My Letter to Congress: A Simple Way To help With The Deficit Reduction

I am writing as your constituent in the 15th Congressional district of Florida.

Please view the below YouTube Video (approx. 2 minutes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE181mP-ooc

Thanks.

Sincerely,
Richard Moore

Thank you for taking the time to contact me. I have received your
message and I welcome the opportunity to address your concerns. As you
await a response, please know that our office is working towards best
serving the state of Florida. I appreciate hearing your views, and I
understand how important these issues are to you. Please expect my
response in the near future. In an effort to serve you better, please
do not duplicate e-mails into the web-form, as it may serve to delay
the response to your concerns. If you need immediate assistance with a
federal agency, please call (866) 630-7106 toll-free in Florida. You
may also contact the Orlando regional office at (407) 254-2573 or the
Miami regional office at (305) 418-8553. Please do not mail
correspondence to the Washington DC Office as it will delay the
response to your request for assistance

Dear Mr. Moore,



I appreciate you reaching out to me regarding two of the biggest
challenges facing our nation: the federal budget and out-of-control
spending. As Florida's junior Senator, it is my priority to confront
these issues by reducing wasteful spending, eliminating duplicative and
inefficient government programs, and working to ensure the solvency of
entitlement programs.



The United States government's exorbitant spending must stop. The
Congressional Budget Office projects the budget deficit will reach $1.3
trillion for 2011 which will be the third-largest shortfall in the past
65 years. This spending is unsustainable and is why I opposed the
budget "compromise" earlier this year. I have continued to fight
against President Obama's budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2012 and did
not vote to raise the debt ceiling in August because the agreement did
not cut nearly enough spending. The President and his administration
have failed to take decisive action to cut our spending and curb our
debt. The era of big government has driven us further into debt and we
must take the necessary measures to reverse it.



Beyond the current fiscal year, President Obama's budget proposal for
Fiscal Year 2012 falls far short of tackling our national debt in a
serious way. Although we face a staggering deficit and an enormous
national debt that is approaching $15 trillion, the President's
proposal would add $9.5 trillion of new debt over the next decade.
While the President insists he would take the commendable step of
vetoing bills with earmarks attached, his silence on entitlement
reform, the absence of meaningful spending cuts, and his reliance on
anti-competitive tax increases will cause more economic uncertainty,
stifle job creation and keep America on a path toward a diminished
future.



As you may know, the Budget Control Act was approved by both houses of
Congress and signed into law by President Obama on August 2, 2011. The
Act raises the debt ceiling in two separate increments; an immediate
increase of $400 billion which has already occurred, and a likely
increase at a later date of $500 billion. It also puts into place a
process for potential future debt ceiling increases. Unfortunately, the
debt ceiling increases contained within the Budget Control Act were not
accompanied by significant long-term reforms to our spending problem.
Therefore, I voted against this bill, which still adds more than $7
trillion to our national debt over the next 10 years.



On October 4, the House of Representatives passed a "stopgap" bill,
which would fund the federal government through November 18, at an
expense of approximately $1.043 trillion. When this bill was presented
in the Senate, I voted against it, as it fails to curb our excessive
spending habits. In contrast, Chairman Paul Ryan's budget offers an
important first step toward tackling our debt crisis and boosting our
economy.



I have also cosponsored the One Percent Spending Reduction Act of 2011
or the "Penny Plan" (S. 1316) introduced by Congressman Connie Mack and
Senator Mike Enzi. The Penny Plan would cut total federal spending by
one percent each year for six consecutive years, set an overall
spending cap of 18 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018 and
would reduce overall spending by $7.5 trillion over ten years.



Our fiscal problems today are due to decades of profligate spending by
both parties. We have a job-crushing debt because Washington has
repeatedly postponed the tough decisions for someone else to deal with
down the road. The American people have every reason to be disappointed
by the President's budget and by Washington politicians who either
don't understand the seriousness of our fiscal crisis, or who are
simply not willing to confront this challenge. As Florida's junior
Senator, I will keep your thoughts in mind as I work with my colleagues
to enact a responsible budget that addresses the long term fiscal
problems we face as a state and nation.