Boehner Column: "8th Congressional District Constituents Sound Off About Federal Policies"

Column:

In my weekly e-mail update to constituents in the 8th Congressional District, I recently asked for you to tell me how the policies coming out of Washington, D.C., are impacting you. Of those who’ve already shared your story with me, the vast majority are very upset with what they’re seeing: a trillion-dollar “stimulus” bill that Administration officials admitted will be subject to fraud and abuse; housing proposals that will force those who follow the rules to pay for people who’ve gamed the system; overturning pro-life policies to require taxpayers to fund the destruction of human embryos and unborn human life; and making it easier for Big Labor to increase its ranks by killing secret ballots for American workers.

I’d like to share some these comments with you. If you haven’t already done so, please take a moment to visit my website at www.johnboehner.house.gov and share with me how Washington’s policies are affecting you, your family and your work. Thank you.

Terri from Liberty Township writes, “We are furious about all these proposals coming to light, not to mention scared and worried. One of the effects of what is happening is that the business my works for is making cutback in benefits.”

Marilyn from West Chester notes that she and her husband are redeeming their CDs “and just going for the money” as they watch their retirement dwindle. “The way the government is spending to pay for these programs, we are getting a bit scared … we are in our late 70s and would like to be able to live the rest of our lives the way we planned.”

Dan from Hamilton begins his letter like this: “I’m sure you remember Joe the Plumber. We’ll, I’m Dan the Unemployed, and I’m disgusted with the approach the government is taking to help this economy. I no longer have an American dream because I’ve been devastated by this economy. Over the last three years, I’ve lost two jobs as a direct result of the economy and a third job I had to leave because I wasn’t able to sell my house so I could relocate. … I’ve used up all my reserves, borrowed as much as I can from family and depleted most of my retirement fund.” Dan holds a four-year degree in engineering, an MBA in finance and has 30 years experience in the manufacturing sector. He and his wife were recently forced to file for bankruptcy and expect their home to be foreclosed on later this year. Yet, he says, “I see nothing [in the ‘stimulus’] that will help me. The plan does very little to stimulate manufacturing. Even if I qualified for help to stop foreclosure, I have no way to pay a mortgage. … To sum it up, this plan does nothing to help me.”

Meanwhile, Rick in Tipp City writes that his business is down to 110 employees – down from 125 in November – and will be forced to lay off more employees soon. “There is nothing in sight to show that Washington is fixing any of this,” he writes.

And Christy from West Chester, a double-organ transplant recipient, is fearful that the cost of her daily medications may soon outpace her family’s ability to pay. Christy notes that she “became a statistic on Dec. 19, 2008, when I lost my job” and although she’s aggressively job hunting, there are no prospects. “I’m not behind in my mortgage payments so there’s no help for me because I remain responsible and pay my debts. I am just so tired of hearing these stories of people who get welfare, free education, food stamps, mortgage relief and so on and so on for continued irresponsible behavior.”

Sadly, the stories from Terri, Marilyn, Dan, Rick and Christy are ones that I hear all too often anymore – people who played by the rules all their lives who will be forced by the government to bail out those who gamed the system or retirees fearfully watching their savings and investments disappear.

We have a resilient country, and over the long-term I believe we can get our economy back on track. But what we as lawmakers need to do right now is focus on the short-term and provide relief to hard-working Americans who are struggling just to make ends meet.

We need to enact legislation that will create jobs, such as the House Republican proposal that would have created 246,000 jobs in Ohio by the end of 2010, instead of scheming to raise taxes and doling out taxpayer dollars for social engineering programs that won’t work. I will continue to fight for my constituents against bad policies that won’t create jobs and won’t get our economy back on track, and I will continue to work with my colleagues on better solutions to help our economy.