Last year, I campaigned on fiscal responsibility that would, in turn, spur economic growth and create an environment for businesses to expand and provide jobs. Having been in Washington, D.C., for only three months, you can rest assured that my conviction is just as strong now as it was then. I understand that families are still suffering from the prolonged recession and historic unemployment, which includes the labor force participation at a 26-year low. We cannot continue down this reckless path that will burden future generations with insurmountable debt.
Already, through an open process, I debated and voted to cut $61 billion in spending from Fiscal Year 2011 through H.R. 1; a measure rejected by the Democratic controlled Senate as cutting too deeply. What I reject is the status quo, which has led to our government borrowing 40 cents for every dollar that we spend. Families do not operate this way and the government can’t either. Over the past five weeks, I have voted to cut $10 billion from FY2011 spending through stopgap funding measures. This technique has been necessary due to the Democrats’ failure to pass a budget during the 111th Congress, the first time in modern history.
What we are doing cannot continue and is simply not enough. In order to address our spending problem, we must face it head on. It’s time our government cut up the credit cards and stopped spending money we don’t have. Immediately, we should cut waste and duplication from our federal government. On March 1, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office released a report titled “Opportunities to Reduce Potential Duplication in Government Programs, Save Tax Dollars, and Enhance Revenue”. The GAO identified 81 areas where the federal government could potentially save over $100 billion of taxpayers’ funds immediately.
Fixing our economy and changing Washington, D.C.’s spending habits are not just short-term problems, but must be addressed now for long-term considerations. We want to avoid going down this path again, especially in the near future. Recently, in a speech to the University of Frankfurt in Germany concerning the nation’s plan to avoid insolvency, Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher stated, “I think we are at the beginning of the process and it’s going to be very painful.” That’s the realization that we must face together, as a nation.
The way to avoid another crisis in the long-run is to address mandatory spending, made up mostly of entitlement spending. This means we’ll have to reform entitlement programs in a way that will ensure promises are kept to current and future seniors.
I often get asked for the solution and I often reply that there isn’t a “silver bullet” and that I don’t possess a “magic wand”. Solving our nation’s problems and fixing our nation’s ills will require cooperation, will take hard work, and may take time. I seek your opinions and thoughts when it comes to solving our nation’s fiscal problems.
I began this conversation over a year ago on the campaign trail and I look forward to continuing the conversation until we reach a solution.
Rep. Larry Bucshon, a Newburgh Republican, is serving his first term in the U.S. House of Representatives. His district includes Terre Haute.
Flashpoint
FLASHPOINT: Time to face U.S. spending head on
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The tragic death of noted weather researcher and former Discovery Channel storm chaser Tim Samaras has shaken all of us in the meteorological community.
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FLASHPOINT: Humane Society does not merit IRS targeting either
Rep. Blaine Leutkemeyer is right that the IRS should not target any charitable organization solely on the basis of its ideology. Yet that’s exactly what he’s asking the IRS to do in his factually unfounded attacks on The Humane Society of the United States, the nation’s largest animal welfare organization and one that has the highest marks from the top charity watchdog organizations.
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FLASHPOINT: A crisis at the NLRB
Most people in Indiana don’t even know what the National Labor Relations Board is. Well, why should they?
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FLASHPOINT: Legislative session reflected Hoosier priorities
The 2013 session of the Indiana General Assembly came to an end just a few weeks ago with the final passage of our state’s next two-year budget.
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FLASHPOINT: A legislative session of missed opportunities
Given the nature of politicians, grand claims of accomplishments and overblown rhetoric about “historic” efforts are to be expected at the close of any legislative session.
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FLASHPOINT: Again in 2013 General Assembly, middle class generally ignored
Last year, the people of Indiana entrusted the Republican Party with some of their most precious possessions.
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FLASHPOINT: Indiana lawmakers reinforced school safety mechanisms
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FLASHPOINT: Lessons from the legacy media — get it right, first
Enough mistakes and maybe we’ll learn: When in doubt, leave it out.
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FLASHPOINT: Hoosiers got steady hand in recent session
As the General Assembly began its work last November, as Speaker of the House, I pledged a renewed spirit of bipartisanship with legislators working together to solve our state’s most pressing challenges. As this year’s legislative session concludes, representatives from throughout the state — Republican and Democrat — have joined together to address those issues at the forefront of Hoosier minds: maintaining our state’s fiscal integrity, spurring job creation and expanding education opportunities for every Hoosier family.
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FLASHPOINT: Time has arrived for overhaul of TV news
Former FCC Chairman Alfred Sikes gave an address in 1992 in which he claimed television news was too superficial and too focused on visuals.
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FLASHPOINT: Fiscal cliff, Obamacare have already raised taxes enough
Our history is rich with stories of people who have immigrated to the United States for a chance at the American Dream. The American Dream, in its truest form, is the opportunity to achieve success by working hard and playing by the rules; to make it on your own and to say, “I earned this.”
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FLASHPOINT: Expanding Medicaid coverage makes sense for Indiana
Since last summer’s U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act effectively gave states the option to expand Medicaid, policymakers across the country have debated if and how to extend health programs to millions of uninsured Americans.
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FLASHPOINT: Improve public education, stop experimenting with it
In January, the four of us who serve as the Democrats on the House Education Committee outlined our hopes for the 2013 session of the Indiana General Assembly, particularly in joining with Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz to offer common sense solutions to improve the quality of education for our children. With the halfway point of this session past us, we remain optimistic that positive steps can be taken … but that optimism is tempered by the reality that education policies are being directed by a legislative majority that has a radically different agenda.
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Healthcare law anniversary no reason for celebration
March 23 marked three years since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law, yet this is not an anniversary that deserves celebration.
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FLASHPOINT: Defending state’s authority is attorney general’s obligation
The law of the land recognizes the authority of states to license marriage.
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FLASHPOINT: Stability key for state’s future
Hoosiers have the unique luxury of being the fiscal envy of the nation due to the sound fiscal policies of the last eight years.
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FLASHPOINT: House budget offers Medicaid solution for Indiana
This week, my U.S. House Budget Committee colleagues and I introduced a federal budget resolution for fiscal year 2014. Our budget is a responsible plan that stops spending money and balances in 10 years — largely through making key reforms to drivers of our debt like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
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FLASHPOINT: Problem gambling in Indiana: A new understanding of community concern
The week of March 3 was designated as National Problem Gambling Awareness Week.
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FLASHPOINT: Eastern time in Indiana defies common sense
Nobody complains more than Hoosiers about changing their clocks. And there’s a valid reason — daylight-savings time in Indiana’s Eastern Time Zone is painful.
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Praying for civil resolution to debate over gun control
Guns are lively ammunition for passionate debate these days.
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FLASHPOINT: It’s not too late to expand health services
This week, state leaders euthanized the biggest, boldest Hoosier jobs proposal of the 2013 session of the Indiana General Assembly.
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FLASHPOINT: You can’t go back again — and that’s OK
Our progressive colleagues have been telling us for years that the 1950s were a horrid time.
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FLASHPOINT: The fierce urgency of now — nation needs to protect youth
The alcohol-fueled alleged serial rape of a 16-year-old Ohio girl by two of her similarly impaired classmates — not to mention the drunken videotaped commentary of others — points yet again to the imperative that adult America renews its commitment to address as a true national community those issues that most threaten the health, safety and forward development of youth.
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FLASHPOINT: A pastor speaks out against Sullivan’s ‘traditional prom’
I am a pastor in Sullivan, Ind., and I am outraged.
Recently, two young students applied to walk the Grand March together in the school prom in Sullivan. -
FLASHPOINT: 0wning firearms is a First Amendment exercise, too
Following the hysteria generated by gun prohibitionists in the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy, a nationwide rush on gun stores began as citizens bought semiautomatic modern sporting rifles, handguns and ammunition, in effect “making a political statement” about proposals to ban such firearms.
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FLASHPOINT: Maintaining the priority
Recently a newspaper article has been written about a change in the by-laws of the Indiana High School Athletic Association which speaks directly to attempted undue influence exerted upon students below the level of grade nine and their parents.
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FLASHPOINT: The fairness of marriage
What is the current Indiana law concerning marriage? Our state defines marriage in a singular way — between a man and a woman.
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FLASHPOINT: We ask state legislators to abide by their oath of office
All of us relish giving unsolicited advice to our elected representatives.
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FLASHPOINT: Mentoring is having major impact on public education
While managing local utility services, Mike Martin found a new way to energize his community, and students are starting to benefit.
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FLASHPOINT: Common Core standards should be common sense
Years ago, when state officials and education experts came together to create new model standards for schools, they probably never expected it to be controversial.
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