8 August 2011
Dear Friends,
The madness of Washington, DC's spending habits will not be cured easily.
That's what we found out last week as Congress passed legislation which over the next two years will allow President Obama $2.4 trillion dollars of new borrowing while only cutting government by just a bit over $66 billion dollars. Yes. Barak Obama gets trillions to spend while Congress only "cuts" a few billion.
Sure, Washington-speak is saying they are going to cut trillions sometime in the future. But what they don't tell you is that a future Congress and a future President will make those cuts - not the current Washington crowd. How many times have we heard that over the years?
I voted against this debt limit deal because it doesn't fix America's spending problem. You sent me to Washington to put a stop to the excessive spending, not pull the same old budget gimmicks. We need real solutions - not just another insider deal.
And what happens in 2013? Perhaps a new President, definitely a new Congress. And America's credit card will be maxed out - this time at $16.7 trillion. So another debt "crisis."
I also have grave concerns with this legislation creating an elite 'Super Congress' that will determine what the projected spending cuts will be. The Congress already has four committees who decide government spending. It's their job to determine what and how we should balance out budget - not another new elite committee.
Cut, Cap and Balance remains the only real solution to end Washington's budget tricks and gimmicks. This is the only plan that addresses the need to stop America's spending addiction and implements a long overdue Balanced Budget Amendment. I was an original co-sponsor of Cut, Cap and Balance and we passed it in the House, but Harry Reid refuses to even bring it up in the Senate. But I will keep the pressure on to force that to a vote.
While we were not able to make the necessary progress, we stood our ground and forced President Obama to make major concessions that angered liberals in his party. For the first time in decades Washington is talking about cuts in spending (albeit reductions in the rate of growth) and balanced budgets instead of spending increases and "stimulus" packages.
Media outlets across the country are talking about the success of the Freshmen Congressmen who stood their ground. And some are calling on Speaker Boehner to appoint some of them to the spending committee created by the bill.
The momentum is behind us. The future of America is ahead of us. And I am optimistic that if we stand strong, we can achieve real, significant spending reforms that force the federal government to live within its means -- just as you do everyday. We have compromised on this issue for far too long now.
Yours in liberty,
Congressman Tim Huelskamp
4 August 2011
1st Freedom Index on the 112 Congress
For those in the Kansas 1st Congresstional District, your representative, Representative Tim Huelskamp received a 100% rating. If you are a constituent, you should send him a congratulatory message on attaining 100%. No other Kansas Delegate, representative or senator attained 100%. Click on the following link to view the latest Freedom Index.
4 August 2011
Dear J Neil,
Thank you for contacting me to express your thoughts on the state of our national debt and the President's request to pay for his out-of-control spending. I appreciate your thoughts on this matter.
As you likely know, an agreement was eventually reached between President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Speaker of the House John Boehner to raise the debt ceiling. The Budget Control Act passed the House and Senate and was signed into law by the President on August 2, 2011. In my view, this legislation simply does not provide a long-term solution to fixing Washington's spending addition. In fact, the American people can expect an additional $7 trillion in new debt in the next decade alone. The cuts put forth in this legislation are paltry in comparison to the rate at which Washington spends.If Washington's new debt was divided among every man, woman, and child in America, each individual would owe $54,000. For each dollar spent by Congress, 42 cents is borrowed money.
To restore fiscal discipline and turn back the irresponsible culture of spending in Washington, I am an original cosponsor of the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act (H.R. 2560) that passed the House of Representatives on July 19, 2011. Unfortunately, the Senate Majority leader Harry Reid has so far refused to allow a vote or even a debate on this legislation; however it is still the best long-term solution. It includes the following components:
1) Cut - Immediate spending cuts must be implemented to reduce the deficit beginning in Fiscal Year 2012 and will continue thereafter.
2) Cap - Phase-in statutory, enforceable caps that align federal spending with average revenue at 19.9% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
3) Balance - Pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
On repeated occasions, I have said that if the United States must raise the debt ceiling, it needs to be accompanied by permanent structural reforms to balance the budget and make immediate cuts - not ten years from now, but today. It was for this reason that I opposed the recent agreement to raise the debt ceiling.
This should not be a debate about the next election, but about the next generation. If we continue this course of spending outside our means we will quickly pass a point-of-no-return beyond which it will be difficult to recover. And Democrats, President, and frankly, many Republicans have no plan to avoid this potential disaster. Moving forward, know that I am committed to continuing to oppose the culture of irresponsible spending in Washington. We cannot afford to wait any longer. Inaction on this pivotal issue will result in adverse consequences not only today, but also pass down a heavy burden of debt to future generations of Americans.
Please know that regardless of political party—be it Republican or Democrat—I am first committed to standing by the promises I have made to my constituents, and my own values and principles. Again, I value the opportunity to hear from my constituents on issues they care about and encourage your continued communication with my office.
Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. If you have not already, I encourage you to take a moment to find me on Facebook (facebook.com/congressmanhuelskamp), follow my personal updates on Twitter (twitter.com/CongHuelskamp) and check out my latest speeches and media appearances on YouTube (youtube.com/CongressmanHuelskamp).
Sincerely,
Tim Huelskamp
Member of Congress
3 August 2011
The Job Is Far From Finished
By now I am sure you have heard that the House and Senate passed a bill to increase the debt limit. The President signed it into law yesterday afternoon. I could not wait until the weekly e-news to send you this update, so I hope you will take the time to read this mid-week update.
I opposed this massive increase in our nation's credit card limit for two major reasons: one, the cuts were too minimal to make a real dent in the overspending problem, and two, it lacked critical structural reforms to prevent future reckless spending and borrowing. With $14.3 trillion in debt already and trillion-dollar annual deficits, America cannot afford only a few billions of dollars worth of spending reductions. That much red ink is also proof that Washington simply cannot help itself from spending too much money. And with no guarantee that a strong Balanced Budget Amendment would be pass, this plan was simply not a real solution to our massive problems.
Further, I believe that my colleagues and I should only guarantee what we can do ourselves in the next two years. It is disingenuous to promise cuts 4, 6, 8, or 10 years down the road. Who knows if the next Congress will follow through with the promises we made? And, why should we be able to take credit for something that someone else will be charged with finishing?
I was not worried about a possible default on August 2, the date we were led to believe to be the ultimate deadline. The Treasury Department had plenty of cash on hand, which is demonstrated on my website. However, I remain concerned that America is at risk for a downgrade in its creditworthiness. As we led in to the vote on the debt limit, independent credit ratings agencies told us that the plans we were considering last week were insufficient. America’s debt load is still concerning and may be considered risky for many lenders. While I hope we do not have a downgrade, it seems possible. So, I will continue to work toward forcing Washington to get its spending under control.
What’s Happening Next?
Moving forward, I want to give you a preview of the items I’ll be tackling in the next few months when we return from a month of working in the district:
- Free trade agreements: Free trade agreements with Panama, Korea, and Colombia have been stalled. If these agreements were to be ratified, the bounty for Kansas would be plentiful, both in terms of economic activity and job creation. As I often tell people, Kansas farmers can feed the world. Now, we just need to make sure they are allowed to sell their goods and products to ready-and-willing buyers outside our borders.
- Regulatory reduction: I hear from small business owners and entrepreneurs across the state that federal agencies are strangling their abilities to produce goods and hire more workers. With so many Americans unemployed and our economy at a standstill, I want to make sure that Washington loosens its grip on entrepreneurs who are simply trying to build better lives for them and their families.
- Tax reform: There is always talk about Washington needing more revenue. I agree. But, the way to do it is to add new taxpayers, not new taxes. More employed people equals more tax revenue. Let’s make the tax code fairer and flatter, evening the playing field for employers of all sizes.
Town Hall Schedule
I am anxious to hear your opinions. If you live in or around one of these communities, I hope you will take the time to attend one of these town halls. These are four of the final five counties of my 69-county tour which I began in February. Worry not, though, if you missed an earlier stop. I’ll continue to return to some of the earlier locations for other events throughout the entirety of this year.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Atwood Town Hall (Rawlins County)
1:00pm – 2:00pm
Rawlins County Courthouse, Courtroom
St. Francis Town Hall (Cheyenne County)
3:00pm – 4:00pm
Cheyenne County Courthouse, Commissioner Room
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Seneca Town Hall (Nemaha County)
3:00pm – 4:00pm
Knights of Columbus Hall, Club Room
Friday, August 26, 2011
Dodge City Town Hall (Ford County)
10:00am – 11:00am
The Historic Santa Fe Depot, Dining Room
Sincerely,
Congressman Tim Huelskamp
1 August 2011
Dear Friend:
I am walking to the floor right now to vote against a bill that would extend the debt limit by $2.2 to $2.5 trillion in exchange for a small amount of cuts which won't materialize for nearly a decade. And the bill doesn't do anything to change the way Washington, DC spends money. You sent me here to do better than that. And I intend to fulfill the promise I made to you to hold Barack Obama and Harry Reid accountable for the massive deficits they have run up over the last couple of years. We want to spend less. They want to spend more. They say they want a balanced approach. We want a balanced budget. And disaster could come if we don't change course now.
The credit rating agencies are not fooled by Washington's games. And they aren't impressed with the political posturing of President Obama and the U.S. Senate under the leadership of Harry Reid. A credit downgrade is coming, and neither of them seem willing to stop it. The credit rating agency, Moody’s, just sent a letter to Congressional leaders making clear that neither Harry Reid’s plan or the House of Representatives debt plan will fix our spending problem.
I was one of 22 Republicans to vote against the House of Representatives debt ceiling plan because it will not adequately deal with our fiscal problems. The United States of America’s AAA credit rating will likely be downgraded if the compromise debt plan being discussed today becomes law.
The media are blaming Freshmen Congressmen and Tea Party activists for the impasse in our nation's capitol. But myself and the other 86 Freshmen who were elected last year came to Washington to stop the excessive spending. We have banded together to say, "no more!"
A Balanced Budget Amendment remains the only solution to our spending problem. Republicans in the House passed the Cut Cap and Balance Act just a couple of weeks ago, and Harry Reid refuses to bring it up for a vote. It would cut federal spending dramatically beginning this first fiscal year. And it would put a cap on spending so that we can reign in a greedy government unwilling to stop its spending binge. And, finally, it would require that a Balanced Budget Amendment be sent to the states so that We the People can put a permanent stop to this madness coming out of Washington.
I want to ask you to make your voice heard. I need you to stand with me and the other Freshmen in Congress as we keep saying, "no!"
Your financial gift of $100, $50 $25 or whatever you can afford will help me to continue this fight to end the excessive spending and get America back on a path to fiscal sanity.
Thank you for your continued support. Together we will show Washington that business-as-usual and politicking designed to keep the American people in the dark while the federal government grows, taxes and borrows unchecked and unchallenged has come to an end!
Yours in liberty,
Congressman Tim Huelskamp
31 July 2011
Dear J Neil,
Washington's problem is not that it has borrowed too little, but rather that it has spent too much. Therefore, the only responsible approach is one that reduces spending immediately (and substantially), caps spending in the future, and enacts a Balanced Budget Amendment to tie the hands of Washington politicians. Two weeks ago, the House passed a plan - Cut, Cap, Balance - that does this, but Senator Reid obstinately refused to allow it to be debated. Cut, Cap, Balance is the only real solution that begins to solve Washington's spending addiction - and provides President Obama with the debt ceiling increase he wants to pay off his spending binge of the past 2 years.
This past Friday, the House passed a different bill to raise the debt limit. I opposed the bill because it did not go far enough in reducing spending immediately and did not require passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment. With too many gimmicks, the bill makes few cuts now - and instead makes shallow promises about cuts sometime in the far future. This Congress can only make good on the cuts it promises this year and next; it simply does not work to promise cuts now and hope Washington will make them in the future.
Saturday saw a vote on Majority Leader Harry Reid’s plan (we finally figured out what he was proposing after months of waiting). It was actually similar to the House version of the bill, particularly as it relates to limited cuts. I opposed that bill, too. America needs a firmer and more permanent solution. (Amazingly, President Obama hasn't even produced a detailed plan either - so much for leadership.)
In addition to spending cuts, the American people need to see that Washington is serious about getting spending under control once and for all. Both Moody’s and S&P – two of the major credit rating agencies – offered powerful statements this past week that in addition to spending cuts, Washington needs a clear plan to reduce its overall debt. Our creditworthiness depends on it. And Cut, Cap, Balance is the only plan that delivers this.
I had several interviews on TV this week about the debt debate. I hope you’ll take a few minutes to learn more about my perspective:
- Thursday – CNN’s “In the Arena”
- Thursday – MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports”
- Tuesday – Fox News Live
And - be sure to tune in to Huckabee on Fox News tonight - Sunday - at 8 PM ET/
7 PM CT. I'll be on live discussing the ongoing debt negotiations in Washington.