Rep. Aderholt Op-Ed: Is Washington Listening To America?
The Gadsden Times
Is Washington Listening To America?
By Rep Robert Aderholt (AL-04)
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Although one of my jobs is to represent you by voting in Washington, some of the most valuable time for me is spent meeting with people from back home in Alabama. I think that it is impossible to effectively do my job at the U.S. Capitol without taking the time to listen to the people of the 4th Congressional District of Alabama.
Unfortunately, many Americans these days feel that Washington is not listening to them. If you look at the reaction of the agenda of the President, Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid over the last 2 years, it appears evident that the majority of the American people are not on board.
Whether it be from the many polls or studies or public meetings with Congressmen and their constituents, there is strong evidence that Americans don’t like what the majority party is doing in Washington.
It’s because of this observation that House Republicans have reevaluated how to serve and represent our constituents back home. Over the last year, Congress, on so many occasions, has ignored the voice of the people. Americans are looking for leadership that acts to implement the will of the people and something must change.
Back in June, House Republicans announced “America Speaking Out,” an unprecedented new initiative of engagement with the American people that will, in time, lead to a governing policy agenda for America.
By the end of this year, I firmly believe that Americans will know that House Republicans are not only interested in different policies than the current majority, but also running the House differently, in a manner that is more transparent and accountable than has been done in the past.
Using all the resources and opportunities available, including cutting-edge technology, district meetings, and old-fashioned conversation, we are going to engage the American people to talk about the challenges they’d like Congress to address.
As I have had meetings here in north Alabama during this month of August, I have already tried to communicate that some in Washington really want to know what is on their minds.
I voted against the bailout bill, the stimulus bill, the health care bill and the job-killing energy bill known as “cap & trade.” I believe that these policies are not in America's best interest, but I also want you to know that I took into consideration the fact that you, the constituents, didn’t like them either.
Our national debt is $13.3 Trillion, our current federal deficit is $1.47 Trillion and unemployment is still close to 10% despite all of the attempts by Washington to spend our way out of a financial downturn. I, and many Alabamians, believe that we must drastically change this trend or else it will take a very, very long time for us to recover from this recession. Americans are speaking out against this out-of-control spending in Washington and sooner or later the majority in Washington will get the message. It may not happen now, but they will certainly get the message in November!
We know our principles. This America Speaking Out project is not simply a listening tour, this will be a discussion about the priorities of the American people and how we can use our principles of smaller, more accountable government to solve problems and restore the broken bonds of trust between Americans and their elected leaders.
Whatever agenda materializes at the end of the process will be a reflection of the months of engagement, and the final product will offer a clear commitment of policy solutions and procedural reforms that Americans can expect us to fight for right away.
Not just a Republican agenda, this will be a process and product that can transcend traditional politics and restore trust. I would encourage you to please take the time to log-on to AmericaSpeakingOut.com and participate in this special project. Building a new agenda for our nation starts today and I hope that you will join me in the process.
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Congressman Robert Aderholt is serving his seventh term as the U.S. Representative of the Fourth Congressional District of Alabama. Rep. Aderholt serves on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, as the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Legislative Branch, and a member of the Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee. Rep. Aderholt also serves on the House Budget Committee and the Helsinki Commission.