NewsLetter From Senator Isakson

December 7, 2012

Dear Friends,

Today we remember the “date which will live in infamy” – the 71st anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor that killed thousands and propelled the United States in to World War II. We pay special tribute to those who lost their lives in the attack and to those who served our country during the war. 

We are also again reminded of the ideals upon which this nation was founded, and of the might of our strength and depth of our spirit. The sacrifices of our forefathers and the greatest generation should be forefront in confronting the critical issues we face today. We must not let them down and we must work for a better and brighter future for our children and grandchildren.

Fiscal Cliff
I have said repeatedly that the United States is in a very dangerous position if we do not act now to address the fiscal cliff by Dec. 31, 2012. Tax rates will increase to 15 percent on the bottom end and to 39.6 percent on the top end of the spectrum, the capital gains tax rate will rise from 15 percent to 20 percent, the estate tax will increase to 55 percent, the dividend tax rate will increase to the marginal rate of the taxpayer and the child tax and earned income credits will expire.

This week, Senate Minority Leader McConnell, R-Ky., offered Majority Leader Reid, D-Nev., the opportunity to vote on the president’s $1.6 trillion tax proposal, but Sen. Reid declined the offer. I am concerned that the president is not acting in good faith and actually wants us to go off the fiscal cliff, let tax cuts expire, cut defense spending and then turn around and cut taxes on just a few later on in order to gain exactly what he has wanted all along while looking as though he has single-handedly rescued the country. 

I said as much this week on “The Daily Rundown with Chuck Todd” on MSNBC. I believe that it is time to sit down and get serious because if we don’t address the current fiscal cliff in this lame-duck session of Congress, we will put the nation in a precarious position. 

Additionally, the president’s initial offer that was rejected by Majority Leader Reid, gave the president unilateral power to increase the debt limit without Congressional oversight. As a result, I joined with Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and 42 other senators in sending a letter to President Obama underscoring the need for any deficit reduction deal to ensure that the people’s elected representatives will continue to have a say over the nation’s debt limit. The letter points out that President Obama himself has said that “substantial increases in the national debt are ‘irresponsible’ and ‘unpatriotic,’” and that he personally pledged to cut the budget deficit in half. We agree with him and that is precisely why we oppose his move to eliminate Congress’s role in establishing a federal debt limit.

I’m not in favor of patchwork solutions to a macro problem. We all already agree that we must address this issue by tackling three things: spending, revenue and so-called entitlements. 

In terms of spending, we should cut discretionary spending, but that alone will not solve our debt and deficit problem. Congress should return to a responsible budget and appropriations process focused on savings and accountability. As for defense spending, the consensus is that arbitrary cuts would be devastating to our defense. Instead, we should cut spending through a responsible, strategic approach.

When it comes to Medicare and Social Security, I don’t consider these programs to be “entitlements” because Americans have paid into them their entire working lives. That’s why we must take steps to preserve these programs for those who have paid into the system and for future generations as well. I propose extending the age of eligibility for Social Security for our children and grandchildren, just as President Reagan and House Speaker Tip O’Neill did in 1983. Medicare is a tougher issue, but converting from a fee-for-service program to premium support and means-testing is a first step.

As for the tax code, I do not favor raising tax rates. It would not be difficult to come up with a plan that lowers rates and raises revenues. For example, a possible solution could be means-tested deductions. The fiscal cliff could be averted by reducing tax rates and reforming the tax code in a comprehensive manner so that we would have a lower tax rate applied against a larger base, and that would produce revenue. 

I remain ready to sit down at the table with anyone who is acting in good faith in order to solve this problem. We need a game plan for the next decade to reduce our deficits and reduce our debt.

Arms Smuggling in the Gaza Strip
On Wednesday, I joined Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and a bipartisan group of 16 other senators in sending a letter to Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi urging him to step up efforts to stop arms smuggling through the Sinai and into Gaza that could reignite the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Morsi was instrumental in brokering the cease-fire that ended the eight-day conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza last month. Recently, there have been statements from Hamas and Iranian leaders acknowledging that Gaza is being supplied with weapons from Iran, including long-range Fajr-5 missiles. In the letter, we wrote, “In order for the ceasefire to hold, it is imperative that your government bolster its efforts to halt all weapons smuggling taking place via both overland and underground routes.”

What’s on Tap?        

Next week, the Senate will resume consideration of a bill, S.3637, that would extend for two years the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s Transaction Account Guarantee (TAG) program, which provides unlimited deposit insurance coverage for non-interest-bearing transaction accounts.

Sincerely,
Johnny Isakson

Fiscal Cliff Update From Congressman Woodall

If you've turned on a television or opened a newspaper in the last few weeks, you've no doubt seen the so-called "fiscal cliff" conversation unfolding in Washington.  The "fiscal cliff" is Washington-speak for the expiration of Bush-era tax rates coupled with across-the-board spending cuts on many domestic spending accounts.  While the fiscal cliff coverage continues to escalate as the January deadline draws near, I can tell you these discussions are absolutely nothing new.  They are a continuation of every discussion that the House and the President have had during my two years in Congress: the President wants to see taxes go up and he doesn't want to see spending go down, and the House wants spending to come down and doesn't want to see tax rates go up.  Though this discussion isn't new, the culmination of so many parts of the discussion at Christmas is, and the Administration is certainly trying to use that to its advantage.

Today's federal debt is more than $16 trillion—larger than all parts of the U.S. economy combined.  By 2016, it will be $22 trillion.  During his first term, President Obama did a great job of convincing America that our spiraling debt crisis is a tax issue rather than a spending issue.  Any analysis of the problem agrees that there is a tax revenue problem, and the problem is that millions of Americans are struggling to obtain a good job in the current economy, and if they can't earn an income then they don't pay income taxes.  We need these Americans to be able to find work and thus pay taxes, and when they do, all economists agree that revenue will go up.  In August, the U.S. House passed our bill to raise tax revenue from its current levels today by ending loopholes in the tax code and putting people back to work.  I support bringing revenues back to pre-recession historically normal levels.  That is easy to do and has broad support.  I also support bringing record-high federal spending down to pre-recession historically normal levels.  That effort has proven much harder as the House has yet to find a willing partner in the Administration or the Senate to work with us on that goal.  Federal spending under the President's budget continues to increase so fast that no amount of tax increases—no matter how high—can achieve a balanced budget.  I understand that confronting runaway spending is hard, but it must be done, and every effort being made by the House during "fiscal cliff" discussions is targeted toward persuading the White House and the Senate to join us in grappling with how best to meet this challenge for America.

If you have any doubt about how hard it is to persuade Washington to confront its spending habits, you need only remember why the word "sequestration" has entered the American lexicon.  Sequestration—the spending cuts going into effect in January—was never intended to occur.  It was simply the hammer we put in place 18 months ago when the President asked to raise America's debt ceiling, and Speaker Boehner and House Republicans asked for dollar-for-dollar spending reductions to begin to confront the problem.  The consensus agreement was passed in the Budget Control Act of 2011, but over the last 18 months, the President and the Senate have failed to approve the required spending reductions.  The House passed its bill way back in May of this year, and then passed yet another alternative in September, but even as I write this email, I have yet to see any proposal from the White House or the Senate to follow through on the commitment that they made back in August of 2011.  Without the agreement (or in this case, even a proposal) from the White House or Senate on spending reductions, the across-the-board cuts now known as "sequestration" will most certainly take effect on January 1st. 

To clear up any confusion, yes, the White House did make a proposal last week, but it wasn't a spending reduction proposal.  President Obama sent Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to Capitol Hill to deliver a plan that simply raised taxes, proposed even more spending, delayed for another year all of the reductions that he agreed to in August of 2011, and put off making any tough decisions yet again.  This "plan" follows the same path as every other failed Washington plan of the last 40 years—raise taxes today, raise spending today, and promise to make the tough choices to reduce spending tomorrow.  Taxes always succeed in going up today, spending always succeeds in going up today, but the tough decisions never seem to happen, and deficits and debts continue to pile up to cloud the future of our children and grandchildren.  No more!  I am a willing partner in a comprehensive solution that shrinks the debts and deficits, but I will not be complicit in kicking the can down the road.

The President is looking at the same set of facts that we are: this nation is facing over $16 trillion in public debt—the largest public debt in American history.  That's $55,000 for every man, woman, and child in the country.  While I believe the President means well for this country, his ten-year budget plan does absolutely nothing to improve our economic trajectory over the next decade.

Will a Mayan Apocalypse occur if the Speaker and the President do not reach an agreement this month?  Likely not, though I can guarantee an American economic collapse will come eventually if we allow Washington's profligate spending and record-setting deficits to continue.  I remain optimistic that Congress will reach an agreement this month.  America can accept nothing less than the small beginnings of a long-term effort to get America's budget and America's economy back in the black.  While I want to make big changes to restore our nation and our economy, to secure the President's support I could settle for only a half a step forward toward lower spending, but I will not agree to a half a step backward toward higher spending and continued record deficits.

I promise to keep you informed in the coming days as the Speaker and President seek consensus.  I will continue our telephone town hall series from Washington as the debate continues.  You can find out how to participate as well as see upcoming dates and times by clicking here.  Also, you can watch my latest Special Order speech on the fiscal cliff by clicking here.  I hope you will continue to provide me with your feedback by emailing me or logging on to my webpage.  Know that my door is always open to you and that I never forget that I work for you. 

Thank you for your commitment to keeping America strong. 

 Sincerely,

Rob Woodall

CHRISTMAS DINNER INVITATION

You are cordially invited to attend the

Conservative Republican Women of North Atlanta

CHRISTMAS DINNER

On Tuesday, December 11, 2012

at the

Atlanta Athletic Club

1930 Bobby Jones Drive Duluth GA.30097

 

Special Guest Speaker:  Dr. Jody Hice

Founder of Let Freedom Ring Ministries

Author- It’s Now or Never: A Call to Reclaim America

 

CRW Members

$45.00/ Person-gratuity included

Non-Members

$50.00/ Person-gratuity included

 

6:30 -9:30 pm

6:30-7:30 - Assortment of Passed Hors D’oeuvres

7:30 Dinner

 

Menu

AAC Signature Pear Salad

Dried Cherry Brioche Stuffed Chicken Breast, Au Jus

Chef’s choice of starch and vegetable

Warm Apple and Almond Tart with Cinnamon Ice Cream

*May request Vegetarian or special diet

There will be a cash bar offering a variety of wines, mixed drinks and soft drinks

 

Reservations are now being accepted. Please RSVP to:

ConservativeRepublicanWomen@gmail.com  by Dec 5th

 

Send your check to Pat Barnett

3663 Corner’s Way, Norcross, Ga. 30092

OR if you prefer to pay by Debit/credit card, call Judy Bailey 404-213-7426