-- Randy’s Roundup  --

A Weekly Newsletter from Congressman Randy Neugebauer

February 14, 2011

Budget/Continuing Resolution

This week, the House will vote on H.R. 1, the Full Year Continuing Appropriations Act of 2011. The government has been functioning on piecemeal legislation that has temporarily extended appropriations authorizations since the 2011 Fiscal Year began on October 1, 2010. The Democratic-led Congress failed to pass a single appropriations bill last year, so Congress now needs to pass a bill to keep the government funded.  There are currently $100 billion in proposed discretionary spending cuts from President Obama’s budget request for the 2011 fiscal year.

Passing this Continuing Resolution before the current one expires on March 4, 2011, would prevent a complete shut-down of the government, and more importantly, significantly cut government spending that reduce the deficit for FY11.  A growing economy is the best ingredient for creating jobs, which is the boost our country needs to get us back on the right track. To get our economy moving again, we need to give the market place certainty about the fiscal future of this great country.

Oversight Hearing

Tomorrow, February 15, I will be chairing the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations in the House Financial Services Committee.  We will be holding its first hearing of the 112th Congress. The main topic will be the taxpayer-funded expenses for legal fees for the former leadership of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. More than $160 million of taxpayer money has been spent defending the executives of these companies, an outrageous sum of money spent protecting the very people who ran Freddie and Fannie into the ditch.

Since the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) began overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae has paid approximately $24 million in legal fees for former executives, including Franklin Raines ($7.9 million), Timothy Howard ($4.5 million), and Leanne Spencer ($11.8 million) to defend civil lawsuits alleging they failed to meet their duties. An additional $30 million has been spent defending other officers and directors. These numbers are simply unacceptable. I plan to question a number of witnesses tomorrow about the use of taxpayer money to fund personal lawsuits.

District Work Week

I will be in the district February 21 – 25th, and attending many exciting events such as a meeting with Lubbock Area Bankers, the African American Leadership Forum Lunch Honoring Black History Month, and a meeting with the Abilene Teachers Federal Credit Union. I look forward to being back in Texas.

Question of the Week

“In light of the Continuing Resolution the House will vote on this week, do you think a $100 billion spending cut is a good start to reduce our $1.6 trillion deficit?”

Please visit my website to submit your answer to this week's question.

Thank you for your continuing responses to our “Question of the Week”. Here are the results from last week’s question:

“Do you believe that some government agencies and/or departments duplicate their functions and purposes? Should such agencies be combined?”

Yes – 95.4%
No – 2 %
Not sure – 2.5%

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As always, when events unfold in Washington, I will be sure to update you. In the meantime, do not hesitate to visit my website or call my office toll free district wide at (888) 763-1611 or my Washington, DC office at 202-225-4005.