Opinion Pieces

In life, the sooner you get about fixing a problem, the easier it is to solve. The longer you put it off, the more dramatic and drastic measures you have to take.

The same holds true for problems facing the country. That's why a number of us conservatives in Congress oppose the current budget plan being proposed in the House of Representatives.

Intellectual property rights are fundamental to the type of economic growth, competition and innovation that our economy requires to thrive and to increase the standard of living for all. Strong IP rights — and patents in particular — are critical to the success of ideas and products.

As a former athlete at the University of Wisconsin, I know the positive impact sports can have on a young person's development. During my high school wrestling years at Graham Local Schools in St. Paris, Ohio, my coach Ron McCunn taught his athletes many important lessons. Most important was his emphasis on discipline.

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen needs to go.

"I'm not a Democrat who believes that we can or should defend every government program, just because it's there. Like the Export-Import Bank that's become little more than a fund for corporate welfare." These are the words of Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign.

During the debate on the Affordable Care Act, the Obama administration made a series of statements that had a tremendous influence on the outcome of the legislation. President Obama told Americans that if they liked their healthcare plans, they could keep them. He said that if Americans liked their doctors, they could keep them. Americans were told that the Obamacare website would work.

American families are fed up with Washington. And they have every right to be. They see their tax dollars being given to able-bodied people who can work but won't. They see their hard-earned money being handed out to connected and powerful corporate interests. And they see a Congress that's not willing to fight for them.