This column was submitted to The Richmond Observer to the constituents of Congressman Robert Pittenger and the ninth district of North Carolina:
President Ronald Reagan once said the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” Too often, the government’s “help” is more unnecessary regulations, more taxes, and an even bigger bureaucracy.
In 2009, when President Obama took office, America’s national debt was $10.6 trillion. Last year, President Obama’s final budget plan called for the federal debt to double by 2026, leaving our country in enormous peril for future generations. We cannot allow our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to be left with burdensome taxes to pay for our generation’s debt, or with a crippled economy.
We must restore fiscal sanity in Washington.
As a leader of the conservative Republican Study Committee, I recently helped draft a FY2018 budget proposal which provides a responsible fiscal path and includes more than 250 specific policy reforms and $200 billion in mandatory spending cuts.
Under our conservative Republican budget proposal, the federal budget will be balanced by 2023 and spending will be reduced by $10 trillion over the next decade. This is the responsible and sustainable fiscal path America needs.
Washington operates on outdated, inefficient, and ineffective systems. Our conservative Republican Study Committee budget supports common sense reforms to healthcare, Social Security, Medicare, the tax code, welfare, and the bureaucracy.
As your Congressman, I worked this year to help pass conservative legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives to repeal and replace Obamacare. Now, the Senate must not let down the American people. Obamacare is collapsing, nationwide and here in North Carolina.
Regarding Social Security and Medicare, our conservative budget proposal offers careful, prudent steps to reform both programs so they can be preserved for current and future recipients.
Creating more jobs and encouraging people to get back to work is one of the most important provisions of our conservative 2018 budget proposal. Reducing unnecessary regulations and establishing a fair tax code will promote the creation of good-paying jobs and economic growth. Modernizing the Disability Insurance program to prevent fraud is another key provision. Creating compassionate requirements to encourage self-sufficiency among welfare recipients will empower families, individuals, and our community.
One of the key money-saving components of the conservative Republican Study Committee budget proposal is my “USA Act,” which is bipartisan legislation designed to save hardworking American taxpayers at least $57 billion over the next decade. My “USA Act” directs the sale of surplus government property, leverages the federal government’s massive buying power, creates a better fraud detection system for Medicare and Medicaid, and saves money by creating a paperless Congress.
Americans work hard for their money, and Washington has a responsibility to spend their tax dollars wisely and efficiently. My “USA Act” is bipartisan legislation making common sense reforms to how bureaucrats spend your money and is an important step to restoring fiscal sanity and creating an opportunity economy for all Americans.
America needs a responsible and sustainable fiscal path to secure our future. A path which relieves future generations of debt, economic uncertainty, and a burdensome government. As your Congressman, and a leader of the conservative Republican Study Committee, I will fight for a conservative, fiscally responsible 2018 budget.
MY THOUGHTS ON SENATE HEALTHCARE VOTE
My constituents asked me to repeal and replace Obamacare, and I am proud to have worked with my colleagues in the House of Representatives to deliver. We passed conservative healthcare reform in the House. The Senate must not let down the American people.
Obamacare is collapsing. Here in the Ninth Congressional District, every county has just one Obamacare provider, Blue Cross, and even they have repeatedly threatened to pull out.
Having passed conservative healthcare reform in the House, my colleagues and I are now moving forward on tax reform. We must reduce individual and corporate taxes for hardworking American families and simplify the tax code. We will get this accomplished for the American people.
Congressman Robert Pittenger (NC-09) is Chairman of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare, Vice Chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance, and serves on the House Financial Services Committee, with a special focus on supporting small businesses, community banks, and credit unions.