BISHOP: Accountability is coming

Last week in the House of Representatives, the 118th Congress kicked off in earnest. Republicans passed our first bills in the majority in more than four years. Though all of these bills will strengthen our country and economy, they were nearly universally opposed by Democrats.

My top focus in Congress is breaking the Swamp’s status quo to ensure the government works for the people – not the other way around. This is just the beginning of what our Republican Conference will accomplish this Congress.

The first order of business was undoing the Democrats’ $80 billion meant to fund an army of 87,000 IRS agents who will undoubtedly only audit and harass hardworking Americans. Every Democrat voted against this bill despite knowing that the bill will preserve upgrades to customer service and operations, while defunding the new IRS army. The last thing that hardworking Americans need are more meddling and ineffective bureaucrats.

In a huge win for the American people, the House officially established a Select Committee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. This is something I’ve worked diligently on for months, and securing this investigative subcommittee was a crucial aspect of our successful efforts to reform the House and drain the Swamp last week.

I spoke on the House floor in support of forming this investigative subcommittee. Any bureaucrat who violates Americans’ Constitutional rights is on notice – we are coming for you, on behalf of the American people.

On the same day, Republicans and Democrats voted together to form a Select Committee on China. The Chinese Communist Party is a grave threat worthy of increased Congressional attention, and this committee will treat that threat with the seriousness it deserves.

The House also passed legislation to prohibit the Biden Administration from exporting oil in our Strategic Petroleum Reserve to China. When Americans are struggling to afford gas, the last thing our country should be doing is shipping our oil to China.

I proudly cosponsored and voted for my colleague Mike Johnson’s resolution condemning the 78 attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers and 100+ attacks on churches since the Dobbs decision leaked.

We passed this resolution, as well as legislation to protect babies that are born alive during botched abortions. Every Republican voted for this legislation, while nearly every Democrat opposed. These votes show the true divide on the essential question of life that exists between Republicans and Democrats in Washington.

I was proud to support these common sense bills. Our work is just beginning.

By U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop