On January 20, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. Congress is now charged to make many changes. Those of us in Congress will in fact have disagreements with President Trump, both in policy and in tweets. But it is our duty to strive with all our being to fulfill the charge of his campaign: “to make America great again.”
This is my quest: To create a tax system that is simpler and fairer and helps bring back jobs to America. To reform the regulatory system. Regulations should protect, not burden, Americans. We will act to make government agencies more responsive to the public. Less bureaucracy means better results for everyday, hard-working Americans, and will help bring back jobs to America.
To repeal Obamacare and build a healthcare system that works better with all Americans in mind. Healthcare run by Washington has failed. Healthcare directed by patients and doctors is a solution we will strive to deliver. We will reform healthcare to provide families with affordable care that fits their needs. And affordable healthcare costs for employers who provide healthcare will make it easier for those employers to expand jobs.
To move the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy towards a new path. These agencies should work to bring cleaner, affordable energy to market. When renewable sources are able to provide reliable, affordable energy, the policy should be to use them. Until then, let’s make fossil fuels cleaner and more efficient. Affordable energy makes America more competitive in the world market and helps us keep and create jobs.
To restore checks and balances. Many powers Congress has delegated to the executive branch are given to Congress alone under the Constitution. We need to claw back these powers to the legislative branch where they belong. I made this point when President Obama was in office, and it is still valid under President Trump. Many powers were given to Congress under the Constitution. Over the years, for various reasons, Congress gave up significant powers to the President and the executive branch. It is not the person who occupies the Oval Office that is in question, it is about restoring the balance of power envisioned by the Founding Fathers in our Constitution. Whether you view the world from the left or right, most would agree that the executive branch has too much power today. If we restore that balance, America will have a more responsive government. Responsive government fosters more confidence from the people it serves. And more confidence in government generally leads to more jobs.
Achieving this vision is my goal and the goal of many in Congress. It would make government more efficient and work better for the American people. Tackling our biggest challenges in government, although it will take time and effort, will leave a better country for all.
Achieving this vision is a tall order. Our country needs a bold agenda to address the great challenges of our time. We are a nation of dreamers, so together with others in Congress, I am dreaming big for a better America. Success means a safer, more prosperous, more confident America.
America is at its best when its people are free to cultivate their talents and the resources of their country to better themselves and each other. I am optimistic we can achieve these dreams and fulfill this quest for a great America with more jobs because America has done it before.
Much has been made of recent protests, but few of the great tasks we have undertaken as a nation have been universally popular. Patrick Henry’s proclamation at the Second Virginia Convention, “Give me liberty or give me death!” was thought to be “infamously insolent” by some of his fellow delegates. In fact, John Adams estimated only one-third of the colonial population supported American independence during the Revolutionary War, even though independence was right for the thirteen colonies that would form these United States. I believe it is so with the vision I have just described.
The agenda before this Congress is based on the values that first made our country great. If we look to those values now and act boldly upon them, we will move forward as a nation. We will be an America where all can enjoy liberty, prosperity, and greatness.
I agree with President Reagan when he said in his first inaugural address, “It is time for us to realize that we’re too great a nation to limit ourselves to small dreams.”
If you have questions, concerns, or comments, feel free to contact my office. You can call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671. To reach my office via email, please visit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov.
