Our Congressmen Respond

The New Republican Majority in the House of Representatives was elected to change the way Washington does business. However, the Republicans only control one-half or one-third of the Federal Government. While the Budget Control Act is not what Republicans would have written if they controlled the United States Senate and White House, it’s a step in the right direction.

While I, and my Freshman colleagues, wanted to come to Washington and make immediate changes, the intransient US Senate and President Barack Obama are making us make incremental changes – but make no mistake, they are happening. We moved the discussion from a clean debt ceiling increase which the President wanted – to an acceptance, with his signature, that we are moving to cut spending – $917 billion in immediate spending cuts.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board calls it “a victory for the cause of smaller government, arguably the biggest since welfare reform in 1996.” If we had done nothing, the Treasury Department would have been forced to use incoming tax revenues (approximately $200 billion per month) to pay obligations as they came due.

With approximately $300 billion in expenses each month, there was no way to ensure that the Obama Administration would appropriately prioritize payment of the federal government’s bills. America has always paid its debt, and I would not be part of a default by the United States Government. The President’s irresponsible lack of a Plan B, and a willingness to lead by intimidation, meant he was willing to have seniors miss a Social Security check or soldiers in the field not paid on time in the name of politics.

Regardless of how President Obama would prioritize spending, the fact of the matter is that there would come to a point when the Federal Government could not meet some of its obligations. I believe that I have a Constitutional obligation to not allow that to happen. This bill ensures that the Federal Government will meet all of its commitments in the immediate term while we make substantial cuts in the coming years and put the Federal Government on a path to finally live within its means.

Only then can the President request another increase in the debt ceiling in an amount that will take him past the date on the calendar that he is focused on – Election Day. In the event that this Joint Committee does not achieve its deficit reduction target, then across-the-board spending cuts, subject to certain exemptions, would occur. This amount would equal the amount of the increase of the debt ceiling.

In the Budget Control Act defense funding would be a range of plus-or-minus two percent from last year’s level. During negotiations, Democrats tried to insist on locking in defense cuts, but Republicans strongly opposed this. Instead the legislation creates a “firewall” that separates all security spending (including Defense, Homeland Security, and foreign aid) from non-security spending. This structure allows House Republican committee leaders to work with both parties to protect defense funding and ensure our troops get the resources they need, while cutting spending elsewhere.

• H.R. 1246 – reduces the printing and reproduction budget by 10%. It would generate $35.7 million in savings in Fiscal Year 2012, reaching nearly $180 million in savings through Fiscal Year 2016. This resolution passed the House of Representatives on April 4, 2011 by a bipartisan vote of 393-0.

• H.R. 1247 – reduces funding for Defense studies, analysis and evaluations by 10%. Would generate a savings of $24 million in Fiscal Year 2012, returning up to $120 million to the treasury through Fiscal Year 2016.

• H.R. 1248 – restricts payout of annual nationwide adjustment and locality pay for below satisfactory workers. Would generate approximately $21 million in savings while increasing productivity in the workforce. As employees become more satisfactory in future years, the savings would be approximately $80 million through Fiscal Year 2016.

All three of these bills were accepted as amendments to the Defense Authorization Act of 2012, which passed the House of Representatives on May 26, 2011. In total, my three bills cut wasteful defense spending by over $80 million in Fiscal Year 2012 alone, with $380 million in savings through Fiscal Year 2016.

So to answer this question, there are plenty of wasteful programs at the Department of Defense that can be cut without cutting funding to programs necessary for both the war fighter, as well as our national security as a whole.

While President Obama used the provision on the War Powers Act to give notification to Congress that he was going to take military action on Libya, after the 90 days had passed the President claimed that our Armed Forces are not in ‘harm’s way,’ and thus the conflict in Libya does not require the approval of the United States Congress because there is ‘little risk’ to our Armed Forces.

As a 22 year US Army combat veteran, I know that every time our American men and women are committed to military action, they are in harm’s way. As the Commander in Chief, the President should realize that as well. It is an affront to the family members of the pilots flying in this conflict and supporting this mission to say that they have not been placed in harm’s way.

Since the opening hours of military action on March 19, 2011, President Barack Obama has had no clear direction in Libya. The President has not defined the mission nor the end state of this conflict. Further, the President has not identified who the so-called rebels are that continue to receive millions of dollars of American support in terms of weapons, ammunition, and resources.

President Barack Obama is in violation of the law – plain and simple – and he must be held accountable. We do not need to give the President any more time. Many Americans, myself included, still do not understand how America is benefitting from having forces in Libya in the first place. The very foundation of our Republic lies on the system of checks and balances, and as a Member of the United States Congress, I have a Constitutional obligation to ensure this system is upheld.

It is my opinion that the United States Congress should hold hearings on the President’s violation of the War Powers Act. The Leadership should also move forward to eliminate funding for these military operations. Finally, the Leadership must hold the President accountable to the law in order to ensure the checks and balances that have been in place since the enactment of the War Powers Resolution are upheld.

Further, the legislation created a panel of 15 unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats – the Independent Payment Advisory Board – who will be involved in patient medical decisions to enforce price controls and reduce the volume of care which could lead to rationing and seniors being denied certain treatments. The Board, instead of your doctor, will constitute what is “necessary care” and will move to create a “one size fits all” solution when it comes to medical care. The Board recommendations must be adopted and Congress is denied the power to overrule its decisions with the first report scheduled for release in July 2014.

You are also aware, that reduced reimbursement even today means even fewer doctors will accept Medicare and seniors are already facing reduced access. Nearly a third of primary care physicians are already restricting the number of Medicare patients in their medical practices.

The Medicare Trustees have made the situation clear. Medicare’s trust fund will be insolvent in 2024, less than 13 years from today. Medicare’s unfunded liabilities are more than $24 trillion and growing, which means there is a $24 trillion gap between Medicare’s future benefit costs and the future taxes and premiums it already expects to collect.

The Budget Control Act is far from perfect, but the hard reality is that fiscal conservatives control only one half of one third of the Federal Government. Remember, thanks to the support of the Tea Party, we were able to change the entire debate in Washington. With the support of the Tea Party we were able to pass the Cut, Cap and Balance Act – with a bipartisan vote. But before we even voted for it, the Democrat-controlled Senate declared it “dead on arrival,” and the President promised to veto. We are dealing with an ultra Liberal White House and Senate – they refuse to acknowledge reality, and refuse to accept responsibility of the mess they got us in.

The reality is that we will not get what we all know is the right kind of package that will set our economy on the proper course as long as President Obama is in the White House and liberals like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid control the Senate.

Another reality is this – the only way we will be able to bring real reform to all branches of the Federal Government is for conservatives to accept this reality we are in and unite behind a common goal of defeating Liberals in the House, Senate and White House.

On April 15, 2011, the House of Representatives passed a federal budget for Fiscal Year 2012. It has now been more than 825 days and the Democrat-controlled Senate has still not produced a budget.

Since January, the House of Representatives has passed six out of 12 appropriations bills to fund the federal government. The House is presently considering the seventh bill, while the United States Senate has considered and voted on only one.

All 12 appropriations bills are to be considered and sent to the President by September 30th each year. Upon return from the August district work period, only 24 days will be left to finish the budget for Fiscal Year 2012.

Clearly, the Senate is setting up the House to consider an Omnibus Appropriations Bill with the only alternative being to shut down the federal government. Simply put, the Senate is putting Congress on a path toward failure. I have supported each of the appropriations bills the House has considered this year because each of them makes substantial cuts to the Federal Government’s budget – each in line with what Paul Ryan’s budget has allocated for spending.

I will not support any appropriations bill unless it makes substantial cuts to the Federal Government that are in line with the budget allocations of Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget.

I will continue to support legislation that shrinks the Federal Government, with the ultimate goal of getting our fiscal house in order. I remain firmly dedicated to passing a Balanced Budget Amendment through Congress to be sent to the states before the end of the year. A Balanced Budget Amendment represents the best opportunity to ensure fiscal responsibility by the federal government.

Further, please find an open letter to the Constituents of the 22nd Congressional District outlining the issues I believe the Congress needs to address.

Most importantly, I will continue to support legislation that will help spur economic growth by creating jobs. I will continue to push the Small Business Encouragement Act – legislation I introduced that will provide a tax credit to small businesses for hiring unemployed individuals. The only way to get our economy back on track is to get Americans back to work.

The reason the unemployment problem in American has worsened is because the stimulus package, burdensome regulations, and economic policies of the President that have been a failure. The President’s policies have resulted in disaster for our economy. Since Obama took office, unemployment has remained at or near 9 percent for 28 months, America has added $3.4 trillion in debt in 29 months — the equivalent of about $4 billion per day — we have an anemic housing market with record foreclosures, and an average price of nearly $4 for a gallon of gas.

House Republicans passed bipartisan legislation that would solve our nation’s debt problems once and for all, the Cut, Cap and Balance Act. True to form, Majority Leader Reid and his Democrat Senate colleagues killed it in the U.S. Senate.

The President and Liberal Democrats wanted a clean raising of the debt ceiling. Instead, because of voices like yours throughout the country, we were able to set the precedent for any raising of the debt ceiling to be contingent on spending cuts. The Budget Control Act ensures that: 1) we will cut spending more than any increase in the debt ceiling, 2) taxes are not increased on America’s job creators and families during these difficult economic times, and 3) both the House and Senate are required to vote on a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution. The measure also places tough caps on future spending – restraining the growth of government so the economy can get back to creating jobs – while guaranteeing the American people a vote in both houses of Congress this fall on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.