Todd Tiahrt: “I often go home to my district and I ask my constituents: Is there any message for Washington? I would like to pass on…”

“I often go home to my district and I ask my constituents: Is there any message for Washington? I would like to pass on some of the responses that I have been getting. They say: Do not spend the surplus; do not bust the budget deal that you agreed to last summer; do not start any new government programs; do not create new entitlement programs; and do not add more people to Medicare until we first figure out how we are going to save Medicare from going bankrupt. Oh, yes, the big one is, do not raise taxes. In fact, Mr. Speaker, I hear over and over again that the President's budget is going in the wrong direction because it does all those things that most people are opposed to: Taxes are raised by billions and billions of dollars, spending is increased by hundreds of billions of dollars, entitlements are expanded, and new spending programs are created. It simply does not agree with the President's declaration to the American people 2 years ago that the era of big government is over. Mr. Speaker, the American people tell me that words mean something and that it is time that here in Washington we start honoring the pledges we make.”