Nunes office seeking interns

Spring and summer internships are available in my Washington, D.C. and Visalia offices. If you know someone who is interested in politics and public affairs, wants to gain professional experience, and can excel in a fast-paced environment, please pass along this message.

Interns provide critical staff support and are often called on to work at public events, conduct research, and help with special projects. The application process is now open. For spring internships, candidates must submit their applications immediately; for summer internships, applications must be submitted by April 1, 2016. I accept both part-time and full-time applicants.  

All interns must be high school graduates who are enrolled in or have recently graduated from an accredited college or university. Applications can be downloaded from my website here. 

For answers to questions about my intern program, please call (559) 733-3861 or (202) 225-2523.

Obama's preposterous budget buster

This week President Obama unveiled a $4.1 trillion budget proposal for fiscal 2017 that takes everything into account except economic reality.

If you value a balanced budget then you won't be impressed with this plan, which racks up $9.8 trillion in deficits over the next ten years. The lavish spending programs include the usual slew of Obama's global-warming schemes, including a $32 billion green-transportation program. Think of it as a nationwide extension of California's green energy plan - since that has worked out so well for us. The President's transport program will be funded with an oil tax of $10 per barrel, which will raise the price of gasoline by about 24 cents per gallon. That measure is among nearly $3 trillion in tax hikes proposed in the budget. 
                                               
So if you want to pay higher taxes, pay more for gasoline, and you don't think our $19 trillion national debt is enough, then this is a good budget for you. As for me, I'll be opposing it.

Separately, two months after killing the final opportunity for Congress to pass a compromise California water bill that would have allowed us to capture more water from the current El Niño rains, Senator Diane Feinstein recently introduced a new water bill in the Senate. Although the bill would not deliver much water to the Central Valley, it could pave the way for a new compromise bill. It must first pass the Senate, however, where water bills typically go to die. But if the Senator succeeds in passing the bill, she will have partners in the House of Representatives ready and willing to act - again. 

Statement on implementation of the Iran nuclear agreement

Today I issued the following statement on the implementation of the Iran nuclear agreement:

“Today, Iran--the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism--will receive sanctions relief from the U.S. and the international community for allegedly taking steps to scale down its nuclear program. It is almost impossible to verify these actions, and we remain highly skeptical that the regime will follow through on any agreement. In the past month, Tehran has repeatedly violated international law, including testing ballistic missiles, seizing U.S. personnel, and firing rockets near U.S. ships. It is clear that the nuclear agreement has emboldened the regime, a foreseeable outcome that drove Congress to oppose the nuclear deal in the first place. As Iranian hardliners, including the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, reap the financial windfall of this agreement and use it to meddle in places throughout the world, the United States must be prepared to confront further Iranian aggression.”

Overhauling taxes and State of the Union response

This week I introduced in the House of Representatives a bill—the American Business Competitiveness Act (ABC Act)—that will reform the business tax code. Actually, my bill doesn't reform the code as much as it totally abolishes it and replaces it with some clear, simple rules that everyday, small-business owners can actually understand without help from accountants and lawyers.

A key feature of the bill is that it eliminates all the loopholes and special deals that riddle the business tax code. It treats all businesses equally, no matter their size or how they're organized, so that startups and small businesses can compete with bigger businesses on a level playing field. It would also boost economic growth by an estimated 7.3 percent and create more than a million jobs. You can read my article on the bill here and get more details about it here.

Separately, I watched President Obama's State of the Union speech this week in disbelief as he tried once again to put a smiley face on our deteriorating national security situation. Personally, I don't believe his plan to take in thousands of refugees from ISIS-infested Syria is in our national interest, and I don't think Iran's recent seizure of American sailors was a U.S. diplomatic victory that warranted top U.S. officials thanking Iran for its supposed cooperation. You can read my statement on the State of the Union here. 

Scrapping the business tax code

Today I introduced a bill to overhaul the way businesses are taxed. It would drastically simplify taxes, encourage startups, and create a level playing field for small businesses to compete with bigger firms. The Wall Street Journal covered it here.

When will Obama say the San Bernardino attackers were terrorists?

I issued a statement today commending the FBI for investigating the San Bernardino massacre as an act of terrorism, and calling on President Obama to acknowledge that the shooting was a terrorist attack. You can read the statement here.