Updates on the Budget, ObamaCare, New Town Halls

Mar 26, 2012

Tim's Corner

March 26, 2012

Updates on the Budget, ObamaCare, New Town Halls

Dear Friends,

After wrapping up 14 town halls the week before, I returned to Washington last week to tackle two major issues: the Budget and ObamaCare.

As a member of the House Budget Committee I had the opportunity to take part in writing and debating the 2013 House Republican budget. While I ultimately did not vote for the budget in committee, I do applaud Chairman Ryan and his staff for their willingness to tackle the looming entitlement crisis. America s fiscal future is bleak, with debt anticipated to explode even more because far too few politicians really want to tackle the overspending problems in Washington.

While the Budget did propose bold reforms in saving and securing Medicare and Medicaid, it did not follow through on the spending promises made in the Pledge to America or the August 2011 debt deal. As you might recall, the August agreement to increase the debt by $2.1 TRILLION was accompanied with promises of real spending cuts this coming year across hundreds of programs. Instead, this budget offers a path to undo these promised cuts and, once again, putting the cuts off into the far future. I opposed the debt deal back then because the massive debt increase provided only marginal spending cuts - and now I fear even these will be abandoned in Washington.

In addition to falling short on actually cutting the budget, this plan also does not provide any clear strategy for dealing with looming, massive tax increases. In a matter of days April 1 to be exact the United States will have the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world. We will fall behind nations like Japan, Mexico, and Sweden. And in a matter of months on January 1, 2013 individual income tax rates will jump, capital gains tax will skyrocket, and the death tax will soar to 55%! Can you imagine what these would do to our economy?!

Listen here to my concerns about the dramatic need for fundamental tax reform - reform that would simplify our tax code, simplify it, and eliminate years and years of special interest loopholes:

VIDEO: Why tax reform matters.

In this upcoming week the House will debate this budget on the floor. I believe it will pass the House - however, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has announced that he will not consider a budget - for the fourth straight year. What remains and happens next specifically is anyone's guess, but I am pretty confident it won't be a balanced budget.

Repealing Medicare-Killing IPAB
On the health care front, the House voted to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board, a creation of the President s health care law. IPAB would be a newly-formed panel of 15 unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats charged with making substantial cuts to Medicare, depriving our seniors of the care around which they had planned their retirements. This panel would be allowed to meet in secret and allowed to accept gifts from lobbyists all while making decisions to ration Medicare services for our seniors. Allowing a panel of out-of-touch, unelected, and unaccountable Washington bureaucrats to make health care decisions for millions of seniors across America is simply disgraceful. As a result, there was widespread support for repealing IPAB, including nearly 400 different groups that represent the interests of patients, doctors, and employers.

Last week I shared with you new information from the Congressional Budget Office about projections regarding the costs of ObamaCare and how ObamaCare may lead to 20 million Americans losing workplace insurance coverage. With this past week being the two-year anniversary of ObamaCare becoming law, I wrote a column about the new CBO numbers. You may catch it in your local paper, but you can also read it here. Another column that might be of interest is one that was published online via The Daily Caller; this column talks about my new legislation that will transform Medicaid into a program that can focus on better care and less Washington red tape.

STOCK Act One Step Closer to Becoming Law
This past week the Senate advanced the STOCK Act, a law that will enhance current restrictions insider trading by Members of Congress and congressional staff. I supported this when it was in the House, and I look forward to the President s immediate signature to make this bill become law. I applaud the efforts of Republican and Democrat leaders in both chambers for advancing this important legislation. Let's hope it begins, at least a little, to restore trust in Washington.

You Are Invited: Telephone Town Hall on Monday!
Please join our office for a 7:30 PM Central telephone town hall on Monday, March 27. I ll start with brief remarks, but like my in-person town halls, will spend most of the time taking your questions. Please dial 1-877-229-8493 and when prompted, enter the pin number 17795. If you want to get in line to ask a question, please use *3 on your touchtone phone.

New Town Halls!
I will host several town hall meetings during the next district work week period. I hope you will be able to attend one of these open forums:

Tuesday, April 3, 2012
9:00am 10:00am
Morton County Town Hall
The Flying Monkey
350 Morton Street, Elkhart

11:00am 12:00pm
Stevens County Town Hall
Stevens County Courthouse Memorial Hall
200 East 6th, Hugoton

1:30pm 2:30pm
Seward County Town Hall
The Historic Rock Island Depot
4 Rock Island Rd, Liberal

4:30pm 5:30pm
Haskell County Town Hall
Cattleman s CafÃ©
110 S Inman St, Sublette

Wednesday, April 4, 2012
10:00am 11:00am
Rooks County Town Hall
Carousel Bakery
1003 South Cedar, Stockton

12:00pm 1:00pm
Osborne County Town Hall
Circle Inn Restaurant
1106 W. Highway 24, Osborne

2:30pm -3:30pm
Mitchell County Town Hall
City of Beloit Municipal Building - Basement
119 N Hersey Ave, Beloit

4:30pm 5:30pm
Lincoln County Town Hall
Lincoln Senior Center
116 W Lincoln, Lincoln

Tuesday, April 10, 2012
2:00pm 3:00pm
Morris County Town Hall
Council Grove City Hall Council Room
205 Union Street, Council Grove

4:30pm 5:30pm
Marion County Town Hall
City of Hillsboro Civic Center West Room
118 E Grand, Hillsboro

Wednesday, April 11, 2012
12:00pm 1:00pm
Barton County Town Hall
Great Bend Farm & Ranch Show
Great Bend Expo Complex - Expo 3
9810 B-29 Way, Great Bend

2:30pm 3:30pm
Edwards County Town Hall
Kinsley City Hall
721 Marsh Ave, Kinsley

5:00pm -6:00pm
Stafford County Town Hall
American State Bank Hospitality Room
216 N Main, St. John

Thursday, April 12, 2012
12:30pm 1:30pm
Chase County Town Hall
Chase County Courthouse Courtroom
300 Pearl, Cottonwood Falls

2:30pm 3:30pm
Lyon County Town Hall
Lyon County Courthouse Jury Assembly Room - Room 201
430 Commercial, Emporia

4:30pm 5:30pm
Greenwood County Town Hall
Sauder Community Center
110 South First Street, Madison

Additional Upcoming Events
Tuesday, March 27: Staff will host local office hours in Lindsborg from 2:30-3:30 PM at The White Peacock (124 S. Main). More details here.
Friday, April 20: The Committee on Agriculture on which I serve will host an official Field Hearing in Dodge City at 9:00 AM at the Magourik Conference Center (4100 W Comanche). More details here.

Opportunities for Teens & Young Adults
Military Service Academy Nominations
Do you know a young man or woman interested in attending one of the nation s military service academies? If so, please encourage him or her to consider applying to our office for nomination. More information is available at http://huelskamp.house.gov/nominations.

Art Competition
Do you know a high school artist who wants to have his or her work displayed in the U.S. Capitol? Artists in the First District are invited to submit their works for the 2012 Congressional Arts Competition. More information is available at http://huelskamp.house.gov/artcompetition.

Essay Competition
The U.S. Capitol Historical Society is sponsoring an essay competition for students in grades 6-12. The first-annual competition is accepting compositions on the topic of Making Democracy Work. Please note this competition is hosted solely by USCHS and not individual member offices. More information is available at http://www.uschs.org.

Guests in the Office
DC Staff and I had the privilege of meeting with Bob Trunzo of CUNA Mutual; Shawn Mitchell with Kansas Community Bankers; Elaine Wellborn with Kansas Gifted Education; Kansas EMTs including Terry David, Director, Rice County EMS, Lyons; Connie Meyer, Paramedic, Johnson County, Greeley; Christopher Way, Chief, Labette County EMS, Parsons; Mark Willis, Deputy Chief, Newton Fire/EMS, Newton; Jim French with OxFam American Farmers, Anna Ignatova with the FLEX program; and representatives of the Kansas Credit Union Association, the Kansas Small Business Development Center, Humana, South Central Kansas Economic Development, the National Association of Convenience Stores, the Kansas Canola Association, the American Association of Podiatric Medicine, Justice for Filipino Veterans, Hawker Beechcraft, the Kansas Association for the Medically-Underserved, Associated Builders and Contractors, and Kansans attending the National Bike Summit.