Government...For the People

Posted Friday, February 11, 2011, at 4:25 PM

I take great pride in representing Southern Missouri in the U.S. House of Representatives. It is an honor to have earned the trust of those I represent and I work hard every day to keep it. An important part of my job as a Member of Congress is traveling to the 28 counties that make up the Eighth District to hear firsthand from those I represent. I enjoy visiting with those who live and work in our communities and listening to their challenges and concerns so I can better represent them.

Shared concerns I continue to hear from employers, small businesses, farmers and those working throughout Southern Missouri are the newly imposed burdens hoisted on them by the growing size and scope of our federal government. Burdens placed on our citizens by federal regulations as well as increasing uncertainty are creating significant challenges and barriers to job creation at a time when we should be encouraging economic growth. Unfortunately, these concerns, expressed best during conversations at coffee shops and storefronts across the nation, are often lost on the appointed, isolated officials creating new policies "inside the Beltway."

Take for example the 43 new major regulations the Administration introduced last fiscal year alone. It is estimated these regulations would have cost our economy $26.5 billion. Moreover, a recent report by Senator James Inhofe, of Oklahoma, projected the number of jobs at risk from EPA regulations at 800,000. These regulations represent a significant threat to recent job growth and remain a major source of uncertainty. It is discouraging that when we should be doing everything possible to improve our economic climate, unchecked federal regulatory agencies continue to explore and promulgate new rules and regulations, seemingly answerable only to special interest bureaucrats, not the people who hold the true power of governance.

In last year's House of Representatives, the voice of the people was often ignored. For instance, when EPA proposed expanding the Clean Air Act to unilaterally regulate greenhouse gases, I worked on a bipartisan legislative proposal with Rep. Skelton, of Missouri, and Rep. Peterson, of Minnesota, to stop this unnecessary threat to jobs and our economy. Unfortunately, our proposal to reverse these onerous and regulations was never given consideration. However, November brought change and legislative proposals to reign in harmful regulatory proposals will now be considered.

Last week, the House considered a resolution that directs individual committees to review existing, pending, and proposed regulations with a special emphasis on evaluating their effect on jobs and the economy. Strong accountability is essential to better inform the people and aid their representatives in their effort to halt job destroying regulations; an effort which is likely to lead to the Appropriations Committee and Congress's power of the purse.

No one better understands the effect that unnecessary, burdensome and often duplicative regulations have on Southern Missouri's economy more than our small business owners, farmers, workers and local officials. And think about this, when was the last time you saw a federal regulator visiting your community to listen to your concerns? As Lincoln eulogized the dead at Gettysburg, he recommitted our government to be of, by, and for the people. This House should not hesitate to remind unelected decision makers in government of that fact.

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Thanks for giving out the monetary figures.

-- Posted by swift on Fri, Feb 11, 2011, at 4:47 PM
Of course, you'll have liberals who will say that we conservatives don't care about the poor and needy, so we need to keep entitlements and taxes on those who make more.

So, just in case one of my liberal blogosphere friends gets on here to spew their liberal balony, I've got a question to ask: Why hasn't poverty been eliminated?

1. The Democratic Party had control of both houses of Congress during ALL of Franklin Roosevelt's 1933-1945 presidency. (12 Years of control)

2. Here's a chart which shows how many years the Democratic Party, the "party for the working man", has controlled both houses of Congress and has had control of the White House.

Year Congress President Senate (100) House (435)

2009 111th D D - 55*** D - 256

2007 110th R D - 51** D - 233

2005 109th R R - 55 R - 232

2003 108th R R - 51 R - 229

2001 107th R D* R - 221

1999 106th D R - 55 R - 223

1997 105th D R - 55 R - 228

1995 104th D R - 52 R - 230

1993 103rd D D - 57 D - 258

1991 102nd R D - 56 D - 267

1989 101st R D - 55 D - 260

1987 100th R D - 55 D - 258

1985 99th R R - 53 D - 253

1983 98th R R - 54 D - 269

1981 97th R R - 53 D - 242

1979 96th D D - 58 D - 277

1977 95th D D - 61 D - 292

1975 94th R D - 60 D -291

1973 93rd R D - 56 D - 242

1971 92nd R D - 54 D - 255

1969 91st R D - 57 D - 243

1967 90th D D - 64 D - 247

1965 89th D D - 68 D - 295

1963 88th D D - 66 D - 259

1961 87th D D - 64 D - 263

1959 86th R D - 65 D -283

1957 85th R D - 49 D - 232

1955 84th R D - 48 D - 232

1953 83rd R R - 48 D - 221

1951 82nd D D - 49 D - 235

1949 81st D D - 54 D - 263

1947 80th D R - 51 R - 246

1945 79th D D - 57 D - 242

http://uspolitics.about.com/od/usgovernment/l/bl_party_division_2.htm

Notice which years the Democrats had a sitting president while they controlled the Congress: 1945-'47; 1949-'53; 1961-'69; 1977-'81; 1993-'95; 2009-2011. We've had four anti-poverty social programs to eliminate poverty: New Deal, Fair Deal, Great Society, and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Trillions of dollars have been spent for these entitlement programs and we've been taxed to death to pay for them. Yet, the poverty level has remained over 11% and even hit a 15 year high under Obama and the Demcratic Congress.

Deuteronomy 15:11 says, "For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land." This says three things:

1. There will always be poverty.

2. It is our responsibility as individuals to help those whom we see need help if we have it in our power to help them. It doesNOT say the government should do it!

Jesus also said, " For ye have the poor always with you;" in Matthew 26:11 and Mark 14:7. This is why Christians have Christian charities to which they operate and give to and why poverty will not be eliminated entirely.

-- Posted by swift on Mon, Feb 14, 2011, at 4:18 PM
U.S. is alway's sending millon's to other place's a man from Florida said if you took one millon fifty year old american's that made one hundred thousand a year or less worked hard all there live's being steadily employed the U.S. govement will give tax free one million dollar's.To retire this will create one million new job's they must build a new home this will create one million new home's plus job's labour materail's they must buy a new american made car this create's new job's. What's fifty million to what is sent oversea's this will also help our healhcare and a lot of other issues in our country

-- Posted by maaxxxxy on Sun, Feb 27, 2011, at 8:11 PM
I'm sorry in my last comment.I said what's fifty million to the goverment.It's one million x one million is more like it.but still it's a thought?

-- Posted by maaxxxxy on Sun, Feb 27, 2011, at 8:59 PM

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