This month, I have hosted three Town Halls in the district and visited with nearly 20 business and community groups to listen to their ideas about getting this country back on its feet and back to work, and update them on what’s going on in Congress.
I point this out because media personalities such as Greta Van Susteren at Fox have suggested that Congress should have cut short its “vacation,” and returned to Washington D.C. to solve some problems.
I beg to disagree on a couple of levels.
First, we refer to this annual recess as the District Work Period because that’s what it is. I have been home now for about 20 days and we have been out in the district speaking, visiting and conducting listening sessions on nearly every one of them – including weekends.
Second, those listening sessions in the District are among the most important things I do. I rarely find solutions to problems in the atmosphere back in Washington. The vision there often is obscured by a haze of ideology and disconnection from grounded reality. I much prefer to get my ideas from hard working constituents, business owners and civic groups who are comfortable offering them because they know I will take them seriously.
I can’t tell you how refreshing it has been to tour and be briefed on companies such as the Rancho Cordova-based Tri Tool Inc., a world leader in pipe machining that has one-of-a-kind know-how. The Tri Tool personnel told me they have stayed viable because there has always been a strong Research and Development component in their business strategy. Whereas much of the United States has turned away from manufacturing and developing precision machining and engineering, Tri Tool has embraced it and not only stayed in the game – but ahead of it.
Many other companies, though, have not enjoyed growth spurts because they feel paralyzed by vague tax policies, government regulation and the general uncertainty of our times. Those who would expand are having trouble getting the loans that would allow that due to some of the tightest lending restrictions this country has ever faced (all of this is exacerbated by the government tax and spending policies).
One thing was crystal clear at the town halls in Elk Grove (200 people) last Thursday, in Jackson (nearly 100) on Saturday and in Carmichael (300 people) yesterday – the people want the same kind of reduction in government spending that they must adhere to in their personal finances. As one lady put it in Jackson on Saturday: “They’re asking too much from people and we can’t take it anymore."
It couldn’t be any clearer to me that our course must be set firmly on cutting spending. Relying on “more revenue” in the equation of deficit reduction is just code for increasing taxes. And it’s like the lady said, “We can’t take it anymore.”
I have likened the passage of the Budget Control Act – which cut nearly $1 trillion in spending and spared us from default when we raised the debt ceiling – as only winning the first round in a 12-round prize fight. The people are just slightly ahead on points and we have 11 rounds to go.
Some may have thought or wished that this fight could have been won with a knockout in the first round. But I am convinced we will face all 12 rounds and we must answer the bell in each to keep us in the fight.
Being at home and listening to my constituents has re-invigorated my resolve to continue our work to cut needless government spending and relieve the job creators of the regulation and uncertainty that will unleash the entrepreneurial spirit and get us moving again. If the President’s job plan in any way resembles another dose of “stimulus” futility or tax increases disguised as Washington mumbo jumbo, you can be assured I will carry your contrary sentiments all the way back to Congress.
Sincerely,
Daniel E. Lungren
Member of Congress
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