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Week in Review: September 13-17


September 20, 2010

Contact: Jennifer Drogus


Week in Review: September 13-17
 
YouCut Update:
 
On September 16, the House of Representatives held a procedural vote on the Republican Whip’s You Cut program of the week that would make individuals with “seriously delinquent tax debt” ineligible for Federal employment.  The proposal is based on H.R. 4735, sponsored by Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-UT).  While no American should be permitted to skirt this responsibility, it is especially concerning to hear of employees of the Federal government, including those in the legislative branch who assist in writing the tax code, failing to comply with Federal tax laws.  Despite previously garnering bi-partisan support, a vote to adopt this week’s pragmatic You Cut program failed along political lines. 
 
That said, failure to pay taxes is sometimes a consequence of our tax code being too complicated.  There is a simple solution to this dilemma, and that is H.R. 25, the FairTax.  This bill would abolish the Internal Revenue Service and institute a consumption tax, thereby allowing individuals to decide when and how much they pay in taxes and making April 15 just another day. 
 
You can find out more about the House Republican You Cut program here, and you can find out more about the FairTax by clicking here.
FairTax Update:
On September 14, 2010, Representative Virginia Foxx (R-NC) became the latest Member of Congress to co-sponsor H.R. 25, the FairTax.  The addition of Representative Foxx brings the total number of FairTax co-sponsors to 64 in the 111th Congress.  This brings us one step closer to liberating the American people from the oppressive income tax code.  I thank each and every American that has contacted their Representatives in Congress to express their support for the FairTax.  Your supportive actions are making a difference and we will succeed.  I invite you to read a list of all current FairTax co-sponsors by clicking here and typing "H.R. 25" into the search query.
  
Medicare Fraud:
 
This week, I co-sponsored H.R. 6130, a bill aimed at providing the Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG) with increased authority to help curb fraud in Federal health programs.  This bill was drafted and introduced by Representatives Pete Stark (D-CA) and Wally Herger (R-CA) after a June 15th hearing held by the Committee on Ways and Means in which the OIG asked Congress to establish new methods to reduce fraudulent Medicare claims.  This bill gives the OIG broader authority to permanently exclude from participation in the Medicare system any corporate executive who is or has been affiliated with an entity that was formally sanctioned for engaging in Medicare fraud. 
 
Every year we learn that billions of dollars are lost to waste, fraud, and abuse in our Federal health programs.  That is why I support measures like H.R. 6130.  With a skyrocketing budget deficit, Congress must do all it can to reign in waste and return fiscal sensibility back to the Federal government.
 
If you would like to view the text of H.R. 6130, please click here.
 
U.S. Census Bureau’s release of the “Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009” Report:
 
On September 16, 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau released their report “Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009” (Click here to view report).   This report confirmed that the number of Americans living in poverty increased by 3.8 million between 2008 and 2009, a trend that continued in 2010.  This means that 14.3% of American households had an income at or below the poverty level in 2009.  According to the USA Today, government anti-poverty programs have grown so much during the recession that 1 in 6 Americans receive benefits from these programs, and this number is continuing to expand. 
 
While these numbers are alarming, we must be perfectly clear about how the Census Bureau calculates poverty.  The Census Bureau does not count the value of taxpayer-provided Federal government benefits as income when deciding who is living in poverty.  In other words, the government is using our tax dollars to dole-out billions of dollars worth of assistance in the form of food stamps, Medicaid, housing aid, and more; and yet, doesn’t count these programs as having any affect on the poverty rate.  Obviously something is not working.  If these types of anti-poverty programs were really meant to lift people out of poverty, then it is essential that we count them as doing so.  Otherwise, these programs are nothing more than welfare payments meant to perpetuate a cycle of poverty and dependence on the government. 
 
What poor Americans, like all other Americans, need are jobs, not more government benefits.  Yet more government benefits are all this Administration has been able to deliver, while adding literally trillions of dollars to the national debt.  It’s well past time that, instead of providing more government stimulus, we focus on removing impediments to private sector job creation.  That starts with preventing the massive tax hike looming for all Americans.  Promoting private sector job creation is the only long-run solution to today’s unacceptable high level of poverty, which has trapped far too many Americans.
Transportation “Stimulus”:
This week I joined over 90 of my Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives to ask Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to reject President Barack Obama’s call for another $50 billion Stimulus bill that would be spent on transportation projects.  You can read a copy of the letter here.
 
President Obama has spent well over $1 billion on his various Stimulus plans since taking office, including a 37 percent increase in transportations funding, with no measurable improvement in our unemployment rate.  Clearly, spending is not the answer.  It is not providing American businesses the incentive to hire more workers.
 
In addition, I am concerned that the President is too focused on short-term, quick-fix spending programs instead of well-crafted, long-term legislation.  Last year, the White House opposed a full six-year reauthorization of the surface transportation bill, which sets our nation’s transportation infrastructure priorities and provides certainty for our state and local governments to begin investing in transportation improvements.  If the President was serious about upgrading our nation’s transportation systems and bringing about a real economic resurgence, he would stop supporting stop-gap measures like a meaningless $50 billion transportation Stimulus and would get serious about real transportation legislation.
 
Defense and Foreign Affairs News:
 
H. Res. 1251
This week, I was pleased to join my colleagues in support of House passage of H.Res. 1251, of which I am also a co-sponsor.  This bill honors our nation’s troops who gave their lives on D-Day at the battle of Normandy in the name of freedom.  This bill also recognizes the 66th anniversary of that epic day.  I was honored to take the opportunity to express gratitude to this great generation of United States soldiers who truly fought fearlessly for the blessing of freedom.
 
To view a copy of the text of H.Res. 1251, please click here.
 
H. Res. 1610
This week, I also joined my colleagues on the House floor in support of H.Res. 1610, a resolution that expresses the House of Representatives regarding the atrocious acts of terror committed against the United States on September 11, 2001.  It is important that we never forget these horrific acts intentionally aimed at the destruction and murder of the American people and our way of life. 
 
To view a copy of the text of H.Res. 1610, please click here.
 
H.Con.Res. 316
This week, I was proud to reiterate my continued support for the people of Taiwan by co-sponsoring H.Con.Res. 316.  This measure expresses the sense of Congress that Taiwan deserves membership in the United Nations and that the United States should fulfill the commitment that we made in 1994 to more actively support Taiwan’s membership in international organizations. 
 
No matter how vehemently China may work to convince the international community that Taiwan is nothing more than a renegade Chinese province, it is clear that Taiwan is an independent state, responsible for its own security and economic advancement.  As the world’s oldest democracy, the U.S. must support the rights of 23 million Taiwanese citizens to have their voice heard at the United Nations. 
 
To view a copy of H.Con.Res. 316, please click here.
 
Water Caucus Update:
 
This week, I joined my colleagues on the Congressional Water Caucus to discuss water supply and reallocation issues, including the problems facing residents of the Metro Atlanta area.  As many of you know, I co-founded the bi-partisan Congressional Water Caucus in 2007 to provide a forum for experts in the water industry to share their efforts with Congress in studying, managing, and providing solutions to our nation’s growing water problems.  I have been working with a number of organizations since 2007 to put the spotlight on this issue.  My position has always been that we need to use the union of state governments that we already have by encouraging states to form compacts to solve interstate problems.  With the Federal government under increasing fiscal stress, we have to find a way to work on intergovernmental cooperation.  I earnestly hope that state governments will get together and take charge of this conversation.  President Ronald Reagan put it best when he stated: “We’ve made great strides in implementing a national water policy which recognizes State primacy in managing water resources.  People must be a part of our planning, and people need a reliable, safe drinking water supply, water for generating power, and water for irrigation.”
 
To view the full text of President Reagan’s radio address on this issue, please click here
          
Blog of the Week:
The authorization for Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay (RSLSP), which provides an additional $500 per month served by a member of the Armed Forces in a stop loss status, ends this coming October 21, 2010.  All service members that were involuntarily extended between September 11, 2001 and September 30, 2009 are eligible to receive RSLSP.  You can visit the Department of Defense website here to find out if you qualify and what documentation needs to be submitted prior to the October 21st deadline.  The entire process we use to deploy our soldiers, as well as the basis for which we use stop loss needs to be reexamined. Repeated deployments and involuntary recall after completion of a term of service has placed a great strain on our service men and women, their families, and the Armed Forces as a whole.  We owe it to our brave men and women in uniform to ensure they receive the best treatment and compensation we can offer in return for their service and sacrifice. 




September 2010 Press Releases