Making Strides to Reduce the National Debt
Last week, I voted for the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010, S. 1508, which passed the House with unanimous support by a vote of 414 to 0.
The Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act will save an estimated $98 billion in taxpayer dollars that has been previously wasted on overpayments or careless accounting mistakes on the part of federal agencies. The bill improves transparency, recovers overpayments, prevents payment error, and holds agencies accountable for waste. At a time when many American families struggle with their own budgets, they should be able to rest assured that the federal government is working to make sure that taxpayer dollars are being spent wisely and efficiently. Already approved by the Senate, the legislation will now be sent to the President to sign it into law.
In another effort to rein in spending and reduce the national deficit, I, along with 57 other Members of Congress, including many fellow Blue Dogs, sent a letter to Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer regarding emergency spending and the need to use the designation appropriately.
In the letter, we say, “We recognize and understand the need for the emergency designation as narrowly defined in the statutory PAYGO law recently passed by the House and signed into law by President Obama. However, we have made a commitment to pay for our priorities. It is critical that we uphold our efforts to restore fiscal discipline to the federal government by not using this tool for anything other than it is intended – a true, unforeseen emergency.”
With very few exceptions, if something is important enough to vote on, it is important enough to pay for. We have put bipartisan, common-sense budget rules in place to control our spending. Those rules will only achieve results if we abide by them.
Keeping Insurance Costs Reasonable
Last week, I voted for the Flood Insurance Reform Priorities Act which will extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for five years. Upwards of five million households and businesses depend on the NFIP for dependable and reasonably priced flood insurance. This bill also increases fiscal accountability of the NFIP and gets rid of unnecessary premium subsidies.
Helping our Local Small Businesses
The unemployment rate in most of Western North Carolina exceeds the national rate of 9.7%. Since small businesses generate 60 percent of new jobs in this country, one of the best ways we can improve our local economy and create more jobs is to support our local small businesses.
Before heading up to Washington last week, I had the privilege of hosting two small business information sessions at Blue Ridge Community College and at Haywood Community College. The two “Ask the Experts: What’s new for small businesses in 2010” events focused on access to capital and entrepreneurial development. They offered updates about new opportunities as well a forum for attendees to ask questions about their small businesses or start-ups.
I appreciate the expert assistance and involvement of the local arm of the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Small Business Centers at Blue Ridge and Haywood Community Colleges and McDowell Tech, the Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC), SCORE, USDA, Advantage West, Self Help, Mountain BizWorks, and several community banks. They not only provided exceptional assistance last week, they provide essential help to our region’s small businesses every day.
Another “Ask the Experts” event is scheduled for Wednesday, August 25 for 10 am to 12pm at McDowell Technical College at 54 College Drive in Marion. For more information, please contact my Asheville office at 828-252-1651.
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