Fighting to Extend the Payroll Tax and Attempts to Cripple the Regulatory System Hurt the American People -- December 9, 2011

Thank you for reading the Carson Courier. For additional information, please visit my website at https://www.carson.house.gov.

In this week's Carson Courier:

• Fighting to Extend the Payroll Tax
• Attempts to Cripple the Regulatory System Hurt the American People

Fighting to Extend the Payroll Tax

I strongly support proposals to extend the payroll tax holiday, which would put an extra $1,500 in the pockets of nearly 160 million Americans. This is critical income that families could use to put food on their tables, gas up their cars, and pay their mortgages. In this difficult climate, putting these tax dollars back in the hands of average Americans is the best way we can stimulate the economy and put people back to work.

Unfortunately, partisan games in Washington are once again threatening the well being of the American people. Republican leadership is refusing to pass this critical extension because it would ask a few hundred thousand millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share. In Indiana, only 2,173 people would be affected by this modest increase but failure to pass it could cost hundreds of Hoosiers their jobs. Time and time again, Republican leadership has demonstrated their willingness to sacrifice 99% of Americans in order to benefit the wealthiest 1%. I do not except this position and will continue to fight for my constituents by voting to pass the payroll tax holiday extension.

Attempts to Cripple the Regulatory SystemHurt the American People

This week, I voted against legislation put forward by Speaker Boehner and House Republican leadership that would cripple our regulatory system if they became law. Republicans describe these bills as mild "regulatory reform," but they are anything but.

I acknowledge that our regulatory system is not perfect and that Congress needs to conduct better oversight to ensure that regulations achieve their intended purpose. However, Members of Congress already have the tools available to object to overly burdensome regulations. The REINS Act, which I voted against this week, would require Congress to approve every significant regulatory matter, no matter how technical, and would allow party politics to kill any regulation, no matter how critical for the American people. If enacted into law, the REINS Act would virtually ensure the shutdown of our regulatory system.

For those opposed to food and consumer product safety and commonsense environmental protections, the REINS Act makes perfect sense. For the rest of us who rely on the Food and Drug Administration to verify that our food and medicines is safe, or the Environmental Protection Agency to make certain the air we breathe and the water we drink is clean, or the Department of Transportation to ensure that commercial aircraft are properly maintained and safe to fly—just to name just a few—this legislation is simply dangerous. I will continually to forcefully object to these "reforms" that endanger the public welfare.

Thank you for reading the Carson Courier. Please do not hesitate to contact me with your thoughts and concerns. For more information, visit my website at https://www.carson.house.gov, my Congressional Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CongressmanAndreCarson and follow me on Twitter @RepAndreCarson. I value your views and your input, which help me better represent the people of Indiana's 7^th District.