Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI), who is also a member of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, made the following statement on Thursday evening in response to President Obama’s address before a Joint Session of Congress:
“I appreciate the President’s focus on the economy and the need to get Americans working again. Where we agree – like the need to pass the long pending, job creating trade agreements – we should act and act now. All we need is for the President to send Congress the agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea so the American people can begin to take advantage of the up to 250,000 jobs they will create. However, I was disappointed that the President did not discuss the one area that can truly spark sustained private-sector job creation in this country – comprehensive tax reform. Given job creation stood at zero last month and roughly 14 million Americans remain out of work, I hope the President is not backing away from his support for one of the boldest actions that Washington can take to get America back on track. In the months ahead I look forward to reviewing the details of the President’s proposals and working with the Administration and my colleagues in the House and Senate on pro-growth policies that get America’s employers hiring again and workers back on the job.”
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Westmoreland Reacts to President Obama’s Speech
Tonight, President Barack Obama addressed a joint session of Congress to unveil his initiative to create jobs. During the speech, he introduced his plan to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits, and spend more than $200 billion on new infrastructure and in grants to state and local governments. In total, the president’s plan is expected to cost approximately $450 billion. The president promised that offsets of these costs would be a part of his plan, but didn’t mention any specifics during the actual speech. Below is Congressman Westmoreland’s reaction to the speech.
“Tonight, President Obama introduced his latest ‘jobs’ plan, the American Jobs Act. It’s a catchy name, sure, but I’m certain the people of Georgia’s Third Congressional District aren’t fooled by this catchy name. Like me, they look at this ‘jobs’ plan and see what it really is: more of the same old, same old.
“I mean, haven’t we already been down this road? Hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars thrown down the drain, chasing the belief that government is the only answer; that government must step in to save our economy. Isn’t this exactly what we saw a little more than two years ago when the president promised us that if we passed his $800 billion stimulus plan, unemployment wouldn’t rise above eight percent? Instead, as we all remember, all we saw was unemployment reach an unimaginable 10 percent and our national debt reach an astounding $14 trillion. And all the while, the president promised over and over that his new $450 billion so-called jobs bill would be paid for. I guess he’s right. It will be paid for by our children and grandchildren for generations – just like his last stimulus.
“The president’s speech tonight shows the stark difference between his beliefs and mine. He believes that government creates jobs. He believes that overregulation is necessary because small businesses don’t have enough to worry about. I just don’t agree. I believe that it is American ingenuity and the hard work of the American worker that drives this economy. I believe that private industry creates jobs and that through them we can revive our economy and return this country to the greatness we know it can be. And I believe that overly burdensome regulations put a strangle-hold on our small businesses and discourage them from expanding and hiring new people.
“Our economy is in a tough spot and we need serious reforms to our system to get us back on track. Unfortunately, it seems President Obama just wants to keep plugging away at his failed policies. We were told tonight’s speech would be a grand agenda; a new idea to get Americans back to work. And instead, I feel like it’s 2009 all over again. It reminds me of that old saying, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. While I would never call the President of the United States insane, it does make you think.
“Since gaveling the 112th Congress into session this January, House Republicans have spent this year working on legislation to encourage private companies to expand and grow, to alleviate the onerous regulations that strangle job creation, and to scale back federal spending. Unfortunately, Congressional Democrats and President Obama have done everything in their power to stop this – continuing their plan to spend us out of this recession. Now is the time for real action, not more speeches. The president needs to abandon his failed policies and work with House Republicans to enact legislation that will actually get Americans back to work and get our economy back on track,” stated Westmoreland.
“Tonight, President Obama introduced his latest ‘jobs’ plan, the American Jobs Act. It’s a catchy name, sure, but I’m certain the people of Georgia’s Third Congressional District aren’t fooled by this catchy name. Like me, they look at this ‘jobs’ plan and see what it really is: more of the same old, same old.
“I mean, haven’t we already been down this road? Hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars thrown down the drain, chasing the belief that government is the only answer; that government must step in to save our economy. Isn’t this exactly what we saw a little more than two years ago when the president promised us that if we passed his $800 billion stimulus plan, unemployment wouldn’t rise above eight percent? Instead, as we all remember, all we saw was unemployment reach an unimaginable 10 percent and our national debt reach an astounding $14 trillion. And all the while, the president promised over and over that his new $450 billion so-called jobs bill would be paid for. I guess he’s right. It will be paid for by our children and grandchildren for generations – just like his last stimulus.
“The president’s speech tonight shows the stark difference between his beliefs and mine. He believes that government creates jobs. He believes that overregulation is necessary because small businesses don’t have enough to worry about. I just don’t agree. I believe that it is American ingenuity and the hard work of the American worker that drives this economy. I believe that private industry creates jobs and that through them we can revive our economy and return this country to the greatness we know it can be. And I believe that overly burdensome regulations put a strangle-hold on our small businesses and discourage them from expanding and hiring new people.
“Our economy is in a tough spot and we need serious reforms to our system to get us back on track. Unfortunately, it seems President Obama just wants to keep plugging away at his failed policies. We were told tonight’s speech would be a grand agenda; a new idea to get Americans back to work. And instead, I feel like it’s 2009 all over again. It reminds me of that old saying, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. While I would never call the President of the United States insane, it does make you think.
“Since gaveling the 112th Congress into session this January, House Republicans have spent this year working on legislation to encourage private companies to expand and grow, to alleviate the onerous regulations that strangle job creation, and to scale back federal spending. Unfortunately, Congressional Democrats and President Obama have done everything in their power to stop this – continuing their plan to spend us out of this recession. Now is the time for real action, not more speeches. The president needs to abandon his failed policies and work with House Republicans to enact legislation that will actually get Americans back to work and get our economy back on track,” stated Westmoreland.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
First they came...
First they came for my alcohol and I thought, hey, it's bad for you so it is good.
Then they relented, of course...
Then they came for my drugs and I knew it was good. That stuff is bad for you.
Then they came for my cigarettes. OK, I know they'll kill a person so stop them from advertising, go after the companies, put skulls and crossbones on the packages, I don't care. I quit already.
Then they came for my hamburgers. Well, not mine, I'm a vegetarian, so I know that nasty meat should be regulated. I hope they go after chicken, too.
Then they came for my sodas. Who cares, I thought, I don't drink them anyway. They make me feel bloated. I like my water, preferably in a bottle so I can carry it around easily, of course.
Then they came for my sugar and I thought, what the heck, I know that stuff is bad for you, glad they're going after it finally. Toxic stuff, you know?
Then they came for my cereal and I said, WHAT? I like cereal. But, oh, it's bad for you, I didn't realize. I guess I can live with it since it's nasty. Guess I better stockpile the stuff though.
Then they came for my peanut butter. Too much sugar, and too high in sodium. Huh, I thought, I can agree with them, it's bad, our kids are getting fatter, I'll hang with them on that one (but I'll still buy it with the warning labels and lack of advertising).
Then they came for my salt shaker. I was already cutting back so it didn't matter that much.
Then they came for my bottled water. Plastic is bad for the environment, bad for me, too they say. Well, I guess I'll pick up some water filters and use my cups made from potatoes. How's that for being environmentally correct?
Then they came for my vitamins. Now they were getting a little bit too close for comfort. I was all for making those nasty meat eating, sugar dunkin', high blood pressure sodium eater types cut back, but take my vitamins?
Then they came for my caffeine. They wanted it out of all coffee, tea and sodas. Oh wait, they'd already come for the sodas, they're off the market, gone out of business.
I watched as they came after movies, television programs, light bulbs, put gauges on my electric system to ensure I didn't use to much. I noted as they killed the auto industry with requirements that were impossible in an effort to "save" the world by cutting back on gas emissions. I tried to ride the train to work, the one that increased my taxes substantially, but it took three times as long to get to work, it smelled and I didn't feel safe with all the out-of-work thugs hanging out riding all day. Then I got laid off so it didn't matter anyway.
I wasn't really shocked when Wall Street crashed for the umpteenth time, heck, the number of companies still making a profit in the government regulated world were few and who had money to invest anyway?
Of course, by the time the America that existed when I was a child was gone anyway. The advertisers went first. Nothing much to advertise since the government regulated all the products and only certain ones were allowed to sell. The TV stations were all government subsidized and regulated because they couldn't make any revenue from advertising. The only people with jobs were those who worked for the government subsidized companies and farms. With the food industry being hit so hard by all the regulations most people went to the black market for their food fixes. The only place to get decent food was from the so-called 'third-world countries" assuming you had the money to buy it or travel on government owned planes or trains.
It's a shame I wasn't able to look at the bigger picture way back when and realize that with every incremental step the government took to "help" me they were eroding my freedoms and moving us one step closer to the end of a free America.
When they came for my home and my children I stood up and yelled, but there was no one left to hear or help.
Then they relented, of course...
Then they came for my drugs and I knew it was good. That stuff is bad for you.
Then they came for my cigarettes. OK, I know they'll kill a person so stop them from advertising, go after the companies, put skulls and crossbones on the packages, I don't care. I quit already.
Then they came for my hamburgers. Well, not mine, I'm a vegetarian, so I know that nasty meat should be regulated. I hope they go after chicken, too.
Then they came for my sodas. Who cares, I thought, I don't drink them anyway. They make me feel bloated. I like my water, preferably in a bottle so I can carry it around easily, of course.
Then they came for my sugar and I thought, what the heck, I know that stuff is bad for you, glad they're going after it finally. Toxic stuff, you know?
Then they came for my cereal and I said, WHAT? I like cereal. But, oh, it's bad for you, I didn't realize. I guess I can live with it since it's nasty. Guess I better stockpile the stuff though.
Then they came for my peanut butter. Too much sugar, and too high in sodium. Huh, I thought, I can agree with them, it's bad, our kids are getting fatter, I'll hang with them on that one (but I'll still buy it with the warning labels and lack of advertising).
Then they came for my salt shaker. I was already cutting back so it didn't matter that much.
Then they came for my bottled water. Plastic is bad for the environment, bad for me, too they say. Well, I guess I'll pick up some water filters and use my cups made from potatoes. How's that for being environmentally correct?
Then they came for my vitamins. Now they were getting a little bit too close for comfort. I was all for making those nasty meat eating, sugar dunkin', high blood pressure sodium eater types cut back, but take my vitamins?
Then they came for my caffeine. They wanted it out of all coffee, tea and sodas. Oh wait, they'd already come for the sodas, they're off the market, gone out of business.
I watched as they came after movies, television programs, light bulbs, put gauges on my electric system to ensure I didn't use to much. I noted as they killed the auto industry with requirements that were impossible in an effort to "save" the world by cutting back on gas emissions. I tried to ride the train to work, the one that increased my taxes substantially, but it took three times as long to get to work, it smelled and I didn't feel safe with all the out-of-work thugs hanging out riding all day. Then I got laid off so it didn't matter anyway.
I wasn't really shocked when Wall Street crashed for the umpteenth time, heck, the number of companies still making a profit in the government regulated world were few and who had money to invest anyway?
Of course, by the time the America that existed when I was a child was gone anyway. The advertisers went first. Nothing much to advertise since the government regulated all the products and only certain ones were allowed to sell. The TV stations were all government subsidized and regulated because they couldn't make any revenue from advertising. The only people with jobs were those who worked for the government subsidized companies and farms. With the food industry being hit so hard by all the regulations most people went to the black market for their food fixes. The only place to get decent food was from the so-called 'third-world countries" assuming you had the money to buy it or travel on government owned planes or trains.
It's a shame I wasn't able to look at the bigger picture way back when and realize that with every incremental step the government took to "help" me they were eroding my freedoms and moving us one step closer to the end of a free America.
When they came for my home and my children I stood up and yelled, but there was no one left to hear or help.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)