{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://rokita.house.gov/editorial/rokita-report-happy-thanksgiving-thank-you-tour-more", "Rokita Report - Happy Thanksgiving, Thank You Tour, & More", "2016-11-24", "2016", "2016-11", "Republican", "House", "IN", "Todd Rokita", "R000592", "rokita.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Dear Friend,\nThank you for the opportunity to update you on the work of the 114th Congress.\u00a0 I trust this finds you and your family well, as we work together to bring Hoosier common sense to Washington.\nFor daily updates, please take a moment to \"Like\" my Facebook page by clicking here\u00a0\u00a0or follow me on Twitter if you prefer\u00a0\u00a0@ToddRokita.\n \u00a0 \n   In this week's Rokita Report \n Happy Thanksgiving!\nTouring Indiana's 4th District\nSmall Business Saturday\n  \u00a0 \n  Happy Thanksgiving!\nToday is Thanksgiving. \u00a0This day is a time for us to spend\u00a0with our family and friends to reflect and give thanks for what we have.\nThanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday and traces its origins to our colonial roots.\u00a0 During the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress appointed one or more thanksgiving days each year.\u00a0\u00a0Throughout our nation's history, Presidents and Governors would declare days of Thanksgiving.\u00a0 In the middle of the\u00a0Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln, proclaimed a\u00a0national Thanksgiving Day to be celebrated in November of 1863.\nIn 1941, Congress passed and President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law a bill making Thanksgiving a federal holiday.\nLike always, I am thankful for my family and friends.\u00a0 Kathy and I are thankful for our two boys, Teddy and Ryan.\u00a0 To leave them a stronger Republic is what truly motivates me to serve in Congress.\nI am thankful too for our Constitution.\u00a0 The wisdom of that document has stood the test of time and guides our nation.\u00a0 Nowhere before or since it's creation have the ideas of self-government of the people, for the people, and by the people ever come together as perfectly.\u00a0 It is a blessing to be an American and for this I am truly thankful.\nThis year, I am thankful that we will have strong partners in our efforts to preserve and strengthen our Republic.\u00a0 President-elect Donald Trump has laid out an agenda that will push back against\u00a0onerous federal government overreach and restore the checks and balances of our government.\u00a0 I am thankful for the optimism that Hoosiers have in the next administration.\nI hope you have a happy Thanksgiving, surrounded by family, friends, and loved ones with much to be thankful for.\n  Touring Indiana's 4th District\nOn Monday, I met with Hoosiers on a whirlwind tour of the 4th District.\u00a0 During this tour, I visited eight of the 4th District's counties and met with Hoosiers to talk about the topics that were on everyone's mind and to thank them for the continued honor of serving them in Congress.\nOutside of Allen's Country Kitchen in Crawfordsville with State Senator Phil Boots.\nI witnessed people's excitement about President-elect Donald Trump.\u00a0 I also heard from Hoosiers who are fed up with\u00a0ObamaCare's rising premiums and other failures.\u00a0 I let them know about our \"A Better Way\" policy\u00a0proposal.\u00a0 This proposal is a collaborative effort from House Republican's on a variety of topics, including health care.\u00a0 The health care proposal includes support for Medicaid block grants, an idea that I have promoted through H.R. 4362, the State Health Flexibility Act.\u00a0 Returning Medicaid power to the states through block grants would save $2.25 trillion in the next decade.\u00a0 Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence have both expressed their support for block grant programs.\u00a0 I also let Hoosiers know that as Vice Chairman of the Budget Committee, I have helped coauthor the House Budget and reconciliation legislation.\u00a0 Reconciliation legislation is a\u00a0vehicle that will allow Congress to get\u00a0a bill to the President's desk and skip the Senate's onerous filibuster rules.\nDiscussed ObamaCare, Lakes Freeman and Shafer, and President-elect Donald Trump's agenda with Debbie, Marla, Phil, and Paul at Monticello's USA Restaurant.\nIt was an exciting day and I\u00a0appreciated the chance to hear directly from Hoosiers and get\u00a0marching orders for my work\u00a0in Washington.\u00a0 Through the tour, I visited and met Hoosiers in:\n Flap Jacks in Brownsburg.\nAlmost Home in Greencastle.\nAllen's Country Kitchen in Crawfordsville.\nSacred Grounds in Lafayette.\nUSA Restaurant in Monticello.\nStone House Restaurant in Delphi.\nFlavors Coffee and Deli in Frankfort.\nBekah's Westside Caf\u00e9 in Lebanon.\n \nGreat to see Amelia and Lucas in Bekah's in Lebanon.\u00a0 As Chairman of the Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee, I am committed to ensuring that mothers like Amelia have control over their children's education.\n \u00a0 \n  Small Business Saturday\nAs we embark on a busy holiday shopping season, Hoosiers have a chance to remember our local businesses during Small Business Saturday.\u00a0\u00a0This Saturday is a chance\u00a0for us to remember and visit\u00a0small businesses.\u00a0 The first\u00a0Small Business Saturday was\u00a0held in 2010 to provide a needed reminder between the\u00a0busy shopping of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.\u00a0 In 2012, consumers spent $5.5 billion in small businesses across the country on Small Business Saturday.\u00a0 Last year, that number had tripled to $16.2 billion.\nSmall businesses are the lifeblood of the American economy.\u00a0 There are 28 million small businesses in the United States, that employ nearly half of our total private sector employees, and have accounted for 63% of net new jobs over the last two decades.\u00a0 I hope you will consider visiting and supporting your local businesses on Saturday.\n  Thank you for your continued interest in Congress and for supporting my efforts to bring Hoosier common sense to Washington. Take care.\u00a0\u00a0\n\u00a0\n\t\t\t\t\tSincerely,  \u00a0  \n\t\t\t\t\tTodd Rokita", 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": ["http://rokita.house.gov/editorial/rokita-report-happy-thanksgiving-thank-you-tour-more"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5407013706862926, "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"}