-- Randy's Roundup --

A Weekly Newsletter from Congressman Randy Neugebauer

Obamacare Causes Major Employer to Cut Employee Work Hours

Last week, the Darden Restaurant Group, one of the country’s largest restaurant companies, which owns chains such as Olive Garden, Red Lobster and LongHorn Steakhouse, announced that it will stop offering full-time schedules to many hourly workers in some of its restaurants. The company says this cutback is necessary to address the costs that health care reform will have on its business. While this experiment by Darden will only take place in a select number of restaurants, it is indicative of how jobs are directly affected and the harmful costs employers will face if Obamacare continues to be implemented. I am committed to repealing Obamacare and reforming our health care system without imposing these costs on the economy.  I believe we will continue to see American businesses search for ways to limit the negative impact of the President’s health care law.

Abuse in the Food Stamp Program

At the end of each month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) releases a report on how many people take part in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).  SNAP enrollment—formerly known as the food stamp program—has ballooned to more than 46 million participants. That is one in seven Americans. This growth in food stamps is partly because of the state of our economy – under President Obama, we had 42 consecutive months of unemployment above 8%.  The growth in food stamps has also far outpaced the economic downturn, in part, because the Obama Administration remains opposed to closing loopholes for program eligibility like those outlined in thisGovernment Accountability Office (GAO) report.

SNAP is a valuable program for people who have fallen on hard times and need help feeding their families while they get back on their feet.  However, government benefits must be reserved specifically for our most vulnerable citizens. I’m working to stop abuse and close loopholes in this program. We must ensure that taxpayer dollars are only going to those truly in need of assistance.

National Association of Manufacturers Award

I was honored to recently receive the National Association of Manufacturers’ Award for Manufacturing Legislation Excellence. This award is given to Members of Congress who support a pro-growth, pro-jobs agenda and achieve a rating of 70 percent or better on “Key Manufacturing Votes.” I was proud to receive a 92 percent. The U.S. is the world’s largest manufacturing economy, and supports an estimated 17 million jobs. In our current financial situation, it is important that we support the manufacturing industry not only for its contribution to the workforce, but also for its contribution to our economy and our standard of living.

Action Item of the Week

This Friday, I will address the Society of Environmental Journalists in Lubbock. This annual conference promotes and explores the skill of reporting on energy issues. I am a strong advocate for an all-of-the-above energy strategy, and continually look for ways to ensure that America is safely utilizing all of our bountiful domestic energy resources.