Yesterday, House Republicans introduced the 2012 House Budget, a bold vision for our nation’s future that lays the groundwork to balance our budget, puts an end to out-of-control spending, and most importantly, creates jobs. Getting our economy back on track is journey starts with a strong budget plan like the one we put forward today. This budget highlights the difficult decisions and tradeoffs that must be made to bring our budget back into balance. While no America is likely to support every choice made in this budget, finding a reasonable path to a balanced budget is more important than any single program or activity that the federal government does.
Path to Prosperity Budget Video
Working off last year’s budget resolution, the FY 2013 Republican budget puts forward a plan that simplifies taxes for American families, strengthens our nation’s safety net by returning resources and control to the states, and levels the playing field for American employers and workers competing around the globe
Where the President’s plan increases taxes and takes more money out of the economy, this plan reforms our outdated and burdensome tax code to unleash innovation and investment.
Within the budget there are three major components designed to generate greater innovation, investment and job creation here at home.
These policies include:
- Consolidating the current six individual income tax brackets into just two brackets of 10 and 25 percent.
- Repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax, which currently threatens 31 million middle-class families with higher taxes
- Shifting from a “worldwide” to a “territorial” tax system that puts American companies and their workers on a level playing field with foreign competitors and encourages investment and hiring in the United States.
Despite the House’s best efforts, we cannot pass a budget on our own; we need the support of the American public. Hopefully, with your help, the Senate will finally recognize that waiting another 1,000 days to produce a budget is unacceptable and the President will see that adding another $5 trillion to our national debt would be catastrophic.
You can access the full budget blueprint ONLINE NOW
Defense
This morning I joined Peter Slen on CSPAN’s Washington Journal to discuss the current situation in Afghanistan and other various issues.
Washington Journal Interview
Agriculture Committee
Over the last few weeks the House Agriculture Committee has held a series of field hearings focused on obtaining input from producers on how to craft responsible policy that meets their needs. Each of these hearings allows Members to see and hear first hand from the folks who are impacted by the policy decisions made in Washington.
Following the field hearings, the Agriculture Committee will begin work on a new Farm Bill. As this process evolves, I caution folks not to focus too much on the policy proposals made in the budgets offered thus far – they are only suggestions.
Rural Veterans – Healthy Vets Act of 2011
Recently I co-sponsored a bill that will provide relief to veterans facing difficult travel mandates from the VA.
In September the Chairman of the House Veterans Service Committee, Jeff Miller joined me in San Angelo for a public forum to discuss the various issues affecting West Texas veterans. During the forum a number of local veterans voiced serious concern regarding their ability to access healthcare and medical services without overly burdensome travel.
To help alleviate this issue, I am proud to work with Chairman Miller and Rep. Steven Pearce (R-NM) to advance a bill that will provide rural veterans access to healthcare when their assigned VA facilities are geographically inaccessible in a timely manner. Going forward, I will continue to work with the VA to ensure Texas veterans get the best possible healthcare without the cumbersome travel costs they have experienced in the past.
