-- Randy’s Roundup --

A Weekly Newsletter from Congressman Randy Neugebauer

December 5, 2011

Major Legislation for Remainder of 2011

The House of Representatives is expected to vote soon on legislation that will likely extend the payroll tax holiday, unemployment benefits, and fix the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula for physicians. I am concerned that the payroll tax holiday, so far, has amounted to a $111 billion transfer from the general fund to the Social Security Trust Fund for 2011. While I have not seen the legislation or details of these extensions yet, there has been discussion of paying for some of these programs by offsetting spending in other areas. I believe that Congress must get serious about reducing the deficit. Making real cuts or finding offsets to spending will not be easy, but continuing budget gimmicks will once again leave future generations of Americans with the bill.

Department of Labor New Proposed Child Labor Rule Would Affect Family Farms

The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed a new child labor rule that would affect family farms in rural America. The proposed rule would make it illegal for workers under 16 to operate power equipment, work with livestock, or perform other chores that the government deems too dangerous on farms not owned or operated by the workers’ parents.

Children have been helping their parents on the farm since the founding of our country. The safety of each child is of utmost importance on a farm or ranch, but I believe each family has the ability, the responsibility and the right to determine what his or her child can and cannot do. The government should not be involved in every decision made by families on farms and ranches across the country. This administration is trying to create a bigger, more powerful government that permeates every aspect of the American way of life. I will continue to monitor this new proposed rule from the Labor Department as it goes through the rule-making process.

House Committees to Review MF Global Bankruptcy

Since November, the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee on the House Financial Services Committee, of which I am Chairman, has been investigating the collapse of MF Global, a New York-based brokerage firm, and missing customer funds of as much as $1.2 billion. Futures contracts are a responsible way for businesses and farmers to hedge their risk. This bankruptcy has shaken markets and further eroded the trust that people and small businesses have in markets.

On December 15th, my subcommittee will hold a comprehensive hearing on the decisions and events leading to the bankruptcy of MF Global. This bankruptcy has caused several thousand account holders to have their accounts and money frozen. We must delve into every aspect of MF Global’s collapse in a complete and thorough way. The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee will look into the regulatory and corporate behavior that led to the mishandling of customers’ money.

Many farmers and ranchers lost accounts because of MF Global’s collapse. Therefore, the House Agriculture Committee, of which I am a member, will also be reviewing the MF Global Bankruptcy with a hearing on December 8th.