Frustrated
I finally got fed up.... and this time I took some action. That is, I wrote a letter to my Senator (Saxby Chambliss) expressing my concerns about the way that our government is responding to the economic situation with their recent "stimulus" package. Here is the text of my note:
Dear Senator Chambliss:
First of all, I want to thank you for taking a stand against the $787 billion spending package that was just passed by Congress and signed by the President. I am concerned, as many Georgians are, about the future impact of this enormous spending on both ours and future generations. I am also concerned that we may be creating more harm than good by taking this action, even though I understand that some good will probably be done through this bill.
My question is: now what? How can we (and you) stand against the waste that we fear is coming as a result of this bill? Or, are we destined to throw away almost $1 trillion in a 70% shot, by the President's own admission, of saving the economy?
The means that the proponents of the bill are using to communicate where the money is going is not doing anything to rest those fears either. I took a look at the President's RECOVERY.GOV website and was unimpressed by the summary-level, marketing-driven data that it provided (such as $288B is going toward "tax cuts" - what does this mean? how is this itemized?). I would like to see, if we are serious about being transparent, MUCH more detail about what's going on than has been presented to us by the Congress and the Administration. Please Senator, champion this move toward transparency because I fear that it is happening in name only and not in reality.
I count myself as one of those that are concerned about the direction our country is headed. I am glad that you voted against this spending bill... please fight for us to ensure that the truth about how this spending is occurring (if we can't stop it from occurring anymore) is brought to the light of day and not hidden in "spin."
Best Regards,
Chris Willis
Dear Mr. Willis:
Thank you for contacting me regarding H.R. 1, the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009." It is good to hear from you.
On January 28, 2009, the House of Representatives voted along party lines to pass this bill and send it to the Senate. As lawmakers worked to amend the legislation, the majority repeatedly discouraged efforts to find solutions that would truly stimulate the economy.
Instead of focusing on creating jobs, boosting the housing sector and lending a hand to Americans who have lost jobs through no fault of their own, this massive bill morphed into a bloated government giveaway. It is one of the most expensive pieces of spending legislation ever created. It also expands an already enormous deficit.
Therefore, I voted against cutting off debate on the legislation, and against its passage in the Senate. However, the bill passed by a vote of 61-37. On February 13, 2009, I also voted against the conference report of the bill, which ultimately passed by a vote of 60-38.
The majority in Congress has been in runaway mode when it comes to spending taxpayer dollars. This legislation is yet another sign that Washington is more concerned with pet projects than with taxpayers' concerns.
If we do not get a handle on federal spending - including both discretionary and entitlement programs - and make reforms now, we will pass this burden to our children and grandchildren. We must reform our budget process, put an end to wasteful spending and implement the fiscal responsibility that taxpayers demand and deserve.
Dear Senator Chambliss:
First of all, I want to thank you for taking a stand against the $787 billion spending package that was just passed by Congress and signed by the President. I am concerned, as many Georgians are, about the future impact of this enormous spending on both ours and future generations. I am also concerned that we may be creating more harm than good by taking this action, even though I understand that some good will probably be done through this bill.
My question is: now what? How can we (and you) stand against the waste that we fear is coming as a result of this bill? Or, are we destined to throw away almost $1 trillion in a 70% shot, by the President's own admission, of saving the economy?
The means that the proponents of the bill are using to communicate where the money is going is not doing anything to rest those fears either. I took a look at the President's RECOVERY.GOV website and was unimpressed by the summary-level, marketing-driven data that it provided (such as $288B is going toward "tax cuts" - what does this mean? how is this itemized?). I would like to see, if we are serious about being transparent, MUCH more detail about what's going on than has been presented to us by the Congress and the Administration. Please Senator, champion this move toward transparency because I fear that it is happening in name only and not in reality.
I count myself as one of those that are concerned about the direction our country is headed. I am glad that you voted against this spending bill... please fight for us to ensure that the truth about how this spending is occurring (if we can't stop it from occurring anymore) is brought to the light of day and not hidden in "spin."
Best Regards,
Chris Willis
I've waited a day and got a response from Saxby's offices. I have to say that now I am even more frustrated. Here's what I got:
Dear Mr. Willis:
Thank you for contacting me regarding H.R. 1, the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009." It is good to hear from you.
On January 28, 2009, the House of Representatives voted along party lines to pass this bill and send it to the Senate. As lawmakers worked to amend the legislation, the majority repeatedly discouraged efforts to find solutions that would truly stimulate the economy.
Instead of focusing on creating jobs, boosting the housing sector and lending a hand to Americans who have lost jobs through no fault of their own, this massive bill morphed into a bloated government giveaway. It is one of the most expensive pieces of spending legislation ever created. It also expands an already enormous deficit.
Therefore, I voted against cutting off debate on the legislation, and against its passage in the Senate. However, the bill passed by a vote of 61-37. On February 13, 2009, I also voted against the conference report of the bill, which ultimately passed by a vote of 60-38.
The majority in Congress has been in runaway mode when it comes to spending taxpayer dollars. This legislation is yet another sign that Washington is more concerned with pet projects than with taxpayers' concerns.
If we do not get a handle on federal spending - including both discretionary and entitlement programs - and make reforms now, we will pass this burden to our children and grandchildren. We must reform our budget process, put an end to wasteful spending and implement the fiscal responsibility that taxpayers demand and deserve.
I am more frustrated because it is pretty obvious by this "response" that whatever staffer took my message spent almost zero time to address my concerns or give any specifics. Instead, it really looks like I got a form letter with the basic a/b/c talking points that Saxby's office was instructed to hand out to anyone sending letters about the stimulus. From the looks of things, there is as much spin here in Saxby's (form) letter as there is in Obama's recovery.gov website.
Talk about out of touch.
Don't get me wrong Saxby... I agree with your letter. It just didn't address my concerns or give me any confidence that you know what you're doing (or who you're representing).
Seriously... who can we trust here? On one side, the party in power is blindly going 100mph toward passing spending legislation with enough pork to supply every Shane's Rib Shack in the country for the next 100 years... and that in the middle of the night while marketing it to America as the beginning of the solution to all of our problems (I was amused by Nancy Pelosi jumping up and down from the podium like a giddy high school cheerleader that just got a date from the star quarterback!)... and on the other side is an opposition that seems more interested in "staying on message" that effectively bringing a solution to the table for America to demand.
My friend Chris Rowzee actually got a better note (he posted on Facebook) from Senator John Cornyn the other day on this topic... it looks like Senator Cornyn (or the staffer working for him... Cornyn is a Texan... OF COURSE :-) ) actually spent some time on his response. Saxby... not so much. I'm still concerned.... and I'm now even more frustrated.
Hey guys... how about Congressional term limits?
At least I know that there is at least one quality Republican lawmaker still left. Can Cornyn clone himself ;-).
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