By Rep. Patrick McHenry
Hickory Daily Record
May 18, 2009
The Federal Reserve System was created in 1913 by President Woodrow Wilson and Congress. The Fed, as it is known, is a semi-public agency that serves as the central hub of our banking system.
The Fed's original mission was to regulate monetary policy in the United States, meaning that it would restrict and loosen the supply of money in circulation. Its objective was to achieve stable prices and maximum employment.
The Fed does this by setting interest rates. These rates impact the interest that Americans pay on our mortgages and car loans, for example.
Today, the scope of the Fed's responsibilities is much larger. It is the agency most responsible for overseeing our financial markets. The Fed may soon take on the role of the "systemic risk" regulator for America's financial system.
However, our laws have not kept pace with the Fed's expanded use of power. Therefore, very little information about its activities is disclosed to Congress and the American people. ...
Click here to read the rest of the article...
Showing posts with label Patrick McHenry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Patrick McHenry. Show all posts
Monday, May 18, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
McHenry: Keep Politics Out of it
By Rep. Patrick McHenry
Washington Times
May 13, 2009
COMMENTARY:
The looming 2010 census has gotten considerable attention in Washington. In most cases, it has not been constructive. White House attempts to run the census in-house had two effects. First, they politicized our nation's largest peacetime mobilization. Second, they implied the Census Bureau is incapable of maintaining its high success rate.
Recent actions by the administration, while of a lower profile, elevate fresh concerns about the integrity and accuracy of the 2010 decennial. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke has cautiously said he knows of "no plans" to test a statistical theory that adjusts census data. ...
In media reports of a questionnaire Mr. Groves completed in advance of his hearing, he characterized congressional Republicans as having been the source of efforts to politicize the census. This is patently absurd; with its attempts to circumvent the Commerce Department, the White House clearly crossed that line.
This confusing attempt at creating straw men out of House Republicans is not a harbinger of good things. The census has been apolitical for 219 years - this is not redistricting - and Republicans merely have asked that this tradition be preserved. While redistricting is a partisan tug of war, the data on which it is based should be unassailable.
The enumeration of the census is an Article I function of the Constitution that Congress has assigned to the Commerce Department. However, Congress retains its oversight responsibility. Led by our Oversight subcommittee Chairman William Lacy Clay, Missouri Democrat, we are merely doing our job.
Mr. Groves can move swiftly to vanquish another threat to the integrity of the 2010 census. The infamous political advocacy group ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, is a member of the Census Partnership Program. Partners help recruit census takers. ACORN is an organization enamored of using government forms to commit fraud. The proposition of putting millions of census forms in its hands seems counterintuitive, to say the least.
On Monday, my Republican colleagues and I sent a letter to the bureau asking it to reconsider ACORN as a partner. According to the bureau's guidelines for participation, partners must not "distract from the Census Bureau's mission." If Mr. Groves thinks ACORN's reputation reflects positively on the bureau's mission, we have requested that he defend that position in writing to Congress.
Despite the litany of red flags from the administration, Congress should resist temptation to prejudge Mr. Groves. He can reassure the country that the 2010 census will be accurate and apolitical by ruling out tampering with census results and by dismissing ACORN. Or he can undermine the confidence of Congress and the American people. I respectfully encourage Mr. Groves to choose the former.
Click here to read the full article...
Washington Times
May 13, 2009
COMMENTARY:
The looming 2010 census has gotten considerable attention in Washington. In most cases, it has not been constructive. White House attempts to run the census in-house had two effects. First, they politicized our nation's largest peacetime mobilization. Second, they implied the Census Bureau is incapable of maintaining its high success rate.
Recent actions by the administration, while of a lower profile, elevate fresh concerns about the integrity and accuracy of the 2010 decennial. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke has cautiously said he knows of "no plans" to test a statistical theory that adjusts census data. ...
In media reports of a questionnaire Mr. Groves completed in advance of his hearing, he characterized congressional Republicans as having been the source of efforts to politicize the census. This is patently absurd; with its attempts to circumvent the Commerce Department, the White House clearly crossed that line.
This confusing attempt at creating straw men out of House Republicans is not a harbinger of good things. The census has been apolitical for 219 years - this is not redistricting - and Republicans merely have asked that this tradition be preserved. While redistricting is a partisan tug of war, the data on which it is based should be unassailable.
The enumeration of the census is an Article I function of the Constitution that Congress has assigned to the Commerce Department. However, Congress retains its oversight responsibility. Led by our Oversight subcommittee Chairman William Lacy Clay, Missouri Democrat, we are merely doing our job.
Mr. Groves can move swiftly to vanquish another threat to the integrity of the 2010 census. The infamous political advocacy group ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, is a member of the Census Partnership Program. Partners help recruit census takers. ACORN is an organization enamored of using government forms to commit fraud. The proposition of putting millions of census forms in its hands seems counterintuitive, to say the least.
On Monday, my Republican colleagues and I sent a letter to the bureau asking it to reconsider ACORN as a partner. According to the bureau's guidelines for participation, partners must not "distract from the Census Bureau's mission." If Mr. Groves thinks ACORN's reputation reflects positively on the bureau's mission, we have requested that he defend that position in writing to Congress.
Despite the litany of red flags from the administration, Congress should resist temptation to prejudge Mr. Groves. He can reassure the country that the 2010 census will be accurate and apolitical by ruling out tampering with census results and by dismissing ACORN. Or he can undermine the confidence of Congress and the American people. I respectfully encourage Mr. Groves to choose the former.
Click here to read the full article...
Monday, April 20, 2009
McHenry: Obama Budget Savings = 0.002%
Encouraged by step in the right direction
WASHINGTON – Congressman Patrick McHenry (NC-10) issued the following statement regarding President Barack Obama’s call for $100 million in administration budget cuts. These savings would amount to a reduction of 0.002% in the federal budget.
“I am encouraged that President Obama has finally recognized the need for fiscal discipline. The first three months of his administration have been defined by boundless government spending. In doing so, the President broke his often-repeated campaign promise to go 'line by line' to identify savings in the federal budget. Although these cuts are too miniscule to be considered anything more than symbolic, at least it’s a step in the right direction. In fact, we could have saved three times that much by not buying a new fleet of cars for government employees in the so-called stimulus bill. As the national debt continues to spiral out of control, I hope President Obama will work in a bipartisan way to reform the careless way in which Washington spends tax dollars.”
WASHINGTON – Congressman Patrick McHenry (NC-10) issued the following statement regarding President Barack Obama’s call for $100 million in administration budget cuts. These savings would amount to a reduction of 0.002% in the federal budget.
“I am encouraged that President Obama has finally recognized the need for fiscal discipline. The first three months of his administration have been defined by boundless government spending. In doing so, the President broke his often-repeated campaign promise to go 'line by line' to identify savings in the federal budget. Although these cuts are too miniscule to be considered anything more than symbolic, at least it’s a step in the right direction. In fact, we could have saved three times that much by not buying a new fleet of cars for government employees in the so-called stimulus bill. As the national debt continues to spiral out of control, I hope President Obama will work in a bipartisan way to reform the careless way in which Washington spends tax dollars.”
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
McHenry Backs Secret Ballot Protection Act
Press Release
March 10, 2009
WASHINGTON – Congressman Patrick McHenry (NC-10) announced today that he is an original co-sponsor of the Secret Ballot Protection Act. The legislation codifies into federal law an American worker’s right to a secret ballot election when deciding whether to unionize in the workplace.
“The secret ballot is a fundamental right in our democracy. Members of Congress use a secret ballot to vote for their leadership. American workers deserve the exact same right,” stated Congressman McHenry.
The Secret Ballot Protection Act stands in direct contrast to “card check” legislation, which strips workers of their right to a secret ballot election. Union organizers would only have to get signatures on a card from a majority of a business’ employees to form a union.
Former Senator George McGovern, 1972 Democrat presidential nominee and self-described friend of labor unions, opposes card check because of “many documented cases where workers have been pressured, harassed, tricked and intimated into signing cards that have led to mandatory payment of dues.”
The Secret Ballot Protection Act would also protect American workers from being coerced or pressured into joining a union.
A recent economic study regarding the effects of card check legislation found that 600,000 American jobs would be lost the year following its enactment.
March 10, 2009
WASHINGTON – Congressman Patrick McHenry (NC-10) announced today that he is an original co-sponsor of the Secret Ballot Protection Act. The legislation codifies into federal law an American worker’s right to a secret ballot election when deciding whether to unionize in the workplace.
“The secret ballot is a fundamental right in our democracy. Members of Congress use a secret ballot to vote for their leadership. American workers deserve the exact same right,” stated Congressman McHenry.
The Secret Ballot Protection Act stands in direct contrast to “card check” legislation, which strips workers of their right to a secret ballot election. Union organizers would only have to get signatures on a card from a majority of a business’ employees to form a union.
Former Senator George McGovern, 1972 Democrat presidential nominee and self-described friend of labor unions, opposes card check because of “many documented cases where workers have been pressured, harassed, tricked and intimated into signing cards that have led to mandatory payment of dues.”
The Secret Ballot Protection Act would also protect American workers from being coerced or pressured into joining a union.
A recent economic study regarding the effects of card check legislation found that 600,000 American jobs would be lost the year following its enactment.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
McHenry Statement on Democrats' Historic Increase in Discretionary Spending
Press Release
February 25, 2009
Congressman Patrick McHenry (NC-10) released the following statement regarding H.R. 1105, the fiscal year 2009 omnibus appropriations bill.
“Last evening, we heard President Obama talk about the need to “make the hard choices to bring down the debt.” The President seemingly understands that a $2 trillion federal deficit will prolong and deepen the economic crisis.
“On the heels of the so-called $787 billion stimulus bill, the Democrat majority in Congress has not made the tough choices necessary, but are increasing discretionary spending at its highest rate since the Carter Administration. Worse, the omnibus spending bill includes 8,696 earmarks to fund the pet projects of politicians at a cost of $11 billion. This is money that taxpayers do not have and cannot afford.
“The Democrat majority refuses to heed the advice of their President and countless economists who warn against such gluttonous use of the public purse. Unless they stop spending as though we’re playing with Monopoly money, taxpayers will be left with catastrophic inflation and tax increases like we’ve never seen before in this country.”
February 25, 2009
Congressman Patrick McHenry (NC-10) released the following statement regarding H.R. 1105, the fiscal year 2009 omnibus appropriations bill.
“Last evening, we heard President Obama talk about the need to “make the hard choices to bring down the debt.” The President seemingly understands that a $2 trillion federal deficit will prolong and deepen the economic crisis.
“On the heels of the so-called $787 billion stimulus bill, the Democrat majority in Congress has not made the tough choices necessary, but are increasing discretionary spending at its highest rate since the Carter Administration. Worse, the omnibus spending bill includes 8,696 earmarks to fund the pet projects of politicians at a cost of $11 billion. This is money that taxpayers do not have and cannot afford.
“The Democrat majority refuses to heed the advice of their President and countless economists who warn against such gluttonous use of the public purse. Unless they stop spending as though we’re playing with Monopoly money, taxpayers will be left with catastrophic inflation and tax increases like we’ve never seen before in this country.”
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