Congressman Tom Price (R-GA), who represents the “happiest district in the nation” according to a recent study, expressed his regrets that his district “is not happy about what’s going on here in Washington right now.” Congressman Price serves as the Chairman of the Republican Study Committee, and was a strong opponent of the omnibus bill which Congress has now passed and sent to President Obama for his signature.
The Congressman, who addressed an audience at the Heritage Foundation on March 10th, took the opportunity to describe the mood of policymakers and constituents in relation to the omnibus appropriations bill. “Right beneath the surface of the American electorate is an anger that is just waiting to be tapped, and an action that is just waiting to be tapped,” he said. This feeling expresses a sentiment that says, “No, time-out, this isn’t the direction, this isn’t the change that we desire.”
The problem is not just with the individual members of Congress, Price emphasized, but with the very system that Congress uses to produce legislation. This system is vulnerable to abuse, and allows Congressmen to push their pet projects and earmarks at inappropriate times.
“The process we have right now is corrupt…and it is corrupting,” he said. “It’s not that some people can’t spend money wisely, it’s that the system and the process that we have right now are so flawed that I believe we have to stop the process, reform the process, and then move forward in a way that the American people can agree with.”
Among Congressman Price’s specific complaints about the handling of Congress’s economic recovery attempts is the haste with which the laws are being pieced together and signed. “The other side is over-reaching as far as they can, learning from the Clinton administration that the more rapidly they move, the more difficult it is to wage the political battle against them.”
Congressman Price recently wrote an open letter to Conservatives, “From the Desk of an Eternal Optimist.” In the letter he outlined what he feels is the best method toward helping the Republican Party reconnect with the conservative movement. One of the keys is to better hold Democrats responsible. He writes, “This begins with a proactive and coordinated strategy between elective conservative leaders and outside allies. Americans need to be reminded on a daily basis that Democrats want to play politics and centralize power, raise taxes, cut defense spending, and undermine traditional values.”
Taking this call to action seriously, Congressman Price has made notable efforts to inform Americans about pressing issues. A YouTube video posted by the Congressman on March 6th already has over 8,000 views. In the short video, Congressman Price shows the massive stack of papers that make up the omnibus bill, and then reveals the equally large stack that details the 9,000 earmarks that the bill is reported to contain.
Congressman Price also received attention for a short video he made standing in front of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s closed office door, as Democrats met privately to discuss their plans for the stimulus bill in February. “There are more shady deals going on behind closed doors,” Price said, and then encouraged viewers to visit the Republican Study Committee’s website for more information.
To close his address at the Heritage Foundation, Price encouraged citizens and policymakers alike to join with him by insisting, “I do know the way to turn around the market. It’s to allow individuals to keep more of their hard-earned money; to take the shackles off of small business, the job creator in this nation and to allow them to create jobs; to put a finite timeline on spending at the federal level so that folks know that all that wonderful capital that is out there can get back into the game.”
Daniel Allen is an intern at the American Journalism Center, a training program run by Accuracy in Media and Accuracy in Academia.
