Van Orden and GOP Get The Boat Stuck On First Day Of Congress

January 3, 2025

MADISON, WI - Despite Derrick Van Orden’s desperate plea for his fellow Republicans to get on the boat and start rowing”, Van Orden and the House GOP started the day by getting the boat stuck up a creek without a paddle. Only after holding the vote open for nearly an hour was Van Orden’s chaos caucus able to reelect Mike Johnson as Speaker.

“Derrick Van Orden and his fellow Republicans managed to haul Mike Johnson over the line in embarrassing fashion, and can now turn their full focus to rubber-stamping Donald Trump’s $4 trillion sweetheart tax cut for the rich,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Communications Director Joe Oslund. “By voting to reelect Mike Johnson as Speaker, Derrick Van Orden showed once again that he isn’t in DC to serve anyone back home in Wisconsin.”

By voting for Johnson for Speaker, Derrick Van Orden is endorsing the GOP agenda of tax cuts for the rich

Associated Press: Renewing $4 Trillion Trump Tax Cuts “Atop The List” For Trump And GOP Congress. “Having won the election and sweeping to power, Republicans are planning an ambitious 100-day agenda with President-elect Donald Trump in the White House and GOP lawmakers in a congressional majority to accomplish their policy goals. Atop the list is the plan to renew some $4 trillion in expiring GOP tax cuts, a signature domestic achievement of Trump’s first term and an issue that may define his return to the White House.”

Committee For A Responsible Federal Budget: Extension GOP Tax Cuts Would Cost $4 Trillion Through 2034. “Extending certain parts of the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (TCJA) would reduce revenue by $4 trillion through 2034, according to new estimates from the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) published by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). These revenue loss estimates have increased dramatically compared to prior estimates.”

CNN: Under Extended Trump Tax Cuts, Top 5 Percent Of Taxpayers Would Get Nearly Half The Benefit. The highest-income households would receive more than 45% of the benefits if the expiring provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are extended, according to an analysis released Monday by the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.

Derrick Van Orden has already voted suspend the debt ceiling while making devastating cuts to critical programs like Medicare and Social Security

Derrick Van Orden: Congress Must Raise Debt Ceiling So Trump Has “Freedom To Manuever…”

POLITICO: House Republicans Floated Debt Ceiling Deal That Would Include $2.5 Trillion Cut To Mandatory Spending Programs Such As Medicaid And Social Security. “During a closed-door conference meeting Friday afternoon, House Republican leaders proposed a commitment to raising the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion early in 2025. GOP leaders would pair that with a $2.5 trillion cut in “mandatory” spending, the category of government funding that largely runs on autopilot and bankrolls benefits programs like Medicaid, Social Security, SNAP nutrition assistance, Medicare and welfare payments to the poorest Americans.”

Derrick Van Orden has no plan to deliver the long-delayed Farm Bill, which has been stuck in Congress thanks to cuts in food aid that Van Orden supported despite promises not to

Cap Times: Van Orden Claimed He Was “Against Cutting SNAP Benefits” But Voted For Farm Bill That Cut The Program. “The House agriculture committee’s proposal would freeze the Thrifty Food calculation to account for inflation only. Van Orden’s office said the congressman is ‘against cutting SNAP benefits,’ but in May he voted in favor of the committee’s proposed cut to the program.”

Center For Budget And Policy Priorities: “Every SNAP Participant Would Receive Less To Buy Groceries In Future Years Under This Proposal, CBO Projects, Putting A Healthy Diet Out Of Reach For Millions Of Individuals And Families With Low Incomes.” “That change would take away approximately $30 billion in food assistance from households receiving SNAP over the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates. If enacted, the bill would make the largest cuts to SNAP benefits since those in the 1996 welfare law almost 30 years ago. And the cuts from this change would grow deeper, and SNAP benefits more inadequate, over time. Every SNAP participant would receive less to buy groceries in future years under this proposal, CBO projects, putting a healthy diet out of reach for millions of individuals and families with low incomes.”

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