This week, the full House approved a balanced budget for Fiscal Year 2015 that stops spending money we don’t have, eliminates much of the waste in government, maintains a strong national defense, encourages job creation, and begins the important task of paying down our debt.
America’s national debt stands at an astonishing $17 trillion. It is wrong to take more money from hardworking American families to spend in Washington. Our Path to Prosperity budget balances in 10 years without raising taxes and cuts wasteful spending while reforming government. It also promotes job creation by eliminating much of the overregulation and red tape standing in the way of America’s small businesses. And it boosts businesses and job creation through an overhaul of the tax code that increases wages, brings jobs home from abroad, and allows our businesses to be more competitive.
This budget protects our nation by rejecting the Obama Administration’s cuts to national security and by providing our military as well as our men and women in uniform with the equipment, training, and compensation they deserve. We also keep faith with America’s veterans who have served and protected this country.
This budget also strengthens America’s safety net by giving more control in this area to the states. The states would have more flexibility to tailor programs to the needs of their citizens and would have the power to cut a lot of the fraud, waste, and abuse that exists. This budget puts our country on a sustainable path to growth. I strongly urge the Senate to take up and pass this bold outline for America’s economic future.
On another matter, I worked with my colleagues on the House Agriculture Committee to pass the Customer Protection and End-User Relief Act – H.R. 4413 – and sent it to the full House for consideration. This bipartisan bill reauthorizes and reforms the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) by adding transparency to the current system and expanding customer protections to prevent the type of fraud that led to the MF Global and Peregrine Financial failures and thousands of farmers seeing their investments disappear.
There are several good components to this legislation. But first and foremost I am pleased that our farmers, ranchers, small businesses, and manufacturers will be able to better manage their financial risks in a secure environment. I look forward to seeing this common sense legislation advance in the full House.
Finally, I want to share an update with you on the deeply troubling events in Ukraine and on Russia’s expansionist actions. My House Armed Services Committee (HASC) colleagues and I heard from senior Defense Department officials this week who testified on the current developments regarding the Russian military, Ukraine, and its implications for U.S. force posture and NATO allies.
The witnesses testified that the U.S. military and NATO have supported our response to the invasion through material assistance to the people of Ukraine by delivering 300,000 MREs to Ukrainian troops. Ten F-15’s along with more than 100 Air Force personnel have been deployed to Lithuania in support of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission and a dozen F-16 fighter jets and nearly 300 service personnel have been sent to Poland. European Union countries have pledged approximately $15 billion as part of a package of support with the International Monetary Fund to help out.
This, of course, is an unfolding crisis that HASC members are watching very closely to be sure that it does not evolve into a broader Russian campaign to move into Eastern Ukraine and challenge the West in Europe. The plain truth is that Russia is modernizing and re-arming its military, while violating the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in the process. Unconfirmed reports cite 80,000 Russian troops at Ukraine’s border. U.S. General Philip Breedlove, Supreme Allied Commander Europe and EUCOM Commander, said Russian forces possess “a potent mix of warplanes, helicopter units, artillery, infantry, and commandos with field hospitals and sufficient logistics to sustain an incursion into Ukraine.”
I learned much during out briefing, coming out with a further resolve to do all I can to stop proposed spending reductions to our military and to restore the cuts that have already been made. With rogue nations and terrorists threatening our country and Russia demonstrating a blatant disregard for international boundaries, now is definitely NOT a time to even consider stripping away vital funding for our national defense. I remain committed to adequately funding our defense and protecting our homeland.
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