Posted on 10/22/2015 6:52:31 AM PDT by Timber Rattler
The resignation of Speaker John Boehner has sparked a much-needed debate in the U.S. House of Representatives. You'd be hard-pressed to find any American — conservative, liberal, independent or otherwise — who thinks Washington is working effectively on their behalf. The people I serve tell me that they're sick of the status quo. I fight this battle every single day, and that means taking a stand and advocating for real change — no matter how unpopular with the powers that be.
The only thing Washington understands is having enough votes to make a difference; i.e., strength in numbers. After two years of failed big government, big spending policies — including Continuing Resolutions, debt ceilings, trade, immigration and the Iran deal to name a few — where the opinions of rank-and-file members never were considered, I joined the House Freedom Caucus. This group seeks to give a voice to countless Americans who feel that Washington no longer represents their interests. Like them, we've had enough of a top-down system of governing, where rank-and-file members of Congress — and most importantly, the people they represent — have little say in the legislative process.
Recent editorials and guest columns have criticized me for being part of this "radical" caucus that allegedly refuses to compromise on anything.
First, if you're looking for "my-way-or-the-highway" government, head down to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, where if you don't support every facet of the president's agenda, you're accused of wanting to shut down the government — or worse.
I will tell you what is radical:
Radical is when our process is so broken that three or four people in Congress dictate what's best for my constituents and the American people. Radical is shutting members out of the amendment process because some special interest disagrees with them. Radical is ignoring the rules of the House in order to diminish the voices of individual members. Radical is when you refuse to exercise the constitutional power of the purse because it is an "unpleasant" vote for a few members. Radical is when leadership decides committee assignments based on fundraising and who you know, instead of merit.
These are things that citizens object to and that members of the Freedom Caucus who wish to do what's best to represent their districts object to as well. "Radical" or "Sisyphean fools," as your newspaper called us — really?
Quite to the contrary, the House Freedom Caucus is pursuing an agenda based on reforms that make the legislative process fair for all members — Republican and Democrat alike. That means governing from the ground up — allowing legislation to flow through committees in an open and transparent manner, and enabling members to offer amendments and help shape bills before they're voted on. By empowering members at the beginning of the process, we avoid the ongoing drama of governing from crisis to crisis and allow the legislative process to work as it was intended. We feel that Congress should make more decisions in public and not in secret meetings.
If these reforms are implemented, are conservatives going to win every debate? Certainly not. For the next year or so we have to deal with a Democratic president and Senate Democrats that can filibuster and support presidential vetoes. But the process will be more open and fair and citizens will be involved by knowing how their representatives vote. This is what change looks like, and it can be messy at times. But in choosing the next House Speaker, if we conduct a thorough and transparent process and members of Congress have time to receive feedback from their constituents to make the most informed choices possible, we'll be in a better position to reach our goal of enacting reforms that are fair for all members.
Our constituents simply will not — and should not — accept a continuation of the status quo. We need to honor the promises we made to the people who sent us here and that's exactly what I intend to continue fighting for.
U.S. Rep. Scott Perry is a Republican representing York County.
Hallelujah. Those are the same words everyone one of these congress people should be sharing in writing, on tv and with their constituents.
But in Hillary’s famous words, “What difference at this point does it make?” It sounds as if the “Freedom Caucus” caved to the GOPe in approving their man Ryan for Speaker just like Boehner always caved to Obama. The FC members who agreed to Ryan’s demands should all be primaried next year. They didn’t stand up against the GOPe masters, and they will be opposed by Ryan now instead of Boehner…no difference there.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.