Rokita Report - Education, Budget, & More

Statement

Dear Friend,

Thank you for the opportunity to update you on the work of the 114th Congress. I trust this finds you and your family well, as we work together to bring Hoosier common sense to Washington.

Rokita Reading

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

As I continue to hear the President and his liberal allies discuss the need to address income inequality, I am reminded of a great article I read last year titled "Inequality Myths" by Michael Tanner. Published in the National Review, Tanner's article addressed the bad facts on this issue that are often used to promote bad policy.

Tanner starts by demonstrating that income inequality is not a growing problem. In fact, the spending power of the highest and lowest quarter of Americans over the last few decades has remained steady. Richer Americans are not suddenly able to buy more than they used to, and those with less means are not seeing their purchasing power diminish.

Furthermore, he cites studies that demonstrate wealth is overwhelmingly earned and not inherited. Eighty percent of American millionaires are the first generation in their family to earn that status. This reflects on the opportunities that we have available in our country.

Tanner concludes that the outlook for our future is what we make of it. Approximately half of those in the bottom quarter of income will work their way up within a decade. Instead of government hand-outs and wealth redistribution, we should ensure real opportunities exist for people to build better lives for themselves and their families.

A person without a high school degree is approximately three and a half times more likely to live below the poverty line than a person with a high school degree. Children growing up in a single-parent family are almost five times as likely to be poor as those growing up in a married-couple family. Less than three percent of full-time workers are living in poverty. Education, stronger families, and employment opportunities lift families out of poverty and help them stay out.

Budget Conference Committee Begins

For the first time in ten years, a joint Senate-House Budget Conference Committee has been appointed to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate's 2016 budget resolutions. The last time a conference committee met and drafted a budget was in 2005, the year before Harry Reid and Senate Democrats took control of the Senate.

As Vice Chair of the House Budget Committee, and as a conferee to the Conference Committee, my priority is to create a balanced budget that gives individuals, families, and job creators greater certainty for the future. Rather than endless debt, it is my goal that the Conference Committee creates an accountable, positive, pro-growth, and unified budget. The American people are looking for leadership, and now is our chance to demonstrate it.

Ending our reckless deficit is a moral responsibility. Our national debt is now $18 trillion and a burden that we cannot pass on to the children of tomorrow. As policymakers, we must do the responsible thing and tackle the deficit at the source. More than two-thirds of our spending goes to entitlement programs in need of reform and to the interest on our debt. We must reform Social Security and Medicare in a responsible way, while providing certainty to future generations. As it stands, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the Social Security Trust Fund will be exhausted by 2033. The latest report from the Medicare Trustees also expects Medicare to become insolvent by 2030. A budget that truly balances must address this autopilot spending.

Addressing the Education Writers Association Seminar

As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, I addressed the Education Writers Association's (EWA) 68th National Seminar. The EWA is a national professional organization of more than 3,000 members of the media who cover education. I spoke on a panel of education experts exploring the prospects for a new elementary and secondary education law, and the replacement of No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

I let the panel and attendees know that as I have met with parents, teachers, school administrators, and state officials, it has become increasingly clear that Congress needs to gut most of No Child Left Behind. This outdated law has led to a patchwork of education policies determined by the U.S. Department of Education, turning them into a de facto National School Board.

I am committed to the task of passing legislation that includes positive reforms that empower state and local leaders, limit the federal footprint in the classroom, and trust students, parents, and teachers to make education decisions that are best for them.

I specifically discussed the importance of passing H.R. 5, the Student Success Act, which does just that. In February, I introduced that bill with Chairman John Kline. The legislation passed the House Education and the Workforce Committee and is now awaiting a vote before the full House of Representatives.

Samara House - Indiana's Newest National Historic Landmark

Frank Lloyd Wright was an acclaimed American architect whose buildings include offices, churches, museums, hotels and more. One of his designs is SAMARA: Winged Seeds of Indiana, a private home in West Lafayette. The SAMARA House was completed in 1956 for John and Kay Christian. To this day, John still lives in the House and opens it up for tours between April and November.

I recently heard that John, now 97, was hoping for the SAMARA House to be named a National Historic Landmark. The application was almost done, but it needed the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell. To push this process along, I sent a letter to Secretary Jewell stating that "designating this exquisite example of Mr. Wright's work a National Historic Landmark would ensure that this historical place is preserved for the benefit of all citizens." Earlier this month, Secretary Jewell announced that Samara was designated a National Historic Landmark, one of only 40 such places in Indiana.

Thank you for your continued interest in Congress and for supporting my efforts to bring Hoosier common sense to Washington. Take care.

Sincerely,

Todd Rokita

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