Friday, May 28, 2010

McCarthy: town hall forum seeks input on ways to curtail spending, hold Congress accountable


 Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) gives his weekly view from Capitol Hill. In his own words:

 "I hope you can join me this Memorial weekend in honoring those who gave their lives to defend our freedom by attending services at our local cemeteries. There will be services at Bakersfield National Cemetery, along with Union Cemetery, Hillcrest Memorial Park and Greenlawn Southwest.  Please take some time this weekend to remember that freedom is not free.

  "I wanted to update you on the America Speaking Out town hall next week (June 2); we have moved our venue location to the Kern County Board of Supervisors Chambers on Truxtun.  This new location will provide even more opportunities for those who cannot attend to provide me with ideas and solutions for our country and how Congress operates.  The town hall will be broadcast on KGOV-TV and those watching from home will be able e-mail (bakersfieldtownhall@co.kern.ca.us) or call in (868-3659) ideas and suggestions.  If you plan to attend, you can RSVP, but required, by contacting my office at 327- 3611, or
Bakersfield.TownHall@mail.house.gov.  Hope to see you there.

  "In case you missed it, the America Speaking Out project was rolled out this week.  This project is about having Americans give us their ideas and their priorities. We will take these ideas and priorities and
together discuss how our commonsense conservative principles can be applied.  The end result will be real legislative initiatives as a part of a larger governing agenda. While politicians have traditionally been behind when it comes to technology, a major part of this project is www.AmericaSpeakingOut.com, which combines the technologies of Facebook and Twitter, to create a unique online forum that allows for an interactive experience.  This is not about pushing an agenda from Washington; it is an open and transparent place where Americans can truly debate the issues facing our country.   I hope you will join the discussion about ways we can solve our country’s challenges.

  "My office summer intern program started this week.  In my Washington office this week, we welcomed Mari Kishimoto, a Liberty High School graduate who just finished up at the University of the Pacific with a
degree in International Relations.  Joining her is Derek Wales who graduated from Garces and just finished at West Point with an electrical engineering degree.  Another Garces graduate joining them is Vincent Phillips, who is a junior at the University of Idaho and working on an agricultural engineering degree.  As a former intern to Congressman Bill Thomas (who, by the way, rejected me at first), I believe the internship experience is a great way to learn about our community and the public policy process.


 
  "As the national debt passed $13 trillion this week, I wanted to give you an update on “YouCut.”  America voted this week to eliminate a federal government employee pay raise, (excluding the military) and
would save taxpayers $30 billion over the next 10 years.  Even though 18 Democrats joined Republicans in voting for this proposal, it failed because the Democratic majority did not want to freeze their own pay.
To vote next time: http://republicanwhip.house.gov/YouCut.

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