Sixth District Perspectives with Congressman Ben Cline – August 3, 2021

The Democrats in the House showed their true colors this week. After passing only some of the required spending bills, bills that would lead to record deficits, and liberal policies like taxpayer-funded abortions, the Democrat majority left town after they realized just how unpopular their policies are with the American people. Americans are facing a COVID recovery crisis, an inflation crisis, a border crisis, and a rising crime crisis, but Democrats decided they needed to hit the road for their summer recess where they can try to explain their lack of solutions to voters while struggling to protect their dwindling three-seat majority. Prior to Speaker Pelosi adjourning the House until after Labor Day, however, House Republicans held a press conference on the Capitol steps to urge Pelosi to stay in Washington and address the numerous crises facing the American people.

Meanwhile, I introduced two bills this week that would reduce the deficit, eliminate wasteful and unnecessary federal bureaucracies, and improve government efficiency. I also supported several bills that would benefit Veterans, Back the Blue, and support funding for the National Guard. Finally, I recognized a local police chief for his three decades of service to our community and connected with thousands of constituents during a telephone town hall. While Congress should not have started its August Recess until finishing work on several important measures, I am looking forward to meeting with folks as I travel across the Sixth District this month.

Appropriations:
Instead of working to craft bipartisan legislation to fund the Federal government, Democrats put forward appropriations bills that were based on unrealistic and irresponsible funding levels and include partisan policy provisions that will only delay action by the Senate. Further, rather than holding a vote on each individual appropriations bill, the Speaker lumped together seven separate spending bills that include nearly $600 billion in discretionary spending, which is a 21% increase from last year. This is not how the legislative process should work, and with inflation rates at a 13-year high, we simply cannot afford it. And while the multi-bill legislation, also known as a mini-bus, provides unprecedented increases for Democrats’ domestic spending priorities, the left decided to underfund two appropriations bills that are required by the Constitution — Homeland Security and Defense. This is truly unacceptable. Worse yet, it reversed decades of historically bipartisan pro-life policies like the Hyde and Weldon Amendments, which ensure taxpayer funds are not used for abortions and that health care providers are not mandated to partake in a procedure in which they are morally opposed. Additionally, it furthers our dependence on China by attempting to dramatically increase the deployment of technologies that use critical minerals, such as electric vehicles, without having domestic sources or alternatives already in place. The bill also fails to keep us safe by prohibiting the use of certain information Customs and Border Protection can use to make arrests. And finally, it abandons all of the above energy strategies in favor of Green New Deal priorities. This bus should have gone back to the garage for a bipartisan tune-up, and as it was written, I could not vote in favor of the final passage.

Rep. Cline Addresses Deficit Spending

Standing for Life:
Since my first day in Congress, I have stood to protect life and have been a voice for the defenseless. Sadly, despite Republicans’ best efforts, Democrats stripped several pro-life policies from Federal law through the appropriations bills on the floor this week. Chief among them was the Hyde Amendment, which ensures that no taxpayer funds can be used to perform abortions. The inclusion of the Hyde Amendment has been a bipartisan effort since 1976, and it has saved nearly 2.5 million lives in the past 45 years. The Weldon Amendment was also excluded from the appropriations bills. This amendment protects health care providers and facilities from being required to perform abortions. No doctor should ever be at risk of losing their medical license for refusing to participate in a procedure in which they are morally opposed. Further, the Helms Amendment was left out of these bills, which disallows U.S. foreign aid from funding abortion overseas. Additionally, the Mexico City Policy, which makes certain Federal funding is not allocated to Non-Governmental Organizations that provided abortion counseling or referrals, advocated to decriminalize abortion, or expanded abortion services were also stripped from these bills. Finally, the legislation passed weakens the “Kemp-Kasten” provision on coercive abortion. It was a disappointing week for the pro-life movement in Washington.

Eliminating Bureaucracy:
The Federal Insurance Office was created by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and is a glaring example of a redundant and unaccountable entity within the Treasury Department. As a member of the Virginia General Assembly, I stood against federal overreach into areas traditionally reserved for states and localities. When the Federal government began to apply duplicative and onerous regulations on insurance, costs went up for millions of Americans. That is why I introduced the Federal Insurance Office Elimination Act. This bill repeals authorization for the Federal Insurance Office and is a positive step in returning power to the states where it rightfully belongs.

Infrastructure:
It appears that the Senate has reached an agreement on an infrastructure package this week. With that said, Speaker Pelosi is still saying she will not bring this bill for a vote on the House Floor unless the Senate also passes a $3.5 trillion “human infrastructure” package, which includes unrelated items such as Green New Deal initiatives, universal pre-K, extensions to the child tax credit, and free community college. The Speaker should not hinder progress by playing political games.

Secure the Border:
This week, several of my colleagues and I wrote to President Biden in response to his Presidential Proclamation 10142, which halted the construction of the southern border wall. Shockingly, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Government Operations and Border Management found that a massive amount of taxpayer dollars are still being paid to border wall construction contractors even though their work is halted. This subcommittee found that for a period of time immediately following the proclamation, contractors were paid $6 million per day and are still currently being paid $3 million per day. These costs, in part, are being used to drive out abandoned project sites and to guard unused steel meant for the wall. It is estimated that by FY22, the Federal government will spend another billion dollars in efforts to halt the border wall. Now, during the worst border crisis in 20 years with more than one million illegal immigrants have crossed the border this year alone, it is not the time to waste enormous amounts of money to halt a project that could be a solution to this problem. We implored the President to continue construction of the border wall before more taxpayer money is wasted and the crisis grows even worse. Read the full letter here.

Supporting our Men and Women in Uniform:
As a strong supporter of our Nation’s Veterans, I will always seek out legislation that will benefit those who served our Nation in uniform. This week, I was proud to vote in favor of the Free Veterans from Fees Act introduced by Congressman Greg Steube (R-FL). This legislation will waive the application fee for any special use permit for Veteran events at a war memorial on land administered by the National Park Service (NPS) in Washington, D.C. In addition, I supported and voted for HR 3237, a bill to provide supplemental funding for the U.S. Capitol Police, reimbursement funding for the National Guard, and funding for repairs and security improvements following the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Honoring Service:
I was pleased to recognize the 30-year career of one of Virginia’s finest, Bridgewater Police Chief Joe Simmons. Interestingly, this law enforcement veteran originally had aspirations of being a firefighter. But after being a dispatcher, jailer, and then a road deputy in the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office, the SWAT team recruited him in 1996. By ’97 he joined the elite RUSH Drug Task Force, a mix of local and state officers, as well as federal drug agents. Simmons brought all this experience to the town of Bridgewater in the late 1990s, eventually rising to chief in 2011. Mayor Ted Flory said of Simmons, “He’s done an amazing job… The model of community policing…serves the citizens very well.” Chief Simmons says most police officers are good people who care about the citizens in their community. “You have to have empathy. It’s not us against them,” Simmons said. “You have to police with an open mind. It’s customer service.” In the end, while Simmons never became the firefighter he once wanted to be, he had a successful career in public service — risking his life to protect and serve his fellow citizens. Our community thanks, Chief Simmons.

Rep. Cline Honors Chief Simmons

Telephone Town Hall:
Since being elected, I have hosted 25 in-person town halls — with at least one being held in each locality throughout our region. I hope to continue those sorts of in-person forums in the near future, but for now, virtual town halls remain one of the best and safest options to connect with large groups of constituents to ensure their voices are heard in Washington. While my first seven telephone town halls were District-wide, I’ve hosted more targeted, regional forums, which allow me to focus on the unique issues facing individual communities. This week, I was pleased to host my eleventh telephone town hall for residents of Botetourt, Rockbridge, Lexington, and Buena Vista. As with every town hall, residents are alerted with a recorded phone message at least 24 hours in advance. I look forward to connecting with another group of Sixth District residents for our next telephone town hall soon.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your Congressman. If my office can ever be of assistance, please contact my Washington office at (202) 225-5431.

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