The House returns to Washington this week to begin the second session of the 117th Congress. Last year was a jam-packed legislative year as the Democratic majority rammed through quite a bit of terrible legislation in the House. Thankfully, the Senate blocked or slowed down the majority of the junk passed by the House. A great example of this is Build Back Better, which is President Biden’s signature piece of legislation, narrowly passed the House, but continues to have an unknown future in the Senate.
While the future of BBB remains unclear, Congress has some big issues to deal with this month as another government funding deadline is in the near future. At the end of last year, a budget deal was passed to continue funding the government at last year’s levels, but a legitimate budget deal was not reached. Although a government shutdown was avoided, this is not a good long-term solution. This temporary funding, which is called a continuing resolution, is not responsible governance and is also dangerous for the defense needs of our nation (not to mention, it is harmful to folks like Austal USA in our district).
It’s unclear what exactly is on Nancy Pelosi’s legislative agenda this year, but I don’t expect any of it to be good for America or good for south Alabama. I’m optimistic, though, with elections coming up, many of my colleagues across the aisle might switch gears and start actually working on things that matter to the American people. We’ve got some serious issues in this country – things like the crisis at our southern border, an economy struggling to bounce back from the pandemic, constantly changing guidance from the CDC regarding COVID issues, major supply chain issues, a constant battle with President Biden over his unconstitutional vaccine mandates, and a steadily-worsening inflation crisis.
These are the issues I hear about most from my constituents and folks all across this country, and it’s way past time for Congress to make meaningful movements to address these problems affecting so many people. Regardless of what Nancy Pelosi and her colleagues decide to do this year, Republicans are fired up and ready to take back the House in 2022. We have already been working hard on plans to address all of these crises once we take back the House, and we are encouraging our Democrat colleagues to prepare to work with us so we can come together as Americans and get our country back on track.
Rest assured, I will continue fighting for our district, and I will do all I can to push back on President Biden and Nancy Pelosi’s reckless agenda. Stay tuned as we are sure to have another busy year in Congress in 2022.
Jerry Carl represents Alabama’s First Congressional District. He lives in Mobile with his wife Tina.
