FOR IMMEIDATE RELEASE                                                                                  CONTACT: John Donnelly
September 23, 2010                                                                                                     (317) 848-0201

Burton Statement On The GOP Pledge To America

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN-05) issued the following statement after House Republicans released a new governing agenda entitled “A Pledge to America”:

“We have listened to the people, and our Pledge is a united response.  The major policies in this new governing agenda—job creation and tax cuts, spending cuts and caps, strong national defense and border security, ensuring new laws have Constitutional authority, and the repeal and replacement of Obamacare—give voice to the American people, whose demands have largely been ignored by the current Majority.

“Our Pledge to America is an easy one for me to take, as its philosophies and policies are all things I have championed throughout my public life, if not already supported specifically through legislation.  Above all, our Pledge is something I am proud to take back to my constituents in Indiana.  Hoosiers who read our Pledge will find a genuine commitment to governing through our founding principles and for the priorities of our people. ”

NOTE:  “A Pledge to America” can be found in full here: http://pledge.gop.gov/

The preamble to “A Pledge to America” reaffirms Republicans’ commitment to principles of smaller, more accountable government; economic freedom; lower taxes; fiscal responsibility; protecting life, American values, and the Constitution; and providing for a strong national defense.  This new governing agenda is comprised of five specific policy plans that could be implemented right now if President Obama and Democratic Leaders would allow it:

•    Creating Jobs.  “A Pledge to America” reflects Americans’ demand for immediate action on policies that will end uncertainty for small businesses and help our economy get back to creating jobs.  This new governing agenda contains a plan to create jobs, end economic uncertainty, and make America competitive – including stopping all tax hikes, reining in red tape, and repealing ObamaCare’s ‘1099 mandate.’

•    Cutting Spending.  “A Pledge to America” embodies Americans’ rejection of the now-thoroughly discredited notion that we can simply tax, spend, and borrow our way to prosperity.  This new governing agenda contains a plan to cut spending and reduce the size of government – including cutting government spending to pre-‘stimulus’, pre-bailout levels, imposing a hard cap on future discretionary spending, and ending TARP once and for all.

•    Reforming Congress.  “A Pledge to America” acknowledges that we cannot get our arms around the issues of the day when we have a government that refuses to listen to the people and ignores their priorities.  This new governing agenda contains a plan to reform Congress and restore trust – including implementing ‘read the bill’ reform, allowing for more open and fair debate, and requiring that every bill contain a citation of Constitutional authority.

•    Repealing and Replacing The Job-Killing Health Care Law.  “A Pledge to America” recognizes that the American people continue to squarely oppose the government takeover of health care, with its higher costs, higher taxes, job-killing mandates, and Medicare cuts to pay for a massive new entitlement.  This new governing agenda contains a plan to repeal and replace the job-killing health care law with common-sense reforms focused on lowering costs and protecting American jobs.

•    A Strong National Defense.  “A Pledge to America” reinforces Congress’s responsibility to help provide for a strong national defense and fashion a coherent strategy to confront and defeat the terrorist threat.  This new governing agenda contains a plan to keep our nation secure at home and abroad – including passing clean troop funding bills, keeping terrorists off American soil, and fully funding missile defense.

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MEDIA ADVISORY                                                                        CONTACT: John Donnelly
July 1, 2010                                                                                            (317) 848-0201

Burton Statement On The Extension Of Unemployment Benefits

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05) issued the following statement after voting against H.R. 5618, the Democrat's unpaid for extension of unemployment insurance benefits:

“I support helping the millions of long-term unemployed people, especially the affected Hoosiers in the 5th district.  However, the American people know it is not right to simply add the cost of extending unemployment insurance to our overdrawn national credit card. Someone has to pay when the government spends money.

"Because of our dangerous level of national debt, I cosponsored a plan that would have used unspent 'stimulus' funds to pay for the extension of unemployment insurance, COBRA, and the current poverty guidelines until September 25, 2010.  In short, we hoped to extend the benefits without increasing our debt.  Inexplicably, Speaker Pelosi barred the House from voting on this bipartisan, commonsense approach.

"Instead, the Democrat leadership forced through H.R. 5618, the unpaid for unemployment insurance extension that excluded COBRA, and did so under a process that would not allow Members to amend the legislation.  Speaker Pelosi did not need to divide the House and add $33 billion to the national debt today, but she chose this path in order to paint conservatives as unsympathetic to the unemployed.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

"I voted against this bill, not because I oppose helping the unemployed, but because of what I’m hearing from my constituents, the people I represent, who are opposed to adding another $33 billion to our $13 trillion mountain of national debt. 

"Look around the world. Countries are drowning in debt. According to a long-term budget outlook released today by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the federal debt will represent 62% of our nation's economy by the end of this year, the highest percentage since just after World War II.  At the end of 2008, the debt equaled about 40 % of the nation's annual economic output, according to the CBO.

"As we saw at the recently concluded G20 Summit in Canada, the Democrat leaders of our government seem among the last in the world to recognize that reckless spending and debt endanger every job in America."

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MEDIA ADVISORY                                                                        CONTACT: Joshua Gillespie
May 20, 2010                                                                                             (317) 848-0201

Congressmen Turner, Burton Blast Treasury Department for Refusing to Answer Questions on Delphi Retirement

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Citing a pending lawsuit, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is refusing to answer questions put to him by Congressmen Mike Turner and Dan Burton concerning the Treasury Department’s role in decisions that led to a loss of pension value for thousands of former Delphi employees in Ohio and other states.

The administrative record of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), shows that the organization had discussions with the Treasury Department when a decision was made to reduce pension payouts for non-union employees of Delphi. As a result of the decision, several thousand non-union workers have seen a dramatic drop in the value of their pensions while the pensions for union employees have been fully protected.

In January, Congressmen Turner and Burton asked the Treasury Department, and specifically Secretary Geithner, to answer a series of questions related to this decision. This week, Geithner responded that he would not answer most of the questions because the matter is a subject of a lawsuit filed by former Delphi employees against the PBGC.

“This refusal to answer questions is an outrage against the salaried retirees of Delphi, in Ohio and other states,” Congressman Turner said. “The Treasury Secretary is a public official and he has an obligation to tell the truth about how public policy is made under his watch. As a result of the PBGC’s decision, thousands of hard working people, in several states, have been denied the pensions they were promised when they first went to work at Delphi. Someone needs to be held accountable. Someone needs to explain to these former employees why they have been misled.”

“This administration pledged to be open and transparent,” Congressman Turner said. “Unfortunately, Secretary Geithner’s refusal to clear the record only adds to the cynicism people have toward Washington and big bailout deals that put average Americans in line behind huge companies that are failing because of their own mismanagement.”

Congressman Turner has been joined in the effort to get answers from the Administration by Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN).

Said Burton: “I have said repeatedly that the American people, especially the thousands of Hoosier families who have been impacted by this unfair situation, and whose tax dollars are being used to pay the supplemental funds to the Delphi union workers, deserve a full and transparent explanation from all parties involved about why they were treated so unfairly.  I do not believe that that is an unreasonable request.  However, it appears that the Administration does.  The so-called “answers” provided by Secretary Geithner are nothing more than bureaucratic non-answer answers.  This is absolutely unacceptable and if the Administration believes that this is the end of the matter they are sadly mistaken.  It is fundamentally unfair that two groups of retirees from the same company, who worked side-by-side for many years, and who are faced with the same unfortunate situation, are being treated so radically differently by the Federal government.  I am not going to stop pushing until I find out why.” 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                              CONTACT: John Donnelly
January 27, 2010                                                                                     (317) 848-0201

Burton Statement On The State Of The Union Address

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05) issued the following reaction to President Obama's State of the Union address tonight:

"Tonight, a nation starving for more jobs and less government heard more of the same from President Obama.  Just like last year, the President promised transparency, fiscal responsibility, and jobs.  Yet, you hardly had to read between the lines to realize those promises are still empty.

"In one breath, the President promised jobs, and in the next, he urged a renewed push for a national energy tax that will send jobs overseas and impose higher energy costs on middle-class families.

"He promised fiscal responsibility and reduced spending, but then he proposed a so-called 'jobs bill' that is identical to last years failed, pork-laden stimulus package that buried our nation in a trillion dollars of debt.  Even worse, the President is still pushing for a trillion dollar, government-run health care plan.  

"President Obama fired blame at special interest groups for ruining his government transparency initiatives, yet, those same special interest groups held their secret meetings inside the White House with the President's top advisers.  And don't forget, President Obama's promise to broadcast health care reform meetings on CSPAN is still a broken one. 

"Tonight, the President simply adjusted his rhetoric in an uncandid attempt to sell his failed agenda of more spending, more taxes, and more debt.  Not only does this defy the will of the vast majority of Americans, but it demeans us all.  Middle class families deserve real job-creating policies, like permanent tax cuts for individuals, families, and businesses.  As we move forward, I will continue to fight for those conservative solutions, and if the President continues to pursue his liberal agenda, we will work to defeat it just as we did last year."

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