President Obama and 23 Executive Orders

News Letter from Congressman Rob Woodall: 

President Obama and 23 Executive Orders 

This week the President, with the help of his Vice President, rolled out a series of gun control proposals in the form of 23 executive orders as well as several legislative recommendations as a response to the tragedy that occurred a little over one month ago in Newtown, Connecticut. You can read the President’s entire proposal by clicking here.  I need not remind you of the horror the nation felt the day we learned a madman single handily killed 26 children and educators at a New England elementary school.  We'll not soon forget where we were and what we were doing upon hearing the news.  As we hug our loved ones ever tighter and continue to question what makes a human do such an evil thing, we look for answers that may not be able to be found.

Believe me, if there was a single piece of legislation out there that would guarantee that a tragedy like Sandy Hook would never happen again in America, I would be its strongest supporter.  But I am deeply troubled by the opportunism of those who have always opposed Second Amendment freedoms using this horrible tragedy as an excuse to further constrain those freedoms.

In the President's haste to provide federal solutions, I wonder if he has taken the time to look at how states are handling crisis prevention on their own?  Frank Berry, the Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Behavioral and Developmental Disabilities has worked with Governor Deal to transform how the mentally ill are treated in our court system.  In the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy, Commissioner Berry issued a response that encouraged residents to contact Georgia's 24-hour crisis hot line with any needs or concerns.  I'm proud of the work Georgia does to keep its residents safe.  I expect that Congress will look thoroughly at all the issues in the Sandy Hook tragedy from the mental health treatment options to school security options to criminal enforcement.  Though, my hope is that states will take a page out of Georgia's book and craft solutions tailored to their local needs--rather than take a clumsy federal "take-it-or-leave-it" solution.

Helping our neighbors...the right way.

This week, the House had the tough job of appropriating disaster relief funds to the states affected to the point of devastation by Hurricane Sandy.  I absolutely believe we should help our neighbors in their time of need. That said, we almost always serve one another better locally than we do with a check from Washington, D.C.  America's generosity during natural disasters by giving to the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and more, is unmatched.  In those rare instances of such widespread devastation that federal aid is required, we must provide that aid by reducing spending on other lower priorities, not by running up the debt burden on future generations.  This is why I supported measures to ensure that any emergency funding was fully offset by other spending cuts.  These offset measures did not pass the House, unfortunately, and instead, the total package of Sandy relief legislation grew nearly three-fold--from $17 billion to over $60 billion in new deficit spending-- and was passed over my objection.  You can read the bill, H.R. 152, by clicking here. 

I offered to support an across-the-board cut of all federal spending that Georgia receives--a sacrifice for our community--so that we could use the money to help our neighbors in New York and New Jersey.  We do make those sacrifices for one another in America, and it makes us better as a nation.  Unfortunately, the New York and New Jersey delegations turned that offer down.  They wanted all of the $60 billion, and they didn't want to find a penny of it through spending cuts.  That is wrong for America.  I am glad that families affected by Hurricane Sandy in New York and New Jersey will get the help that they need, but I am very disappointed with the way it happened.  If we can't come together as a nation to reduce spending in low-priority areas so that we can prioritize families who lost everything after the storm, I have low expectations for those same members of Congress coming together to make the much bigger cuts that we need to make in order to stop the deficits and restore the economy.

There is only one way out.


 

Speaking of deficits, the little cartoon above captures it perfectly.  The President and Congress don't see eye-to-eye on how to fix America's growing debt crisis.  Congress and the President have had this conversation time and again and we always come back to this one point: the President wants to raise taxes and raise spending, and Congress wants to shrink deficit spending and grow America’s economy!

If you subscribe to my Facebook updates you'll have already seen my reaction to the President's press conference on raising the debt ceiling.  You can also read my official statement on the press conference by clicking here.  

Knowing that you have thoughts of your own on the President's proposal to raise the debt limit once again, I hope you'll take the opportunity to join me at one of my upcoming Town Hall Meetings.  It's important that you and I gather and decide together how to move forward to grow the economy while shrinking Washington's out-of-control spending. 

 My upcoming Town Hall Meetings are listed below.

TELEPHONE TOWN HALL MEETING
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
7:00PM – 7:30PM
Call toll-free: (877) 229-8493
Passcode: 17849

GWINNETT TOWN HALL MEETING
Thursday, January 24, 2013
7:00PM – 8:00PM
Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center
75 Langley Drive
Lawrenceville, GA 30046

FORSYTH TOWN HALL MEETING
Thursday, January 31, 2013
7:00PM – 8:00PM
Forsyth County Administration Building
Commissioners Meeting Room
110 East Main Street
Cumming, GA 30040

Will you be able to join me for one or more of my Town Hall Meetings?

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Thank you for all that you do to keep America strong.  I look forward to visiting with you at one of my Town Hall Meetings.

Sincerely,
   
Member of Congress