Press Releases
The Republican Recap: Week of January 8, 2024
Washington,
January 12, 2024
Here’s a recap of what Republicans achieved on the House Floor this week:
Supporting American Industry Over Foreign Adversaries ✅ “Buy America” provisions in current law require federal infrastructure projects – such as construction of chargers for electric vehicles – to obtain 55 percent of construction materials from domestic sources and be completely manufactured in the United States, supporting American industry and independence instead of foreign countries. In February 2023, however, President Biden’s Federal Highway Administration issued a waiver to suspend these requirements until October 2024, meaning U.S. taxpayer dollars will be buying Chinese products and empowering China’s control over American energy and infrastructure. This waiver hurts American companies and increases our dependency on China. And yet, the Biden Administration continues to put Chinese interests before the interests of hardworking Americans. American taxpayer dollars should support American businesses and infrastructure, not China. We cannot afford to be reliant on foreign adversaries for our energy or infrastructure. S.J. Res. 38, introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio, overturns the Federal Highway Administration’s rule relating to ‘Waiver of Buy America Requirements for Electric Vehicle Chargers’ under the Congressional Review Act, removing China from our supply chain for electric vehicle charger construction. What Members Said: “The joint resolution is intended to ensure our federal dollars support American made products rather than products from foreign competitors like China,” said Rep. Sam Graves. “The Federal Highway Administration was quick to move a waiver of 'Buy America' requirements for EV chargers to help achieve the Biden administration's very progressive policy agenda, citing public interest need. There is no public interest need here, Mr. Speaker. Rather, there is just a desire for the administration to continue to push its woke agenda without fully considering the far reaching ramifications. And it's not better for the climate, as China is the number one emitter of greenhouse gas emissions around the world, and it's certainly not better for American competitiveness or security, as China has already demonstrated it will utilize infrastructure footholds as it did with telecommunications and Huawei to undermine America's national security. Simply put, a waiver undercuts domestic investments and risks empowering foreign nations. If the administration is going to continue to push for massive transition to EVs, it should ensure and comply with the 'Buy America' requirements.” Rep. Greg Murphy emphasized how S.J. Res. 38 decreases our reliance on China and prevents the Biden Administration from pouring billions in taxpayer dollars into his disastrous EV policies.
 Stopping Settlement Slush Funds to Third Party Activists ✅ Under the Biden Administration, settlement agreements between the federal government and individuals or corporations who break the law can include community service or donating to third party organizations as an alternative to serving time or paying fines to the government. This allows the executive branch to funnel funds to partisan non-profit organizations, instead of only sending money to directly injured parties or to the Treasury for public benefit. While the Trump Administration banned this corrupt practice in 2017 after it was abused under the Obama Administration, Attorney General Merrick Garland reversed the ban in 2022 – once again allowing government officials to line the pockets of political allies who would further their partisan agenda instead of giving the money back to American taxpayers. House Republicans passed legislation that would codify President Trump’s previous ban on these settlements involving payouts to third parties, preventing public servants from funneling money into slush funds for politically-aligned activist groups. Rep. Lance Gooden’s legislation, H.R. 788, the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2023, bars government agencies from entering or enforcing settlement agreements that instruct the offending party to donate to a third party, ensuring the owed funds go only to affected parties or the Treasury. “We have made a decisive move towards greater accountability in our government," said Rep. Lance Gooden. "The Settlement Slush Funds Act will ensure that settlement funds serve their rightful purpose – to compensate victims and provide relief to affected parties, not to be diverted for partisan purposes.” What Members Said: “At the very onset of the Biden presidency, this administration has been laser focused on undoing the progress of the previous administration. But this administration has consistently and simultaneously overstepped their authority and rulemaking, and under delivered for the American people. And that's why we're here: Because following the President's Day One directive to review reinstating Obama era policies, the Biden administration began resending Trump era policies. I think most Americans would agree that the federal government should not be requiring settling parties to make donations to unrelated third parties. I think most Americans would be shocked that the settlement payments don't go to the U.S. Treasury, but to liberal wishlist recipients,” said Rep. Erin Houchin. Rep. Gus Bilirakis pointed to how H.R. 788 will prevent the DOJ from permitting defendants to make quid-pro-quo agreements, where they donate to Far Left third parties in exchange for tax deductions and reduced fines.
 Protecting Small Business and Workers from NLRB Joint-Employer Rule ✅ In October 2023, Biden’s National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced a joint-employer final rule that makes companies jointly liable with their franchisees for workplace policies including union contracts, scheduling, pay, and other practices despite not overseeing the other business’ employees, threatening the American franchise model that supports millions of workers and promotes small business growth. The Biden Administration and NLRB’s destructive rule not only takes away the freedom and opportunity for hardworking Americans to run their own businesses, but also muddies the waters on their legal liabilities, resulting in higher operational and consumer costs and fewer jobs. We should be fighting to empower small businesses and grow job opportunities to allow Amercians to succeed – not imposing more red tape, undermining entrepreneurship, and placing the American Dream out of reach. H.J. Res. 98, introduced by Rep. John James, repeals the National Labor Relations Board’s burdensome rule relating to "Standard for Determining Joint Employer Status" under the Congressional Review Act, protecting the franchise system, small business, American workers, and entrepreneurship. “The American people just want the opportunity to create a better life for their families and keep the government out of their business. But unfortunately, Bidenomics has created an affordability crisis that is choking our citizens, especially those from the younger generations, and placing unnecessary burdens on our local businesses. And the Joe Biden joint employer rule is among the many weapons used by this administration to drive businesses and jobs overseas,” said Rep. John James. “I am proud to lead the effort in the House to introduce this resolution to overturn the hurtful joint employer rule. Michigan already struggles to attract new business, and people are fleeing our state in mass because the experiment of unleashing broken leftist policies against our businesses has not worked—no surprise. We should help small businesses grow, create good-paying jobs, and give people the opportunities to succeed. And overturning the Biden joint employer rule is a first step in the right direction.” What Members Said: “This final rule revives the Obama era joint employer standard, leaving companies liable for employees that they don't oversee or directly manage. As co-chair of the Franchise Caucus and Chair of the Committee on Small Business Oversight Subcommittee, I have heard from countless franchise small businesses about this rule. Overwhelmingly, they would suffer drastically. They would lose out on income, opportunity, and autonomy over their business. And the cost is not small: A very similar 2015 standard cost the franchising sector over $33 billion per year. It resulted in nearly 400,000 lost job opportunities, and it practically doubled litigation against franchises. My home state of Texas continues to lead the nation in job growth and is the fastest growing state for franchise establishments. This misguided policy would hurt these job creators who want nothing more than to provide for their families and offer job opportunities to our communities," said Rep. Beth Van Duyne.
Majority Whip Tom Emmer highlighted how H.J. Res. 98 protects businesses and unleashes economic growth.
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