We have yet to pass a budget in the Senate and for an Accountant like me, that’s not only unheard of – it is unthinkable. I wouldn’t dream of trying to run my former business without a plan to guide me. I can’t believe we’re trying to run the country without one. It’s like being in a boat without a rudder. You not only have no idea where you’re going, you can’t even control the direction you’re headed. Surely most people outside of Washington in both parties agree that having a budget is a good thing. I hope they convey that to the leader of the Senate who continues to block a budget.
Mike Enzi3,248 likes · 247 talking about this
3,248 likes · 247 talking about this
- There may be no quick or easy fixes to high-profile acts of violence, but any proposal aimed at protecting our citizens must not take away our Constitutional rights. President Obama has proposed federal actions to restrict gun rights, but not every problem has a federal solution.
- A New Year’s resolution for the Senate should be to follow the law and pass a budget. I recently joined some of my colleagues in sending a letter to new Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray asking for a vigorous hearing and mark-up schedule that would result in the passage of a budget.
- I recently read an Associated Press news article with the headline, “Tax Code Longer Than Bible - Without Good News.” We can fix some of the tax problems even in this partisan climate if we are allowed to actually work on tax policy through the committee process. If the majority leader allows bills in the Senate to go through the Senate Finance Committee and then amendments to be freely offered on the Senate floor, the American public will get some good news.
- I enjoyed learning more about Campbell County Memorial Hospital this week.
- America’s health care issues remain unresolved, and a new study demonstrates how an increase in rules and bureaucracy could overwhelm our insurance market and our health care system. We need reforms that ultimately lower costs for Americans and modernize how healthcare is delivered and paid for, not 10,000 pages of new rules and regulations.
- Many from Wyoming and across the country have expressed concern about a congressional pay raise in these tough economic times. The pay raises were authorized by an executive order that President Obama signed last Friday and would increase the salaries of members of Congress and federal workers. However, one of the provisions in the fiscal cliff deal blocks any congressional raises for the next fis...cal year (which ends in September).
In the last Congress, I cosponsored the No Budget No Pay Act, S.1981, which would have prohibited members of Congress from being paid until a budget was agreed to by both the House and the Senate. It also would have prohibited retroactive pay for any such period. Senator Dean Heller, R-Nev., plans to reintroduce the bill this Congress and I plan to be an original cosponsor.See More - Below is a link to a video of my floor speech earlier this week regarding the possible end of the filibuster as we know it, and the need for all of us to work together to solve America’s pressing issues as the new year unfolds. We need to start legislating and stop deal-making.
- I want to thank all the Wyoming residents that have called my office or left comments here about the fiscal cliff deal. The fiscal cliff deal was not perfect by any means. Had we done nothing and not passed the bill, taxes would have gone up for every American. For Wyoming, that would have meant an approximate $3,000 increase for every tax return filed. That would have meant a lower exemption from... the death tax that would have a devastating effect on our farmers, ranchers, and small businesses. That would have meant cuts to Medicare reimbursement rates that would have an impact on the care our seniors receive and the financial support our Wyoming hospitals and providers need. Voting for the bill, which I did, locked in the current tax rates for 98 percent of Americans and permanently extends the current $5 million per-person estate tax exemption and kept the tax rate from going to 55 percent. It also prevented another economic recession that the Congressional Budget Office had said would happen if the tax increases and across-the-board spending cuts had gone into place.
Don’t get me wrong, there were many things in the bill I did not like. It was a rushed deal, with the Senate majority’s take-it-or-leave it approach. It is the wrong way to address our problems. It’s time to stop deal making and start legislating. I weigh how each bill will affect Wyoming and there is often times not just an easy answer. In this case, I believe protecting most of our taxpayers outweighed all the things I did not support. In the coming months, we will have to address the real issues behind our debt crisis and that is out-of-control spending. That means we will actually have to cut spending, and programs that many people like will see a cut. We will have to do more with less. We didn’t get into a $16 trillion debt and $1 trillion deficits from a lack of revenue, but a lack of will to cut spending. That vote should have taken tax increases out of the equation and puts more pressure and urgency to cut spending.See More - Carbon County residents will have the opportunity to meet with Sandy Tinsley from my Casper office Thursday, January 3. She will be at the Medicine Bow Senior Center from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., the Hanna Town Hall from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., and the Saratoga Town Hall from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, call 307-261-6572.
I meet with people in different parts of the state most weekends, but my staff also holds office hours to answer questions and pass along to me any concerns or ideas you may have. - Two people in a room cutting a deal should not be how we do our country's finances. More input from more elected representatives equals a better result.
- EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced today that she would resign from her position in January. Under this Administration, the EPA has had an anti-energy and therefore anti-Wyoming agenda. The regulations and red tape that have flowed from this one agency have helped slow our economic recovery and have ignored the concerns of farmers, ranchers, and our energy industry. Unfortunately, this is be...ing driven by the White House and I’m not convinced that a new agency head will make much of a difference in the policies we will see over the next four years. There is always a possibility that someone with a more aggressive environmental agenda will lead the EPA in its war on coal and traditional forms of energy.See More
- I hope all of you will be celebrating the holidays with loved ones, as Diana and I will be. We count our blessings every day and are forever thankful. At this time of year, we are especially reminded of how important and meaningful that is. We couldn’t do it without our troops, many of who cannot be with their families because they are ensuring that we can be with ours. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Diana and I.
- Polls show support for cutting government spending and also raising taxes, but when you ask a couple more questions it turns out people are for cutting spending on someone else and increasing someone else’s taxes. We need to be more realis...tic about our fiscal problems, both about how serious they are and what it will take to solve them. We all will need to make sacrifices, not just “those other people who can afford it.” “The rich” are going to have to pay even more, but that won’t be enough. Our government has grown big because as a country we’ve demanded more from it. We demand far more of it than we’ve been willing to pay for. Even if the government took every dime of income away from the “rich” it would only pay for government spending for a few days. For the last few years we’ve been spending $1 trillion more dollars each year than we have in revenue. Those who want to increase taxes will likely get their wish, but if we are ever to get out of our financial hole we have to demand less from government. For more of my thoughts on this topic, click the link below.See More
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