Farmington 411 Information Resource

‘Twas the Week Before Christmas and all through the land, Congress again seized your pocketbook,
with its deep reaching hands…

Dear Friends,

Speaker Nancy Pelosi is making her list and checking it twice, but the debt she has decided to give Americans this Christmas is far worse than any lump of coal in the bottom of a stocking. Instead of reining in runaway government spending, Congress passed a bill this week that raises the debt ceiling – the government’s credit limit. By increasing the debt limit, Democrats are opening the door to borrow even more, piling more debt on our children and grandchildren, to fund government spending in 2010.

Government spending ballooned by $705 billion in 2009, a whopping 24 percent increase. The federal deficit exceeded $1.4 trillion last year, more than three times higher than any previous annual deficit in our nation’s history. Unfortunately, Washington Democrats have no plans to get spending under control in the future. The budget President Obama submitted to Congress includes significant spending increases that would double the deficit in five years and triple it in 10 years.

Enough is enough.

Throughout the year, I have joined House Republican colleagues to offer better solutions that create jobs by jumpstarting small business growth; make Washington do more with less; lower health care premiums without implementing a government takeover; get the federal government out of the bailout business; and help Americans rebuild their savings whether it’s for retirement, college, or buying a home. Rather than allowing runaway spending to continue and piling up more government debt, Congress should explore common sense solutions to reduce federal spending.

Democrats in Copenhagen Promoting National Energy Tax

On Wednesday, in what appears to be the final day of the first session of the 111th Congress, the Democrat-controlled Congress muscled through a jumble of costly bills, including a third “continuing resolution,” a $290-billion increase in the debt ceiling, and another “stimulus” bill modeled after the failed $787-billion measure enacted earlier this year. Hours later, Speaker Pelosi and other Democrat leaders flew to Copenhagen to promote their national energy tax, which would take our economy from bad to worse. In the midst of the worst recession and the highest unemployment rate in a generation, the President will be joining them in Denmark to advance a jobs-killing global climate change agreement. As the administration’s recent EPA decision demonstrates, Washington Democrats will stop at nothing, even the strong objections of the American people, to impose a cap-and-tax system.

Bringing Gitmo Detainees to U.S. Soil is Dangerous and Unjust

President Obama announced plans this week for the federal government to purchase the Thomson Correctional Center, a state prison in Illinois, to house up to 100 detainees currently held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Bringing Gitmo detainees to the U.S. is both dangerous and unjust. Importing terrorists to our shores invites them to abuse and manipulate the legal rights and protections granted to U.S. citizens by our Constitution – the very freedoms they seek to destroy. Earlier this year I co-sponsored the “Keep Terrorists Out of America Act,” which guarantees dangerous terrorists held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility are kept off American soil and out of our courts.

Radio Alert: Tune In This Afternoon

I will visit with Jeff Shell and Lee Michaels at 3:15 p.m., today, on KKMS-AM 980; and Esme Murphy at 3:35 p.m., today, on WCCO-AM 830. Tune in on your radio or listen online at KKMS or WCCO. We will discuss the latest news in Congress, as well as encourage Minnesotans to join me in supporting the Toys for Tots program. (To find drop-off sites near you, please visit the Toys for Tots website by clicking here).

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

As 2009 winds down, Vicky and I would like to thank you for all of your support, and we wish you a merry Christmas and God’s continued blessings to you and your family in 2010.