Congressman John Culberson's Blog
Blog postings for Congressman John Culberson representing the 7th Congressional District of Texas
- Pentagton Forced to Furlough Employees
Even though the year is almost over, Congress has still not passed the funding bill to pay for our soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a result of this delay, the Pentagon will be forced to furlough 100,000 civilian military employees next week to “free up money for combat troops.” No matter one’s partisan views, we should all agree that our soldiers and military personnel deserve better than this. Next week is the last chance to pass a troop funding bill until mid-January because Congress is about to go out of session. Let’s hope this is their number one priority.0 Comments
- They Need to be Freed Immediately
Last night Congressman Culberson was a guest on the Glenn Beck Show on CNN’s Headline News channel. While on, he discussed a new resolution asking the President to commute the sentences of unjustly imprisoned Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean. Congressman Culberson said, “The appeals judges recognized that the government overreached and in fact there are interviews with three of the jurors in this case who said if they had known that this drug dealer was running loads into the country while under federal immunity, they would have found Ramos and Compean not guilty. They need to be freed immediately, whether by the President or the Court of Appeals.”
Congressman Culberson also spoke on the need to increase border security by saying, “This case symbolizes what is wrong with our borders. They are not securing the border, which is insane when you are at war with terrorists. We will never win the War on Terror until we have secured that border. In Texas, we understand the importance of a secure border.”
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- Tax Refunds Expected to be Delayed
Are you hoping to get a tax refund next year? If so, there is a good chance it is going to be delayed. The reason – the new majority has taken too long to pass this year’s AMT patch. Over the last few years, Congress has passed a temporary AMT fix to ensure that millions of Americans do not pay dramatically higher taxes because of the AMT (the AMT was a tax created in the 1960s for the wealthy, but since it was never indexed for inflation, it is now targeting middle class families). While Congress may complete this legislation before the year ends, it takes the IRS seven weeks to reprogram their systems. This means the IRS will not even begin looking at tax returns until at least seven weeks later than scheduled.
Traditionally, Congress has passed this patch by early summer because it is considered one of the most important things on the agenda. Last January, Democrats promised they would get to it as soon as possible, but nearly twelve months later, there has been little progress. Congressman Culberson has pushed all year to get this patch passed. He also strongly supports an outright elimination of the AMT, so that it will never cause these problems again. Its time for the majority to follow through on their promises.
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- New Majority Bad for Business
Since the new majority took office almost a year ago, hardly a week has gone by without the House passing a new bill that adds taxes, costs, or burdensome regulations on businesses. These bad for business bills have limited consumer choice, restricted commerce, raised the minimum wage, increased taxes on growth, allowed the government to set prices, and expanded the authority of unions. By constantly targeting our country’s businesses, the majority is undermining job growth and the financial future of American families. If you would like to see more examples of these bills, you can find a list of them here.0 Comments
- $9 Trillion Federal Debt is Unacceptable
If you think a $9 trillion federal debt is outrageous, check out “The Little Book of Big Government.” This publication sets out to prove that wasteful spending is out of control and that everything you feared about our government just might be true. This information is especially relevant because Congressional Democrats are trying to increase spending by $22 billion more than the President requested. To put that in perspective, $22 billion is more than the annual budget of 37 states or the equivalent to over $70 for every man, woman, and child in America – nearly $300 for a family of four.
Once spending is increased or a new program is included in the budget, it basically becomes permanent. With increases for inflation, that $22 billion could easily total $204 billion in additional spending over the next five years. At times like this, we should remember the words of Texas hero and former Tennessee Congressman Davy Crocket - “Remember that a government big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take away everything you have.”
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- Culberson Successfully Pushing Border Security
Over the weekend, the Houston Chronicle reported that Congressmen John Culberson has “been at the forefront of the push for border security and a crackdown on illegal immigration for years.” The article lists many of Congressman Culberson’s accomplishments on this issue including the expansion of zero tolerance to the Laredo Sector, $8.6 million in funding for the Texas Border Sheriffs, $3 billion to build a border fence and to hire more Border Patrol officers, and a provision that would prohibit a Social Security totalization agreement with Mexico. According to Congressman Culberson, “The nation is way beyond the tipping point of being fed up with people whose first act is to break our law and then demand that they be given government benefits or welfare or be legalized.”6 Comments
- It's About Time They Arrested the Drug Dealer
Lou Dobbs will interview Congressman Culberson tonight to discuss a new development in the Ramos and Compean case. As you may remember, these Border Patrol Agents were unjustly imprisoned after firing at a drug smuggler along the Mexican border. During the agents’ trial, the federal prosecutor positively portrayed the drug smuggler and granted him immunity to testify against the agents. Why the prosecutor decided to use the word of a known drug smuggler over two decorated Border Patrol Agents may never be known, but it turns out, the smuggler kept hauling loads into the United States. Yesterday, he was finally arrested and indicted. Congressman Culberson responded by saying, "It's about time they arrested the drug dealer. It's long past time for them to release Agents Ramos and Compean."3 Comments
- Border Officers 'Outmanned and Outgunned'
Congressman Culberson has long urged his colleagues to send more resources to local law enforcement personnel along the border because the situation is dangerous and out of control. Yesterday, the Washington Times published a story saying, “Alien and drug smugglers along the U.S.-Mexico border have spawned a rise in violence against federal, state, and local law-enforcement authorities, who say they are outmanned and outgunned.”
In the article, 10 year Border Patrol veteran Shawn P. Moran goes on to say the smugglers have “w