Blackburn: This Week in Washington for Jan. 8

The House passed the first broad repeal of Obamacare where the Senate joined us in our effort and it was delivered to the president’s desk. In addition to dismantling Obamacare, the bill included a one year moratorium on federal funds for the country’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood. That money would be rerouted to community health centers to provide health services for women. Though we learned this morning that the President vetoed the bill, we are proud of the work we did to get this bill to his desk. For the first time he was forced to confront the disasters of his healthcare law. His veto only shows he is more concerned with his legacy than with ensuring Americans have access to affordable healthcare. I spoke on the House floor and gave a list of reasons why our fight to dismantle Obamacare and start over with patient-centered reforms must continue regardless of his veto. We are working to see if we can gather enough votes to override the veto.

Like so many of you, I am sick and tired of President Obama acting like he is King. There is no lack of executive overreach by President Obama and that was prominently displayed this week when he issued executive actions to trample on our 2nd Amendment rights. Despite already having his executive amnesty ruled unconstitutional by two courts, this President continues to treat the law as a suggestion. The American people won’t stand for it. In fact, I asked you on Facebook if you agree with the President on restricting gun rights or if you believe these actions should be left to Congress – 88% of you opposed his executive actions on gun control. Congress has previously debated and rejected the left’s gun control agenda. We should immediately move to defund this executive overreach and withhold funds from the Department of Justice until the President removes the order. We all know his executive actions are not the solution to gun violence. In case you missed it, I discussed in detail with CBS News what needs to be done and how we’ll work to defund the President’s plans.

While President Obama was distracting the nation with his executive actions, he approved the transfer of 17 Gitmo detainees that include Al Qaeda followers. Instead of trampling on the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans, President Obama should be focused on coming up with a strategy to deal with the biggest threat facing our nation right now – the terrorist threat posed by radical Islamic extremists. His move to transfer these 17 Gitmo detainees is further proof he’s more focused on his liberal legacy than protecting Americans from terrorists. He is failing on foreign policy and it’s no wonder Americans do not feel safe.

As the President continues with his attempts to assert more government control, Republicans were busy passing laws that will weaken control of the federal government and cut the mess of red tape American small business owners are stuck in. We passed a set of regulatory reform bills that will provide relief for our small business owners from the job-killing regulations being forced on them by Washington bureaucrats. Here is more.

On Tuesday, President Obama will deliver his last State of the Union Address from the U.S. Capitol. While the President will deliver empty promises in his address, Republicans are focused on an agenda that works to restore the safety and prosperity of all Americans. Be sure to check back on my Facebook and Twitter in the days following as I’ll be posting my response.