Chellie Pingree: “Every day my colleagues on the other side of the aisle talk about cutting spending. In fact, a fair number of them came…”

“Every day my colleagues on the other side of the aisle talk about cutting spending. In fact, a fair number of them came here after getting elected by promising to slash wasteful spending and be good stewards of the taxpayer dollars. And they have voted for some pretty big spending cuts. They cut spending on food stamps, making it harder for struggling families to put a meal on the table. They cut spending on unemployment benefits, making it harder for the millions of Americans who are looking for work to make ends meet. They cut spending on Pell Grants, making it harder for working families to put their kids through college. But the problem is these cuts my colleagues have passed put the entire burden on working families and seniors who are already struggling to get by and none of it on big oil companies or wealthy money managers. The problem is the burden of spending cuts is not now being shared equally or distributed fairly. Today, Madam Speaker, I am offering my colleagues a chance to share that burden by cutting our own spending on fancy taxpayer-funded mailings that our constituents don't always want us to send. The amendment I'm offering represents a 10 percent cut in our franking budget. This would mean giving up expensive, glossy, self-promoting mailings and getting back to straight talk to our constituents.…”