Congressman Kevin Brady
Texas insider Report: WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week I returned another $108,289 to the treasury from my office budget for 2013, bringing my five year total returned to $1,010,050. Our office has reduced spending every year since 2009. Why is this important?
These are your hard-earned tax dollars and we try to watch every penny. Most years we operate our offices on only 85 percent of the budget, returning the rest to the treasury where it is used for deficit reduction.
We try to operate our office like a business – efficiently, with strong customer service. We want to show other Washington agencies that they can live below their budgets, too. Every one of our staff watches the budget carefully. They are fully committed to spending wisely, and I appreciate their efforts.
Keeping Our Promises
Last week Congress voted to reverse the proposed cuts to the cost of living adjustments for younger military retirees. We must keep America’s promise to our veterans, so I supported restoring the full COLA’s. Changing retirement benefits mid-career isn’t fair to our military men and women who serve us.
However, this doesn’t solve the $2.7 trillion shortfall in the military retirement system. Both parties in Congress can’t keep “kicking the can down the road” and ducking this issue. America owes it to our veterans to find the right solution that guarantees them their retirement will be there when they need it.
Living Within Our Means
Democrat lawmakers in Congress voted almost unanimously to suspend America’s debt ceiling until March of next year – without any spending cuts or reforms. With a national debt of over $17 trillion, I strongly opposed the measure.
It’s important that America pays its debts on time and in full, but Washington must cut wasteful spending and begin to live within its means. Republicans have successfully secured $2.2 trillion in real spending cuts including the sequester savings. The annual deficits have been cut by nearly two-thirds from President Obama’s record setting high levels. Much of the budget is now operating at below 2009 levels. The entire federal budget has actually shrunk two years in a row.
That’s not nearly good enough. We need a budget not only balances but sets a clear pathway to a debt-free America.
Stopping The IRS
Last week my House Ways & Means Committee passed the Stop Targeting of Political Beliefs by the IRS Act of 2014 to suspend new IRS on certain non-profit organizations.
Make no mistake, the goal of these new IRS rules is to intimidate ‘We the People’. The darkest days in America’s history are when the government uses its immense power to silence the voices of those who disagreed. We suffered under this intimidation during the civil rights era, the anti-war era and now against citizens and volunteers who are conservative, pro-Israel or pro-life.
Whether you are Republican or Democrat, Tea Party or progressive, as Americans we cannot allow any White House to target average citizens who simply want to freely participate in our democratic process. It must be stopped now.
Another Day, Another Delay
When the White House recently announced yet another delay of an Affordable Care Act mandate – this time for businesses with 50-99 workers – you would think that our local Texas businesses would be relieved.
They are not. They tell me this doesn’t solve the problem of higher health care costs they’re facing. It just creates more uncertainty and makes them less likely to expand their business or hire new workers. They believe the Affordable Care Act mandate should be repealed for every business – large or small – and every family, too!
I couldn’t agree more.
