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During the debt ceiling debacle, I sent nice emails both to my Senators and to my Indiana 8^th district Congressman.  I received the following form letter (it follows my response) in response, and I wrote him again.  That correspondence follows:

Dear Mr. Bucshon:

Yes.  We’re fortunate that the Senate exhibited some measure of sanity by rejecting the ill-advised cut, cap, and balance bill out-of-hand, and I note with some sadness your gleeful support of it.

The poor in our country suffer enough without the added burden that such poor legislation attempts to hang around their necks. You and others need to work hard, first, to require the wealthiest Americans and corporations to pay their fair share of taxes by closing tax loopholes that place the responsibilities of funding government squarely on the backs of middle-class Americans. Without this source of revenue, your call for cutting spending rings hollow, and your constituency will not be fooled much longer.

The circus that surrounded the debt ceiling legislation will hurt the chances for reelection of most sitting Congress people, and rightly it should.  To complain about the bill after doing little to nothing to solve the problem over the last many months tells Americans that we sent the wrong people to Congress.  You can change our minds (unlike so many in Washington, Americans do both believe in and practice compromise), but we will watch your efforts when you return to Washington, and you should know that we both expect more from you and do hold you accountable for your words and for your actions.

Please, stop parroting party language (as most of your response represents), and start thinking critically about how your votes will affect people rather than numbers. We expect that of our representatives.  Should you not understand quite well the responsibilities of civic service (and, apparently, many in Congress do not), please read Cicero of Rome’s challenges to those who choose to serve.  Your responsibility is to the people at large and not to a party.  Hopefully, you’ll soon start exhibiting that understanding.

Regards,

Kenneth D. Johnson

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August 4, 2011 Dear Mr. Johnson,   Thank you for contacting me regarding the debt ceiling negotiations. As your Congressman, is it beneficial for me to hear your thoughts on this important issue. Although I would prefer the Cut, Cap and Balance approach that I voted for on July 28, the Senate failed to even debate this legislation and killed this important bill. The Budget Control Act of 2011 is the only viable vehicle to mandate substantial spendingcuts and caps into law and require a vote on a Balanced Budget Amendment.  As I said on the House floor, “I would have preferred a better bill, and frankly, all our constituents deserve more.” One of the most alarming aspects of our current national debt is the potential impact on the nation’s credit rating. Since the institution of credit ratings, the United States has always had a “AAA” rating. If we had not passed an increase in the debt ceiling, the credit rating agencies would have downgraded our rating, affecting every single American citizen. The cost of acquiring capital to purchase a home, start a business, or expand a business would have increased dramatically, stressing an already struggling economy. With unemployment at 9.2% and almost 14 million Americans looking for work, I could not allow the situation to worsen. After the bill was signed into law, two credit agencies, Moody and Fitch, both confirmed that they will not downgrade the U.S. at this time, while S & P is still evaluating our credit rating. The Budget Control Act of 2011 includes serious spending reforms with cuts and caps totaling $917 billion over the next ten years. The bill cuts the FY2012 budget by $21 billion and holds spending below FY2010 levels until 2016. In exchange, it raises the debt ceiling by $900 billion, which is estimated to allow for about six months of spending. In addition to the spending cuts now, this bill provides caps for future budgets. In 2012, the discretionary budget cannot exceed $1,043 billion increasing to $1,234 billion in 2021. Failure to maintain these caps would result in automatic across the board cuts known as sequestration. Sequestration would include an automatic reduction to any discretionary spending over the caps. In order to achieve any further increases to the debt ceiling, a Balanced Budget Amendment must be voted on by the House and Senate.  If a Balanced Budget Amendment is sent to the states for ratification, then the debt limit will be increased by $1.5 trillion. The bill also sets up a Joint Select Committee that will report a credible plan to cut spending by November 23, 2011, that each chamber of Congress must vote on by December 23, 2011, to achieve at least $1.2 trillion more in deficit reduction. Neither chamber is allowed to amend the proposal; it is simply an up or down vote. Some have feared that this commission will recommend tax increases as the answer to deficit reduction; I can assure you that I will not vote for tax increases, and any further increases to the debt ceiling from this agreement must be accompanied only by spending cuts. Regardless of the outcome of the Joint Committee, the government’s spending will still be corralled by the caps and subject to sequestration of $1.2 trillion, if the caps are not met. If sequestration is necessary, the Office of Management and Budget would be required to allocate half of the annual sequestration from defense accounts, including the Department of State and other agencies and half from non-defense accounts. The non-defense accounts include Medicare provider expenditures but not Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare beneficiaries, civil and military employee pay or veterans. This protects low-income families and individuals. Medicare cuts are restricted to no more than 2% of the program’s outlays and would not apply to beneficiaries. I did not take this vote lightly and I do not believe that this legislation is perfect. However, this is a starting point to reign in government spending, implement a balanced budget and maintain the credit rating of the United States. There is much more work to be done and I assure you that I will keep fighting to cut spending in line with our Hoosier values. It was good to hear from you. Please do not hesitate to contact me any time you have an issue of concern before Congress. Also, feel free to visit my website at bucshon.house.gov and sign up for my e-newsletter to receive updates from Washington. It is an honor to serve you and the people of the 8th District of Indiana. Sincerely, Larry Bucshon Member of Congress

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