Thursday, April 09, 2009
By John Foster - Thursday, April 09, 2009 at 07:37 AM
I want to thank all of you, both in Idaho and from around the country, who have e-mailed, called and written letters of support for my work in Congress. I learned the values of fiscal responsibility and personal accountability while growing up on my family wheat farm. During my business career I learned how to create jobs while balancing a budget. And now I’m applying those values and skills to my work as a Congressman for Idaho. But to continue that work I need your help. Every donation will help me spread the word that we must move beyond partisan bickering to a new era of effective representation for America. Please take a few moments to donate today. It’s simple to do online—just click on the button to your right.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
By John Foster - Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 07:36 AM
Congressman Walt Minnick has co-sponsored a bill requiring the Secretary of the Treasury to aggressively pursue legal measures to force AIG employees into returning bonuses paid with taxpayer dollars.
“Like all Idahoans, I am incensed at the actions of this company and the egregious bonuses paid to their executives,” Minnick said. “But I am also incensed that our federal tax dollars were spent with so little oversight. It is my hope that this Congress and the administration will learn from this incident and see that we cannot continue to allow private companies to run amok with taxpayer dollars.”
Minnick also voted for a resolution directing the Secretary of the Treasury to use every possible legal measure to recoup government dollars spent on bonuses. Minnick, a member of the influential House Financial Services Committee, yesterday in a hearing with the current chief executive officer of AIG called for better oversight of all companies receiving federal assistance.
“I opposed the TARP bill and I opposed the bailout for AIG. I’m a businessman, and when I bought businesses I took due diligence seriously,” Minnick said at the hearing. “We taxpayers shouldn’t buy companies or socialize businesses. Having made the mistake with AIG we should not now throw good money after bad. Instead, we should now withdraw taxpayers’ support and let AIG go bankrupt, let a federal bankruptcy judge void these ill-advised bonus contracts, sort out the losses, and bring in new, qualified management to properly manage AIG free of one more nickel of taxpayer support.”
Minnick today voted against H.R. 1586, a bill that would tax employee pay at a rate of 90 percent if their employer received more than five billion dollars under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
“Tinkering with the tax code is not the solution,” Minnick said. “Instead we need the Treasury Department to use its full weight and authority in administering the rules already in place to better regulate the companies receiving our money.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
By John Foster - Sunday, February 15, 2009 at 07:33 AM
Our nation is in trouble. Unemployment rates are climbing, people are watching their savings disappear and all of us are worried about what comes next.
That’s why Idaho families, workers, businesses and local governments should get what they have asked for from the U.S. Congress: smart investments to create new jobs and put people back to work.
I do not believe that the largest spending bill in U.S. history is the most effective way to do that. That’s why I voted against the American Recovery and Investment Act, otherwise known as the stimulus bill.
What began with a tight focus on job creation and infrastructure improvements ballooned into a ‘something for everything’ spending proposal. And it will saddle our nation with economic burdens which could be just as onerous as the one we are wearing now.
Hundreds of billions of dollars in the stimulus bill are for programs which have never before been authorized by Congress. Like you, I think it’s a horrible idea to try to appropriate large sums of taxpayer dollars to programs that have never before been debated or authorized.
A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report on the stimulus bill estimates that only 7 percent of the $358 billion of the discretionary funds in the plan would be spent in this fiscal year. The CBO also estimated that only 38 percent of the bill would be spent by the end of fiscal year 2010 and that a third of the bill would still be unspent in 31 months.
If this bill becomes law, our deficit will grow to nearly $2 trillion, and every penny we borrow will come from foreign leaders who will rapidly gain too much leverage over our economic welfare and decisions. We are in a recession, and we must spend some money to get the economy moving again, but the American people must have guarantees that this stimulus bill will not become an excuse for fiscal irresponsibility.
There is much about the stimulus bill I support. We need to improve health care. Our nation needs a completely new approach to energy. We must improve higher education and increase access for all children.
But those things are not immediate, direct economic stimulus.
To jump-start our economy, Congress needs to fund shovel-ready road projects, and should remove restrictions that force the money to go only to projects meeting federal standards. We should extend unemployment benefits so our workers can hang on until the economy begins to turn the corner as the stimulus funds work into our financial system. We should provide money to states so they can help local school districts carry out planned construction projects and thus save money to help keep teachers in the classroom. And we should offer tax cuts to those who need the money the most, so it will go into our economy quickly, spur spending and increase jobs.
Once the economy is moving again, Congress needs to go back to balancing the budget and start paying for what we spend. Like you, I believe that these tough times could also be the beginning of a new era of fiscal responsibility, but it must start with smart, strategic spending on key projects to put people back to work.
These tough times require quick, direct action, but our obligation to the next generation means spending every nickel in the most cost-effective way.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
By John Foster - Wednesday, December 24, 2008 at 01:07 AM
Walt sent out an editorial yesterday detailing his strong opposition to the auto-industry bailout. Not only did he buck his party with the stance, but he earned strong praise from at least one longtime Idaho political pundit for making a clear case for a viable alternative.
Click here to read the editorial, and click here to read analysis from Randy Stapilus, a blogger, author and former Idaho Statesman political editor
Friday, December 05, 2008
By John Foster - Friday, December 05, 2008 at 01:04 AM
In case you missed it, Walt has hired his first three staffers for his new Congressional office. All are Idaho natives.
Isaac Squyres will be the chief of staff, and will be based in Boise. Kate Haas will be the deputy chief of staff, and will be based in Washington, D.C. And John Foster will be the senior advisor and director of communications, and will be based in Boise.
You can read the press release here.
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