Randys Roundup

President Bush’s Final State of the Union Address
Tonight President Bush will deliver his seventh and final State of the Union Address. To see a preview of the specific issues he will discuss please visit this link: http://www.whitehouse.gov/stateoftheunion/2008/initiatives/index.html. Additionally please visit my website tomorrow to view my reaction to the President’s speech at www.randy.house.gov.

Bipartisanship in Congress to Keep our Economy Strong
I commend President Bush and House leaders from both parties for coming together in a bipartisan manner to address the slowing economy. Economic indicators show a general slowing of growth and continued troubles in the housing market that are placing increased stress on our economy and news of this has shaken consumer and investor confidence.

The package the House will vote on this week would put money back in the pockets of middle class families and would provide businesses with incentives to continue creating new jobs. Small business is the backbone of the American economy and the incentives included in this package will encourage investment and growth.

While I believe the strongest signal Congress could send to the economy would be to make the current tax rates and tax reductions enacted in 2001 and 2003 permanent this economic package was a compromise. In addition my preference would have been to also include spending cuts to offset some of the impact on the deficit. Although not perfect I am optimistic this compromise will achieve what it needs to. By providing rebates and tax cuts to the American people and incentives to businesses we will continue to create new jobs and prevent unemployment from rising.

While there are some negatives in our economy other measures of the economy remain strong.  Unemployment remains at low levels exports are on the rise and incomes are up.  By attempting to get in front of the economic situation before it becomes worse Congress and the Administration are working to ensure we continue to have a robust economy.

In the past few days I have received many calls from you asking how much your tax refund will be and when you can expect it.  Here are a few details.  The proposed plan would provide rebate checks of up to $600 to individuals and $1200 to couples who paid income taxes in 2007 with an additional refund of $300 per child. Estimates suggest that up to 116 million American families will get a rebate. Once this legislation is finalized and signed into law I will be sure to provide additional details.

Permanent FISA Fix
Important updates made in 2007 to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) are set to expire this Friday drastically reducing our intelligence agencies’ ability to properly execute their mission in fighting the militant extremists in the Global War on Terror.

FISA was originally established in 1978 to oversee the collection of foreign intelligence. After September 11 2001 it was carefully amended to remove barriers between criminal and intelligence investigations. It was then modified once again under the Protect America Act (PAA) of 2007. When FISA was originally drafted no one could have ever imagined the expansive growth of technology and global communications. We must keep pace with modern technology and give our intelligence agencies the tools they need to succeed in fighting terror and to keep our homeland safe.

House leaders said an extension of the FISA updates was a priority back in September of 2007; six months later they have done nothing but simply propose a one month extension. The President has said he will veto such legislation.

This is must pass legislation and if time goes by without a permanent fix our military and intelligence agencies will be handcuffed without the tools they need to perform their jobs properly. Our intelligence agencies have made clear that we are in a heightened threat environment with a persistent and evolving terrorist enemy.

On American soil the relative safety of the six years and four months since 9/11 is not an accident; it’s an achievement.

Neglecting to pass a permanent FISA fix will only make our soldiers and our homeland increasingly vulnerable. America is the number one target for terrorist organizations around the globe. It is the fundamental responsibility of this government to ensure the safety of its citizens. Therefore we must pass a permanent and updated FISA law to ensure our ability to track discover and dismantle terrorist cells.