Rep. Peter Roskam believes that a tax code overhaul, despite its prickly political connotations, could actually drive Members of varying ideological perspectives together.
“That sounds counterintuitive,” the Illinois Republican said Thursday, the same day his chamber passed a tax-cut package decried by Democratic leaders and sure to hit a wall in the Senate. “But it’s based on the premise that you want to get a deal done. There’s nobody that can defend the status quo on the tax code. There’s no voice in the public square today that can look at the totality of the tax code and say, ‘It’s terrific. We just love this whole thing.’”
Rep. Peter Roskam’s decision to stay out of the messy Illinois primary that pitted a freshman incumbent against a veteran lawmaker was a prescient strategy for a rising leader, Members and political observers said of the GOP’s Chief Deputy Whip. While some Illinois junkies complain of Roskam’s cautious style when it comes to state politics, others noted that the three-term Republican is wisely picking his spots and building goodwill in a diverse Conference that widely views his future as bright.
By Rep. Peter Roskam
This is the time of year when Americans have calculated to the penny how much of their money must be paid to the government. Not only do the folks at Treasury require families to give them the product of their labor, but the IRS makes them labor for hours to give them your money.
Studies show that Americans spend more than six billion hours a year complying with federal taxes. That means that, on average, each taxpaying household spends the equivalent of a week’s work preparing their taxes. The total compliance cost adds up to about $228 billion a year. As heavy a burden as this may be, many Americans can actually avoid spending their own limited resources on filing taxes.
PBS Newshour
In the third day of the Supreme Court's hearings on the health reform law, justices delved into the constitutionality of Medicaid expansion and whether the law could survive without a so-called individual mandate. Judy Woodruff discusses the eagerly anticipated decision with Reps. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., and Peter Roskam, R-Ill.
When GOP Chief Deputy Whip Peter Roskam, of Wheaton, calls Eric Cantor “leader” at news conferences and delegation meetings, the reverence is clear in his voice.
Widely considered to be next in line for the House's top post, Cantor's success depends largely on his relationship with the 435 members of Congress, 19 of them from Illinois.
During a brief stop in Chicago last week, he sat down with the Daily Herald and talked about how the Illinois delegation — from Roskam to Tea Partyer Joe Walsh — fits into the party's overall picture and agenda.
By Kevin McCarthy & Peter Roskam
“And tonight, I am grateful that this Congress delivered, and pleased to say that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is now law. Over the next two years, this plan will save or create 3.5 million jobs.”
Those were President Obama’s words just one week after signing the “stimulus” into law three years ago today.
The nearly one trillion dollar “stimulus” package was supposed to be Democrats’ government fix for the American economy. Not only did President Obama promise 3.5 million jobs, but the White House’s chief economists insisted that if only we passed the nearly trillion dollars in government spending, national unemployment would never reach as high as 8 percent.
Yet here we are three years later, the American economy is, net, down more than 1.1 million jobs and the national unemployment rate still hasn’t dropped below 8 percent. Our home states of California and Illinois have respective unemployment rates of 11.1 percent and 9.8 percent and nationally, the Congressional Budget Office just reported our nation is in the longest period of high unemployment since the Great Depression.
There is no better example of the fundamental failure of the Obama administration’s approach to economics than the failed stimulus.
With reapportionment having sliced and diced McHenry County, three of the four United States Congressmen who have present or future ties with the area were in Crystal Lake.
Making his first foray into the McHenry County part of his 6th congressional district (Algonquin Township) was Peter Roskam.
Roskam, as Deputy Whip in the House Republican Leadership, is in high demand all over the country.
It’s his job to rev up the Republican base and he did a good job of it at the sell-out crowd of almost 300 people.
President Barack Obama has warned that “election-year politics” might keep Congress from acting on substantive issues this year. But House GOP Chief Deputy Whip Peter Roskam of Wheaton disputes that theory, and points to history to suggest that the time might be ripe for major changes on the horizon, including tax-code reform.
The Wheaton Republican, whose war chest now stands at a hefty $1.9 million in cash on hand, according to Monday’s Federal Election Commission filing, is unopposed in the March 20 primary.
He spent the morning Monday with the Daily Herald outlining his legislative and political priorities for the year ahead. Those priorities include guiding members to consensus inside the lower chamber as well as helping them with their re-election bids.
What do you want to hear from President Obama tonight in his State of the Union address? I gave my thoughts last night on the Kudlow Report. Watch the interview here.
President Obama made a cynical political choice to reject 20,000 new jobs in favor of his environmental base. This morning I joined Fox Chicago to discuss Keystone XL, the need for tax reform and what I expect from tomorrow's State of the Union address. Watch the interview by clicking here.
By saying no to the Keystone Pipeline, President Obama turned his back on an opportunity to foster energy independence and create tens of thousands of new American jobs. I talked with Don & Roma about this issue on WLS.
Listen to the interview by clicking here.
Congressman Peter Roskam joins Don & Roma to discuss to talk about the growing turmoil in Iran. Will the U.S. take the Iranian threat seriously? What went wrong regarding the payroll tax within the GOP? Do you foresee a similar payroll fight in 2 months? Will the President make a speedy decision regarding the Keystone pipeline? How is the relationship between House Speaker Boehner and Minority Leader McConnell?
Congressman Peter Roskam (IL-6) join Bruce & Dan in for Don & Roma. Why have House Republicans rejected a 2-month payroll tax cut? What does Roskam think about Senator Durbin's comment that Republicans want the economy to fail? How does Congress shirk their "Do-Nothing" reputation?
By Kevin McCarthy and Peter Roskam
“Please don’t challenge us with more rules and regulations from Washington.” That was the plea to President Obama from Rock Katschnig, an Atkinson, Ill.-based soybean farmer and small-businessman at an August town-hall meeting.
While Mr. Katschnig was specifically referencing his opposition to the Administration’s imposed Farm Dust rule, a rule that if implemented would affect America’s 1.8 million farmers, his sentiments have become an all too common refrain from American businesses of all sizes across countless sectors.
Appropriate and responsible regulations are important, helping to keep us safe and our environment clean. Yet Washington has become a red-tape factory stunting job creation with a dizzying amount of federally imposed regulations written by unaccountable bureaucrats with little or no regard for the jobs each will cost.
Majority Whip and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (CA-22) and Chief Deputy Majority Whip and Rep. Peter Roskam (IL-6) join Don & Roma.
By Emily Miller
Less than a year ago, Rep. Nancy Pelosi was forced to move across the second floor hall of the Capitol, leaving behind the magnificent speaker’s balcony that overlooks the National Mall. With the possibility of retaking control of the House of Representatives growing more remote by the day, the California Democrat will have to get used to the east-front view of parked cars and the visitors’ center entrance as her Democratic colleagues abandon ship.
The Super Committee appears likely to admit failure later today, unable or unwilling to compromise on a plan to save taxpayers at least $1.2 trillion over the coming decade.
Congressman Peter Roskam joined John and Amy to talk about what’s next in the battle over spending.
By Emily Miller
House Democrats are divided. Their leaders are working hard to stop the Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA), but not all members on the left are falling into line. The chances of this landmark constitutional amendment passing Friday depend on how many are willing to put their country’s interests before that of their party.
Despite continued partisan gridlock on Capitol Hill, GOP Chief Deputy Whip Peter Roskam told a group of suburban seniors Thursday that there is an “internal political will” on both sides of the aisle to protect Medicare, a program he described as “a promise from one generation to another.”
The nation is less than one year from a presidential election. What happens in Congress will shape the debate.
Republican Congressman Peter Roskam joined FOX Chicago Sunday to talk what’s happening on Capitol Hill, and how it will affect the presidential election in 2012.