Posts tagged ‘bailout’

The Kline Line: Ban the Bailouts!

May 14, 2010, 12:32 pm

Ban the Bailouts!

Dear Friend,

For 16 months, President Obama and Congressional Democrats – appropriately labeled the “Bailout Brigade” by Republican Study Committee Tom Price – have put us on a path of unsustainable spending and skyrocketing debt. Whether it was bailing out Wall Street, taking over General Motors, or “rescuing” Fannie and Freddie yet again, the American people are tired of Washington’s unchecked borrowing and bailout spree.

Adding insult to injury, the President now wants to reach into your wallets for nearly $1 trillion to bailout the Euro. This comes on the heels of American taxpayers like you being asked to share in the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) $40 billion bailout of Greece. Perhaps not surprisingly, the United States is the world’s largest contributor to the IMF.

Like you, I want to see European nations right their economic ships, but not at our expense. In the coming days, I will join my House Republican colleagues to call on the administration to oppose further IMF bailouts of European nations. Without dramatic spending restraints by our own federal government, the United States is on a path like the one that led to Greece’s financial catastrophe and Europe’s woes.

Cost of ObamaCare Going Up, and Up, and Up…

Two weeks ago the President’s own experts released a report finding that 14 million Americans will lose their employer-provided coverage as a result of the new government takeover of health care, while 7 million seniors – approximately half of all participants – will no longer be covered by Medicare Advantage.

Now, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) announced that ObamaCare will cost at least another $115 billion, driving the price tag to nearly $1 trillion. If Congress approves all the additional spending called for in the legislation, it would push the 10-year cost of the overhaul above $1 trillion — an unofficial limit set by the very Obama administration that has eclipsed this lofty target. Perhaps more alarming, costs could rise even higher because the legislation authorizes several programs without setting specific funding levels.

There has been no word yet on whether Washington Democrats are still standing by White House advisor David Axelrod’s comments that fellow Democrats will be better off once the American people find out what’s in this bill.

“I think as the American people become familiar with what this program is and what it isn’t, they’re going to be very, very happy with it.” (Rick Klein, “Axelrod: Public Will Grow ‘Very, Very Happy’ with Health Care Law,” ABC News, 3/30/10)

Keeping in Contact with You

Please feel free to share this update with your friends and family. You can also keep up to date by visiting my Kline for Congress website or posting comments on my Facebook wall. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please e-mail me or visit the Kline for Congress website.

Sincerely,

John Kline


Kline for Congress | 101 W Burnsville Pkwy, Suite 104 | Burnsville | MN | 55337

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Kline Line: ‘Twas The Week Before Christmas…

December 19, 2009, 6:04 pm

‘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.

Sincerely,

John Kline

Prepared and Paid for by Kline for Congress

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Kline’s Corner: Our Budget Curbs Spending, Creates Jobs, Cuts Taxes, and Controls the Debt

April 3, 2009, 4:51 pm
Our Budget Curbs Spending, Creates Jobs,
Cuts Taxes, and Controls the Debt

Dear Friends,

In the first three months of the session, the 111th Congress has been on a runaway federal spending spree full of bailouts, so-called stimulus bills, and a pork-laden omnibus spending bill that included more than 8,500 earmarks. Adding insult to injury, Congress on Thursday passed a $3 trillion budget that spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much. This sweeping bill doubles the national debt in five years; triples it in 10 years; and increases taxes by $1.5 trillion for investors, small business owners, and every individual who uses energy.

Fortunately, there is a better solution. This week, I joined my House Republican colleagues to introduce a true path to American prosperity: an alternative budget that curbs spending, creates jobs, cuts taxes, and controls the debt at a time when the American people need it most. The “Road to Recovery” will:

  • Let families and small businesses keep more of what they earn;
  • Ensure the federal budget doesn’t grow faster than family budgets;
  • End government bailouts; and
  • Fight inflation to keep the prices of goods and services stable.
To read more about the budget, including some of your responses to how tax increases will affect you and your family, please click here.

Congress Should Fulfill Its Broken Promise
and Fully Fund Special Education

As we discuss the federal budget, we must consider every possible way to address the significant economic challenges facing our nation and ensure we direct our limited resources to those with the greatest needs. For far too long, our nation’s schools have been waiting patiently for Congress to fulfill the promise made more than 30 years ago to fully fund special education. Earlier this week, I introduced an amendment to the budget that would ensure Congress fulfills that promise.
Providing this long overdue relief would not only better serve our special needs students, it would free up desperately needed funds schools in Minnesota and across America could use to address their specific needs. Unfortunately, my amendment did not pass. As a member of the Education and Labor Committee, I will continue to push for Congress to reverse its course of paying far less than half of what it promised. A promise made should be a promise kept, especially when it involves educating our children.
To view video of my statement on the budget and efforts to convince Congress to fully fund special education, please click here.

Boosting Health Care Benefits for Our Veterans

Earlier this week, I was pleased to support legislation that would boost health care services and other benefits for military veterans:

  • Sponsored by House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner
    (D-Calif.), H.R. 1377 would allow reimbursements to veterans who receive emergency treatment at a facility outside the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
  • Sponsored by Congressman John Boozman (R-Ariz.), H.R. 1171 would authorize funding through 2014 for the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program. The bill would also establish a women veterans and homeless veterans with children reintegration grant program.
  • Sponsored by Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.), H.R. 1513 would provide a cost-of-living increase in disability compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities. The bill would increase the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for survivors of veterans with certain service-connected disabilities.
Tell Me Your Story
The price of gasoline in Minnesota is approximately $2 per gallon right now, which is roughly half the price we paid when energy prices soared last August. Still, considering the uncertain economy and energy, have you and your family scaled back any travel plans for the coming summer season? Please click here to tell me your story on how the economy and energy prices are affecting your plans.

Best wishes,

John Kline
Member of Congress

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Kline’s Corner: Keeping Our Promises to Veterans 3/20/09

March 20, 2009, 5:05 pm

Ensuring Federal Government Keeps Its Promises to Veterans

Dear Friends,

Earlier this week, President Obama proposed a plan to shift health care for our nation’s veterans out of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). While it is true that much work needs to be done to improve access to health care services for the men and women who have served our nation, turning our backs on our veterans by shifting the burden to private health care insurers for their disability-related health care is the wrong policy course. This proposal was inconsistent with the VA’s mandate to care for injured and disabled veterans.
In Congress, we should protect and honor the service of our highest priority veterans by appropriating the resources necessary for their care. That is why I adamantly opposed the President’s proposed attempt to shift this responsibility through an unfunded mandate on private insurers.
Accordingly, I sponsored bipartisan legislation expressing the sense of the U.S. House of Representatives that the VA should take full responsibility for financing the health care benefits earned by veterans with service-connected disabilities. Additionally, I sent a letter to the President asking him to reconsider this private reimbursement plan and instead ensure the VA has the resources it needs to care for our veterans of today and tomorrow.
I am relieved to learn President Obama has since reversed his course on this misguided proposal. I look forward to working with my colleagues and the Administration to keep our promises to the men and women who have fought for – and continue to defend – our nation.
To read more on this issue, please click here.

Helping Rebuild Americans’ Confidence in Their Savings

Millions of Americans have watched as the value of their 401(k)s, college savings plans and other savings plummeted over the past year. Earlier this month, Republican Leader John Boehner appointed me to a select working group to develop solutions to help Americans rebuild these savings vehicles as quickly as possible.

As the ranking Republican on the Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee, I am pleased to be part of this working group that will embrace real solutions to help rebuild Americans’ confidence in their savings.

The HELP Subcommittee upon which I serve is responsible for all matters associated with the relationships between employers and employees, including retirement security and pension, health, and other employee benefits.

As Congress addresses the economic challenges we face, I will continue to work with my colleagues on the subcommittee and the working group to explore meaningful solutions to help Americans on the road to economic recovery.

Budget Proprosal Spends Too Much,
Borrows Too Much, Taxes Too Much

After months of runaway federal spending on bailouts, so-called stimulus bills, and a pork-laden omnibus, the President’s budget is a $3 trillion blueprint that spends too much, borrows too much, and taxes too much.
Included in the President’s mandatory spending proposals is a $250 billion “placeholder for additional financial stabilization effort(s)” that could be used to purchase troubled assets from the banking sector. Simply, the Administration’s budget includes funds for yet another bailout. Where does it end? Middle-class families and small businesses are making sacrifices when it comes to their own budget, yet Washington continues to spend trillions in taxpayer dollars on bailouts and other government programs.

Rather than ushering in an era of big government, Congress should be focusing on one thing: restoring economic growth. While the Majority leadership’s “solutions” have been mired in so-called stimulus bills and bailouts, I am joining other colleagues who are focusing on solutions that would:

  • Protect jobs and lower taxes;
  • Limit the federal budget from growing faster than family budgets;
  • Provide access to health care and secure entitlements;
  • End bailouts and reform the financial system;
  • Keep energy and fuel costs low; and
  • Protect purchasing power.
I look forward to working with my colleagues to craft and pass a budget based on these sound economic principles that will not raise taxes on working families and small businesses when they can least afford them.

Tell Me Your Story

While supporters claim that only the “rich” will soon be subjected to a massive tax hike under the President’s proposed budget, the simple truth is that every single American who flips on a light switch will be taxed. In fact, an MIT study examining the effects of an energy tax similar to the President’s plan will cost American households an average of $3,128 per year. I want to hear how this tax increase will affect your ability to pay your health care premiums, send your children to college, start a small business, or otherwise achieve your American Dream. Please e-mail me by clicking here.

Preserving the Secret Ballot in the Workplace

There are sacred principles that epitomize American democracy. Freedom of speech. Due process. The right to vote by secret ballot. These fundamental rights have always been defended and protected regardless of political persuasion because these principles that define our democracy transcend America’s partisan differences. Or do they?

To read an op-ed I co-authored with Congressman Tom Price that was published in Thursday’s Washington Times, please click here.

Best wishes,

John Kline
Member of Congress

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A Letter from Congressman John Kline – 12/15/08

December 15, 2008, 6:23 pm

After Congressman Kline voted for the bailout I wrote a letter expressing my dismay.  I don’t believe in bailouts for any industry and don’t think the taxpayers should be subsidizing failing businesses, rather the businesses need to change their business model or it will be good money after bad, borrowed money to lend them.

Here is the response I received:

December 15, 2008

Thank you for contacting me to share your concerns regarding the recent Congressional action focused on the faltering automobile industry in the United States.  I appreciate learning of your views.

As you may be aware, the House of Representatives passed an auto bailout bill on December 10, 2008.  I could not support this bill because it puts a government bureaucrat in charge of the marketing, investment, and HR decisions of private companies – and falls fell short of protecting taxpayers and accomplishing the ultimate goal of enabling the auto industry to become competitive again.  After a failed procedural vote in the Senate, legislative action on the issue has come to a halt at the current time.

I will continue to express to my colleagues in Congress that poor financial decisions and crippling union contracts should not be rewarded.  Rather, the federal government should implement a commonsense, free market solution to our economic woes. To that end, I am cosponsoring H.R. 7309, legislation that would provide a two month tax holiday to let the American people decide for themselves which companies deserve bailing out and which do not.

As we look ahead to the 111th Congress, we should investigate all options and insist on increased oversight and greater transparency critical to any meaningful solution.

Thank you again for contacting me.  Please feel free to do so again regarding any issue of importance to you.


Sincerely,

JOHN KLINE
Member of Congress

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