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BAXTER — Rep. Chip Cravaack, R-Minn. championed Republican House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s budget bill Monday in his first town hall meeting in the 8th Congressional District.
Addressing the crowd of nearly 50 that turned out at the Holiday Inn Express as the federal government reached its official borrowing limit, the retired U.S. Navy captain warned of dire circumstances if federal spending was not curbed.
“We hit the debt ceiling,” he said. “The caution light has now gone off.”
To ignore the consequences of further deficit spending would be unconscionable he said, and would set the U.S. on the same troubled path as such debt-burdened countries as Greece, Portugal, Italy and Ireland.
“This is future debt we’re going to hand down to our children,” Cravaack warned.
What he termed as a spending-driven debt crisis, cannot be fixed by taxes, he said.
“We can’t tax enough to get this under control,” the first-term congressman said. “It’s not that we are taxed too little. It’s that Washington spends way too much.”
Cravaack spent more than half of the one-hour session highlighting, through a Power Point display, the problems facing Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare and the consequences of having foreign-owned debt.
The Ryan bill, he argued would create jobs through pro-growth tax reform, strengthen the social safety net, fulfill health and retirement security and put the budget back on a path to balance and the economy on a path to prosperity.
“This whole Ryan plan is about jobs,” he said.
In the 25 minutes left for the audience to respond, Cravaack fielded a variety of questions.
He told George Brancato of Pillager that although the Fair Tax was a good system he needed to learn more about it before he’s ready to decide whether he would support it.
A 75-year-old man from Timothy Township in Crow Wing County said that taxes wouldn’t solve the nation’s problems completely but that “no taxes is a dumb idea.”
James Gordon of rural Brainerd complained of wetlands rules that prevented him from using a garden on his property. Cravaack noted that the Environmental Protection Agency is pushing restrictive guidelines and guidelines all to often become mandates as they have in the timber industry.
A Pequot Lakes man urged Cravaack and fellow Republicans to not give up their ace in the hole when negotiating with the Democrats on raising the federal debt limit.
Cravaack said after the meeting concluded that in order for him to support raising the debt ceiling he would have to see evidence of sustainable, long-term debt and spending cuts.
A Merrifield man who described himself as a Tea Party person offered advice to Cravaack.
“I just want you to act as a statesman,” he said. “Do what’s right for the country.”
Michael Hopps, a self-described liberal, sparked a brief outburst of laughter from the crowd when he stated that voter ID requirements were nonsense and that voter fraud was not a problem. Hopps said the power of government does good in people’s lives. He urged Cravaack to bring us together and criticized the Republican Party for dividing America.
Cravaack responded that he agreed that Americans were all facing this problem together.
“This is an American problem,” he said. “We all own this problem. We have to solve this problem because if we don’t the Chinese will solve it for us.”
Earlier Monday afternoon Cravaack hosted an open house as he officially opened his constituent services office in Brainerd City Hall.
MIKE O’ROURKE may be reached at mike.orourke@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5860.
Comments (11)
Add commentCravaack & OTJ Training
Im certain this one term " Representative " will NOT have enough time to NOW learn what the issues/problems are , and then ACTUALLY do something about it.
'Bama
was the first OTJ Trainee and he sucks at it!
Mr Cravaack is exactly right in everything he said
and Washington IS spending too much. It is time to cut down on the freebies in America and isolate the real issues that need addressing, such as:
health
our road system
addressing crime and illegal immigrants sneaking over the border
Stop wasting money on grants, middle mgmt govn positions that the US would be better off without. Lay em off and let em eat at McDonalds instead of Bar Harbor.
Right
"first town hall meeting"
"first term congressman"
"he needed to learn more"
Cravaak is still wet behind the ears but we should vote for Taylor Stevenson because of his great political acumen? Right.
Voter fraud
.Something that must be dealt with severity is non-citizens voting in elections. This came to light through ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) Liberal and Democratic groups which was registering anybody, specially aimed at low income people. Now under investigation by 14 States for illegal activities in the voting procedures is now extinct; or is it? Various States are enacting laws to halt this enigma, by asking voters for several forms of photo ID cards or equivalent documents. All citizens should communicate with their federal, State representative Senate—202-224–3121/ House—202-225–3121and demand more secure practices for absentee ballots, which can be forged and new security supervision of voting. The open border progressives will cheat the election process, one way or another.even to using illegal aliens. Organizations as ACORN have purposely ignored a persons immigration status. Senior citizens and impoverished Americans should be able to prove their identity through cross-checking with County recorder birth records, then given a free picture ID card..
ITS URGENT THAT YOU REALIZE THAT LARGE NUMBERS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, OR NON-CITIZENS CAN CHANGE THE DIRECTION OF ANY ELECTION.
Learn the facts, not rhetoric or lies from the Leftists. Join the TEA PARTY to stop the erosion of American peoples Sovereign rights, its common language. The TEA PARTY lawmakers will insure NO IMMIGRATION REFORM, which is just another term for AMNESTY. Any Path to citizenship, under whatever name, adds millions of family members through Chain Migration. Texas has just killed any policy of Sanctuary Cities within its territory and so should other States replicate. Even the Dream Act would mean another form of Amnesty, including Chain Migration.
Texas
Large numbers of immigrants in San Antonio...over half of the population is Hispanic. They elected a mayor and city council last week. Voter turnout: SEVEN PERCENT! We all need to vote or noone gets elected with a mandate to govern and everyone will be unhappy.
And...their elections are held on Saturdays!
Clueless politician
This "retired U.S. navy captain" is clueless as was Jimmy O.. "Chip" spent the majority of his life somewhere else other than Minnesota, he was floating around the ocean or riding around in a chopper while we toiled over how to keep the government out of our lives and try to make ends meet. All he spews is the same ol' crap the GOP has been feeding the purple Kool Aid drinkers for years. Less taxes, less spending and more freedoms... and they do just the opposite. They vote for more spending, more redundant programs, more hidden taxes and more controls over your life from the light bulb in your reading lamp to the amount of water in your toilet to how much fat can be in your cheeseburger. It hasn't mattered what party was in control, the results have always been the same, so just keep sending the guilty back to DC if you wish for more of the same, we need statesmen and women, not party "players"!
These clowns are only worried about their own sorry rear ends, just wait until the debt ceiling vote comes up, my money says they will make concessions and cave... ol' Chipper might even be one that falls for the B.S. about how the world will end if we don't do it! He voted twice to kick the debt can down the road, voted to fund part of Obamacare, voted to renew the "patriot act" and so on... He's a world class RINO! Lets force members of congress to keep real jobs and only go to DC once a month for a day to vote up or down... then go back to work and stay away from the overbearing lobbies that run things now.
how many tea party folks are on government programs?
this looks like an older crowd (apologies to O'Rourke sitting in the middle of the picture) so I'm wondering how many are on medicare, disability, social security, etc. ? All the social safety net programs the tea party wants to eliminate.......
color me curious
Chip
lives in Lindstrom about 35 miles north of Minneapolis. He was a union steward for Northwest Airlines besides being a pilot for them. He needs to do more of these town halls to get to know northern Minnesota people and their issues.
Thank you, Brittanicus! It
Thank you, Brittanicus! It is high time we had background checks for voters. I supports that if wants to vote, you should have a birth certificate, passport, and drivers license, not to mention be up to date in your insurance, current in all fines such as library fines, and have a clean criminal record.
I agree with Cravacck and Ryan and the republican party! THere is way, way too many poor people voting and not to mention the minorities, gays, riff-raff, and worse of all them who was not even born in america! it is bad enough that we have a Kenyan president who does not even have a valid birth certificate now we has these people moving here from all over the world, including many muslims, and somali pirates. Do we want them voting? NO WAY GAY, NO WAY OTHERS.
The beauty of America and especially CWC is that we (at least used to be) all pure blooded and christian and now we is diluting that pure bloodness. and it all starts with the ballot box.
Ask yourself, do you thing Obummer should be allowed to vote? NO. He is not a citizen. So let us apply that same yardstick to our voters. 2 pieces of ID, birth certificate, proof of either property ownership or that you are current in your rent payment. And in the process we regain our purity and keeps the voting booth more republican, and keep voting in the moral, christian, gun owner, HETEROSEXUAL folks we need to keep America Strong!
VOTER ID, HERE, HERE I say! IT's time has come!!!
DNTMG