Taxes and Spending

People across Southwest Louisiana continue to tell me they want to see Washington focus on setting a climate to create jobs, get federal spending under control and work to restore economic prosperity to our communities. 

Congress prevented a massive $3.8 trillion tax hike from hitting all Americans this year - but Washington must end its spending binge and give U.S. job creators’ certainty to hire new workers, rebuild our economy and compete in the global marketplace.    

The new Republican Majority in the House of Representatives is committed to getting our own house in order first.  We’ve cut our own operating budget and instituted a ban on funding special pork barrel projects that benefit politicians at taxpayer expense.  We’ve also changed the rules of the House to require new programs to be paid for by eliminating or cutting existing programs of equal or greater size and will propose an annual budget that cuts spending and shrinks the size of the federal government.  These are small but important steps to help return fiscal sanity to Washington. 

It’s clear our fiscal problems can’t be solved with more government commissions designed to shield politicians from making the tough choices now.  Congress and the White House must work together to reach agreement on budget reforms to reign in spending, cut waste and tackle the growth of key entitlement programs that pose our government’s greatest fiscal challenge.  Entitlement spending threatens to consume our entire federal budget in just a few short decades.  We must address the problem now and not punt the hard decisions to future generations.

Reforming our tax code is also a top priority.  Americans are over taxed and the system has grown so complex that many taxpayers need an accountant to file even the simplest returns.  It shouldn’t be that way and Congress is to blame.  Since the historic 1986 tax act, Congress has chipped away at the code creating loopholes, confusion and uncertainty for individuals and businesses forced to comply with ever changing tax laws.  Congress has increasingly used the tax code to mask more federal spending in the form of refundable tax credits - many of which go to individuals that don’t pay taxes at all.  We need tax reform now and Washington must work together to create a fair and sustainable system that’s easy to understand and fiscally responsible.

We can’t borrow and spend our way back to a strong economy.  I strongly believe we must stop out-of-control federal spending and keep taxes low to boost economic growth and will continue to fight proposals in Congress to raise taxes to pay for more government programs. 

I am always eager to hear from my constituents.  If you would like to speak with my staff about tax or budget legislation, please contact my Washington, D.C. office at 202-225-2031.