Email from Congressman Michael McCaul 4-17-09

April 17, 2009

Dear Friends,

This week, millions of hard-working Americans filed their taxes and joined together to protest our nation’s tax burden, a reminder of just how much of their hard-earned money goes to Washington.

During these challenging economic times, our nation’s families and small businesses are struggling to make ends meet. As a result, Americans are paying higher taxes to offset out-of-control government spending. The American people know we can’t spend and tax our way back to a growing economy.

In order to create and maintain long-term economic growth, Congress must put politics aside and protect the American taxpayer.

I continue to support a budget that provides $1.2 trillion in tax relief. It also includes provisions to end bailouts, reduce non-defense discretionary spending, and tackle health entitlements, reducing the national debt by more than $6 trillion.

BORDER SECURITY

When I return to Washington next week I will be introducing legislation to increase funding and resources to secure the border, combat violence from Mexican drug cartels, and better enforce existing immigration laws.  I will be touring a part of the border early next week to get a first-hand account of the situation.

DISTRICT EVENTS

I’m going back to Washington energized by so many people who participated in events across the country and in the 10^th District this week.  Together we are sending a resounding message to the Obama administration that we will not tolerate record spending, debt and higher taxes. 

IN THE NEWS

Austin American-Statesman

http://www.statesman.com/search/content/news/stories/local/04/16/0416teaparties.html

Katy Times

http://www.katytimes.com/articles/2009/04/16/news/doc49e4e9b47353b860920458.txt

Banner Press

http://www.brenhambanner.com/articles/2009/04/15/news/news01.txt

Tomball Potpourri http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2009/04/15/tomball_magnolia_potpourri/news/po_as_mccaul_tea_party_4_22.txt

Sealy News

http://www.sealynews.com/articles/2009/04/17/news/news01.txt

See VIDEO from this week’s district events at

http://www.youtube.com/michaeltmccaul

It’s been great to see many of you across the district the last couple weeks.

With best regards,

Michael T. McCaul

Member of Congress

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Email from Senator John Cornyn 4-16-09

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An email from Michael McCaul 4/3

April 3, 2009

Dear Friends,

This week I continued to stand up for the taxpayers in my district by voting against President Obama’s and Speaker Pelosi’s $3 trillion a year budget.  Unfortunately, it passed.  Over the next five years it will double the national debt.  Over ten years it will triple our debt and raise taxes by $1.4 trillion.  I encourage you to visit my new website, where you can see how quickly our debt is adding up, and view my speech on the House floor before yesterday’s vote.

I voted for an alternative to this massive spending bill called The Path to American Prosperity.  It’s a blueprint for economic recovery that keeps spending and debt under control, keeps taxes low, and still addresses the country’s core needs.  The Republican plan:

• Spends $4.8 trillion less than the Democrats’ budget over 10 years
• Brings spending back down to 20.7% of GDP, in line with the historical average, instead of climbing to 24.5% of GDP as proposed in the Obama budget
• Freezes non-defense/non-veterans spending, instead of increasing non-defense spending by more than 9% as proposed in the Obama budget
• Borrows $3.6 trillion less than the Obama budget over 10 years
• Increases the Defense budget by $5 billion over the cuts in the Obama budget
• Increases Veterans funding by $540 million over the President’s budget
• Institutes pro-growth tax cuts instead of $1.5 trillion in tax increases on small businesses and families as proposed in the Obama budget
• Creates 2.1 million more Jobs than the Democrats’ Budget
• Suspends capital gains taxes through 2010 instead of increasing taxes on investment
• Institutes needed entitlement reforms to ensure the long-term solvency of Social Security and Medicare

Today I am heading back home for the April District Work Period.  Over the next two weeks I hope to see many of you as I travel the 10^th District to discuss our economic situation, and continue to offer solutions.

Free Taxpayer Seminars!

Congressman McCaul will be hosting Taxpayer Seminars on Tuesday, April 7, 2009. Representatives from the IRS will be available to answer your tax questions in Tomball and Pflugerville.  There will be presentations on the IRS resources available to you and an opportunity for you to get your general tax questions answered.  Please contact our Austin district office at (512) 473-2357 for more information.

Tomball 6:30-7:30pm

Community Library at Lone Star College, Building 9

30555 Tomball Parkway

Click here for a campus map.

Pflugerville 7:30-8:30pm

Pflugerville Public Library

102 S 10th St

VISIT OUR NEW WEBSITE!

The address is the same:  www.house.gov/mccaul.

We are proud of our new communication tool  The objective is to give you more ways to be in contact with me, and more ways for me to hear what’s important to you.  Government is all about serving the people, and this new technological tool we have will help us do a better job.  Our new features include:

• News stories featuring my work on big issues are more accessible
• Floor speeches and hearing video are readily available
• A Survey and Blog will give you a new opportunity to voice your opinion and generate discussions
• National Debt Clock

I wish you and your family a great weekend, and a Happy Easter and Passover.

With best regards,

Michael T. McCaul

Member of Congress

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Email from Senator John Cornyn 4/2

Why I’m Voting Against The Budget

The following op-ed ran in today’s edition of the Austin American-Statesman, which can be accessed here.

This week, I will vote against the massive $3.6 trillion budget proposed by President Barrack Obama and Democrats in Congress, and Texans deserve to understand why. I believe this budget taxes too much, spends too much and borrows too much. This budget will delay economic recovery in Texas and across the nation, and it will reduce opportunities for all of us.

This budget will reduce opportunities for people looking for jobs. Nearly three-quarters of all new private sector jobs are created by small businesses. In Texas, we understand that small businesses are the employment engines of our economy, and so we have put in place policies that encourage entrepreneurs to invest in our state and create more opportunities. As ABC News reported last week, only three of the top 39 job markets in the nation gained jobs last year. All three are in Texas, and one of them is Austin.

I have worked to bring successful Texas policies to Washington, especially our policy of keeping taxes low. Once again this year I offered an amendment to make it harder for Congress to increase taxes in future budgets. Had this amendment been adopted last year, 60 votes in the Senate would be required today to increase taxes on America’s families and small businesses.

Congress chose not to make it harder to raise taxes, and so this year Obama proposed raising net taxes by $1.4 trillion over the next decade. Much of this burden will fall on our state’s most successful small businesses. He has proposed raising the top two tax brackets to a nominal rate of 36 and 39.6 percent, and by limiting deductions for state and local taxes and other expenses, the effective marginal tax rates on thousands of our small businesses will be over 40 percent.

Small businesses make a big contribution to our economy, and charitable organizations do the same for our society as a whole. More than 150 years ago, Alexis de Tocqueville marveled at the spirit of volunteerism in our country, and how quick we were to form “public associations” for the common good. Today, faith-based and community-based organizations heal the sick, feed the hungry and serve the most vulnerable among us.

Charitable organizations depend on the generosity of donors to serve our communities, and for decades we have encouraged this generosity by making charitable donations deductible. But Obama wants to limit this deduction for charitable contributions, which could cost charities nationwide anywhere from $4 billion to $9 billion.

You can see the potential impact right here in Austin. The Austin Pregnancy Resource Center is a 501c(3) organization that provides counseling and services to women who are pregnant or who may think they are pregnant. Some of their clients are students. Some are homeless. Some are victims of domestic violence and other abuse.

The center provides these confidential services at no cost to women in need. It relies completely on donations from individuals and businesses to fund its programs. Thanks to the generosity of the Austin community, the center now has two full-time employees, one part-time employee and about 60 volunteers.

The recession has made it harder for the center to raise money — even as the demand for its services increases. In just one day this month, the center received nearly 20 calls from women who could not afford to buy diapers. In the words of Executive Director Lori DeVillez, “There are many times where a bag of diapers or a can of formula truly means the difference between ‘Do I eat today, or provide for my baby?’ ”

The center works to ensure that its clients don’t have to face such a terrible choice. DeVillez estimates that up to 10 of the center’s largest donors would see their taxes go up under the president’s plan. She would like to see policies that would expand her pool of potential donors — rather than dry it up.

I believe that charitable organizations like the Austin Pregnancy Resource Center, as well as thousands of successful small businesses across our state, help make Texas a better place. They deserve our support. They do not deserve to suffer the impact of higher taxes. I will continue to bring the experience of successful Texas policies to our nation’s capital, and help more people contribute to the common good.

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An email from my Congressman: Michael McCaul

March 27, 2009

Dear Friends,

The President has said that digging our way out of this economic crisis won’t be easy and will take time.  While we can agree on the scope of this challenge and the effort it will take to recover, the Republican budget plan will move Americans toward prosperity without spending record amounts of taxpayer dollars and without increasing the tax burden on families and businesses.

Today, our $11 trillion deficit places a burden of $36,000 on every American.  Under the President’s budget, in ten years, our per-person debt will climb above $50,000.  We cannot spend, borrow and tax our way to prosperity.  We cannot pass a budget that will dig a deeper financial hole and impede our country’s long-term progress.  Our plan will balance re-instituting the basic principles of limited government and personal responsibility, with meeting our most critical needs.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Spirit of Enterprise Award

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce presented me with the prestigious Spirit of Enterprise Award for my continued support of pro-growth legislation during the last session of Congress. I am proud to have received this award for the fourth consecutive year because businesses are the economic engine of this great nation and I am committed to creating a positive pro-growth environment.  Especially during a recession our priority should be to help businesses succeed by ensuring reasonable tax burdens and responsible regulations that won’t stifle job creation.  I am proud to represent small business across District 10.

Omnibus Lands Bill

On Wednesday, the House passed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act.  This bill contains more than 170 separate natural resources bills—more than 100 of which had not been considered in the House—that create new, federally sheltered wilderness areas, wild and scenic rivers, and heritage areas.  The bill also included land exchanges, ocean exploration, local water projects, landscape restoration, and underwater research, among a variety of other programs.  The 1,248-page bill was estimated to cost over $10 billion and prohibited natural resource exploration development on millions of acres of land acres.  The legislation passed the Senate on March 19, 2009, and will now be sent to the President for his signature

I wish you and your family a happy and safe weekend.

FLAME Act

On Thursday, the House passed H.R. 1404, the Federal Land Assistance, Management and Enhancement Act.  The bill establishes a Federal Land Assistance, Management, and Enhancement (FLAME) Fund within the U.S. Treasury.  The FLAME Fund would be used to pay for emergency catastrophic wildfire suppression.  This would be separate from amounts annually appropriated to the Departments of Agriculture and Interior for wildfire suppression.  The bill also directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior to develop a cohesive wildland fire management strategy within one year.  H.R. 1404 establishes a grant program within the Departments of Agriculture and Interior to help communities carry out wildfire education programs, firefighter training, and equipment acquisition. I joined 412 of my colleagues to vote yes and pass this important legislation.

In the News

FOX News- Congressman McCaul Discusses Border Security

http://www.house.gov/list/press/tx10_mccaul/morenews/3_27_09.html

Passport Day in the USA!

Are you planning a trip this summer?  Due to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, all international travel will require a valid passport starting June 1, 2009.  To help citizens be prepared for this change, Passport Acceptance Facilities will be open across the United States on Saturday, March 28, 2009 for Passport Day in the USA.  Please locate your most convenient acceptance facility and review the procedures and rules for applying for a passport.

Free Taxpayer Seminar!

Congressman McCaul will be hosting Taxpayer Seminars on April 7, 2009. Representatives from the IRS will be available to answer your tax questions in Tomball at Lone Star College–Tomball and Community Library from 6:30-7:30 and Pflugerville at the Pflugerville Public Library from 7:30-8:30.  There will be presentations on the IRS resources available to you and an opportunity for you to get your general tax questions answered.  Please contact my Austin district office at (512) 473-2357 for more information and to suggest topics for the Taxpayer Seminars.

NEW WEBSITE!

Please look for our new and improved congressional website which will launch in the first few days of April. The address will remain the same:  www.house.gov/mccaul.   We hope this will serve as a more effective communications tool, allowing you greater options to learn what’s happening in Washington and voice your opinion.

With best regards,

Michael T. McCaul

Member of Congress

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The $1,000,000,000,000 Mistake

		U.S. Representative Michael McCaul 10th District of Texas 5929 Balcones Drive, Suite 305 Austin, TX 78731 (512) 473-2357
	For Immediate Release February 13, 2009 The $1,000,000,000,000 Mistake By Congressman Michael McCaul
	(Washington D.C.)- {For a time when the nation is full of talk of change, the Democrat leadership in Washington seems committed to repeating the mistakes of the past. The so-called stimulus package presented to us this week is no stimulus at all. In reality, it’s a Trojan Horse for billions of dollars in pork barrel spending. Democrats have said repeatedly that there is not a single earmark in this bill. In fact, the stimulus bill itself is one giant earmark, a massive collection of unnecessary spending, pet projects, and kickbacks to well-heeled contributors. While I do support some provisions of the bill such as the tax relief and investments in infrastructure, only 17% of this $1 trillion bill provides new tax relief and less than 10% provides new roads and bridges. This economic crisis demands leadership. It demands immediate tax relief for working families, and help for America’s small businesses, giving them the funds they need to stop the layoffs and hire more employees. It demands that we stabilize home values, and yes, give assistance to the unemployed. All these goals are fulfilled in an alternative plan that I support, but to which the Democrats gave little consideration. We cannot spend our way out of debt. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office says that long-term, this package will do more harm than good. And the President’s own analysts and economic advisors say the Republican plan, which institutes long-term, meaningful tax cuts for individuals and small businesses, will create twice as many jobs for half the cost of the stimulus package. According to their calculations, this alternative stimulus would create an estimated 490,000 jobs in Texas, compared to only 204,000 in the final bill. At a critical moment in America’s history – when our nation desperately needs strong, principled leadership – Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid are bent on taking advantage of this crisis and manipulating the fears of American taxpayers to their own ends. Instead of creating jobs, they’re focused on pushing through massive overreaches of government. Consider Welfare spending. One measure in the bill seeks to take limits off of Welfare spending that President Clinton imposed 12 years ago. University of Texas professor and former assistant Health and Human Services Secretary Benjamin Sasse, explains that, “Through a little noticed provision of the stimulus package that has passed the House of Representatives, the bill creates a fund that is open-ended.” Sasse explains the provision would essentially remove the five year limit on federal benefits and jeopardize the requirement that recipients begin working after two years of government support. The stimulus package also includes a step toward government-run healthcare. It creates a new entity of bureaucratic oversight, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, to monitor your treatments. Thanks to this stimulus package, government will be looking over the shoulder of your doctor, preventing him from giving you any treatment they deem “not cost-effective.” How does putting a bureaucrat in Washington in charge of your health care stimulate the economy? How does it create jobs to roll back welfare reform, unleashing an endless stream of government handouts? Perhaps my favorite line item in this stimulus package is for $300 million to purchase golf carts. Something’s wrong with this picture when an economic stimulus package includes $300 million of hard-earned taxpayer money for buying $40,000 apiece golf carts. No one seems to know where they’ll even be used! In times of crisis, history should be our guide. It’s worth remembering an old statement from Henry Morgenthau Jr., the famous Treasury Secretary under President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression, who confessed, “We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before, and it does not work.” Printing money we don’t have will only result in inflation thereby increasing interest rates on credit card purchases and home mortgages. Spending the equivalent of a million dollars a day for the next three thousand years is not a solution, and it is not leadership to saddle our children with the cost of our poor decisions. It’s time to get Americans working again, and working for themselves – not for paying off the salaries of more bureaucrats and the costs of pork barrel spending. Michael McCaul represents the 10th Congressional District of Texas (####)

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