Recent Press Releases and News

What’s more than 70,000 pages long, needs hired help to understand and unfairly impacts individuals, families, and businesses across this nation? It’s called the federal tax code, and it’s time to free us all from its tangled web by enacting the long-overdue FairTax.

At 131-pages-long, the FairTax is a national sales tax on all new products sold in the United States. It replaces three-million-plus words of outdated Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code with one tax based solely on what Americans spend.

In these tough economic times, spending$265 billion and 6.1 billion hours filling out tax forms does not make common sense. Yet, that’s what citizens do each and every year. We can all agree that this amount of time and money can be better spent on growing the economy and creating jobs.

Congress can help by passing the Fair Tax Act of 2011 (H.R. 25), legislation I have backed since 2006 that will create economic peace of mind now and in generations to come.

Upon implementation, the easy-to-understand FairTax would rid us of thousands of pages of regulations and loopholes. In its place would remain a transparent national sales tax on goods and services administered primarily by the states. Federal income taxes as well as the FICA payroll tax would be eliminated, and the IRS would no longer be needed.

The FairTax protects the poor and treats everyone equally: no exemptions, no exclusions, no advantages. People would be allowed to keep their entire paycheck and spend those hard-earned dollars on ways they best suit them. On the business side of the equation, labor costs are lowered by eliminating payroll taxes, allowing companies to hire more workers.

Americans deserve to keep more of their paycheck in their wallets and bank accounts. They don’t need to be finding more dollars to send to Washington to fund big and costly government programs. That’s part of what has gotten the country into the bleak economic state it is in now.

Grim statistics headline the news - debt topping $16 trillion and unemployment at 8.1 percent, all at a time when Americans are working harder than ever to pay bills and put food on the table.

Easing these burdens will be a tough road to travel, but I am up for the hard work needed to enact true and lasting fiscal reforms, like the FairTax.

Recently, the House of Representatives made headway toward growing the economy and putting Americans back to work by passing the Job Protection and Recession Prevention Act, the Red Tape Reduction and Small Business Job Creation Act, and the Repeal ObamaCare Act.

Add the FairTax to that list, and we’ve given the nation yet another tool with which to build a solid foundation for the future. It’s a vote Congress needs to take, and I’m fighting to see that it happens sooner rather than later.

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WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Ander Crenshaw, a member of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, voted for a series of bills that aim to put veterans back to work, reduce homelessness, and expand accessibility to health care.

“The servicemen and women who put their lives on the line to protect our freedom at home and abroad deserve our full support when it comes to health care, housing, and jobs,” said Crenshaw. “Carefully analyzed policy that expands accessibility to health care, reduces homelessness, and increases training and employment opportunities for skilled veterans makes common sense. Our veterans deserve opportunities for top-notch health care, a place to live, and the chance to use their expertise in the civilian sector. I’m proud to support legislation that opens doors for them to receive the care they’ve earned and allows them to put their job skills to full use.”

Crenshaw joined House colleagues in supporting passage of the following bills on Wednesday, September 19:

Veterans Affairs Construction Projects and Powers (H.R. 6375):

H.R. 6375 would authorize $418 million for three projects in fiscal year 2013 or the year in which the funds are appropriated for renovations to a surgical suite and operating rooms in Miami, Florida and construction of a mental health facility in Seattle, Washington and a spinal cord injury center in Dallas, Texas.

• Vulnerable Veterans Housing Reform Act (H.R. 6361):

Under current law, veterans who receive assistance, including bathing, feeding, dressing or adjusting prosthetic devices must count this aid as income when determining eligibility for assistance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. H.R. 6361 would exempt this aid from eligibility calculations, thus enabling more veterans to qualify for housing benefits.

• Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act of 2012 (H.R. 4124):

H.R. 4124 authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services to provide demonstration grants to states to assist them in determining whether veterans who were trained as emergency medical technicians while in the armed forces could be hired as civilian EMTs without having to undergo training that is possible duplicative.

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Recent Speeches and Statements

Congressman Ander Crenshaw commended the heroism of the late WWII Veteran Clyde L. Hillhouse in a floor speech and urged colleagues to pass legislation naming the White Springs, Florida Post Office in his honor.
Congressman Crenshaw addresses his House colleagues on on November 7, 2009 with concerns over how health care reform will impact the nation's military.

Recent Audio and Video

Video of Congressman Crenshaw floor statement on FY 2013 Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill.