{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://rokita.house.gov/press-release/rokita-votes-solve-issues-brought-him-hoosiers-and-restrain-federal-spending", "ROKITA VOTES TO SOLVE ISSUES BROUGHT TO HIM BY HOOSIERS AND RESTRAIN FEDERAL SPENDING", "2014-12-12", "2014", "2014-12", "Republican", "House", "IN", "Todd Rokita", "R000592", "rokita.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  \n\tCONTACT: 202-225-5037  \n\tDECEMBER 11, 2014\n\u00a0\n ROKITA VOTES TO SOLVE ISSUES BROUGHTTO HIM BY HOOSIERS AND RESTRAIN FEDERAL SPENDING \n\u00a0\nCongressman Rokita: \u201cHoosiers around Indiana and District 4 spoke, and I listened. Everywhere I\u2019ve gone I\u2019ve heard about a radical EPA and corrupt IRS.\u00a0 This bill cuts those agencies dramatically.\u00a0 I heard about the proposed Waters of the U.S. regulation that would hurt Hoosier farmers and by extension \u2013 all of us.\u00a0 This bill blocks that regulation.\u00a0 I\u2019ve heard to keep the fight up against ObamaCare.\u00a0 This bill prevents any new money from funding the law, and actually cuts portions of the law like the Independent Payment Advisory Board.\u00a0 This is a good bill with dozens of gains to be locked in. Not only does this bill take us back to Bush-era discretionary spending levels, it also reduces our deficit by nearly $1 trillion from six years ago.\u00a0 While not perfect, this is a step forward.\u201d\nWashington, D.C.\u00a0\u2013 Representative Todd Rokita (IN-4) voted for an omnibus spending bill today that locks in major policy wins for Hoosiers and avoids a government shutdown.\u00a0\nSpecifically, Rokita highlighted the changes in store for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) under the bill.\u00a0 The EPA would be cut by $60 million \u2013 the fifth consecutive year for agency cuts, and a 21 percent reduction since 2010.\u00a0 Staffing levels would be taken back to before the rise of the internet \u2013 1989 to be exact.\u00a0 The IRS would see cuts nearing $350 million, taking that agency back to 2008 levels, and prohibiting them from targeting organizations based on their political beliefs or exercising their First Amendment rights.\u00a0\nIn addition to spending cuts, this bill prohibits the EPA\u2019s regulation of farm ponds and irrigation ditches \u2013 a concern Rep. Rokita has heard from farmers and property owners in recent months.\u00a0 It provides school districts flexibility from onerous lunch regulations and necessary relief from ill-conceived rules imposed by the federal government on Hoosier truck drivers.\nRokita also understands many Hoosiers want to stop President Obama\u2019s executive amnesty.\u00a0 \u201cI believe the President has brazenly ignored the Constitution and the will of the American people, which is why I voted on legislation last week to block the President\u2019s action.\u201d Instead of welcoming an outright veto or shutting down the government weeks before Christmas, Rokita believes the best course of action is to challenge the executive authority with legislation that can actually get to the President\u2019s desk, given an incoming Republican-led Senate next year.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\nThe omnibus spending bill passed the House with a vote of 219-206. The bill adheres to the terms of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, which reduces discretionary spending by $165 billion since 2010, saving taxpayers $2.13 trillion over the next ten years.\u00a0 In an effort to protect the retirement of nearly one million Americans with savings in multi-employer pension plans, including at least 2,200 Hoosiers, this bill also empowers unions to make the tough choices necessary to maintain plan solvency.\n###", 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/press-release/rokita-votes-solve-issues-brought-him-hoosiers-and-restrain-federal-spending"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8409179281443357, "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"}