Farmington 411 Information Resource

April 5, 2012

Dear Constituent:

Knowing of your concern about high gas prices, I offer the following update on my efforts on your behalf to address this issue.

Last month, the President told leaders in Congress he would join us in working to develop “an all of the above” energy strategy.  For years, I have been championing a comprehensive approach that would reduce our dependence on hostile regions of the world and increase all forms of American energy.  My plan is based around stopping government policies that are driving up energy prices and expanding American energy production to lower costs and create more jobs.

In January, 2009, the average price of gas nationwide was approximately $1.80 per gallon.  Three years later, it has more than doubled, and recent news reports suggest we will see $4 per gallon gas in Minnesota soon.  Not long after his inauguration, the President introduced his first major energy initiative: a national energy tax that, according to him, would cause rates to skyrocket.  Shortly thereafter, he plugged stimulus dollars into the now-defunct Solyndra, which has cost American taxpayers 535 million dollars.

Meanwhile, my colleagues and I in the U.S. House of Representatives have passed at least seven bipartisan job-creating energy bills that currently await a vote in the U.S. Senate.  These policies, which are available for review on my website at http://kline.house.gov, allow us to harness our abundant domestic natural resources, develop new sources of energy, and create jobs here at home.

Rising gas prices hurt families, commuters, job seekers, and small business owners.  We need to work together to pass reforms and remove roadblocks to provide relief at the pump and create jobs, including a forward thinking solution that includes oil, natural gas, nuclear, and clean and renewable energies. 

Rest assured, I will continue to fight for policies that will lower gas prices and continue to stabilize our economy.  To receive additional updates on legislative activity and my efforts on your behalf in Congress, visit my website at http://kline.house.gov/issues. As always, please feel free to contact me on any matter of concern to you.

Sincerely,

JOHN KLINE
Member of Congress

April 4, 2012

 Dear Constituent:

 In March, the U.S. Department of Labor released monthly jobs figures showing more Americans were able to find jobs in February. In the aftermath of the worst recession in a generation, this certainly is welcome news. However, we have a long way to go to fully repair the damage of the recent economic downturn. The slow pace of job growth reflects the concerns of many employers, who are still struggling with uncertainty sparked in large part by punitive federal regulations and unsustainable deficit spending.

Recently, I hosted a telephone town hall meeting during which numerous private sector job creators relayed their concerns. One Lakeville small business owner shared that he had to raise prices and add surcharges because of the cost of diesel. A Jordan job creator expressed his frustration with inflation saying, “It is harder and harder to plan and hire because of high fuel costs.”

In January, 2009, the average price of gas nationwide was approximately $1.80 per gallon. Three years later, it has more than doubled, and recent news reports suggest we will be seeing $4 per gallon gas in Minnesota soon. We can increase our energy independence and lower gas prices by stopping government policies that are driving up energy prices while also adopting an all-of-the-above strategy to increase all forms of American energy. Small businesses shouldn’t be forced to freeze hiring or choose which bills to pay because of skyrocketing energy costs. I will continue working to promote ways to unlock America’s abundant energy resources.

Last month marked the two-year anniversary of the President signing the so-called Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law. As you may recall, I have been an outspoken critic of this law since it was first introduced in Congress. During debate on the bill in 2009, many of you shared with me your concerns regarding how it would hurt your businesses. 

Two years later, this anxiety persists. In a roundtable meeting recently in Rosemount, small business owner after small business owner told me how the health care law is creating uncertainty, rapidly inflating their costs, and preventing them from creating private-sector jobs. In the U.S. House, we are trying to help. Over the past 15 months, the House has taken 26 votes to repeal, defund, or dismantle the law, and I will continue to fight this devastating law and encourage the U.S. Senate and President to join us in the fight for lasting economic growth and prosperity.

I hope you find these updates beneficial. If you would like to receive e-mail updates on other issues important to you, please sign up on my website at http://kline.house.gov/issues

 Sincerely,

 JOHN KLINE

Member of Congress

P.S. I will be hosting a Career & Jobs Fair on Monday, May 14 at the Eagan Community Center in Eagan. Last fall, more than 1,100 Minnesota job seekers attended my jobs fair and visited with the more than 60 employers with available jobs. More information on my upcoming jobs fair here.

I was proud to vote for a successful repeal of the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), a 15-person board of unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats empowered under ObamaCare to gut Medicare. This legislation will restore decision-making power to patients and doctors and is another essential step toward protecting Americans from ObamaCare’s devastating consequences.

Now, it is incumbent upon Harry Reid and his Democrat allies in the Senate to listen to the will of the American people, not the White House, and join us in peeling back another layer of this disastrous law.

But rather than stand with me and the American people, Senators Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar are in the Twin Cities this morning with Mark Dayton to welcome ObamaCare architect Kathleen Sebelius, the President’s Health and Human Services Secretary, to an ObamaCare anniversary party.

We must take a stand.

ObamaCare must be repealed, but we can’t do it alone. One of the first orders of business in the House of Representatives in 2011 was successfully repealing ObamaCare. Unfortunately, the Senate refused to follow our lead. To end ObamaCare once and for all we need to ensure that I and my fellow conservatives are re-elected to Congress so we can keep up this fight.

Polls continue to show that a majority of Americans favor repealing ObamaCare, yet the Democrats continue to double down in defense of the law. Barack Obama and Washington Democrats’ defense of this job-killing law is fully funded and ready to fight.

That’s why I am enlisting your help. I need your financial support – $25, $30, $50, $100 or more – so we can keep up the pressure and win this vital fight for our future.

Board of Unelected, Unaccountable Bureaucrats Empowered Under ObamaCare

Dear Friends,

Everyone should have the freedom to make their own health care decisions. ObamaCare takes that away.

This Friday marks the two-year anniversary since this devastating government takeover of health care became law. Americans voiced their opposition to ObamaCare from coast to coast on election night in 2010, but President Obama and Washington Democrats refused to listen.

Our first act of Congress last year was to repeal ObamaCare. While the repeal passed convincingly in the House of Representatives, our efforts to rid the country of this historic over-reach were met with resistance by Harry Reid in the Senate.

Later this week, the House will vote to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), a 15-person board of unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats empowered under ObamaCare to gut Medicare. The IPAB has drawn bipartisan opposition because it threatens to reduce seniors’ access to treatments and services in Medicare. The legislation I sponsor will restore decision-making power to patients and doctors and is another essential step toward protecting Americans from PPACA’s consequences. This legislation should receive bipartisan support in the House; it is incumbent upon Harry Reid to listen to the will of the American people, not the White House, and bring our repeal of IPAB up for a vote.

Two years hasn’t changed what we already knew about the President’s disastrous takeover of health care: ObamaCare is unconstitutional. Our country is founded on freedom and liberty. Americans should be allowed the freedom to make their own decisions and exercise their First Amendment rights while saving trillions of dollars in taxes and debt.

Sincerely,

John Kline

February 28, 2012

Dear Constituent:

Knowing of your concerns with government spending, I would like to provide you with an important update about the President’s proposed 2013 budget. 

As you know, President Obama recently released his budget proposal for government spending during the next fiscal year.  His outline comes against a backdrop of the weakest economic recovery since the Great Depression and rising concerns about partisan tension.  Further, his plan reveals a continued reliance on the reckless government spending that pervades Washington.  The proposed budget burdens our job creators and hardworking taxpayers with the largest tax increase in history, and adds nearly $11 trillion in new debt. It is disappointing Washington has failed to learn that we cannot tax, spend, borrow, and bailout our way to prosperity.

Rest assured, I remain committed to working with congressional leaders to eliminate wasteful and ineffective federal programs.  Congress must set priorities for spending and make reductions wherever possible. As negotiations continue, I also will sustain my call to continue a ban on the wasteful earmarking process to ensure fiscal discipline and integrity governs the annual appropriations process.

As I continue to serve you in Congress, I will remain a strong and vocal advocate for fiscal responsibility.  For additional updates on legislative activity and my efforts on your behalf in Congress, visit my website at kline.house.gov/issues. 

Sincerely,

JOHN KLINE
Member of Congress