Burgess Owens: “most of us returning to our districts have had an inordinate amount of inquiries and complaints, I am sure, from…”

“most of us returning to our districts have had an inordinate amount of inquiries and complaints, I am sure, from constituents about local developments and problems. Local hardships are the first things on the minds of my constituents, and I am sure many of my colleagues have experienced the same problem. People are concerned about the budget cuts at the city and State level, they are concerned about layoffs of people, they are concerned about the fact that there are property tax increases as a result of trying to make up for shortfalls in the budget of a State or of a city. So local hardships are on folks' minds. I try to get them to understand that, okay, let us talk about it. You have your city councilman, you have your State officials. I certainly am concerned about the local hardships also. But I think it is important for them to understand that it is all interwoven. All politics inextricably are interwoven, and what is happening down here in Washington has an impact on what is happening at the local level, and the sooner we understand that, the better. What we do in Washington generates a lot of local hardships and suffering. National and international blunders create pain and suffering in our neighborhoods. That is where the troops come from. That is where the soldiers who are on the frontline come from.”