Everywhere I go in Eastern Washington, I hear the same concerns: you’re frustrated. You’re frustrated with Washington, D.C. and with the government. You’re frustrated with all the rules and regulations imposed on you and your businesses. You’re frustrated with the direction our country is heading. But most of all, you’re frustrated that your voice isn’t being heard.

I’m frustrated, too.

In recent years, it feels that Washington, D.C.has become even more disconnected from the American people. Federal agencies are writing rules and regulations and the President is signing executive orders with the impact of law that affect people all across the country. Judges are legislating from the bench. It all means one thing — that fewer and fewer decisions are being made by you and the branch of government that’s most accountable to you.

I am proud to lead the effort in the House to restore the proper balance of powers and role of government, and to do everything I can to make sure your voice is being heard.

This summer, we released a plan to restore your voice in representative government. It’s called A Better Way to Do the People’s Business, and it consists of four main pillars:

1. Putting a stop to executive overreach
2. Reining in the regulators
3. Imposing new limits on spending,
4. Increasing transparency so you know what’s happening in government.

It isn’t just a plan on paper; we’ve already started implementing these ideas through legislation like the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2016, which we passed in September. This bill will end the practice of the federal government using settlements to funnel money to special interest groups and would require the Department of Justice to send settlement money directly to the victims or to the treasury for your elected representatives to decide how it’s spent.

To rein in excessive and costly government regulation, the House also passed the REVIEW Act of 2016, which will help rein in any regulation that costs our economy more than $1 billion dollars.

To add transparency to the regulatory process, the House passed the Regulatory Integrity Act of 2016, which requires all rules and regulations to be posted on Regulations.gov for all to see before they are voted on. You should have the right to see these regulations the federal government wants to impose on you before they’re implemented so you can have a say in the matter. That’s what this bill does.

We aren’t stopping there, though.  The American people are rightly frustrated by a government that thinks it knows best. These frustrations are a symptom of the People losing our power to ensure every penny of taxpayer money and every decision by federal agencies are subject to citizens’ scrutiny. That’s why I have introduced the USA Act, legislation to restore the “power of the purse” to the American people. The USA Act eliminates unauthorized spending — any spending on government programs that hasn’t been reauthorized by the people’s representatives.

My bill will make sure we’re properly reviewing, rethinking, and possibly eliminating programs on a regular basis, so you can know where every penny of your hard-earned tax dollars is going. You can find out more information about the USA Act by visiting my website here.

At the end of the day, I believe we must go back to the basics and reconnect with what I call the “promise of America.”  It’s a promise that no matter who you are, you should be in the driver’s seat of your version of the American Dream — not the government. Until we restore the voice of “We, the people,” we won’t be able to rebuild our military, rollback the red tape, or help our most vulnerable. By doing this, we can make sure the promise of America is never broken.

I encourage you to follow along with what I’m working on for the people of Eastern Washington on Facebook and Twitter, and don’t hesitate to reach out to any of my offices if you have questions or need assistance with a federal agency. As always, it’s an honor to represent you and all in Eastern Washington.

Warmly,

Cathy