This week in Washington... ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌
Representative David Rouzer


June 9, 2023


Friends, 


As we officially enter hurricane season, I recently introduced legislation to ensure homeowners associations are treated equally by FEMA after a natural disaster.  I also introduced a bill to deter asylum abuse.  Keep reading below to learn more about these bills and a few more thoughts on the debt ceiling negotiation.


If you received this newsletter from a friend, and you would like to continue receiving these updates, you can subscribe here or connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.


 

President Trump's Indictment

 
Regardless of what one may think of President Trump, equal justice under the law should be just that — equal. Eight years of President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder transformed the upper echelons of the Department of Justice and the FBI from that of nonpartisan, professional law enforcement to weaponization of the law for political purposes. It is quite common for Presidents to take classified documents when they leave office. After all, much of their daily work while in office involves classified documents. Even assuming egregious mishandling, it does not merit criminal prosecution. This smacks of a political prosecution to the highest degree.


 

My Thoughts on the Fiscal Responsibility Act

 

I’ve noted some confusion about the spending caps set in law for Fiscal Year 2024 and 2025 and the moving of the debt ceiling to a date-certain limit (January 1, 2025) rather than agreeing to a dollar-certain limit.


First of all, the next Congress convenes on January 3, 2025, which means the next debt ceiling agreement will be negotiated by a Republican House, a Democrat Senate and a Democrat White House (same configuration as now) regardless of the results of the 2024 election.  Further, it is now in law that Congress can spend no more than was spent in FY 2022 for FY 2024.  This is a cut in spending.


FY 2025 spending is now limited by law to a 1% increase over FY 2022 levels for non-defense discretionary spending programs.  Military spending, the other major part of discretionary spending as a category, is limited to a 3% increase.


Second, it is not the debt ceiling — whether it is date certain or dollar certain — that increases spending.  It is mandatory spending that drives the debt.   That plus discretionary spending increases are what result in annual deficits and additional aggregate debt.  Congress has no say over the trajectory of mandatory spending without changing those programs, which combined with debt service payments account for 75% of the total federal budget.  Keep in mind Social Security and Medicare are the two largest mandatory spending programs.  Discretionary spending, the other 25% of the federal budget, is determined by Appropriations passed by Congress, of which more than half of that is funding for the military.


For those who feel like the debt limit shouldn’t have been increased, it’s helpful to consider these facts:


Assuming you keep the debt limit constant (no increase) until January 1, 2025, you would have to cut 35% across the board for all programs.  This would be a cut of 35% to mandatory spending programs (i.e., Social Security, Medicare, and other spending required by law) as well as discretionary spending items such as funding the military, cancer research, funding for the Army Corps of Engineers, etc., etc.


If you take Social Security, Medicare, and funding for the military off the table, you would have to cut 85 percent of all other programs across the board, including veterans’ benefits, cancer research, transportation and infrastructure projects, local law enforcement grants, the passport offices, and the list goes on and on.


Finally, in addition to flattening the spending curve, growing the economy is essential to deficit reduction.  Every 1% percent increase in GDP translates to $5 trillion in deficit reduction.  I’ll not recite all the great reforms made as part of the deal outlined in a previous newsletter, but each and every one of them will help grow the economy and mitigate any recession.



 

Spearheading Legislation to Deter Asylum Abuse and Restore the Rule of Law

 

The Biden Administration's refusal to enforce our immigration laws has led to record-breaking illegal crossings.  Criminals, cartels, and human smugglers have taken advantage of this administration’s policies and turned the asylum process into a get-out-of-jail free card for those crossing the border illegally.  Under current law, one who fails to show for their asylum hearing is allowed reentry and other benefits under the asylum law after ten years.


That's why I recently introduced the Asylum Accountability Act.  My legislation will help disincentivize the abuse of this law by permanently barring reentry as well as the other benefits should one not show for their hearing.  Read more here.



 

Prioritizing Fairness in Disaster Recovery Assistance

 

Under current law, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) inconsistently interprets regulations in a way preventing homeowner associations from qualifying for federal disaster response and recovery programs.


To correct this, and ensure all homeowners have the assistance needed after a storm, I introduced H.R. 3777 the Disaster Assistance Fairness Act in Congress.  My bill will ensure families living in housing cooperatives, condominiums, and other homeowner associations are eligible for the same FEMA assistance available to other residents who live in single-family homes.  This bipartisan legislation will help ensure all North Carolinians impacted by disasters can fully recover.



 

This Week's Good News Story

 

For this week’s good news story, I’m recognizing nine graduates from the Radiography Program at Robeson Community College.  For the seventh year in a row, the RCC Radiography Program achieved a 100 percent first-time pass rate on their national certification exam.  These nine students defied odds when they all passed the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists National Certification Exam on their first try. According to The Robesonian, “None of our students want to be the first to break the streak,” said Candice Ward, the Radiography Program director at RCC.  “They don’t want to let me down; they want to continue the success of the program.”  Please join me in congratulating these nine graduates!



 

Closing Thoughts...

 

"The ground of liberty is to be gained by inches, that we must be contented to secure what we can get from time to time and eternally press forward for what is yet to get."

— Then Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson to Rev. Charles Clay


Sincerely,

David Rouzer Signature.
 
Representative David Rouzer
 
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