CONAWAY CHRONICLE: VOLUME 6, ISSUE 4

GOOD MORNING AND WELCOME TO A SPECIAL "DEBT CEILING" EDITION OF THE CONAWAY CHRONICLE.

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Content

1. House vote on Cut, Cap, and Balance Act
2. Cut, Cap and Balance Background
3. Cut, Cap, and Balance Senate Action
4. Cut, Cap, and Balance Video
5. Extra Information

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1. House vote on Cut, Cap, and Balance

For months, the focus in Washington has been the debate over spending, entitlement reform and the debt limit. Without an increase in the debt ceiling before August 2nd, the federal government will default on 45% of its bills. I oppose any increase in the debt ceiling that does not come with significant spending cuts and a change to the out-of-control spending in Washington. That is why I voted against increasing the debt ceiling increase on May 31, 2011. We need to rein in spending, impose spending caps and add a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. Otherwise, politicians and bureaucrats in Washington will never change their ways.

Weeks ago, in an effort to find common ground on spending cuts and entitlement reform, Congressional leaders from the House and Senate traveled to the White House and met with the President to negotiate a deal to raise the debt ceiling without raising taxes – their efforts were unsuccessful. President Obama and the Democrats in Congress continually insist on raising taxes so they can carry on spending money our nation does not have.

With the August 2nd deadline rapidly approaching, House Republicans stopped waiting for the President to propose a deal, and moved forward with a plan of their own: the Cut, Cap and Balance Act. I cosponsored this legislation and voted in favor of it on Tuesday, July 19, 2011 where it passed the House 234-190.

On Friday, July 22, 2011 the Senate failed to pass the Cut, Cap, and balance Act, with a final vote of 51-46. Afterwards, Speaker Boehner sent a letter to President Obama notifying him that House Republicans would be ending discussions with the White House and beginning conversations with leaders in the Senate in an effort to find a path to enactment of legislation that will cut and cap government sending and pave a way for a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution in exchange for raising the national debt ceiling.

Click on these links to read the details, or keep reading this edition of the Conaway Chronicle for more background.

Full Bill text

GOP.gov Summary

Speaker Boehner's Letter to President Obama

Sincerely,
Rep. Mike Conaway, 11th District

There's a problem with the links for the Full Bill text, GOP.gov Summary, and Speaker Boehner's Letter in the original text of this newsletter from Mike Conaway.  I'll track 'em down and fix the links.  ~Faye