releases: http://renacci.house.gov/index.cfm/weekly-column?ContentRecord_id=BCCE1023-2BA9-440C-AF38-8409F963A921
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| http://renacci.house.gov/index.cfm/weekly-column?ContentRecord_id=BCCE1023-2BA9-440C-AF38-8409F963A921 | A few of the 2015 legislative priorities for the 16th district of Ohio and the American people | 2015-12-15 | 2015 | 2015-12 | Republican | House | OH | Jim Renacci | R000586 | renacci.house.gov | legacy | As 2015 comes to an end, I want to share with you a few of this years legislative priorities for the 16th District of Ohio and the American people. Despite a divided government and a broken partisan culture, Congress came together on several key issues ranging from healthcare and education to national security. As someone with years of experience in the healthcare industry, a significant healthcare issue the House addressed this year concerns Medicares physician reimbursement. The 1997 Balanced Budget Act included a provision linking Medicare physicians reimbursement increases to a Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR), which used overall economic growth to determine Medicares budget. When healthcare inflation began exceeding overall inflation, physicians were underpaid for services rendered, posing a significant risk that they would turn away Medicare patients. Previous Congresses habitually passed short-term legislation to prevent cuts to physician compensation and to encourage them to accept Medicare patients. This Congress did away with the SGR under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, and added provisions to improve the efficiency of healthcare provided to Medicare patients, which would also decrease costs. In addition to addressing healthcare issues, this Congress has also made significant reforms to education policy. The federal government passed, and signed into law, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESEA). ESEA is an improvement to the No Child Left Behind Law, eliminating its federal overreach with a common sense reform that returns education policy back to state and local jurisdiction. Students are our first priority in reforming our education system and this law places our students first. We also need to continue to ensure our service men and women have the support they deserve. I was pleased to support the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which the House passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and was signed into law by the President. This bill fully funds the resources needed for our troops, but also cuts some unnecessary spending. We cannot afford to not fund our military. Finally, this Congress responded to the tragedies in Paris, France and San Bernardino, California by improving safety for the American people. One step towards doing this is closing potentially dangerous loopholes within the Visa Waiver Program. This program allows nationals of 38 countries to enter the United States visa-free, and the same courtesy is granted to our citizens traveling to these nations. With 20 million people utilizing this program annually, it must be ensured that those who wish to harm us cannot exploit these provisions. Therefore, the Visa Waiver Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 closes these loopholes, by requiring participants to obtain a visa for travel to the United States if they have visited Syria, Iraq, Iran, or Sudan during the past five years. This common sense approach would also require participating countries to share information about suspected terrorists. This is only one step to advance our safety; I will continue to place the safety of the American people as my first priority. While we have accomplished much this year, we have to do more to reduce the Governments burden on the American people. I am under no illusions that our work is done. Next year will bring new challenges which demand our attention. I will continue to work tirelessly to represent the people of the 16th district in Congress. If you need any additional information, please visit my website atrenacci.house.govor call my Washington office: (202) 225-3876, Wadsworth office:(330) 334-0040, or Parma office:(440) 882-6779. I also encourage you to subscribe to myFacebook,Twitter,Instagram, andYouTubepages to get updates on my work in Washington and the 16th District. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |