Dear Friend,
The country has a $32 trillion debt. The good news is this can be handled if we implement the right fiscal and economic policies. The real key to success is to grow the economy faster than the debt increases. Each additional 1% of GDP growth results in $5 trillion in deficit reduction using current and projected spending levels based on current law. Grow GDP at a faster pace than spending and you do better than that. You would get the debt below 100% of GDP and back to a level that is sustainable.
This past week, House Republicans passed legislation to do just that. We addressed the country's debt crisis by lifting the debt limit and coupled it with pro-growth policies, new spending limits that would reduce the rate of increase in federal spending back to 1% growth as it was prior to COVID, and reclaimed unobligated taxpayer dollars that were appropriated for COVID relief but weren’t spent.
Additionally, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed the Coast Guard Authorization Act, which includes my amendment to strengthen U.S. port security. And I introduced legislation with a few other colleagues to ease the labor shortage facing our farm families. Keep reading below for more details!
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As mentioned above, House Republicans passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act, which would responsibly raise the debt ceiling while reining in Washington's reckless spending. We must get Washington’s spending under control, and passing this bill is a major milestone achieved. By pairing sensible spending reforms that would result in $4.8 trillion in deficit reduction over ten years with an increase in the debt limit, House Republicans' plan will protect American taxpayers, help ensure the longterm viability of the dollar, and strengthen the U.S. economy.
The debt limit is essentially the same as your credit card limit. You’ve hit the max you can spend yet you have an obligation to pay for all that you’ve purchased. To ignore it would be to default on your payments.
While we have the most revenue ever coming into the Treasury because of the tax reforms and tax cuts enacted in 2017, we have spent far more than ever too. In FY 2022, the government collected $4.9 trillion in revenues but spent $6.27 trillion resulting in a deficit of $1.38 trillion. So far in FY 2023, revenues collected are $2.05 trillion versus $3.15 trillion spent.
It’s time for the U.S. Senate and President Biden to come to the table and negotiate a deal that makes the necessary spending reforms and responsibly increases the debt limit to avoid default on our payment obligations. Specifically, the Limit, Save, Grow Act:
- Limits Federal Spending
- Sets spending levels for FY24 at FY22 levels, where the government was operating just 4 short months ago, and allows for 1% annual growth over the next 10 years.
- (SAVINGS: Approximately $3.6 trillion)
- Saves Taxpayer Dollars
- Rescinds unspent COVID funds
- (SAVINGS: Approximately $50-60 billion)
- Defunds President Biden’s 87,000-strong "IRS Army"
- (SAVINGS: Approximately $71 billion)
- Repeals Green New Deal tax credits
- (SAVINGS: Approximately $271 billion - $1.2 trillion)
- Prohibits unfair student loan giveaways to the wealthy
- (SAVINGS: Approximately $465 billion)
- Grows the Economy
- Strengthens the workforce by restoring commonsense measures to assistance programs
- Prevents Executive Overreach and Curbs the Regulatory State
- Lowers Energy Costs and Unleashes Domestic Production
- A Responsible Debt Limit Increase
- In exchange for these cost-saving policies, the debt limit would be lifted through March 31, 2024 or by $1.5 trillion – whichever occurs sooner.
Important Information for Veterans:
There is no provision in the Limit, Save, Grow Act that specifies cuts, or a reduction in growth of spending, for veterans. The VA budget is NOT cut. I have been hearing from veterans across NC-07 who are concerned about reports stating otherwise. These reports are FALSE. The Democrats are just playing politics.
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With my support, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved the bipartisan Coast Guard Authorization Act, legislation to strengthen, support, and authorize funding for the United States Coast Guard. The bipartisan bill includes an amendment I authored to prohibit officials from countries designated as official State Sponsors of Terrorism from participating in the International Port Security (IPS) Program overseen by the U.S. Coast Guard. The IPS Program is intended to reduce risk to our maritime interests, including U.S. ports and ships, and to facilitate secure trade globally through reciprocal port visits. However, in March, the Biden Administration's U.S. Department of Homeland Security and State hosted a delegation from Cuba's Border Guard and Ministry of Foreign Affairs at port facilities in Wilmington despite the U.S. State Department designating Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 2021. There is no reason Cuba, or any other state sponsor of terrorism, should be allowed to analyze sensitive coastal and maritime security protocols. My amendment would prevent this, and I appreciate its bipartisan adoption by the Committee.
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Farmers across the country are struggling to cope with skyrocketing production costs. Unfortunately, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) new and harmful H-2A regulation is making this worse. For years, producers have called on the DOL to make commonsense reforms to the H-2A program, a guest worker visa program for agriculture. Unfortunately, this new rule only increases the complexity of the program, makes it more difficult for the farmer to use, more difficult for it to be administered, and significantly increases the cost of utilizing the program. To address this issue, I joined a few of my colleagues to introduce legislation to repeal the Biden Administration's new H-2A rule. Their new rule is yet another example of a flawed regulatory agenda that creates barriers to U.S. agriculture production and causes needless uncertainty for our farm families. It will increase costs not only for producers, but at the grocery store as well. Repealing this rule will help ensure our agriculture community can continue producing the world’s most abundant and affordable food supply.
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For this week's good news story, I'm highlighting the 75 veterans who participated in the Honor Flight of Cape Fear's 2nd annual trip to Washington, D.C. Honor Flight of the Cape Fear honors WWII, Korea War, and Vietnam War era veterans by taking them on an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. for a day of remembrance as they visit the memorials and monuments built in honor of their service and sacrifice. It was an honor to attend the welcome home ceremony at ILM following Saturday's trip to DC and to thank these heroes for their service. I'm proud to represent such a large community of veterans in Southeastern North Carolina and always enjoy the opportunity to meet and thank them for their service and heroism. Please join me in thanking these veterans! For more information and to apply for next years flight, click here.
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"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." ― Winston Churchill |
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