News For the Ninth

By Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer

9^th District of Missouri

Our country is facing historical fiscal challenges that simply cannot be solved overnight.

We recently took a step in addressing this challenge by passing the largest real-dollar spending cut in American history. To help create a better environment for job creation, we successfully negotiated nearly $40 billion in Washington spending cuts for the budget year ending on September 30, 2011. This was just months after President Obama asked Congress for a spending “freeze,” which meant zero cuts.

While these cuts are historic, they don’t come close to curing our nation’s spending-driven debt crisis. These spending cuts represent only a fraction of the problem, and like in football, we have to keep our eyes on the goal line and not the yard line. However, House Republicans have struck a blow to the culture of spending in Washington. These cuts are critical, because they represent the first step in taking our nation off the path to national bankruptcy. They give employers the confidence they need to expand their businesses, and in saving our children from lives indebted to the Chinese.

The reality is that House Republicans control one-half of one of the three branches of government in Washington, and President Obama and Washington liberals have fought our efforts to cut spending every step of the way. The bottom line is we have to stop spending money we don’t have. We have to stop borrowing 42 cents on the dollar, much of it from the Chinese, and sending the bill to our children and grandchildren. If families across America have to tighten their belts, Washington should do the same.

House Republicans will now advance our fight from saving billions of dollars to saving trillions of dollars as we turn our focus in earnest to House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s Fiscal Year 2012 budget.

I believe the best way to revive the economy and create jobs is to reduce government spending that will encourage businesses to grow and create jobs. However, it is important that we remember our economy is built on individual liberty, entrepreneurship, and equal opportunity. The new budget will also relieve some of the regulatory burdens and cut taxes to leave more of your hard-earned dollars in your pockets. This budget puts the emphasis back on individuals and entrepreneurs rather than the government.

Another important area of the new budget deals with utilizing and developing our own natural resources for our own energy needs – something we must do to relieve our dependence on foreign energy sources.

I will remain focused on cutting the budget and reducing the deficit and debt, but it’s a situation that took years of out-of-control government spending to create. The conservative message of less spending and a smaller government is now driving the debate in Washington, and the president and the liberals have finally come to the table to negotiate real spending cuts.

If we do not take responsible and effective steps to control our debt and spending, our interest rates will rise, our currency will weaken, and our economy will stagnate. If there is no market confidence in America, others will turn their backs on us, and we have the potential to become a high-risk nation like Greece or Portugal.

During this critical time in our country’s history, I ask that you stay engaged and keep abreast of the seriousness of the spending and debt issues facing our nation. We have to take these steps now in order to protect the future for our children and grandchildren.

CONTACT US:As always, for those of you with Internet access, I encourage you to visit my website. For those without access to the Internet, I encourage you to call my offices in Columbia (573-443-1041), Washington, Mo. (636-239-2276), or Hannibal (573-231-1012) with your questions and concerns.If you want even greater access to what I am working on, please visit my YouTube site and my Facebook page.

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