FreedomWorks is proud to announce that our bill of the month for June 2018 is H.R. 5470, sponsored by Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.). The bill would repeal the Office of Financial Research (OFR), a new independent agency within the Department of the Treasury that was created by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”) to help spot the next financial crisis.

Last week, the FIRST STEP Act, federal prison reform legislation sponsored by Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), sailed through the House by a vote of 360-59. The bill would create a risk and needs assessment in federal prisons to guide the implementation of incentivised recidivism-reduction programming for prisoners. More broadly, the legislation is focused on reducing recidivism by aiding reentry into society in multiple ways and implements other measures that contribute to this goal outside of the new programming provisions.

FreedomWorks recognizes Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.) as member of the month for May 2018. He proudly represents Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, located in the Piedmont region of the state to the west of its capital city of Richmond. Before entering the political sphere, Rep. Brat was a professor of economics for nearly two decades at Randolph-Macon College just outside of the district he now represents.

On Monday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its semiannual report on federal spending. The report, The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2018 to 2028, looks at trends in federal spending, budget deficits, and the share of the national debt held by the public. If one is looking at the report through the lens of fiscal conservatism, the picture is ominous to say the least.

As the mandatory piece of federal expenditures consumes an ever-increasing percentage of the overall federal budget, Medicaid spending continues to rise within this mandatory piece. Many factors have contributed to skyrocketing Medicaid expenditures by the federal government, but much of this has not been to the benefit of those that Medicaid was enacted to help.

Republicans’ consistent platform in elections is an adherence to the Constitution, rule of law, and fiscal responsibility. Two weeks ago, those same Republicans in the Senate allowed both of these to more than fall by the wayside. One might point initially at hearing this to the passage of the omnibus spending bill, which -- make no mistake -- did throw these principles under the bus.