Every 10 years a census is taken in the United States to see how many people live here in the USA. Also from this census population densities are added up and Congressional Districts are added or omitted.
Elections are then held to to elect Representatives for these Congressional Districts and speak the mind of the people in the way of drawing up bills representative of the thoughts, wants, needs and desires of the Congressional District conveyed to the Congressman and that do not go against the Constitution but re-enforce it.
Elections are also held to elect senators. From what I remember from various social studies classes in from Grammar School to College is that in the congress the voice of the people are heard by the amount of people are in a district. Senators meanwhile adhere to a rule of 2 senators per state giving each state at this point an equal vote on a specific point or bill. In this a Senator looks at the amount of congressional districts in their home state that voted for said bill, and the senator being a Representative for the people of his state should vote the way the majority of the districts in their state voted.
Then when it passes the Legislative branch of our government it then goes to the Executive Branch, is reviewed and signed into law by The President of the United States.
The past several months the News Media has been Running snippets about the weakness of Congress, The current congress is the worst congress in history and etc. Actually at the time I thought it was the best congress yet. Most importantly to me they protected my right to bear arms! They have voted and passed legislation and then sent it to the Senate in which the problem occurs with our government. It is turned down or voted out by the senators whose states presented the legislation to begin with. At this point I could support this congress and every congressman. They were sticking to the ideals of their Districts and themselves and most of all protecting the rights of We The People! The problem was the Senate (Not passing and voting as a party not as a representative.) and the President (Threatening Vetos if he did not get his way.) This is where the problem with our government laid.
I live here in the Virginia Fifth Congressional District. My Congressman is Robert Hurt. Occasionally I go to his web site and give my view on various subjects of interest to my self and others in this district that I have talked to. The reason I do this is to exercise the right and duty to talk to my congressman and let him know what the people want in his district. If no one tells him their feelings and views how can he represent us? Also every now and then I receive an E-mail from Congressman Hurt (Roberts Round-up) telling me what he has done in Washington and who has visited him since his last letter. Also being a veteran I receive periodic letters from Robert on the things that he is doing to help Veterans.
In December the Bipartisan Budget agreement was passed. In this budget a cut to Cost Of Living Adjustments (COLA) to Military Retirees under a specific age was brought about to save the government money. When I first saw this on the news I thought to myself who voted for this and was pretty confident that Congressman Hurt did not vote for it. Then on Dec 18 2013 I got the below message from Roberts Round up
Bipartisan Budget Agreement
Dear Friend,
I am pleased to report that last week, for the first time in five years, Congress agreed upon a federal budget. The House of Representatives passed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 by a vote count of 332-94.
Fifth District Virginians know that we need to put an end to the reckless government spending in Washington that has brought us to a $17 trillion debt. Since coming to Congress, addressing the crippling national deficit and debt has been my top priority. While we have successfully implemented some spending reforms, such as eliminating earmarks and reducing spending for two consecutive years for the first time in nearly 60 years, we have not been able to make additional progress on our deficits and debt because of the Senate's failure to even attempt passing a budget in recent years.
After years of Senate unwillingness to act on budget policy, I am encouraged by the fact that we have stopped the pattern of handing over our congressional budgetary authority to the executive branch and exercised our constitutional duty to establish the spending priorities for our great nation. This budget plan reduces our long-term deficit without raising taxes. We have exchanged one-time cuts for long-term spending reforms that are not only good deficit reduction policy, but will also secure our military readiness by giving our troops the resources they need to defend our nation.
This budget plan is not a solution to our debt crisis, but it is a step in the right direction. I look forward to continuing to fight for true spending reform and for policies that will balance our budget and guarantee a brighter future for all Virginians and Americans.
If you need any additional information, please visit my website athurt.house.gov or call my Washington office: (202) 225-4711, Charlottesville office: (434) 973-9631, Danville office: (434) 791-2596, or Farmville office: (434) 395-0120.
After receiving this message I immediately went to Robert's website and simply asked the following;
Mr Hurt with everything that you have presented to veterans of the 5th district on helping/ watching out for Veterans did you really vote for this bill?
I then received the following via e-mail on Dec 26th 2013:
Dear Mr. Ulman:
Thank you for your recent communication concerning H. J. Res. 59, the Bipartisan Budget Act, and its impact on our nation's veterans. I appreciate your taking the time to express your thoughts on this important matter. It is a privilege to represent you and to serve as a voice for the citizens of Virginia's Fifth District.
Fifth District Virginians know that we need to put an end to the reckless government spending in Washington that has brought us to a $17 trillion debt. After years of Senate unwillingness to act on budget policy, I am encouraged by the fact that we have stopped the pattern of handing over our congressional budgetary authority to the executive branch and exercised our constitutional duty to establish the spending priorities for our great nation. We have exchanged one-time cuts for long-term spending reforms that will secure our military readiness by giving our troops the resources they need to defend our nation. While not everything in the budget agreement is as I would have drafted it, it was imperative that Congress act to pass a budget to alleviate the pressure that sequestration imposed on our military.
I share your concerns about the provision in the Bipartisan Budget Act that would affect veterans' future retirement cost of living adjustments, and I am committed to identifying alternative budget reforms. I will work with my colleagues to ensure that no veterans are impacted by these changes before they take effect in 2016.
I hope you will stay connected to our office with updates on the latest news, legislation, and other useful information, by signing up for our e-newsletter on our website, hurt.house.gov. Thank you again for your communication and please do not hesitate to contact our office with any future questions or comments.
Sincerely,
 |
Member of Congress
Now one may come to the conclusion that I am just a whining Chicken Little. The sky is falling the sky is falling. But There is one statement in this letter that bothers me the most:
While not everything in the budget agreement is as I would have drafted it, it was imperative that Congress act to pass a budget to alleviate the pressure that sequestration imposed on our military.
(I do have to ask this now "Why in the hell did he vote for it to begin with????)
(I do have to ask this now "Why in the hell did he vote for it to begin with????)
I only have to ask what will be taken away next in the name of a budget or anything else. If the Democrats next year present a bill that has gun control measures like those imposed in California and New York will he vote for it just to get a budget? Will Congressman Hurt sell our rights for a budget? Sadly I think so he already sold out his personal values on the Bi-partisan Budget Agreement.
I know quite a few ways money can be raised / saved. If the congress wants to make reductions and get rid of the deficit then if they are taking away from Military Retirees why not join us and take away from yourselves. Make the retirement for congress and the senate 20 years at 1/2 pay incremented to 30 years at 75%, Pay caps for Senators and congressmen of lets say $4,000 a month for a junior congressman / Senator to $10,000 a month for a senior congressman and senator would be helpful too. There are many more ways, just think about it.
I have not talked with other congressman from Virginia or anywhere else but I am thinking that they all have kicked their morals and ideals to the side with the results of the vote and are now whipped dogs and are just doing what Mr Obama and the Senate Democrats want them to do. I also think they shot themselves in the foot, since most military that I am or have been in contact with are Republicans. I urge each and every person that feels the way that I do to hold your congressman accountable for this. I for one have to side with the news media this time and say that this is the worst Congress ever and I look forward now to a loss of our rights.
I have invited Congressman Hurt to look at this post and comment.
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