simply indicates which members are still in town. Later in the afternoon, I attend a press conference with House Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rogers and other Republican members and afterwards I head to the House Chamber where we reconvene and debate the rule providing for same-day authority in the House and later vote on and pass the rule. The rest of the evening includes watching TV news shows and talking with other members to try and find out as much information as possible, but mainly it consists of “hurry up and wait.”
Sunday, January 21, 2018 (Shut down day 2): Well, I wish I had something better to report this morning but we still have no idea how long this will go on. Senate Democrats and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) are clearly responsible for this unnecessary and ridiculous shut down and it is up to them to end it. How anyone could put illegal immigrants ahead of funding for children’s health care and our military is beyond me but that is exactly what is happening here. I will do my best to keep you informed of any developments. |
| VOTES IN THE HOUSE THIS WEEK |
|
|
| Click here for this week's vote sheet in the House.
|
|
|
