| December 18, 2013 William Harasym 200 Smith Street Apt 410 Sheridan, WY 82801-3842 Dear William: Thank you for taking the time to contact me. The people of Wyoming are remarkably attentive to and knowledgeable about the tough issues facing our state and our nation. Decisions have to be made, and in confronting them I am fortunate to have so many Wyoming voices on which to rely. Fortunately, I don't have to look very hard for advice. Since the first day of my service in the U.S. House of Representatives, I have received well over 200,000 letters, calls and emails from my neighbors around the state. But receiving over 1,100 pieces of correspondence each week means that I simply do not have the resources – or even enough minutes in the day – to respond to each of those letters in the kind of detail I would like. Still, I want you to know that your opinion has been read and filed so that I might reference it should the issues you raised come before me for a vote. In the meantime, please allow me to update you about my work in Washington D.C. One thing that has not changed since I took office is the threat of our exploding national debt and deficit. Our national debt stands at over $16 trillion dollars. As a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), our debt is the highest it has been since World War II. This looming fiscal crisis is unlike any other in recent memory due to its sheer magnitude—if we don't stabilize the federal budget, it could cripple our economy in ways from which we may not recover. But it is also a predictable crisis, one for which there is still time to act, and one we must address lest we saddle future generations with the consequences of our spending addiction. The main driver of our debt problem continues to be "mandatory spending," or tax-payer money that flows out of the federal government on autopilot every single year. Autopilot spending includes things like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, school nutrition programs, food stamps, and interest on the debt. Our spending situation is so dire that if we ended all funding for every other program – including the entire Defense budget, the Department of Education, Labor, Agriculture, EPA, etc. – we still would not take in enough in taxes to cover the autopilot spending. Cuts to these programs alone won't entirely fix the problem, and President Obama's recent success in enacting tax increases on higher-income earners won't even make a dent. The bottom line is we must make significant, historic changes to our federal budget. Historic change requires historic leadership, which is why it is so disappointing that President Obama has offered four budgets in a row that accelerate the problem instead of tackling it. I am wholly committed to battling this President and my own Republican leaders to right our fiscal ship. While I view nearly everything in Washington through the lens of the fiscal crisis, I have also secured a seat on three different House Committees, each of which will allow me to advance the interests of Wyoming families, job creators and our way of life. I had to receive special dispensation from House Leadership before even being considered for this extra workload, which I am privileged to shoulder. As a senior Member of the Natural Resources Committee, I will help oversee the broadest portfolio of Wyoming issues in Congress—federal lands, mineral productions, nationals parks, forests, monuments, wilderness production, and Native American affairs. This truly is Wyoming's Committee, where I can advocate for responsible energy development, maintaining a multiple-use approach to Wyoming's beautiful public lands, and fighting for natural resource policies that are not hamstrung by litigation. I have also been selected to the House Science Committee, where I will serve as Chairmen of the Subcommittee on Energy to bring sorely-needed accountability to the government's scientific judgment. With Wyoming's thriving energy market; unique land, water, and air quality needs; burgeoning science-based small businesses; and the new NCAR Supercomputer, it is imperative for Wyoming that sound science governs federal decision-making. Last but not least among my assignments, I secured a seat on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the main investigative arm of the House of Representatives. Its broad mandate for Executive Branch oversight will help me pull back the curtain on Washington bureaucracies and the hyper-regulatory agendas that are weighing down jobs and economic growth in Wyoming. In addition to these committee assignments, I am Vice-Chair of the Congressional Western Caucus, a collection of more than 40 Members of Congress across numerous other committees who work together to amplify the west's voice in Washington. I remain an active participant in the Women's Caucus, where I work with fellow female Members on gender issues and to ensure equitable opportunities for all. I am also a co-chair of the Second Amendment Task Force to preserve the constitutional right of law-abiding citizens to own and use firearms. Finally, I am a co-chair of the 10th Amendment Task Force, which is devoted to returning power and responsibility to State governments and the people, who ultimately know better than Washington what is best for them. Thank you again for taking the time to write to me. I value your input. If you haven't done so already, I would like to encourage you to visit my website at www.lummis.house.gov. There you will find a wealth of information including helpful charts that illustrate our fiscal predicament http://lummis.house.gov/2v34598jv60234n/budgetcharts.htm. Please sign up for my newsletter. I promise I won't flood your email box, but I will provide you with updates once in a while about activities in Washington that affect our lives in Wyoming. Thanks again for contacting me, and I look forward to seeing you in Wyoming. Sincerely, Cynthia M. Lummis Member of Congress |
No comments:
Post a Comment