Sixth District Perspectives with Congressman Ben Cline: July 27, 2019

A Bad Budget Deal
This week, it was announced that House Democrats and the Administration had joined together to work out a budget deal for the next two years. Unfortunately, it was not a deal that I could support. With record annual deficits of over $1 trillion, federal spending levels are out of control. Now is not the time to add to this fiscal crisis by busting through spending caps and adding to our $22 trillion national debt, which equals $65,000 for every man, woman and child in America.

When I ran for office last fall, I pledged to work hard to bring our fiscal house in order. Therefore, I voted against the budget agreement considered by the House on Thursday. If we are to truly control spending, balance our budget, and pay down the national debt, I hope all parties will join together and work toward an agreement that will address our national financial crisis in a meaningful way.

Mueller Testimony
Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller made his long-awaited appearance in the House Judiciary Committee this week to answer questions about his inquiry into foreign interference in the 2016 presidential election. As we already knew from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report, foreign adversaries interfered with the 2016 presidential election. We must take action to prevent this from occurring in the future.

Also, Mr. Mueller restated his conclusion in Volume I that President Trump did not conspire with Russia to win the presidency. My questions focused on his creative interpretation of the obstruction of justice statute on which he based his conclusions in Volume II. Over the course of his testimony, Mr. Mueller did not provide the Committee with any new information. Therefore, I believe it is time for Congress to move on to addressing the critical issues facing this country – improving infrastructure and the surging economy, securing our southern border, fixing our broken healthcare system, and preventing future attempts to interfere with our elections.

Legislative Update
The House floor was busy this week considering several bipartisan bills I have introduced. One helps our nation’s veterans, while another assists our small business owners.

H.R. 3311, the Small Business Reorganization Act, would simplify the process for small businesses to use bankruptcy as a means of reorganization. Under the Small Business Reorganization Act, businesses with less than $2.5 million in debt would be able to file for bankruptcy in a timelier and more cost-effective manner. While in bankruptcy reorganization, a small business would be able to negotiate with creditors while keeping the doors open, employees on payroll, and suppliers and vendors paid.

Reorganization preserves jobs, investments and valuable contributors to our economy, but the terms of Chapter 11 have been poorly suited to allow small businesses and their creditors to take full advantage of the relief it promises. To solve this problem, the Small Business Reorganization Act takes the provisions of Chapter 12, which help small family farmers to reorganize their farming enterprises when needed, as a model for small businesses. This bill promises to make our laws work better for the entrepreneurs whose small businesses are critical to life in communities across our nation.

The LEGION Act also passed the floor this week. I introduced the bipartisan House version of the bill, along with Congressman Lou Correa (CA-46), on March 8. The legislation, which would expand American Legion membership criteria to include all honorably discharged veterans who served during unrecognized times of war, was also co-sponsored by Congressman Gil Cisneros (CA-39).

I was proud to help lead the effort to pass this bipartisan legislation, which does the right thing for those military members who honorably served and those who paid the ultimate sacrifice during unrecognized periods of conflict. I look forward to the President signing this bill soon. Congressmen Correa and Cisneros, along with Senators Sinema and Tillis, believe we should recognize the honorable military service of those who served during unrecognized periods of war. Opening membership of the American Legion to our heroes who have served in conflicts from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan is the right thing to do.

Thank you for the privilege to represent you in Congress and to work on important legislation like the bi-partisan bills passed this week. Please connect with me on Facebook.com/RepBenCline and Twitter.com/RepBenCline to stay up to date with the latest from Washington and the Sixth Congressional District.