Over the weekend, Congressman Bill Huizenga (MI-02) sat down with Rick Albin on "To The Point" to discuss the latest budget battle in Washington and his thoughts on getting America's fiscal house in order. During the conversation, Rep. Huizenga addressed the unwillingness of the Senate to negotiate in good-faith and confront long-term problems with long-term solutions. Additionally, Congressman Huizenga stressed the need to deal with not only Washington's spending habits, but the expansion of government as well.
On The Need To Address The Long-Term Problems Facing America: Everybody wanted the shutdown to end. The question is: are we going to have unconditional debt increases without any sort of substantial, substantive, or significant changes? That is where I drew the line. … If you looked up "kicking the can down the road" in a thesaurus this would be "Exhibit A." … I am not convinced whatever the next step is will solve these long-term problems, because we're not using long-term solutions. You've got people who are not willing to look further down the road than the next three months or the next election cycle. We have to get serious about how we are going to deal with our spending and this mountain of debt being piled on our kids.
On The Fight To Rein In Washington's Out Of Control Spending: For two years in a row, for the first time since the end of the Korean War, we have seen government spending go down in real terms. … Harry Reid and his colleagues in the Senate want to see an expansion of government, an expansion of spending, not a contraction.
On Gridlock: It's not about partisanship. It is about the philosophical differences over the proper size, role, and scope of government. Whether it's TARP, whether it’s the Affordable Care Act, whether it's our spending levels - it's all going to play into it.
This morning I visited the Outdoor Discovery Center to see first hand how the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) is helping restore wetlands, reduce flooding, and stop harmful runoff from flowing into rivers, Lake Macatawa, and Lake Michigan.
More positive news for West Michigan’s economy! It’s wonderful to see innovative manufacturers continue to expand and/or choose West Michigan as the place to invest, grow, and create good-paying jobs!
This afternoon, the House passed bipartisan legislation to improve care for our veterans and strengthen the Great Lakes economy by ensuring that harbors in Grand Haven, Ludington, Holland and other across the Great Lakes are properly dredged. These are among the first set of legislative funding priorities that have passed Congress and are now headed to the President’s Desk to be signed into law. You can read my full statement on the Conference Report to accompany H.R. 5895, the Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (VA) Appropriations Act below.
Today West Michigan says farewell to one of the people who helped shape our community into the incredible place it is today. Thank you for all that you have done for West Michigan Rich and while your legacy will live on, know that your leadership and friendship will be deeply missed. Rest well Rich.
The engine of our economy is powered by small business job creators and thanks to tax and regulatory reform they are feeling more confident than ever before. "As the tax and regulatory landscape changed, so did small business expectations and plans," said NFIB President and CEO Juanita D. Duggan. Capital spending is at it's highest level in a decade and small businesses are reporting record levels of job creation!
