Brian Jones: “This weekend, I learned that there would be no cost-of-living adjustment this year for those living on Social Security.…”

“This weekend, I learned that there would be no cost-of-living adjustment this year for those living on Social Security. Not only will Social Security recipients not see a cost-of- living increase this year but, also, disabled veterans. There are over 131,000 veterans on disability in North Carolina who will be suffering this year. Our senior citizens and disabled veterans are having a difficult time making ends meet, and it is not fair that the Federal Government continues to waste money with failed policies like Afghanistan. It is disgraceful. Mr. Speaker, we will be raising the debt ceiling of this Nation for years to come because of wasteful spending. This means we will be borrowing more money to continue spending more than we take in. Our annual Federal deficit is still over $400 billion a year. The American people are sick and tired of our wasteful spending, and I know they are frustrated. Once again, our failed policy in Afghanistan is a prime example of the waste, fraud, and abuse of the American taxpayer dollar, but it continues on and on for years to come. In the recent House-Senate conference bill, Congress included $38 billion for the Overseas Contingency Operation, which is a slush fund used to get around sequestration spending caps for the Department of Defense.…”