A constituent called my office this week to say his personal family budget has already been affected this year by higher gas prices and higher taxes leaving him with a smaller paycheck. He wanted to know why it is okay for him to have to cut his budget, when at the same time the president and Democrats say we cannot survive spending cuts to the federal government’s budget.
He is absolutely right. Washington has a spending problem and as responsible stewards of your tax dollars, it is our duty in Congress to ensure that the federal government is living within its means.
Despite what many Democrats try to deny, spending IS the problem. Our country is $16.5 trillion in debt and millions of Americans are struggling to make ends meet, but instead of cutting wasteful spending, the President continues to push for higher taxes on hardworking Americans. The American people expect the government to eliminate waste and cut spending — as they are doing in their households.
Don’t Raise Taxes, Cut Waste
There are real, practical ways to cut spending without harming vital programs. Over the past 10 years, the EPA spent more than $100 million on grants to foreign countries, including China, to help with air pollution efforts. Last year, the federal government paid $51.6 million, including $17.6 million to a Washington D.C. public relations firm, to promote Obamacare. Each year the IRS spends $4 million to operate its own TV studio – IRS TV.
These are just a few examples of wasteful government spending. Please visit http://www.gop.gov/sequester/ for more information about how the government is spending your money and where we can lower the costs.
America’s Tax Burden
When the government continues to spend money on wasteful government projects like these, the last thing anyone in Washington should be pushing is a tax hike.
The chart below from the Heritage Foundation shows the increased tax burden Americans are already bearing this year.
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Traveling Anywhere But to the Senate
Instead of urging Senate Democrats to pass a smarter replacement for his sequester, President Obama has been travelling across the country — but not down the street to meet with the Senate. Click here or on the image below to see where the president has traveled over the past two weeks.
Working with Businesses in the Second District
It was a privilege meeting with constituents and visiting local businesses last week including the Cancer Center of North Carolina in Dunn and the Atlantic & Western Railroad Facility in Sanford. I was also excited to tour the Novartis Influenza Cell Culture Facility in Holly Springs (pictured above), and participate in a demonstration of Cisco’s TelePresence technology at Cisco’s Research Triangle Park Campus.