Email update from David Price

[SunDrop23]

Dear Friends,

We’re in the midst of a two-week congressional session during tumultuous times here in Washington. There are some accomplishments to report, along with more than a few disappointments. In this note, I’d like to take a minute to focus on the ways Congress is spending money and explain why these are such critical times for our country.

This week, we’re wrapping up our work on the final funding bills for the federal government. I am proud to have secured support for some key projects in the Fourth District. These include federal funding for police car video cameras and mobile data terminals for first responders; breast cancer research at UNC-Chapel Hill; and a program to reduce criminal recidivism through a job resource center in Durham.

Overall, however, I am disturbed by the priorities this Congress has established in the course of the budget process. Just weeks after we passed a bill that would target some of our country’s most vulnerable people, with drastic cuts to food stamps, Medicaid, student loans and other programs, the House leadership is seeking to pass a tax cut bill that overwhelmingly benefits the wealthiest in our society, granting them billions of dollars in reduced taxes on dividends and capital gains and compounding our country’s already-dire fiscal situation.

House leaders justify such cuts in terms of “paying for Katrina.” But while Katrina cleanup and recovery will be expensive, it did not create our fiscal crisis. That crisis has been five years in the making, rooted in tax cuts that were not paid for, war and security expenditures, and an underperforming economy. Why must we offset the costs of rebuilding Biloxi but not the costs of rebuilding Baghdad, or the much greater costs of the President’s tax cuts? And why must we target these domestic needs that bear little responsibility for our fiscal plight? Such an approach flies in the face of both common sense and common decency.

If we continue at this rate, interminable debt will be the legacy we leave for our children and grandchildren. I believe we can do better, and I know it’s possible to instill budget discipline without shortchanging working families. We must reinstate the pay-as-you-go principle that worked so well in the 90’s, giving us our first budget surpluses in decades.

The ongoing fiscal policy disputes have unfortunately contributed to increased partisan rancor and have led to a deterioration of the tone of congressional debates. We should be able to disagree with one another, without resorting to ugly insults and character assaults. And we should be leading by example and with integrity, not trying to explain away ethics investigations and criminal indictments. It is my hope that the new year will bring a greater honesty, a more civilized discourse, and truly patriotic debate focused on the common good.

With best wishes for peace and good health,

David