Thank you for the opportunity to update you on the work of the 112th Congress. I trust this finds you and your family well.

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This Week (July 22 - July 28)

In Washington, the House's work focused on pro-jobs legislation. The Committee on Education and the Workforce's Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions (HELP) held a hearing regarding the National Labor Relations Act and my legislation, the RAISE Act.

For a full list of all legislation considered this week, you can review the Majority Leader's Weekly Schedule.

Stop the Tax Hike

Also, on Friday, my House colleagues and I will observe "Stop the Tax Day," to call attention to our commitment to reforming the tax code and ensuring that no American family's taxes increase. You'll notice social media content focusing on the the pending tax increases in January, as well as the hard-hitting taxes buried in ObamaCare. Congress must act to continue the current tax rates for all before January, and pursue the full repeal of the ObamaCare tax. I encourage you to do some of your own research on "Taxmageddon" and get the word out via Twitter using the hashtag "#stopthetaxhike."

In the Community

On Saturday, July 28, I will be hosting two Congress on Your Corner events. During these events, I plan to engage in covnersation on the important issues facing Congress. We must talk about our $16 trillion in debt, and meaningful, pro-growth tax reform.

I'll be in Monticello to listen to your concerns and update you on matters before Congress. The event will be from Noon until 1:00 p.m. and takes place at the White County Courthouse - 110 N. Main Street.

Following the event in Monticello, my second event will be held in Frankfort from 2:30 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. The event will be held at the Clinton County Courthouse - 320 Courthouse Square.

I'm also pleased to announce that I will be holding a Town Hall event on August 6th in Danville at the Hendricks County 4-H Fairgrounds.

Additional details on all of these events can be found here.

Key Votes on the House Floor This Week

Federal Reserve Transparency Act, H.R. 459
This bill, which I cosponsored, requires audits of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, and Federal Reserve banks, before the end of 2012. It is my hope this bill is heard by the Senate and acted upon by the President quickly.
Passed with strong bipartisan support: 327-98
I voted Yea.

Congressional Replacement of President Obama's Energy-Restricting and Job-Limiting Offshore Drilling Plan, H.R. 6082
H.R. 6082 replaces the President's final offshore drilling plan, which stifles new energy exploration, job creation and energy cost reduction. The current policy prohibits energy production on 85% of our offshore areas.
Passed with bipartisan support: 253-170
I voted Yea.

I'm also a cosponsor of H.R. 4157, which would protect Hoosier families and farms from an attempt by the Department of Labor to essentially end farm jobs for teens. This bill is another success of my Red Tape Rollback program when it passed by voice vote earlier this week.

Red Tape Reduction and Small Business Job Creation Act, H.R. 4078
This comprehensive bill would slows new rulemaking by federal agencies based on economic impact and indicators, ensuring certainty for small businesses. 

Passed with bipartisan support: 245-172
I voted Yea.

In conjunction with the vote on this legislation, my good friend Rep. Kevin Brady (TX-8), of the Republican Joint Economic Committee released a new "map" of the red tape that restricts our small business job creators. It's quite something and I encourage you to take a look.

At the Committee

Committee on Education and the Workforce
On Wednesday, the HELP Subcommittee held a hearing titled "Examining Proposals to Strengthen the National Labor Relations Act." A major focal point of the hearing was the Rewarding Achievement and Incentivizing Successful Employees (RAISE) Act, H.R. 4385. As you may recall, I introduced the RAISE Act earlier this year and Senator Marco Rubio introduced the Senate version. For additional information and a live webcast, click here.

Last Week (July 15 - July 21)

On July 16, I participated in a Small Business Town Hall, hosted by Regions Bank in Indianapolis.  The discussion focused on our nation's debt, rising health care costs and burdensome regulations that are hindering economic and job growth.

Key Votes on the House Floor Last Week

Sequestration Transparency Act, H.R. 5872
This bill, which I cosponsored, requires the administration to submit a detailed preview of planned sequestration cuts that are being made in accordance with the Budget Control Act (the debt limit "deal" passed in August 2011). 
Passed with bipartisan support 414-2
I voted Yea. 

Department of Defense Appropriations Act, H.R. 5856
H.R. 5856 is the annual spending bill for the Department of Defense.
Passed with bipartisan support 326-90
I voted Yea. 

In Case You Missed It

1st Annual Red Tape Rollback Report

Lafayette Journal & Courier - Rokita: Fight to Repeal Obama's Health Plan

Amid fight over Bush tax cuts, lawmaker sees desire for broad tax reform

For additional news items, please visit my In the News page. 

Rokita Readings
A clickable offering of books and articles that I've read recently and highly recommend, as we strive together to "Keep the Republic."

You may have noticed an article in the "In Case You Missed It" section of the report about my thoughts on tax reform. I believe tax reform is a key component of solving our economic and fiscal troubles. 

As the House likely considers tax reform legislation next week, I wanted to draw your attention to a column by John Stossel, "Budget Insanity." In it, Stossel is right on target as he ties tax reform and Washington's addiction to spending together. For years we have seen a perpetual cycle of raising or lowering taxes and then carving out loopholes for special interests. Washington seems to have forgotten that it's not only immoral to impose this kind of tax code on Americans, it also discourages wealth creation.

Stossel continues by acknowledging the drivers of our debt and takes critics of entitlement reform to task. Many of his points were right in-line with my traveling debt presentation PowerPoint. This was an incredibly informative column, and a quick read. It is well worth your time.

Thank you for your continued interest in Congress and for supporting my efforts in Washington. Take care.

Sincerely,

Todd Rokita 

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Hoosiers in DC

I had a follow up meeting this week with Nathaniel Beeler of Avon on Tuesday regarding his efforts to highlight the problems facing the Clark Veterans Cemetery, "the Cemetery America forgot" in the Philippines.

It was good to see the Sandoval family this week in my Washington office. Austin, Stephanie, Madison and Brian. Madison and Austin's grandmother, Shirley Gilespie, is a longtime family friend.

Representatives from Indiana Corn spoke with me about the drought conditions Indiana is facing, as well as the Farm Bill that may be considered by the House.

Several members of the Indiana Association of School Principals also stopped by as part of their annual fly-in conference to Washington.