Congressman Mike Ross, Fourth Congressional District of Arkansas

Volume 5, Issue 41
October 20. 2006
Weekly Newsletter
 
 
 
 
MIKE'S WEEKLY MESSAGE
 
Social Security: A Promise Worth Protecting
   Among the important common sense solutions I came to Washington six years ago to solve was ensuring that our retirees receive the retirement security they are owed and deserve. As baby boomers begin to reach retirement age, America will be faced with an unprecedented number of retirees which will require Congress’s attention so that their benefits are protected.

   Today’s middle-class families are struggling to pay for the high cost of health care, rising college tuition and higher gas prices which can make saving for retirement an even greater challenge. Congress owes those families the promise of their Social Security funds when they reach retirement, yet the current leadership in Congress and this Administration are raiding the Social Security Trust Fund to borrow money that belongs to retirees.

   My first action as a Member of Congress was to tell the politicians in Washington to keep their hands off the Social Security Trust Fund.  I did this by introducing the Social Security and Medicare Off-Budget Lockbox Act of 2001, which prohibited the Social Security and Medicare Trust Fund surpluses from being used in national budget surplus projections.  Some groups in Washington claim the 2006 projected deficit is only $296 billion, but if we protect our retirees and the Social Security surplus, our nation’s debt is truly $473 billion.

   We must demand fiscal accountability from our leadership to guarantee that our seniors and working families receive the benefits they have been promised. As the U.S. Representative of Arkansas’ Fourth Congressional District, I remain committed to providing America’s middle-class families with the tools needed to achieve retirement security and I will continue fighting to strengthen retirement security without adding to the deficit.

 

 

 
 
Ross Tells I-49 Conference:        
Need Has Never Been Greater to Complete Important North-South Corridor

 

   Rogers, Ark. – U.S. Representative Mike Ross (AR-04) Tuesday told business leaders from three states that completing Interstate 49 should be a top priority as it would create tremendous economic opportunities for Arkansas and the entire multi-state region.

   Ross delivered remarks to open up the I-49 International Coalition Conference held this week in Northwest Arkansas. The conference involved international, national and state officials including U.S. Rep. John Boozman (AR-03), Mayor David Wilkinson of Foreman, Mayor Jerry Montgomery of Mena and Mayor Wayne Reed of Ashdown. Also present were the state highway commissions from Arkansas, Louisiana and Missouri.

   Congressman Ross thanked the groups for participating in the conference and praised their commitment to finding innovative approaches like public-private partnerships to complete the construction of I-49.

   “The people I represent have waited for decades for the completion of Interstate 49,” Congressman Ross told the conference. “The importance of this corridor has been recognized for almost a century and the need to complete this project has never been greater. Interstate 49 has such a vital economic importance to our nation and once complete, this interstate will provide $817 million in annual savings to the nation’s economy by reducing travel time, transportation costs and congestion.”

 

   “Amidst all that we are up against in terms of our current fiscal outlook, we have also made great progress on the construction of I-49. Six years ago, it would have been hard to believe that we would have already finished construction on a significant portion between Shreveport and Texarkana and that we’re just forty miles short of the funding needed to connect I-30 with I-20.”

 

   Ross said that at a time when federal spending is not exactly abundant for major road and highway corridors, it is important to make this century-old dream a reality.

 

   “I believe that it is time to invest in America again,” Ross said. “That is why I took an amendment to the House Rules Committee that said instead of passing another tax cut for people who earn $400,000 a year, I proposed investing a billion dollars in infrastructure projects in every congressional district in America. We could have completed I-49 for less money than the tax cut cost, and we could have put 45,000 people to work in every congressional district across America, while meeting our infrastructure needs of today and tomorrow.”

 

   “It is conferences like these that re-emphasize the desire to complete this important project and that spur the necessary ideas and innovation to make goals like completing I-49 a reality.”

 

   Congressman Ross is a member of the bipartisan I-49 Congressional Caucus in Washington which is comprised of 14 Congressmen who are dedicated to working together on these issues in Congress.  Since 2001, Ross has successfully secured millions of dollars in federal funding to complete a significant portion of the construction of this vital North-South interstate corridor.

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Ross Announces Funding For Bulletproof Vests

 

   Washington – U.S. Representative Mike Ross (AR-04) today announced that $25,516 has been secured for Arkansas’s Fourth Congressional District police departments to purchase 108 bulletproof vests. The project’s funding comes from the FY06 Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program.

   The Bulletproof Vest Partnership program is a unique U.S. Department of Justice initiative designed to provide critical resources to state and local law enforcement. The program funds up to 50 percent of the cost of each vest bought or replaced by a city and have helped purchase more than 590,000 vests since 1999.

   "I am proud to announce these grants that will provide critical resources to keep our local law enforcement officers safe," Ross said. “We must continue to do all that we can to ensure the safety of the brave men and women who are the frontline troops for our hometown security.”

   Joining Ross in today’s announcement were U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) along with Rep. Marion Berry (AR-01), Vic Snyder (AR-02) and John Boozman (AR-03).

   List of municipalities in the Arkansas’s Fourth Congressional District receiving funds: Dumas – 14 vests, Lake Village – 2 vests, Malvern – 2 vests, Pine Bluff – 52 vests, Polk County – 2 vests, Redfield – 2 vests, Sheridan – 4 vests, Texarkana – 25 vests, Waldo – 1 vest, Waldron – 4 vests.

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Please Contact Mike at 
1-800-223-2220  
mike.ross@mail.house.gov or
www.house.gov/ross
 

 

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