BRENT GARDNER: Memo to Congress: Don’t skip 2015

OPINION:

Judging by headlines over the past week, 2015 doesn’t actually matter—2016 is the only thing worth discussing. From the presidential field to the President’s State of the Union, pundits are describing everything in terms of its effect on next November. But that’s not why voters overwhelmingly rejected the President’s agenda last November.

The American people gave Republicans full control of Congress because they want to see real reforms—maybe even real hope and real change. They want Washington to deliver economic relief to the millions of Americans who are still missing out.

And there’s much that Congress can do to achieve this goal. They are common-sense policies that are favored by a majority of the American people and enjoy bipartisan support, which means President Obama should be hard-pressed to veto them.

Here are a few examples.

End ObamaCare’s medical device tax. The U.S. is the only country on earth that imposes a tax on the sale of medical devices, like insulin pumps and heart valves. Not only does this stifle medical innovation, it also increases the cost of vital care for Americans. We can easily get large majorities together in Congress to make sure a repeal reaches the president’s desk.

Reform the budget process. For almost two decades, Congress has failed to consider spending bills for each department in government, instead relying on a series of last-minute, stopgap spending measures. This approach has led to waste and over-spending on a massive scale—lawmakers don’t have time to consider the trillion dollar bills they’re voting on. Returning to regular budget order would add a layer of scrutiny and accountability to how Congress spends our hard-earned tax dollars.

Approve the Keystone XL Pipeline. This is a bipartisan no-brainer. The president perennially discusses infrastructure and energy investments, but if he can’t decide whether to approve the job- and investment-creating Keystone after more than six years, what hope is there for his administration spurring other energy-sector growth? His own administration study found the pipeline would create 40,000 jobs and pump $3 billion into the economy. And an overwhelming majority of Americans support getting this done.

Repeal the death tax. The Death Tax is one of the most unpopular taxes in the code, and Congress has not voted on it in a decade. Repealing this unfair and punitive tax would encourage people to save and invest, knowing that the federal government would not seize nearly half of their estate when they die– and more importantly, it would prevent the government from treating a death as a taxable event. It is simply wrong to punish those who work hard throughout their lives by confiscating the fruits of their labor when they die.

Say “no” to a gas tax hike. The one recent bright spot in an otherwise sputtering economy has been a long overdue drop in gasoline prices – a drop that has occurred despite the raft of anti-energy policies and proposals coming out of Washington. Yet almost as soon as this small glimmer of hope has appeared, the Washington political class has moved to signal its openness to raising the gas tax. Instead of looking for new tax revenue, lawmakers should seek to spend the gas tax revenues they already collect more efficiently.

These are just a few of the popular and sensible legislative items that lawmakers should send to President Obama’s desk. Millions of grassroots volunteers and voters made it clear in 2014 which issues were important to them with their historic rejection of the policies of this administration.

Now, that grassroots force is ready to ensure that the new Congress sticks to the promises made on the campaign trail. We are hopeful to see leaders emerge who will champion these pieces of legislation that will improve the lives of everyday Americans. However, if Republicans can’t achieve these straightforward policy goals, they can expect to hear from the millions of Americans who sent them to Washington in the first place.

Brent Gardner is Vice President of Government Affairs for Americans for Prosperity; AFP’s Reform America 2015 agenda is at ReformAmerica2015.com.