The Republican Recap: Week of September 23, 2024
Ensuring Accountability for the Disastrous Afghanistan Withdrawal ✅
In 2020, President Trump negotiated a plan for a peaceful and strategic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan that would not put our servicemembers at risk called “The Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan”, or the Doha Agreement. This plan was conditional, with the requirements that the Taliban cease its terrorist activities, renounce associations with al Qaeda, minimize violence, establish a ceasefire, and engage in negotiations with Afghanistan’s government.
When the Biden-Harris Administration took office, however, they decided to disregard the Doha Agreement, ignore obvious risks and security concerns, and hastily withdraw U.S. forces without an adequate plan – putting their power and popularity over the lives of our men and women in service and our partners in the region. Because of this reckless decision making, we tragically lost 13 U.S. servicemembers and another 45 servicemembers were injured in the Abbey Gate terrorist attacks on August 26, 2021. Additionally, billions of dollars of America’s most technologically advanced military weapons were left behind for the Taliban to collect as they took back control of Afghanistan.
Despite this tragic loss of life, the Gold Star families of the fallen service members and the American people have yet to see one senior official lose their job or be held responsible for their part in one of the most catastrophic failures in American foreign policy history. House Republicans passed legislation to hold the Biden-Harris Administration accountable for their catastrophic failures throughout the Afghanistan withdrawal.
H. Res. 1469, introduced by Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, ensures the parties responsible for decision making and execution failures in the disastrous Biden-Harris Afghanistan withdrawal are held accountable, and condemns key figures and officials in the Biden-Harris Administration, including President Biden, Vice President Harris, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby, State Department Secretary Antony Blinken, and others.
“Three years after the deadly and chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden-Harris administration has yet to hold anyone accountable for one of the most devastating foreign policy blunders in American history. My investigation revealed this administration consistently prioritized optics over security — which resulted in the preventable death of 13 U.S. servicemembers, emboldened our adversaries, and once again made Afghanistan a safe haven for terrorism. These are not just mistakes; they are failures of the highest order. It is Congress’ Article 1 obligation to conduct oversight of the executive branch, and this resolution is the first step in getting the accountability the American people, Gold Star families, and veterans deserve,” said Chairman Michael McCaul.
What Members Said:
Confronting Chinese Aggression and Human Rights Abuses Through Sanctions ✅
Day after day, China continues to grow more aggressive in their intimidation tactics and their abuses of fundamental human rights. However, despite China's continuing human rights abuses, political oppression, and aggression towards Taiwan, the Biden-Harris Administration has failed to implement meaningful deterrence, such as sanctions, for those who create and impose those policies.
House Republicans passed legislation to sanction members of the CCP responsible for violations of Hong Kong’s autonomy, increased aggression against the Taiwanese people, serious human rights violations against the people of Hong Kong and Taiwan, and horrific acts of repression and genocide against Uyghur Muslims and ethnic minorities.
These sanctions, including visa and financial sanctions, may be waived by the President only when the CCP has ceased its aggressive behavior towards Taiwan, political oppression of Hong Kong, genocide of ethnic minority groups, and attempts to steal U.S. intellectual property, or if the sanctioned person renounces their membership in the CCP and takes steps to condemn or repair the CCP’s oppressive policies.
Rep. Lisa McClain’s legislation, H.R. 3334, the Sanctioning Tyrannical and Oppressive People within the Chinese Communist Party Act, imposes sanctions on members of the Chinese Communist Party who take part in implementing policies that intend to infringe on Hong Kong’s autonomy, intimidate Taiwan, violate human rights, or promote political oppression within the People’s Republic of China.
“The Chinese Communist Party is our greatest geopolitical threat and a direct danger to our democratic way of life,” said Rep. Lisa McClain. “Leveling sanctions against Xi Jinping and the CCP leadership not only addresses their heinous acts, but also targets the actual individuals who are giving the orders. While the Biden-Harris administration stands idly by, it’s time we draw a line in the sand and say, enough is enough.”
What Members Said:
Preventing Violent Offenders from Being Released by Bail Charities ✅
Charitable bail funds use money from donations to post bail for defendants. Many times, however, the defendant released may have been arrested on violent charges, or have previous convictions for violent offenses: a CNN investigation found between 2019 and 2021, 24 percent of defendants whose bail was posted by The Bail Project had been charged for a violent crime, and 35 percent were looking at felony charges and had at least one past charge for a violent crime. Additionally, the investigation found that at least nine people released by a charitable bail fund were later arrested for murder.
Another major problem with charitable bail funds is that they reduce incentive for a defendant to appear after being released for their court date, because it’s not their money on the line if they don’t show. According to CNN, 42 percent of the 500 defendants bailed out by the MFF in 2021 and 2022 failed to appear in court. Meanwhile, during the same period, only about 22 percent of the 16,000 defendants assisted by commercial bail companies failed to appear for court.
Despite the dangers that recklessly releasing defendants who are facing violent or felony charges poses to our communities, charitable bail funds often don’t care what charges the person whose bail they are paying is facing. It is vital that we increase oversight and accountability for charitable bail funds to ensure individuals accused of violent crimes like murder, domestic violence, or sex offenses are not released back onto our streets to commit more crimes.
H.R. 8205, the Keeping Violent Offenders Off Our Streets Act, introduced by Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, amends the federal criminal statute dealing with insurance-related crimes to include corporate, for-profit, and non-profit entities that post bail for defendants, subjecting charitable bail funds to federal insurance fraud laws and state licensing requirements, and requiring their employees to pass criminal background checks.
“The radical left-wing approach to prosecution and bail have had deadly consequences throughout our country—including in my district, where a violent criminal released on low bail killed 6 beloved community members,” said Rep. Scott Fitzgerald. “That’s why I introduced the Keeping Violent Offenders Off Our Streets Act, which will protect our communities by defining bail bonds as insurance products, making entities that post bail liable under federal insurance fraud laws. The bill will also bring charitable bail funds under state insurance regulation. I was grateful to see my bill pass this week—these changes will introduce a much-needed layer of transparency and accountability.”
What Members Said:
Improving Forest Management and Restoring American Forest Health ✅
Thanks to regulatory burdens that hinder the ability to responsibly manage federal lands, over 117 million acres of our nation’s forests are currently overgrown, fire-prone, unhealthy, and in need of active management, contributing to the growing threat of wildfires. Forest fires are becoming more devastating and frequent, burning more than twice as much tree cover today as they did 20 years ago. These dangerous fires not only threaten our forests and environment, but the lives and communities of Americans, whether from the flames or the smoke pollution.
House Republicans passed legislation to reduce regulatory burdens that hinder active forest management, improving the health and resiliency of our forests, ensuring forests continue to supply clean drinking water and wood products, protecting wildlife habitats, making sure Americans can enjoy our forests through outdoor recreation, and keeping our communities safe.
Additionally, this commonsense bill works to prevent destructive wildfires and improve response by offering new tools and advancing technologies, cutting burdensome regulations, enhancing transparency around wildfire mitigation investments, and ensuring communities are equipped to recover after a wildfire.
Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman’s legislation, H.R. 8790, the Fix Our Forests Act, expedites and improves forest management activities on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) public lands, tribal lands, and National Forest System lands, deters frivolous litigation that delays important projects, promotes collaboration across jurisdictions, prioritizes treatments in the forests with highest risk of wildfire, and encourages active forest management.
“America’s forests are on life support after decades of mismanagement. The clock on these ticking time bombs is down to the final few seconds, and Congress must move swiftly to save our forests from imminent destruction. This week, the House took decisive action on the bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act, which will empower local land managers and agencies with tools to enact the most vital forest management projects. The time to fix our forests is now,” said Chairman Bruce Westerman.
What Members Said:
“As someone who farms on the edge of the forest in California, I can tell you, bad policies coming out of Washington and Sacramento, exacerbated by frivolous litigation, have led to failed outcomes in federal forest management. There is no doubt about it: this is abandonment of one of our natural resources,” said Rep. John Duarte. “As we see with government imposed droughts in California, laws and regulations are being twisted to block forest management and timber harvesting in our international forest, which peaked in the 1980s, but steadily declined and have not recovered. This has been exacerbated by the designation of over 111 million acres of preservation wilderness areas that severely limit access, ban timber harvest, and make even firefighting difficult in our forests.”
Averting a Government Shutdown and Protecting Presidential Candidates ✅
Since assuming the majority, House Republicans have been fighting to rein in out-of-control Washington spending and responsibly fund the federal government. House Republicans passed funding bills to address our open border, combat the Biden-Harris energy crisis, strengthen our national security, protect Americans’ rights, and more, while blocking unnecessary radical liberal agenda items from the paycheck. Meanwhile, the Democrat-led Senate has refused to take any action to ensure the government stays open and working for the people, having yet to pass even a single FY25 appropriations bill.
In order to keep the government open and accessible to Americans while we fight to save our economy from more reckless spending, House Republicans brought a resolution to extend government funding at the FY24 level and make sure necessary programs like those for our veterans, healthcare, and natural disasters are taken care of, without bloated Democrat spending.
Additionally, our legislation includes $231 million for the U.S. Secret Service to ensure our presidential candidates are kept safe from harm, along with measures enhancing oversight of the agency. The legislation requires the Secret Service Director to submit expenditure plans to Congress and respond to congressional inquiries, such as those from the Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump, in a timely fashion.
H.R. 9747, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, introduced by Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, extends government funding through December 20, 2024, at current levels, keeping the government open for the American people, and providing for the enhanced security of our presidential candidates.
“Although governing by continuing resolution is not ideal, it is far better than the alternative. A full government shutdown would cause undue, harmful disruptions to our national security and vital programs that our constituents rely on. On top of that, a shutdown would cost the American taxpayers billions due to back-paid furloughed workers, increased costs from delayed starts, and constrained economic growth,” said Chairman Tom Cole. “All of this makes it clear – a government shutdown is not the answer. On the contrary, this continuing resolution is a win for Republicans, as it ensures the government will continue to serve the American people and, better yet, it ensures the American people – and more importantly the next president – have a say in the appropriations process.”
What Members Said:
