Center for Individual Freedom / By Ashton Ellis

When President Barack Obama said it’s time to “eat our peas” as a nation and swallow a toxic mixture of spending cuts and tax increases, he forgot to mention another gag-inducing thought: His liberal friends running the United States Senate refuse to vote on a smorgasbord of economy-boosting bills already passed by the House of Representatives. 

Here’s a non-exhaustive sample: 

Repealing ObamaCare:  Way back on January 19, the newly sworn-in House Republican majority voted unanimously to repeal the misleadingly named Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as ObamaCare.  The repeal bill has languished ever since in the Senate, never receiving a vote because liberal Senators are too afraid of angering the majority of Americans who want the law scrapped.  So they dither, and for good reason.  A July 11 Rasmussen Reports poll found 53% of Americans want ObamaCare repealed immediately.   

Passing Paul Ryan’s Path to Prosperity Budget Resolution:  For those looking for a substantive plan that promises long-term fiscal stability for the nation, the budget resolution crafted by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) is it.  Ryan’s “Path to Prosperity” saves Medicare and Medicaid from inevitable bankruptcy by creating a competitive marketplace that empowers individuals and states to make their own health care decisions appropriate to their needs.  Furthermore, it slashes federal spending to below 20 percent of GDP (under Obama, spending is 24 percent of GDP and rising) and pays down the national debt over time, while cutting taxes for individuals and job creators.    

Ryan’s budget passed the House on April 15.  Now, two years past the Senate’s Constitutional obligation to pass a budget, and with unsustainable federal spending continuing to spiral out of control, Ryan’s plan died without even a hint of substantive consideration in the upper chamber.

Repealing Net Neutrality Rules:  CFIF has been a leader in demanding that the federal government stay away from dictating how an internet service provider (ISP) directs traffic over its lines.  Broadband services are a huge investment for the companies that operate them, and the last thing we need is an unelected board like the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) nationalizing the information superhighway through onerous regulations.  Both Senate Democrats and the Obama White House oppose the House bill to reverse the FCC’s unprecedented decision telling ISPs how to manage their networks.  Without further action, the FCC’s net neutrality rules will go into effect by the end of the year. 

Blocking EPA Regulations of Greenhouse Gas Emissions:  Much like the FCC, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under President Obama is trying to step outside its statutory authority to regulate where Congress will not.  For EPA, the issue is regulating greenhouse gas emissions.  The method is a reversal of policy that now claims greenhouse gases are pollutants, thus falling under EPA’s purview.  If successful, EPA’s power-grab will allow the agency to regulate any activity allegedly connected to greenhouse gas emissions, from operating electric appliances to cars.  As of April 7, sixty-four senators are on record to limit EPA’s ability to unilaterally increase its regulatory powers.  Unlike the House, however, the Senate has not passed a bill that unites all those votes. 

Increasing Offshore Oil Leases and Drilling:  With America’s foreign oil supply in constant doubt thanks to Middle East unrest and hostile oil producers like Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, House Republicans passed two bills this spring to beef-up domestic sources.  One puts a legislative deadline behind President Obama’s unfulfilled promise to reopen oil lease bidding for offshore drilling near Virginia and the Gulf of Mexico.  The other opens up drilling opportunities along the coasts of Alaska and Southern California.  Using the BP oil spill as a diversion, Senate Democrats and the Obama White House refuse to address the supply-and-demand imbalance before conducting costly and time-consuming environmental impact statements.  Meanwhile, American motorists pay more at the pump each month while domestic energy goes untapped.    

These are just some of the bills that would dramatically improve America’s economic situation, but for a liberal obstructionist Senate and White House.  As the debt limit debate goes down to the wire, remember that there are plenty of healthful ways to change our nation’s spending and regulatory habits without raising taxes.  The only reason Americans would need to “eat our peas” is that liberals in the White House and Senate insist on pigging out rather than learning to control their appetite.