Wonder why I am such an outspoken activist?Welcome to Joe Bartonville

[w8liftinglady]

enjoy..and feel free to add comments at the site :)

http://www.thedailylight.com/articles/2008/03/24/opinion/doc47e5dc9d4dae4197481467.txt

One-on-one
Discussing the state of the union and its local impact with Rep. Joe Barton
By NEAL WHITE
Published: Saturday, March 22, 2008 11:39 PM CDT
Earlier this week, I had a chance to sit down with Congressman Joe Barton to discuss a number of federal issues that impact Ellis County and its constituents.

Repre-senting Texas’ Sixth Congressional District, which includes Ellis County, the Republican incumbent shared frank insights to many of the challenges facing the nation.

Among his chief concern is the “rampant, runaway spending” taking place on the federal level.

“If we don’t get a handle on spending, it’s going to blow up in the next five to 10 years. We have got to get a handle on these unfounded costs,” Barton said. “Medicare will be broke in 10 years. Medicaid is growing faster than the states can meet their match. We have got to figure out a way to reform entitlement spending.”

Barton said there is a growing awareness within the Republican ranks of Congress, “but we don’t have a political consensus. The Democrats keep wanting to spend more and more.”

With both Democratic presidential frontrunners proposing a national health care plan, Barton stressed that for every program added or expanded, there are significant costs involved, with the taxpayers ultimately paying the price.

“Big government costs a lot of money. Unfortunately, we are living in an age where a large number of people see the benefit of more government spending — we just haven’t had to pay the bill yet,” he said.

When it comes to reining in federal spending, Barton said the challenge has always been “what to cut,” adding that compelling arguments can be made for any program — from the Endowment for the Arts to expanding food stamps for the poor.

“The fact is, two-thirds of the budget is for unfunded mandates,” Barton said. “Arguments can be made for why we should fund them, but there is very little discussion about how we are going to pay for them and what impact that is going to have on our economy and our taxpayers. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

“Creating entitlement programs sounds good and it makes people feel good about their government — but each one comes with a cost,” he added. “On the federal level, we have got to cut spending and we have got to get a handle on unfunded mandates.”

As a fiscal conservative, Barton said he strongly believes that lower taxes stimulate economic growth and individual prosperity.

“Increasing the size of government has just the opposite effect because it takes away more of your hard-earned money in order to run it,” he said. “If you have less to spend, the economy suffers and jobs are lost — not gained. Raising taxes is not the answer. Unfortunately, that’s not the current mindset in Washington.”

Earmarks

While congressional earmarks have grabbed headlines and become fodder for media talk shows, Barton pointed out that earmarks account for less than 1 percent of the federal budget.

He also defended congressional earmarks as an effective tool that ensures each representative can prioritize funding for initiatives benefiting their respective district.

Citing a litany of projects, including the widening of Highway 287 through Ellis County, Barton said those projects were made possible because of congressional earmarks.

“Let’s take Mid-Way Regional Airport,” he said. “Both the airport and the current runway expansion project that will begin later this year happened because of earmarks.

“Will the runway expansion bring in new industry and help bolster the local economy? Absolutely,” Barton said. “But the fact is, that project was so far down the (Federal Aviation Administration’s) priority list it likely wouldn’t have happened in our lifetime without my earmark.

“Earmarks have a tremendous impact on the local level and I don’t have a problem with them,” he said. “I would agree that we need to bring more transparency and more openness to the process. All of my earmarks have been for major public projects on the county and local level — like transportation and helping secure new postal facilities. They have never been for an individual or business.

“What we need is to make sure that Congressmen don’t use their earmarks for stupid items — like the ‘bridge to nowhere’ that grabs the national headlines,” he added.

New post office

When it comes to helping cities secure new postal facilities, Barton shared his frustration on Waxahachie’s current postal situation.

Rattling off a number of new post offices — including Midlothian, Cleburne and Kerens — that he’s helped bring to fruition, Barton said he’s confident Waxahachie will receive a new post office.

“If I can help all those cities get a new post office, surely I can help Waxahachie get one,” he said, explaining the process used by the U.S. Postal Service for designating new facilities.

“The problem with Waxahachie’s bid for a new post office is that it is all based on a point system. Waxahachie has always scored enough points to reach the level for consideration for a new facility, but the money always seems to run out before they get to Waxahachie’s number. For the last several cycles, Waxahachie has always been right there close to the cutoff,” Barton said. “A new post office for Waxahachie is possible and I’m confident we can make it happen.”

Dam reconstruction

Congressman Barton’s visit this week with the Daily Light happened to coincide with Tuesday’s deluge, which dumped 5 inches of rain in less than five hours on much of the western portion of Ellis County.

As the rain fell outside, Barton commented on a special report in the Daily Light’s March 16 edition noting that many of the county’s soil conservation dams built in the 1950s and 1960s are in need of repair and remediation.

“I have informed the county there are federal funds available to assist in making repairs to those dams,” Barton said. “The only problem is, the funds are in the form of matching grants. While the grants pay for a sizeable portion of repair costs, the county still has to meet the matching portion in order to receive the grant.”

Barton said county officials had requested he use a congressional earmark to fund the county’s share of the matching grant.

“I just can’t do that,” Barton said. “I can help in securing the federal grant, but I can’t pay the county’s part, too. As we discussed earlier, it doesn’t work that way. The county has to step up and pay their share of the costs to repair those dams.”

Election year

On the presidential election, Barton said he is confident the GOP will make gains in the November election and win the White House.

With Sen. John McCain of Arizona securing the Republican presidential nomination, Barton said he feels McCain will prevail in November.

“I’m confident that Sen. McCain will work hard to keep from raising our taxes and help stimulate our economy. The Democratic candidates seem intent on spending more of our money. I believe the voters will realize that we can’t keep spending their money without consequences. I look for the Republicans to do well in November.”

Barton, the 12-term incumbent from Ennis, will face Democratic challenger Ludwig Otto of Fort Worth in the November general election