There are few markets that have changed more in the last 30 years than video distribution. When Congress passed the Satellite Home Viewer Act in 1988, it intended to favor the fledging home satellite industry so it could grow to compete with cable. Today, the satellite industry is a multibillion-dollar industry that has close to a 30 percent share of the paid television market and, in addition to cable providers, there is a robust and flourishing over-the-top marketplace. Yet vestiges of this legislation – it’s most recent iteration is known as STELAR – persist to favor the home satellite industry at least until it is scheduled to sunset this year on December 31.

The House and Senate are in session this week.

The House and Senate are in session this week.

On Monday, FreedomWorks sent a coalition letter to Senate Majority Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) urging them not to agree to deal that would bust the discretionary spending caps. Signers to the letter include Adam Brandon of FreedomWorks, Jonathan Bydlak of the Coalition to Reduce Spending, Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform, Pete Sepp of the National Taxpayers Union, and David McIntosh of the Club for Growth. The text of the letter is below and a PDF of the letter and the signers can be found here.

The House and Senate are in session this week.

On Tuesday, House Democrats pulled the Bankrupting the People Act, H.R. 2021, from consideration on the floor because of divisions within the caucus. This bill, as written, would bust the discretionary spending caps by $360.8 billion over the next two fiscal years and mark the fifth time Congress has busted the spending caps since 2013. FreedomWorks had issued a key vote against H.R. 2021.

The House and Senate are in session this week.

In December, Judge Reed O’Connor released an opinion in Texas v. United States that struck down the Affordable Care Act (ACA), more commonly known as “ObamaCare,” because the individual mandate had been gutted by Congress in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The rest of the law, he wrote, is “inseverable and therefore invalid.” The opinion represents the biggest legal threat to ObamaCare in nearly seven years.

On Wednesday, FreedomWorks sent a coalition letter to members of Congress signed by representatives from 17 organizations against government rate-setting in healthcare. Government rate-setting in healthcare will only lead to premium increases, higher out-of-pocket costs, and decreased consumer choice. Signers to the letter include Adam Brandon of FreedomWorks, Tom Schatz of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, David Williams of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, and Jeff Mazzella of the Center for Individual Freedom. The text of the letter is below and a PDF of the letter and the signers can be found here.

The House and Senate are in session this week.