“Congressman Discusses Early Action in Cut and Grow Congress”

MINEOLA – U.S. Congressman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), a leading fiscal conservative and Chairman of the House Republican Conference, was in Wood County on Thursday, February 3rd to discuss recent action he has taken to cut wasteful Washington spending and to remove Washington’s barriers to job creation.

Hensarling explained how the new Republican-led Congress was laying groundwork to change the way of doing business in Washington.  “House Republicans made a Pledge to America that we would change the way Congress works, cut spending immediately and hold an up-or-down vote on the job-destroying ObamaCare law. We did all three during the first month of this session.”

Hensarling also told attendees he voted to reduce the budget for each Member, each committee, and the leadership offices of the House of Representatives by 5%.  The legislation he supported also reduces the budget of the Appropriations Committee by 9%. 

“House Republicans are walking the walk on reducing the size and scope of the federal government by first cutting the House budget,” said Congressman Jeb Hensarling.  “The cost of government is not what it taxes, but what it spends, and House Republicans are starting right here, right now, to actually spend less on government.  We challenge the Obama administration and Senate Democrats to join us.”

“We’ve voted to save taxpayers $617 million by ending taxpayer funding for candidates and conventions. We’ve cut our own budget by five-percent, saving taxpayers at least $35 million to start. We’ve changed the culture of the House by holding weekly “YouCut” votes to cut spending and eliminate wasteful government programs,” added Hensarling.

Hensarling also shared his thoughts on President Obama’s State of the Union address recently. “Unfortunately, what the American people heard during the State of the Union was broad themes coupled with recycled, ineffective ideas reminding me that, while I tend to agree with about 80% of what the President says, I disagree with about 80% of what he does,” explained Hensarling.

“A key theme to the President’s speech was ‘investment.’ When the American people hear the word ‘investment,’ they know that means more spending and that results in us going out to borrow another forty cents on the dollar, mainly from the Chinese, and send the bill to our children and our grandchildren. East Texans know that you cannot make a great nation more competitive by bankrupting future generations. When American people hear ‘investment,’ they know that means double down on the failed stimulus plan that has brought us nothing but trillion dollar deficits and near double digit unemployment. We will never be competitive with the Chinese if all we do is borrow their money and we will not create jobs by punishing job creators.”

Hensarling also went on to discuss the vote by the House to repeal Obama Care that took place on January 19. “Creating jobs is the stated top priority of President Obama.  But, the government health care takeover requires small business owners to provide federally-approved health insurance for their employees, or else they get slapped with a fine of up to $2,000 per full-time employee.  Combine that with the half a trillion dollars in new taxes, the 1099 form mandate, the minimum benefit standard and all the other job crushing regulations on small businesses already struggling to make ends meet, and I fail to see how  this will somehow create jobs,” Hensarling added.
 
Another reason Hensarling said ObamaCare must be repealed was simply, “The American people don’t want it.”

Hensarling also discussed important steps the 112th Congress took during the first month of the year. “The 112th Congress began with the adoption of a House rules package that fundamentally changed the way the House works. We now require legislation to cite Constitutional authority - we require that the American people have an opportunity to read legislation before we vote on it - and we changed budget enforcement rules that for too long prioritized the federal budget over the family budget.”

House Republican members also voted to ban all earmarks.  It was also a historic moment for the new Congress when the members required the reading of the Constitution in the well of the House as the first item of business.

“It is our duty to change the culture in the 112th Congress and restore the reputation of this historic institution that we are so privileged to serve on behalf of Americans. We have reached a tipping point where we are firmly on course to be the first generation in America’s history to leave the next generation with less freedom and a lower standard of living. It doesn’t have to be this way. If we are both courageous and smart, together we can preserve the torch of liberty for our children and grandchildren,” concluded Hensarling.