In the past year and a half, Congress has devoted nearly two trillion dollars on a failed economic stimulus package and bailouts for huge financial firms, along with ownership in two car companies. In addition, the Democratic leadership has further increased spending in all of the annual government funding bills to the tune of 16.8 percent over the past two years. These astronomical spending increases don’t include the proposed $1.2 trillion cost for a government takeover of health care or the $800 billion price tag for a job-killing cap and trade bill.
I have opposed all of this legislation, not because I believe Congress should do nothing, but because I believe the misplaced priorities of Congress have resulted in too much debt, fewer jobs, and bigger government that the public doesn’t want and can’t afford.
And just when you thought the federal government had borrowed and spent its way into more debt than imaginable, yet another “stimulus” package is coming our way, courtesy of Speaker Nancy Pelosi. This legislation pumps billions into the very same programs included in the original stimulus legislation, where in many cases, very little of the money from the first bill has even been spent. The first “stimulus” certainly hasn’t been successful in creating jobs. The President said the first package would keep unemployment below 8 percent, but today we are at 10 percent unemployment.
Furthermore, each dollar spent in this package will have to be borrowed, adding $150 billion in new debt. The Democrat leadership is transferring unspent or returned TARP bailout money to this new stimulus package, but that money is supposed to go toward debt reduction.
Many American families are struggling with paying their bills every day, while the Democrats in Congress continue to spend their tax dollars with reckless abandon. Ultimately, these same families will have to foot the bill for this runaway spending in the form of tax increases or more debt placed on their children and grandchildren. You can wrap it in shiny paper and promises, and even put a bow on top, but underneath this “Son of Stimulus” is still a package that repeats the same failures of the first stimulus and adds billions of dollars in new debt.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Spend, Spend, Spend
Every Member of the House has a voting card that we use to cast our vote on legislation. It is a card that I carry with honor and a great sense of responsibility. However, in the last few years, we have seen Speaker Pelosi and her liberal Congress take that voting card and turn it into a credit card.
The leadership in Congress doesn’t get it. Just this week, at a time when the national debt has increased more than a trillion dollars already this year, they rushed through a package of annual government funding bills that increase spending 12.5 percent more than last year and 24 percent more than what was spent the year before that.
Spending at these rates, using borrowed money, means that Congress has reached the national borrowing limit for the fifth time in the past two years after already increasing the debt limit by nearly $3 trillion in that time period.
Knowing well just how much they have spent and plan to keep on spending, the Democrats in Congress are looking to increase the federal debt limit by up to $1.8 trillion. To reduce accountability for these spending decisions, the leadership plans to attach this debt limit increase to the Department of Defense funding bill that provides the resources our troops depend on daily.
The vote on the debt limit should be a separate vote. It is pure politics to use a must-pass bill for Defense funding as a vehicle for raising the debt limit. Our soldiers are fighting for our inherent freedoms, not our debt. That’s why I introduced H. Res. 949 last week, which changes the rules in the House so we have to take a stand-alone vote on debt limit increases and pass such an increase with a 2/3rds vote.
The American people sent us to Washington to use their money wisely. Yes, both Republicans and Democrats are to blame for not taking a stronger stand on spending. However, now is the time to stop the unsustainable spending and borrowing. Congress must put down the credit card, and pick up responsible spending and deficit reduction.
The leadership in Congress doesn’t get it. Just this week, at a time when the national debt has increased more than a trillion dollars already this year, they rushed through a package of annual government funding bills that increase spending 12.5 percent more than last year and 24 percent more than what was spent the year before that.
Spending at these rates, using borrowed money, means that Congress has reached the national borrowing limit for the fifth time in the past two years after already increasing the debt limit by nearly $3 trillion in that time period.
Knowing well just how much they have spent and plan to keep on spending, the Democrats in Congress are looking to increase the federal debt limit by up to $1.8 trillion. To reduce accountability for these spending decisions, the leadership plans to attach this debt limit increase to the Department of Defense funding bill that provides the resources our troops depend on daily.
The vote on the debt limit should be a separate vote. It is pure politics to use a must-pass bill for Defense funding as a vehicle for raising the debt limit. Our soldiers are fighting for our inherent freedoms, not our debt. That’s why I introduced H. Res. 949 last week, which changes the rules in the House so we have to take a stand-alone vote on debt limit increases and pass such an increase with a 2/3rds vote.
The American people sent us to Washington to use their money wisely. Yes, both Republicans and Democrats are to blame for not taking a stronger stand on spending. However, now is the time to stop the unsustainable spending and borrowing. Congress must put down the credit card, and pick up responsible spending and deficit reduction.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Even breathing has a cost these days
As the deficit continues to grow and jobs are lost every day, the Obama Administration has once again introduced more costly regulations and energy taxes that will kill jobs and drive up energy prices. Yesterday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared the air we breathe as a danger to the public and therefore, it would take steps to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases labeled as pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Apparently, carbon dioxide, the very gas that we exhale when breathing, is a danger to our health. Not only is breathing now an endangerment to other humans, but it will also prove to be expensive. These detrimental claims would implement costly restrictions on vehicle and industry emissions, severely restricting businesses, and promoting bad public policy, like a national energy tax, that will take our economy from bad to worse.
It is no accident that this announcement was made the same day as the climate change summit opened in Copenhagen. President Obama needed something to show the summit, and the EPA delivered. As we witnessed with the administration’s recent EPA decision, liberal Democrats will stop at nothing to overcome the strong objections of the American people to a cap and tax system. The American people deserve to have their voices heard in this important debate, not silenced by bureaucrats at the United Nations.
To stop the EPA from enforcing such misguided regulations, I joined Rep. Marsha Blackburn, in January, as an original cosponsor to H.R. 391 that would legislatively prohibit the EPA from regulating carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act. Adding more costly government mandates and increasing energy costs will result in further limiting economic growth and job creation in our already struggling economy. This is a troubling equation that provides further evidence that the President Obama’s agenda is becoming increasingly driven by Speaker Pelosi and her liberal special interest groups at the expense of families and small businesses.
It is no accident that this announcement was made the same day as the climate change summit opened in Copenhagen. President Obama needed something to show the summit, and the EPA delivered. As we witnessed with the administration’s recent EPA decision, liberal Democrats will stop at nothing to overcome the strong objections of the American people to a cap and tax system. The American people deserve to have their voices heard in this important debate, not silenced by bureaucrats at the United Nations.
To stop the EPA from enforcing such misguided regulations, I joined Rep. Marsha Blackburn, in January, as an original cosponsor to H.R. 391 that would legislatively prohibit the EPA from regulating carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act. Adding more costly government mandates and increasing energy costs will result in further limiting economic growth and job creation in our already struggling economy. This is a troubling equation that provides further evidence that the President Obama’s agenda is becoming increasingly driven by Speaker Pelosi and her liberal special interest groups at the expense of families and small businesses.
Mr. President, you can't keep spending money we don't have
Just because the President and his Administration now expect TARP to be cheaper than they originally thought, that doesn’t mean TARP has no cost. TARP will still cost the taxpayers billions of dollars at the end of the day.
If TARP really will cost less than anticipated, that’s good news, but that doesn’t mean there is surplus money to spend. If the President wants to spend more on another stimulus, that money still has to be borrowed and added to the national debt. This faulty government accounting will catch up with us, and our creditors will begin calling.
It’s an interesting coincidence that the White House has determined TARP will be cheaper just when they are looking for a way to justify more spending. However, the American people know the difference between ending TARP, getting their money back and reducing the debt and spending that money on something else.
NOTE: Yesterday, I sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner urging him to end TARP, as well as ensure all TARP repayments, dividends, and other income go toward debt reduction rather than more spending.
If TARP really will cost less than anticipated, that’s good news, but that doesn’t mean there is surplus money to spend. If the President wants to spend more on another stimulus, that money still has to be borrowed and added to the national debt. This faulty government accounting will catch up with us, and our creditors will begin calling.
It’s an interesting coincidence that the White House has determined TARP will be cheaper just when they are looking for a way to justify more spending. However, the American people know the difference between ending TARP, getting their money back and reducing the debt and spending that money on something else.
NOTE: Yesterday, I sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner urging him to end TARP, as well as ensure all TARP repayments, dividends, and other income go toward debt reduction rather than more spending.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Taxpayers Should Not Be Funding Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Yesterday the Obama Administration announced the first wave of federally funded human embryonic stem cell research. This news is disheartening to me, as well as many others around the nation who strongly believe in the inherent preservation of life from its beginning.
Embryonic stem cell research is disrespectful to the sanctity of life and uses taxpayer dollars to support research whose only proven result at this time is the destruction of human embryos. Moreover, other means of conducting research using adult stem cells and other alternatives to embryonic stem cells offer more promise. For example, a study in 2007, conducted by Brazilian and American scientists, found that adult stem cells could be used to treat those suffering from Type 1 diabetes. Instead of forcing millions of Americans to fund research that they believe crosses ethical boundaries, we should instead focus our resources on these alternative forms of stem cell research.
On Wednesday, National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins was quoted, in favor of this research, as saying, "What we're talking about today is just the beginning." I agree with her, but in a different sense. It is the beginning of destroying innocent human life funded by the American taxpayers. I hope that you won’t stand for this, and as your representative in Congress, neither will I. I remain committed to supporting promising ethical research on adult stem cells and opposing research that does not treat human life with the dignity it deserves.
Embryonic stem cell research is disrespectful to the sanctity of life and uses taxpayer dollars to support research whose only proven result at this time is the destruction of human embryos. Moreover, other means of conducting research using adult stem cells and other alternatives to embryonic stem cells offer more promise. For example, a study in 2007, conducted by Brazilian and American scientists, found that adult stem cells could be used to treat those suffering from Type 1 diabetes. Instead of forcing millions of Americans to fund research that they believe crosses ethical boundaries, we should instead focus our resources on these alternative forms of stem cell research.
On Wednesday, National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins was quoted, in favor of this research, as saying, "What we're talking about today is just the beginning." I agree with her, but in a different sense. It is the beginning of destroying innocent human life funded by the American taxpayers. I hope that you won’t stand for this, and as your representative in Congress, neither will I. I remain committed to supporting promising ethical research on adult stem cells and opposing research that does not treat human life with the dignity it deserves.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Another “stimulus” is not the solution
Nearly 10 months after signing his $787 billion economic stimulus bill into law, President Obama will host a Stimulus II Jobs Summit tomorrow. According to the Chair of his Council of Economic Advisors, the purpose is to “jump-start job creation.”
For months, the White House has been focused on pushing a massive government takeover of our health care system and an expensive cap and tax bill through Congress, both of which would cost us jobs. As unemployment continues to soar, a Jobs Summit would have been timelier before borrowing and spending billions of dollars.
People are tired of Washington running amuck with their hard-earned tax dollars. It’s time for a change in economic policy. With all the uncertainty the government has created about taxes, energy costs, health care mandates and other things that impact job creators, it’s no wonder employers are concerned about hiring.
This afternoon, Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) delivered economic remarks at the Heritage Foundation, during which he detailed a conservative vision to revitalize the economy, create jobs and restrain spending.
As a member of the Economic Recovery Solutions Group for House Republicans, my colleagues and I have been meeting all year on ways to improve the economy. And lately our focus has been on a no-cost jobs plan. As the President kicks off his jobs summit tomorrow, I encourage you to visit http://republicanwhip.house.gov/uploadedfiles/JobsProposals.pdf and learn about the common-sense proposals that Mr. Cantor laid out and which I support.
Instead of mounting unprecedented rates of federal debt, we need a plan that focuses on job creation instead of more spending legislation masked as a jobs creation bill. While President Obama, Speaker Pelosi and the liberal Congress continue to push us deeper into debt, I stand with the American people. We must begin practicing fiscal restraint. While they continue to expand government control, I will continue to promote and support long-term job creating solutions.
For months, the White House has been focused on pushing a massive government takeover of our health care system and an expensive cap and tax bill through Congress, both of which would cost us jobs. As unemployment continues to soar, a Jobs Summit would have been timelier before borrowing and spending billions of dollars.
People are tired of Washington running amuck with their hard-earned tax dollars. It’s time for a change in economic policy. With all the uncertainty the government has created about taxes, energy costs, health care mandates and other things that impact job creators, it’s no wonder employers are concerned about hiring.
This afternoon, Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) delivered economic remarks at the Heritage Foundation, during which he detailed a conservative vision to revitalize the economy, create jobs and restrain spending.
As a member of the Economic Recovery Solutions Group for House Republicans, my colleagues and I have been meeting all year on ways to improve the economy. And lately our focus has been on a no-cost jobs plan. As the President kicks off his jobs summit tomorrow, I encourage you to visit http://republicanwhip.house.gov/uploadedfiles/JobsProposals.pdf and learn about the common-sense proposals that Mr. Cantor laid out and which I support.
Instead of mounting unprecedented rates of federal debt, we need a plan that focuses on job creation instead of more spending legislation masked as a jobs creation bill. While President Obama, Speaker Pelosi and the liberal Congress continue to push us deeper into debt, I stand with the American people. We must begin practicing fiscal restraint. While they continue to expand government control, I will continue to promote and support long-term job creating solutions.
A New Way Forward in Afghanistan
Last night, as a nation, we heard the President’s new Afghanistan strategy. After months of deliberation the President appears to be taking decisive action. I am glad to see that. The longer we wait to take action, the stronger a foothold al-Qaeda and the Taliban threaten to gain in Afghanistan and Pakistan. National security is one of the most critical issues facing our nation, and the War on Terror is not yet over. This long overdue speech culminates a decision-making course that began in March with the announcement that the United States would pursue a broad counterinsurgency strategy to defeat the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
Although I support the President’s decision to provide sufficient U.S. forces in order to achieve success in Afghanistan, I continue to have questions as to whether this plan will fully accomplish our mission in the region. I am also deeply concerned about announcing an “exit strategy” before we’ve provided more troops and resources to help achieve success, and whether this signals to the Taliban and al-Qaeda that they can run out the “Washington clock.”
The mission of rooting out al-Qaeda and preventing a Taliban takeover is achievable, but only if we provide our commanders and troops the resources they need to clear, hold and bring stability and security to Afghanistan. We must reaffirm our commitment to Afghanistan. Success will be defined as a stable country that denies the Taliban and al-Qaeda a safe haven to launch attacks against the Afghan people, Afghanistan’s neighbors, or the United States and its allies.
In the coming days and weeks, I look forward to Congress hearing directly from General McChrystal on whether this force will provide the resources he needs to hold and bring stability and security to Afghanistan. Additionally, the upcoming testimony by Secretary of Defense Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mullen, and Secretary Clinton will provide additional insights on the President’s plan for the way forward.
Although I support the President’s decision to provide sufficient U.S. forces in order to achieve success in Afghanistan, I continue to have questions as to whether this plan will fully accomplish our mission in the region. I am also deeply concerned about announcing an “exit strategy” before we’ve provided more troops and resources to help achieve success, and whether this signals to the Taliban and al-Qaeda that they can run out the “Washington clock.”
The mission of rooting out al-Qaeda and preventing a Taliban takeover is achievable, but only if we provide our commanders and troops the resources they need to clear, hold and bring stability and security to Afghanistan. We must reaffirm our commitment to Afghanistan. Success will be defined as a stable country that denies the Taliban and al-Qaeda a safe haven to launch attacks against the Afghan people, Afghanistan’s neighbors, or the United States and its allies.
In the coming days and weeks, I look forward to Congress hearing directly from General McChrystal on whether this force will provide the resources he needs to hold and bring stability and security to Afghanistan. Additionally, the upcoming testimony by Secretary of Defense Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mullen, and Secretary Clinton will provide additional insights on the President’s plan for the way forward.
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