{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://newhouse.house.gov/media-center/weekly-columns-and-op-eds/column-change-coming-washington", "COLUMN: Change Coming to Washington", "2016-12-16", "2016", "2016-12", "Republican", "House", "WA", "Dan Newhouse", "N000189", "newhouse.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "As the 114th Congress comes to an end, it is worth looking back on my first term in Congress and highlight the important accomplishments and the change that Americans should expect before the 115th Congress convenes next year.\nWhile there has been much disagreement between Republicans and Democrats in the nation\u2019s capital, progress on issues that earned bipartisan support should not be overlooked. During the 114th Congress, Medicare was put on stronger footing by the \u201cDoc Fix.\u201d This improvement was signed into law to permanently repeal the practice of allowing automatic cuts to doctors\u2019 payments under Medicare, which threatened seniors\u2019 access to their doctors. For many years, Congress would temporarily delay these cuts on an annual basis, and now there is a long-term bipartisan agreement.\nCongress just recently passed the 21st Century Cures Act, which was signed into law by President Obama. Not only did the legislation streamline development and federal approval of life-saving drugs, but it included improvements for our nation\u2019s mental health care system. The bill also included state grants to fight the opioid epidemic that is sweeping the nation, including communities in Central Washington.\nFor Washingtonians in particular, one important accomplishment of the 114th Congress was to make the federal tax deduction for state and local sales tax permanent. In 2012, Washington families saved $602 from this deduction, and making this provision permanent allows them to plan ahead.\nThese are a few examples of recent accomplishments during a period of divided government. In 2017, unified Republican control of the federal government will result in a dramatic shift from the Obama years.\nOne of the most important changes is a return to the system laid out in Article I of the Constitution. Article I delegates all legislative authority to Congress. During the past two years, hard-fought legislative priorities would be passed by Congress only to be vetoed by President Obama. President Obama\u2019s \u201cpen and phone\u201d strategy\u2014meant to maximize his power through executive actions and federal regulations while bypassing Congress on a host of issues\u2014overstepped the constitutional powers of the presidency. Congress was forced to hold the line on overreaching executive actions and agency regulations, and in many cases the federal courts have found that the administration exceeded its authority.\nFor the health of our republic, the executive branch must stay within its constitutional limits regardless of who occupies the White House. There have been high-profile bipartisan legislative accomplishments in the past two years, but the nation\u2019s government was largely divided between an overreaching executive and a resistant Congress.\nAmericans can expect the legislative branch to reclaim the Constitution\u2019s focus on limited government next year.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://newhouse.house.gov/media-center/weekly-columns-and-op-eds/column-change-coming-washington"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.410952303558588, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}