News For the Ninth
News For the Ninth
By Congressman Blaine
Luetkemeyer
9th 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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