-- Randy’s Roundup --

A Weekly Newsletter from Congressman Randy Neugebauer

August 2, 2010

Mark Your Calendar: Big Spring Town Hall Meeting This Week

Throughout August, I will be hosting a series of town hall meetings across the 19th Congressional District. I invite you to come share your ideas for getting our nation back on track. My first August Town Hall Meeting will be held this week:

TUESDAY, AUGUST 3rd
2:30-3:30pm CT
Big Spring
Hall Center for the Arts
Howard College Campus
1001 Birdwell Lane

For a complete list of Town Hall dates, please click here.  

An Amendment to Cut Spending

Last week, the House voted on annual legislation to fund the Departments of Housing and Urban Development and Transportation.  This was only the second of the 12 annual spending bills Congress needs to fund the government, but it was one of our first direct opportunities this year to try to reduce spending.

While this year’s bill was a slight decrease over last year’s bill, it is still $13 billion more than the previous year’s legislation.  That’s not counting the billions more that went to these programs in the 2009 “economic stimulus” package.

I offered an amendment last week that would reduce spending in this bill by $10.52 billion.  That amount corresponds with the amount of stimulus dollars in these housing and transportation programs that have not been committed by the agencies.  When there are billions remaining from the stimulus, why would Congress put billions more into these programs?

Here are a few examples of programs that have unspent stimulus funds and that would receive additional money in the legislation the House passed last week: 

• The bill includes $2 billion for Capital Investment Grants. While these grants may provide worthy investments in our transportation infrastructure, there is still close to $800 million unspent from the stimulus in this program.

• The bill includes $3.5 billion for grants-in-aid for airports. However, more than $1 billion from the stimulus remains unspent.

• We still have $2.2 billion in the Home Investment Partnership Program to spend from the stimulus, and the bill would add another $1.8 billion for this program.

While my amendment failed, I thought it was important to offer this option for Congress to reduce spending.  After all, the deficit for this year has recently surpassed $1 trillion on its way to a projected $1.4 trillion, and the outlook for next year isn’t any better. More borrowing and spending have not improved the outlook for the economy.  When Congress can reduce spending for programs that have billions in unspent funds remaining from the stimulus, we should do so.

August District Work Period

As we enter the month of August, I’m looking forward to being back in the 19th Congressional District. Throughout the month I will be traveling across the District attending various events and meeting with local groups. As I travel through West Texas and the Big Country, I always enjoy spending time assisting folks with federal issues and answering questions about legislation Congress is working on in Washington.

You can stay up to date on events happening around the 19th Congressional District by following me on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.  If you have any questions about upcoming events, including Town Hall Meetings, you may also contact my office toll free at 888-763-1611. I’m looking forward to seeing many of you during my travels.

“Question of the Week”

What is your preferred method to communicate with my staff and I?

Please visit my website to submit your answer to this week’s question.