Press Releases
The Republican Recap: Week of December 4, 2023
Washington,
December 7, 2023
Here’s a recap of what Republicans achieved on the House Floor this week:
Preserving Americans’ Right to Choose Their Car ✅ In April 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency reported a proposed rule called “Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Year 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium-Duty Vehicles” that places extreme standards on pollutants and greenhouse gasses for vehicles in an attempt to make all new vehicles electric by 2032 and to force Americans to switch to EVs. Electric vehicles are considerably more expensive than gas vehicles and much less reliable in cold weather and with our current grid stability, making them an unrealistic option for most American families. Additionally, the Chinese Communist Party controls over 90 percent of the processing and refining supply chain capacity for the minerals required to power electric vehicles, meaning American manufacturers currently rely on one of our biggest adversaries. We cannot allow the Biden administration to take choice out of consumer hands, force unaffordable options on Americans, and risk our national security by making us reliant on our adversary for power. Rep. Tim Walberg’s legislation, H.R. 4468, the Choice in Automobile Retail Sales Act of 2023, protects consumer choice by prohibiting Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency from finalizing, implementing, or enforcing any proposed rule with regards to emissions from vehicles. “Just last week, nearly 4000 car dealers sent a letter to President Biden asking he rescind his proposed EV mandate, citing a lack of consumer demand. With the House passage of the CARS Act, we’re closer to blocking this disastrous rule from implementation. We must abandon haphazard blanket mandates and instead encourage private sector innovation, maintain the accessibility of affordable vehicles for families across the nation, and prevent the United States from ceding our auto leadership and jobs to China,” said Rep. Tim Walberg. What Members Said: “President Biden has made it clear since day one that he will use the full weight and power of his office to push a radical climate agenda at the expense of consumer choice and American energy security. His rush to green agenda drawn up and enforced by Washington bureaucrats pushes for a one size fits all approach to vehicle purchases,” said Rep. Troy Balderson. "Just last week, consumer reports released a survey showing that electric vehicles proved far less reliable than internal combustion engine counterparts. The survey found that EV model years 2021 through 2023 encountered nearly 80% more problems compared to the conventional vehicles." Rep. Andrew Clyde highlighted how H.R. 4468 combats Biden's war on American energy and prevents his dangerous government expansion.
 Keeping Foreign Adversaries Out of Our Colleges ✅ Adversaries such as the Chinese Communist Party increase their influence on campuses by providing American academic institutions with large donations, expensive gifts, and investments – all which come with strings attached – furthering their mission to undermine American interests, infect our political discourse, and shape young minds to their design. Meanwhile, American universities and colleges often fail to report these gifts to the Department of Education, as required by law, bolstering foreign influence in our education system and slashing necessary transparency. A new report from Network Contagion Research Institute found at least 200 academic institutions had withheld information on $13 billion in contributions from foreign nations. Additionally, a 2019 Senate report found that around 70 percent of all institutions failed to comply with section 117 of the Higher Education Act, which requires reporting gifts and funds from foreign regimes. House Republicans passed a bill to force American education institutions to stop hiding their dealings with foreign regimes and increase transparency and oversight. H.R. 5933, the DETERRENT Act, introduced by Rep. Michelle Steel, holds American institutions of higher education to a stricter standard on reporting gifts, donations, and investments made to them by foreign adversaries, lays out the punishments institutions will face if they fail to comply, and protects American education from harmful and dangerous foreign influence. “As our college campuses are subjected to the rampant spread of antisemitism and the continued presence of CCP influence campaigns, it is critical that we expose the forces attempting to influence our children,” said Rep. Michelle Steel. “When foreign governments give money to our universities, they don’t do it out of the goodness of their hearts; they want something in return. Whether it’s terror friendly states like Qatar and Iran, or brutal human rights abusers like the CCP, our campuses must not become puppets of countries who hate America. I’m proud to have introduced the DETERRENT Act with Chairwoman Foxx, and I thank all my colleagues who supported this legislation today. By passing this bill, we’ve taken an important step in protecting our future leaders, but the job is not done. This is an urgent threat, and I call on my Senate colleagues to take up this measure immediately, send it to the President’s desk for his signature, and deter any further effort to meddle in our students’ education." What Members Said: “The world is on fire. Evil is spreading globally. And we cannot permit American colleges and universities to be compromised. Our adversaries are determined to subvert our national interests, and today's modern battleground now includes American college campuses. When American higher education administrators accept financial incentives and gifts from adversarial regimes, it sends a clear message that influence on campuses are for sale and American universities are open for business. Simply put, this is profit over patriotism and I will go further and call it anti American. It's important to understand that when our universities receive millions from countries that are antithetical to American values, there are strings attached," said Rep. Burgess Owens.
Rep. Drew Ferguson emphasized how H.R. 5933 protects American students and universities from malicious foreign actors.
 Protecting Taxpayers from Repaying Loans They Didn’t Take Out ✅ Earlier this year, the Biden Administration introduced a new income driven repayment plan for student loans called Saving on Valuable Education (SAVE) – a backdoor attempt to provide free college through executive overreach by shifting the burden of repayment from the person who took the loan to American taxpayers. This plan is estimated to cost taxpayers up to $559 billion—making it the most expensive regulation in history. Under this irresponsible plan, most undergraduate borrowers with typical debt levels and almost 90 percent with certificates or degrees would get at least some of their loans forgiven; 91 percent of new student debt would be eligible for reduced payments and eventual "forgiveness." By allowing borrowers to not have to pay any money back or drastically cutting the amount they do have to repay, Biden’s SAVE would recklessly incentivize college students to borrow billions of dollars each year with the expectation that they will not have to pay off their debt. Additionally, the Biden plan does nothing to address the soaring cost of higher education and, if anything, incentivizes colleges and universities to continue their unsustainable price increases. Rep. Lisa McClain’s legislation, H.J. Res. 88, prohibits the Department of Education’s radical rule titled Improving Income Driven Repayment for the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program and the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program which creates a new income-driven repayment plan that would force American taxpayers to repay student loan debt that doesn't belong to them. “President Biden’s disastrous free college plan is a slap in the face to Americans across the country who went to college and paid off their loans, and to Americans who never went to college in the first place,” said Rep. Lisa McClain. “Trying to undermine the authority of the Supreme Court, even after they ruled this plan was unconstitutional shows us how little the President cares about our institutions. He will do whatever he can to force his radical agenda onto the nation.” What Members Said: “Here we go again. If you don't succeed, and the Supreme Court says it's not constitutional, well let's find another way. Let's find another mechanism. That's exactly what we're facing today. We're standing in the gap, Mr. Speaker. This rule unjustly imposes an excessive burden on hardworking American taxpayers who should not be forced to shoulder responsibility for student debt that is not their own,” said Rep. August Pfluger. “Let me be clear: This rule does not offer genuine debt forgiveness. Instead, it shifts the way to $559 billion in federal student loans onto the shoulders of almost 90% of Americans who don't have those student loans. This includes individuals who may earn significantly less than those who took out the loans in the first place.” Rep. Greg Murphy underlined how H.J. Res 88 prohibits Biden's plan to force American taxpayers to repay student loan debt that isn't theirs.
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