Straight Talk with Sam Graves 11/2/2009

Below is the most recent edition of Straight Talk With Sam Graves. In it he gives comment on the newest insult to freedom, HR 3296 “Nancycare.”What a surprise it’s as bad as conservatives have been warning it would be.

Same Bill, Same Problems

This past August, I held 23 town hall meetings across the district. I heard over and over again that my constituents did not want a government takeover of health care. That message was not delivered by slick television ads or special interest lobbyists. Instead, it was delivered by everyday people who had finally had enough. I heard the message loud and clear, but that was not the case for everyone.

Last week, Speaker Pelosi introduced her version of health care reform. The 1,990 page proposal is very similar to the plan that Americans overwhelmingly rejected in August. It costs just over $1 trillion dollars.

Who is going to pay for it? In short, we all are. The bill proposes billions in new taxes. Small businesses that file as individuals will be hit hard. It will also require all but the smallest of businesses to provide health insurance for their employees, regardless of their ability, or pay a penalty.

The bill will also require individuals to buy health insurance. Those who don’t will pay the federal government a penalty fee. In addition, there are new taxes on medical devices like wheelchairs and bandages. The bill would also cut nearly $500 billion from Medicare.

In short, this bill will increase your insurance premiums, cost us jobs with new taxes and mandates, and cut billions from our seniors’ Medicare benefits. That is not common sense reform. I will oppose this bill and work to pass common sense health insurance reform.

Sincerely,

Sam Graves

 

Congressman Sam Graves-Straight Talk With Sam Graves 10/26

This is kind of an odd topic when you compare it to the usual e-newsletter that Congressman Graves writes. It is interesting and a little bit scary though. Read on to find out why. Missouri bridges in this week’s Straight Talk.

Local Bridges Essential to Missouri

Some of the earliest bridges were built by the Romans. They built simple arch bridges out of cement which held up in conditions that destroyed other bridges. In fact, some of the bridges built by the Romans are still standing and in use today.

Bridges are important here in Missouri. Our state shares its name with the longest river in the country. There are countless tributaries and streams across the state. While many rivers are both beautiful and a blessing, crossing them can be a challenge.

Across Missouri, there are some 13,000 local bridges that are used everyday to get children to school, speed emergency responders to the scene and get produce to market. Of those bridges, 1,700 are functionally obsolete and 2,500 are structurally deficient.

Congress has long set aside 15 percent of the money it sends to states to be used to fix these local bridges. For many county governments, this funding is essential to getting those bridges fixed. Without the help, many bridges would simply continue to deteriorate until they were closed.

That is why I was stunned to learn that some Washington bureaucrat thinks we should eliminate this vital program. Last year, over $20 million was spent to rehabilitate and improve local bridges. That investment has literally kept bridges open, saved lives and made life easier for thousands of Missouri families and farmers.

I am going to fight to keep this bridge replacement program in place. Local and rural bridges may not be important to Washington, but in Missouri, they are essential.

Sincerely,

Sam Graves

Straight Talk With Congressman Graves

Below are a couple editions of Straight Talk With Sam. This is Congressman Graves newsletters in which he gives a little opinion on current issues. First up the 10/12 edition, the Czars and their lack of accountability. Thanks Congressman Graves for Speaking up about this!

Czars Should Be Accountable to Congress

According to history, the word “czar” is derived from the word Caesar and means emperor. In Eastern Europe and Russia, a Tsar was equivalent to kings. In the United States, the czar title is given by the media to a high level official in an administration.

These officials report to the President and are meant to be in charge of an important policy area. Every President since Franklin Roosevelt has named at least one czar. These czars do not fall under Congressional oversight or require Senate confirmation, because they are members of the President’s staff.

The steady increase of czars is changing our government. We now have an auto czar, a border czar, a drug czar, a health czar, a green jobs czar and the list goes on and on. I believe that any President should run their office as they see fit within the framework of the Constitution. However, creating a new level of bureaucracy that does not answer to Congress has gotten out of hand.

At a minimum the American public has a right to know who these czars are, why they are qualified and what is in their job description. That is why I have signed on to Rep. Marsha Blackburn’s resolution requiring the White House to do just that.

In addition, I believe all czars should testify before Congress. No branch of our government should be more powerful than another. Czars should be accountable to Congress and the American people.

Sincerely,

Sam Graves

Up next is the 10/19 edition. In this edition Congressman Graves addresses those that are calling for a second stimulus package. Because the first one worked so well? We now have Christina Romer on video, one of Obama’s “brilliant” economic advisors saying that the stimulus will provide basically no economic growth next year. Gee, I could have told you that. Did these people find their economic degrees in the same Cracker Jack box that President Obama found his Nobel APeaceMent Prize in? America we have a situation analogous to children playing with cutting torches right now.

A Better Stimulus Package, Not a Second One

As the leaves turn in late October, it is clear that the Fall is fully upon us. This time of year is dominated by carving pumpkins, dressing up in costumes and scary stories about ghosts, ghouls and goblins. If there are such things as ghosts and goblins, I have no doubt that they originated in Washington D.C. After all, in Washington, no bad idea ever dies.

That rule was proven again last week when word surfaced that some lawmakers were quietly drafting a second stimulus bill. The first “stimulus” bill cost Americans $787 billion and resulted in more government and higher deficits.

Currently, we have an unemployment rate of 9.8 percent. Analysts tell us that the unemployment rate will continue to climb above 10 percent in the coming months. Clearly, this stimulus spending has had little to no impact.

With the largest deficit in American history, Congress needs to focus on legislation that will help create jobs, rather than simply spending more money. The administration has to understand that you cannot spend, tax or bail your way to economic prosperity. Yet that seems to be the only answer coming out of Washington.

Instead of spending billions more; Congress ought to redirect the unspent money from the first stimulus bill toward something that will actually help create jobs. The fastest and most direct way to help families and small businesses is immediate and direct tax relief. It has worked every time it has been tried.

What we need right now is a better stimulus package, not a second one.

Sincerely,

Sam Graves