George Holding: “At a time when the national debt is over $17 trillion and growing by the second, the government continues to borrow and…”

“At a time when the national debt is over $17 trillion and growing by the second, the government continues to borrow and spend money that we simply do not have. Each day that we do not address this problem, the American people continue to lose faith in Washington's ability to spend their tax dollars wisely. Mr. Speaker, one of our jobs as Members of Congress is to provide aggressive oversight as to how our tax dollars are being spent by the Federal agencies. The American people already see the government take far too much of their hard-earned paychecks, and they have a right to know how these dollars are being spent. People across the country are struggling to find jobs and make ends meet. Now, imagine how frustrating it is for them to find out that some public officials are making extravagant salaries and receiving overly generous compensation packages, partially funded by the very dollars that they, the taxpayers, are sending to Washington. What kind of message does that send? It makes the public lose faith in their elected officials, and it is morally wrong. Reports in the Raleigh News and Observer indicate that in my home State of North Carolina, the executive director of the Raleigh Housing Authority is paid over $280,000 annually and is also allowed to take up to 11 weeks of vacation and compensation time. The Raleigh Housing Authority is funded largely by Federal taxpayer dollars doled out by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.…”