The first GOP bill seeks to undo the Inflation Reduction Act’s increased funding for the IRS.
Before the U.S. House descended into the dysfunction of multiple elections to choose a leader, Louisiana Republican Rep. Steve Scalise unveiled a package of eight bills and three resolutions that would be the focus of the lower chamber during the first two weeks of the party’s control.
For years, Scalise has pushed for legislation that he claims will meet the needs of struggling American families. His speech proposing California Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House had the overarching message of “let’s get on with passing bills.”
The legislation package addresses issues that matter to Republican voters more than they do to Democratic ones.
It should be noted that very few of the proposed measures, if any, have a chance of becoming law.
The first bill in the package seeks to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act’s increased funding for the IRS. Scalise, McCarthy, and other Republican leaders repeatedly claim that the additional funds will be used to hire 87,000 new agents to harass ordinary taxpayers for more money. Over the next ten years, the estimate of new hires includes not only agents but also support staff, details that are rarely mentioned.
The GOP package also includes two abortion-related measures. The bills fine-tune the laws but do not propose any national restrictions on abortion.
Democrats claim that the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act would expand legal protections for newborns who survive abortions.
There will be no taxpayer funding for abortion or abortion insurance. The Full Disclosure Act would make federal funding prohibitions that have been in place for a while permanent. For example, Medicaid would no longer be able to cover abortions.
The Strategic Production Response Act would outlaw the drawdown of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for non-emergency purposes without a strategy to boost energy production on federal lands. It criticizes Biden for his choice to release crude oil that had been kept in reserve after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shook the market.
Additionally, the U.S. Secretary of Energy would not be permitted to export petroleum products from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to China under the Protecting America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act.
The resolutions would give the majority the authority to launch investigations into the president’s son, the president’s immigration policies, and the FBI.
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