Last night, I voted no on the Senate'’s deficit-ridden fiscal cliff bill. I joined five other Alabama Members of Congress and Senator Shelby in opposing this hastily introduced piece of legislation. (Senator Sessions supported it).
Yesterday morning, I spoke on the House floor, calling on Congress to postpone the vote until House Members and the American people had time to study and evaluate this extraordinarily complex legislation and its impact on taxes, revenue, the economy, our debt, and a myriad of other issues. I argued that it was better to get the bill right than to act in haste, and that it was wrong to rush monumental legislation through Congress in a way that denies the American people an opportunity to review, understand, and share their insight with Congress.
Unfortunately, in less than 24 hours on a national holiday, Congress introduced, considered, and passed legislation that increased America'’s deficit by $330 billion in what'’s left of Fiscal Year 2012-13 and by $353 billion in FY 2013-14. This was completely unnecessary, because the original bill, H.R. 8, which was passed by the House in July and sent to the Senate, sat with the Senate for more than five months before being taken up, dramatically altered, and hastily voted through. This 50-plus page bill, which affects hundreds of billions of dollars in spending and increases our deficit by more than four trillion over 10 years, included zero spending cuts. I could not, in good conscience, condone with my vote a flawed process that denies the American people an opportunity to participate in their Republic on issues of this magnitude.
According to Admiral Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, America’'s greatest national security threat is its debt. America should heed Admiral Mullen’s warning. The Senate'’s fiscal cliff bill, by itself, irresponsibly increases America’s debt. Rather than cut spending, it increases federal spending by $50 billion in FY 2012-13 and $55 billion in FY 2013-14. These spending increases will aggravate America’s risk of a debilitating insolvency and bankruptcy.
Had the Senate’'s fiscal cliff bill been limited to tax issues and properly deliberated, I would have likely voted for it, because I favor protecting as many Americans as possible from income and estate tax increases Washington Democrats passed in December 2010, effective January 1, 2013. Unfortunately, this legislation was not properly deliberated and covered issues wholly unrelated to protection from tax increases. (Can you say PORK..)
Many constituents communicated with me about the fiscal cliff issue during this debate via Facebook, email, and Twitter, and I very much appreciate you taking the time to share your views with me. Thanks for the opportunity to serve you in Congress.
Yesterday morning, I spoke on the House floor, calling on Congress to postpone the vote until House Members and the American people had time to study and evaluate this extraordinarily complex legislation and its impact on taxes, revenue, the economy, our debt, and a myriad of other issues. I argued that it was better to get the bill right than to act in haste, and that it was wrong to rush monumental legislation through Congress in a way that denies the American people an opportunity to review, understand, and share their insight with Congress.
Unfortunately, in less than 24 hours on a national holiday, Congress introduced, considered, and passed legislation that increased America'’s deficit by $330 billion in what'’s left of Fiscal Year 2012-13 and by $353 billion in FY 2013-14. This was completely unnecessary, because the original bill, H.R. 8, which was passed by the House in July and sent to the Senate, sat with the Senate for more than five months before being taken up, dramatically altered, and hastily voted through. This 50-plus page bill, which affects hundreds of billions of dollars in spending and increases our deficit by more than four trillion over 10 years, included zero spending cuts. I could not, in good conscience, condone with my vote a flawed process that denies the American people an opportunity to participate in their Republic on issues of this magnitude.
According to Admiral Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, America’'s greatest national security threat is its debt. America should heed Admiral Mullen’s warning. The Senate'’s fiscal cliff bill, by itself, irresponsibly increases America’s debt. Rather than cut spending, it increases federal spending by $50 billion in FY 2012-13 and $55 billion in FY 2013-14. These spending increases will aggravate America’s risk of a debilitating insolvency and bankruptcy.
Had the Senate’'s fiscal cliff bill been limited to tax issues and properly deliberated, I would have likely voted for it, because I favor protecting as many Americans as possible from income and estate tax increases Washington Democrats passed in December 2010, effective January 1, 2013. Unfortunately, this legislation was not properly deliberated and covered issues wholly unrelated to protection from tax increases. (Can you say PORK..)
Many constituents communicated with me about the fiscal cliff issue during this debate via Facebook, email, and Twitter, and I very much appreciate you taking the time to share your views with me. Thanks for the opportunity to serve you in Congress.
Sincerely,
Member of Congress
Alabama’s Fifth District
Member of Congress
Alabama’s Fifth District
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