E-Newsletter

Over the past several years, the federal government has spent money at a record pace. While there is no simple or single fix to the problem, eliminating waste, fraud and abuse in the government is a good starting point. As the federal deficit for 2011 continues to climb toward $1.6 trillion, Congress has to start cutting the fat. One way to cut spending is to identify and eliminate wasteful and duplicative programs. When we’re borrowing 42 cents for every dollar the government spends, we can’t afford programs that don’t work. This week, the House voted to terminate two costly and ineffective foreclosure mitigation programs that will save taxpayers money and help create an environment for job-creators to hire more employees.

The FHA Refinance Program was funded with $8 billion in TARP funds. As of February 3rd, only $50 million of this $8 billion had been used. Originally, the Obama Administration estimated this program would help up to 1.5 million homeowners. How many loans have been refinanced so far? 44. It cost $50 million to manage and police a program that helped just 44 homeowners. Talk about a bad investment. These results do not justify the $8 billion dollar price tag and is just another example of the Administration using taxpayer funds questionably.  

The second wasteful program eliminated by the House this week is the $1 billion dollar Emergency Homeowner Relief Program. According to the Obama Administration’s 2012 budget, this program estimated to have a 98 percent subsidy rate – meaning the taxpayers will lose 98 cents of every dollar spent on the program. There’s a reason why this program was authorized in 1975, but never funded until the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.

Using your tax dollars irresponsibly is unacceptable, plain and simple.  And it isn’t the way to instill certainty in the economy or create jobs. To spur job creation we have to cut the fat. The most effective foreclosure prevention program is jobs – not more wasteful spending and big government programs. I will continue to look for programs to cut that we can do without. If you have suggestions, feel free to pass them my way. Cutting programs isn’t always comfortable, but right now we have to take steps to make our debt situation manageable and get our fiscal house in order.

On Tuesday, a resident of the 9th District testified in a Subcommittee on Energy and Power hearing. Dr. Donald Roberts, Professor Emeritus of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, testified in a hearing on climate science and regulating greenhouse gasses. Dr. Roberts is a retired research scientist and an expert in public health. Dr. Roberts’ wife serves as the Vice Mayor of Clifton Forge. It was good to hear from him on these important issues.

Also this week, I had the opportunity to spend some time in our new Christiansburg Office, located downtown at 17 West Main Street across from the Montgomery County Courthouse. If you live in the northern end of the 9th District, feel free to stop in and say hello. In addition to this office in the New River Valley, I also have a permanent office in Abingdon. Since we can’t have offices everywhere in the 9th District, I plan to continue hosting satellite office hours in localities across Southwest Virginia and the Alleghany Highlands.

As your representative in Congress, I want to you hear from you. If you have concerns or wish to inquire about issues coming before Congress, feel free to contact my offices. To reach my office via email, please visit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov.  You can also call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671.