Iowa Republican Congressman Tom Latham will be back in Washington, D.C next week when the 112th Congress reconvenes.

Rep. Tom Latham (R) - IA

Latham told KJAN News Thursday, that after spending most of last year gathering input from Iowans and what’s important to them, he’ll present some key initiatives designed to bring “common sense” back to the nation’s capital. The number one issue he plans to address is the regulatory burdens coming out of Washington, or what he calls a “wet blanket” that smothers the creation of jobs and getting the economy moving.

Latham says he has legislation in-place that will review existing regulations, to determine which ones are working and those which provide a cost benefit to society, and get rid of the ones that don’t. Latham says he wants the private sector to have time to evaluate the rules that are created by agencies within the government before the rules go into effect. He says also, when it becomes apparent a regulation will cost the economy over $100-million, Congress itself should vote on it, and if approved, the measure should be signed by the president. Another initiative he plans to introduce next week, will say to Congress, that if they do not pass a budget, that they won’t get paid.

He says it’s been three-years since the Senate has done any basic work on the budget, and we’re spending $3.8-trillion annually, with no budget. He calls that “outrageous,” and the reason the government is $15-trillion in debt, is because there is “No framework for a budget, no way to cut spending,” and there are no constraints on spending without a budget. He says his proposal will make Congress more accountable to the people.

Latham, who grew up on his family’s farm, said he’s frustrated by the Labor Department’s attempts at writing regulation that prohibits kids from working on family farms jointly owned by their parents or other family members. He says he’s introduced a bi-partisan resolution of disapproval asking the Dept. of Labor not to move forward with the regulation, because it goes against all traditions in agriculture.

Rep. Leonard Boswell (D) - IA

Latham announced last April that he will run in this November’s election for Iowa’s new 3rd district, against incumbent Democratic Representative Leonard Boswell. Latham moved from the 4th District into the 3rd District after the 2010 census numbers resulted in the elimination of the 5th Congressional District in Iowa. The move spared him from facing Representative Steve King, in a GOP primary.

New Congressional Districts beginning 2013