Friday, February 8, 2013

instaPoll: Do you support sequestration or an alternative spending reduction plan?

Congressman Randy Forbes

 

 

In 2011, the Budget Control Act (BCA) was introduced, calling for arbitrary and sharp spending reductions as a means of reducing the deficit. The BCA, which Congressman Forbes voted against but was passed and signed into law, calls for $984 billion in automatic, largely across-the-board spending reductions composed of $492 billion from national security and $492 billion from programs such as education, law enforcement, Medicare, housing, and medical research. These cuts, through the process of sequestration, are scheduled to take place on March 1, 2013, unless Congress and the President act.

The U.S. House of Representatives has voted twice to replace the sequestration; however, the Senate has failed to act.  It has now been eighteen months since the Budget Control Act was signed into law and our nation has just weeks until sequestration takes effect. This week, the President delivered a speech, calling on Congress to avert sequestration.  According to The Washington Post, "Obama did not outline a specific proposal," but indicated his support for tax increases and some spending cuts as a means of postponing or replacing sequestration.

Today, our national debt stands at over $16 trillion, and we have annually run a deficit of $1 trillion for the past four years.  Congressman Forbes has taken steps to champion real, effective solutions to address overspending, such as consistently supporting a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, voting against $800 billion in stimulus spending, and introducing the Congressional Accountability Pay (CAP) Act to tie the salaries of Members of Congress directly to federal spending.

Further, since 2011, Congressman Forbes has continuously warned against dangerous cuts under sequestration, and has taken steps to prevent it:

July 2011 --- Launched an initiative called Strong Defense, Strong America to warn about the dangers of slashing defense to pay for stimulus spending
August 2011 ---- Voted against the Budget Control Act, which set up the process of sequestration
October 2011­­ ­­­­­­---- Introduced Strong Defense, Strong America Resolution
May 2012 ---- Supported legislation to replace sequestration
May 2012 ---- Launched 'Defending our Defenders,' a series of 7 listening sessions around the country
December 2012 -----Again supported legislation to replace sequestration


Question of the week: Do you support sequestration or an alternative spending reduction plan?
( ) I support sequestration called for under the Budget Control Act.
( ) I support an alternative plan to reduce the deficit and control spending.
( ) I don't know.
( ) Other.

Take the Poll here.

Find the results of last week's InstaPoll here

 

Home | ContactUnsubscribePrivacy | Office Locations
Please do not reply to this message. This email address does not accept incoming messages. To send an email, click here.
Trouble viewing this email? See it in your web browser: http://forbes.house.gov/news/email/show.aspx?ID=VKU3HRSTR3Y5XRTO2TVJXIUH4M

No comments:

Post a Comment