WASHINGTON — House Republicans have focused their attention on a number of hearings attacking Democrats, President Joe Biden and his government.
The House crafted a committee that they are calling the "weaponization of government," claiming that the government is singling out Republicans unfairly. At the same time, polls show that Americans view the GOP's committees as purely political, and they're not doing enough to investigate actual problems.
During the 2022 election, Republicans spoke a lot about the economy and inflation and that Democrats were not addressing those issues enough. They also complained that crime was a very serious issue and that it was being ignored as well.
Since taking Congress, Republicans haven't addressed either issue.
One thing Republicans did was pass the Reduce Exacerbated Inflation Negatively Impacting the Nation (REIN IN) Inflation Act. Fox News described it falsely saying, "dozens of Dems join GOP to rein in Biden's 'far-left,' inflationary executive orders." In fact, as the GOP's press release explained, the bill does nothing more than ask the "Biden Administration to publish the inflationary impact of executive actions before enacting them."
It doesn't mandate that any spending be "reined in." It just wants reports about it. The bill won't be implemented unless the Senate takes it up and Joe Biden agrees to sign it. It then won't just be something that Biden must adhere to, all Republican presidents in the future would be required to do the same, which is likely why Democrats supported it.
Financial Services Chairman Patrick McHenry complained that Biden's administration claims it is tackling inflation, but claimed that the facts show otherwise. Republicans haven't done anything to tackle inflation other than a complaint about Democrats not doing enough to tackle inflation.
When Raw Story asked Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) when the GOP was going to start focusing on the economy and inflation, he explained he was already hard at work.
"I did yesterday," Wilson said. Raw Story asked if it was on the floor of Congress. "Yeah. Yeah. I pointed out the inflation rate annually."
It was a one-minute speech.
"And so — and so, to me, it's a balance of the economy, but world affairs, obviously with the war and then this significant issues in South Carolina with the spy balloon," he said chuckling. "But obviously it can be a balance. So, that's what I know I've been doing and I know our leader has been doing too."
He acknowledged that they were involved in a lot of oversight-related issues. "But we can walk and chew gum simultaneously," he promised. "And so, there's a balance and I say, ok, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) has been really helpful in getting the information on inflation and jobs.
A look at Johnson's congressional website shows him touting two pieces of legislation he recently introduced. One, he said aimed to "strengthen border security," and the other was "to protect minors and their unborn children." Others touted his involvement in various subcommittees after being assigned at the end of January. While he has a section on his website about "fiscal responsibility," it hasn't been updated since last August.
Wilson agreed that one of the barriers is that sometimes it can be slow to start and that the Senate being Democratic means nothing is likely to be voted on without bipartisan support.
"It's a combination of all of the above, except one thing," Wilson told Raw Story. "We have really good people like Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) who are going to be very proactive. And so, indeed, it is a balance. It's a constant balance. OK? Look at one-minute. I did one minute on Monday in regard to the Helsinki Commission's support of Ukraine and then yesterday I did a one-minute relative to the economy. So, I know my office, and I believe the conference, I'm symbolic of what the conference is doing."
Raw Story asked if it was possible to over-oversight, and Wilson explained that the people have the right to know.
"No, no, no, no, no," he said. "I think the American people need to know on so many different issues. And again, a good example I — a good indication of what I'm doing, I'm looking forward to getting home tonight so that I can go to a major Chamber [of Commerce] event in the western part of the district and the next night I'll be at a major gala in the eastern part of the district. Between I'll be going to ribbon cuttings, OK?"
When asked what he'll tell his district about what Republicans have done about the economy, he said that Joe Biden wants to raise taxes and that he's "been doing it" already, "but now he's acknowledging it. I was just reading. You need to see he has pledged to raise taxes and, uh, to me that destroys jobs."
Republicans have struggled with their jobs message, because Jan. 2023, Biden has mandated 10.7 million jobs since taking office, a total of 1.2 million higher than before the pandemic, FactCheck.org said. The comment Wilson is citing about taxes is from a speech Biden gave on Tuesday in which he said he would raise taxes "on billionaires." He said he would not violate his pledge never to raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000 a year, Reuters reported.
The "major Chamber event" that Wilson referenced appears to be in Florence where business leaders with the Medical Center for the University of South Carolina after-hours gathering. The gala he mentioned could be "The Annual Greater Irmo Chamber Awards Night & Gala will be held on Friday, March 3, 2023." According to the event page, "Hilton will host us at their beautifully appointed facility and it will be a glamorous evening of fun for all including cocktails, dinner, dancing, and casino-style entertainment!"
