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Bi-partisan legislation is the best hope for 2008

A surge of bi-partisan work at the close of 2007 is a recipe for success

By Congresswoman Virginia Foxx

As 2007 came to a close, Congress pushed through a massive backlog of legislation that had accumulated over the course of the legislative year. In the waning hours before Congress adjourned for Christmas, legislation ranging from a tax relief package to a government funding bill to an extension of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) made its way to the president’s desk.

There were signs of hope for 2008 amidst the flurry of activity. In many instances, important legislation passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. It is this spirit of bipartisanship that holds the promise of continued progress in 2008.

Perhaps most notably, Congress voted almost unanimously in favor of the SCHIP Extension Act, 411-3. Previous to this vote the debate over the funding and expansion of the SCHIP program had ground to a halt. But this bill was a compromise that keeps the program in operation.

By reaching a bipartisan compromise, we now have the time needed to work together on a sensible compromise, hear from both sides of the aisle and focus on helping to insure America's poor children. When it came up for a vote, I voted in favor of the compromise.

In the closing days of 2007 Congress also unanimously passed my resolution on the importance of the Christmas tree industry to the U.S. economy. This very bipartisan measure highlights the billion dollar industry’s place in our cultural and economic life.

On the tax and spending front, Congress passed a tax relief package that temporarily halts the plague of the alternative minimum tax (AMT). The AMT originally was aimed at only 150 wealthy people, but today affects middle income Americans. It is a complicated mess that last year threatened to hit more than 20 million Americans with an average tax hike of $2000. Congress acted in the final hour and overwhelmingly passed the Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007 by a vote of 352-64, with my support.

Ideally, Congress would completely do away with the AMT without creating new taxes or raising existing ones. A temporary one year patch only encourages the fundamentally flawed AMT to stick around. Nevertheless, the Temporary Tax Relief Act fixed the program before millions of Americans got slammed with a higher tax bill. Its bipartisan passage is one more hopeful sign that Congress can work across the aisle and get things done.

As we prepare to start the 2008 legislative session, I hope that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle can learn from the legislation that passed in the final days of 2007. Bipartisan agreements can be reached—even on potentially contentious issues like tax policy or SCHIP. The key is to not create false deadlines or shut one side or the other out of the debate and legislative process.

America needs more successes like the AMT patch and the SCHIP extension. Our borders still need securing and our immigration system is broken. Americans want permanent tax relief and you deserve full openness in how the federal government spends your tax dollars. These are major priorities that Congress should address as 2008 unfolds.

Along these lines I am a supporter of the SAVE Act, a bill that secures our borders and reforms our immigration system. Turning to tax reform, I am cosponsoring the Taxpayer Choice Act, which repeals the AMT and simplifies our tax system. These are straightforward priorities that most Americans can get behind.

While there were nearly 1200 votes in 2007, very little was accomplished and what was accomplished came in the flurry of activity at the end of the session. Political posturing sucked the oxygen out of the legislative air and plenty of good compromise legislation languished in 2007. I am returning to the 2008 session with much hope that this year we can focus on the needs of the people of the 5th District and America and work in a bi-partisan fashion.

Editor’s Note: Virginia Foxx is a United States Representative from North Carolina’s Fifth Congressional District. You may contact her office toll free at 1-866-677-8968 or e-mail her from her website, www.foxx.house.gov.