Farm Bill Forums Scheduled

In order to get input from West Texas agriculture producers, I will be hosting a series of Farm Bill Forums next week across the 19th District.  The first forum will take place on Monday, April 9 at the Ollie Liner Center in Plainview from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.  A second forum will be held next Tuesday, April 10, in Seminole at 10:00 a.m. at the Old City Hall.  I will then travel to Abilene Wednesday, April 11 where I will host the final forum at the Texas Cooperative Extension Office from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.  If you are unable to attend one of the forums, but still want to let me know your ideas, please email me at randy@mail.house.gov or call my office toll free at 1-888-763-7611.

Tale of Two Budgets

The major piece of legislation debated and voted on in the House last week was the federal budget for 2008.  During the debate, two competing proposals took center stage.  One proposal – the one I supported – would set a blueprint for balancing the budget by 2012 without raising taxes. This proposal would extend the child tax credit, marriage penalty relief, and death tax relief.  It would also make necessary reforms to ensure that entitlement programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, continue to provide promised benefits for generations to come.

The second proposal – which I voted against – increases spending, ignores the looming crisis for entitlement programs, and relies on budget gimmicks and massive tax hikes to balance the budget.  In fact, according to the House Budget Committee, this increase translates into an average tax hike of $2,755 for nearly 8 million Texas taxpayers.  Our economy has experienced enormous prosperity in recent years as more than 7 million jobs have been created and unemployment has dropped.  Raising taxes and increasing spending would put this prosperity in jeopardy.  Although this second proposal won out in the end, I will continue to push for sound economic policies that keep taxes low and create an environment for small businesses to succeed.

House Protects Passengers Reporting Suspicious Activity

The House also considered a bill regarding transportation security.  While the vast majority of the bill is misguided policy, we were successful in improving the bill during debate by adding a common sense provision that protects passengers who report suspicious activity. 

Last November, passengers on a US Airways flight reported what they considered to be suspicious activity. Their reports resulted in six Muslim imams being removed from the plane. Now, after no charges were filed, those six imams are suing U.S. Airways and the passengers who reported them.  Despite increases in security within our transportation systems, we still need American citizens to be on alert and report suspicious activity when they see it.  When they do so in good faith, they should be commended, not subjected to frivolous and costly lawsuits.  In addition to protecting future passengers, this measure also retroactively applies to the passengers involved in the U.S. Airways incident.

Latest From the Newsroom…

Click on the following links to read my latest news releases:

Neugebauer Named “Taxpayers’ Friend” by Watchdog Group
Neugebauer Backs Fiscally Responsible Budget Extending Tax Relief