Post a Comment On: Bakersfield Observed

House Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy gives us his weekly view from Capitol Hill. In his words:

"Restoring government competency

[Image]  "President Ronald Reagan once said that the nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.' If you have opened a paper lately, been to an online news site, or tuned into the evening news, it is likely you have seen how true these words are today. The American people are now second-guessing whether a growing and unaccountable government has the ability to perform its most basic functions.

 "This growing distrust didn’t happen all at once, and it’s more than just bad headlines. Government incompetency is actually hurting individuals across the nation, and threatening our safety too. The Veterans Administration for years did not treat patients in a timely manner and covered up the backlogs; the IRS did not adequately preserve basic records; the Administration spent more than $2.1 billion on a broken and unsecure website to facilitate a law that Americans don't like; the Secret Service failed to protect the White House; and on foreign policy, nobody thinks America is safer or stronger than we were six years ago. The list goes on and on.

 "The recent blunders and scandals are not just the product of failed policy, but represent serious management failures by the President and his Administration. Restoring competency in government requires both shrinking government to its appropriate scope and mission and reforming how government operates in its core sphere. We must work to end this cycle of failings and make government functional again.

 "Under my leadership the House of Representatives will continue to focus on reforming and streamlining federal agencies so government works as it should. We have already made progress to this end by passing legislation that streamlines the permitting process for mining and energy development, and have begun looking at reforms to the agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration.

"Performing these functions are important for our community as we continue to work towards treatments and vaccines for Valley Fever and create certainty that will allow our energy producers and farmers to continue to produce the fuel and food that powers our nation.

 "In our daily lives we experience efficiency in the way we bank, shop, and pay our bills. Why should we hold government to a lower standard? Government must be smaller, more effective, and more efficient. That is what we expect and what we demand. That means we must ensure that our goals are feasible, that government changes with the changing times, and we never accept problems, inefficiency, and incompetency just because it’s government. Real, modernizing reform is possible and the House of Representatives is committed to achieving it.