Thanksgiving is upon us – how quickly the year has flown by! Here’s the latest from Washington, D.C., and the Fourth District.
TAX CUTS FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS: There is a lot of misinformation about tax cuts enacted under former President George W. Bush, which are scheduled to expire at year’s end.
Some believe we should extend all of the cuts, including those for millionaires and billionaires. They claim that any increase will hurt our economic recovery. Like President Obama, I favor extending only the middle-class tax cuts. Renewing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans will cost $700 billion over 10 years. That’s too expensive.
The claim that President Obama’s middle-class tax cut proposal would hurt small businesses was examined by the Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checking Web site “PolitiFact.” PolitiFact investigated and found that such claims are completely false. More than 97 percent of small businesses would not pay a penny more under President Obama’s plan.
We can protect our small businesses, cut the deficit, and help middle-class families all in one bill. I look forward to voting to extend the middle-class tax cuts!
FIGHTING FOR THE UNEMPLOYED: I sent a letter to the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission this week urging them to investigate discrimination against the unemployed. It has come to my attention that some job listings explicitly exclude unemployed applicants. Some ads say “must be currently employed” to apply or stipulated that “no unemployed candidates will be considered at all.” That is fundamentally wrong, and with unemployment at 9.6%, discrimination against the unemployed will only prolong our jobs crisis. More than 50 Congressional colleagues co-signed my letter.
EXTENDING BENEFITS: I voted this week to extend unemployment benefits, but sadly most Republicans rejected it. More than 2 million Americans will now lose their benefits by the end of the year and 4 million by February 2011 if we don't find a solution. We’ll take up the measure again after Thanksgiving.
Economists agree that terminating benefits will hurt the economy and kill 1.8 million jobs. Unemployment insurance is a necessary lifeline to help people stay afloat as they continue to search for work. I’ll keep fighting to extend it.
THE ‘DOC FIX’: I also support a permanent fix to prevent a scheduled reduction in Medicare reimbursements to doctors. On December 1 of this year, the current “doc fix” extension is set to expire and if Congress does not act, physicians will face a 23 percent reduction in Medicare reimbursements. While I support a 13-month extension, I will work for a permanent solution. For more on Medicare, click here.
SAVE THE DREAM PROJECT: The dReam Project, a HUD Certified Housing Counseling Agency is offering free foreclosure prevention workshops Sunday, Nov. 21 and Monday, Nov. 22 at the dReam Center Church of Atlanta, 4183 Northeast Expressway, Atlanta, 30340. For more information, call program director Doreen Carter at 678-381-1164.
BAN ON APPROPRIATIONS: I understand Americans’ frustration with wasteful spending in Washington. It’s one of the reasons I proudly post all my appropriations requests – “earkmarks” -- on my Web site. All of my constituents should be able to review the funding that I request for our community.
While earmarks have become a dirty word that symbolize out-of-touch Washington, I want people to understand that not all appropriations are wasteful pork-barrel spending. My earmarks have funded critical investment in Rockdale County law enforcement to fight drugs and gangs, road improvements and assistance for MARTA in DeKalb County and community improvement district funding for Gwinnett County – to name just a few.
You elected me to fight for you in Washington. Doing away with earmarks – which represent just 1-to-2 percent of all federal spending – gives bureaucrats, not elected officials who are accountable to the people, more sway over federal investment in our communities. There’s no doubt that earmarking has been abused in the past. The process must be transparent. But I urge everyone to look at facts first before making decisions based on emotion.
GWINNETT RECYCLES: Gwinnett County is participating in America Recycles Day on Saturday, Nov. 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Coolray Field, home of the Gwinnett Braves. For more, click here.
ROCKDALE TURNING GREEN: Rockdale County residents please take a look at the County’s new Energy Exchange and Energy Rebate programs – save energy, water and money all at the same time. For more, click here.
DEKALB MOVING FORWARD: DeKalb County has had a water and energy saving program for some time now, but it just held its Neighborhood Summit and Green Expo last week at Georgia Perimeter College. Congrats! For more on their programs, click here.
MEDAL OF FREEDOM: Congratulations to Congressman John Lewis as the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom! For more, click here.
I want to wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving. Please have a safe, happy and healthy holiday.
Thanks,
Hank
