The Burton Blog

Burton to seek re-election in 2012

Congressman Dan Burton issued the following statement regarding the 2012 election:“I am announcing that I will be seeking re-election next year to continue my service to the Hoosiers of the 5th Congressional District. Conservatives have again risen up to voice their discontent with the big government, job-killing agenda that Barack Obama and the Democrats in Washington are trying to foist on the American people. I am committed to continuing the fight against Washington’s reckless out-of-control spending and putting an end to the era of the big government. I will not rest until we have created a positive environment for job growth for the Hoosiers of Indiana's fifth Congressional District and American's all across our Country!”

Why the Arab Spring is cause for concern

The series of revolutions unfolding across the Middle East — collectively known as the “Arab Spring” — is turning the Middle Eastern political landscape on its head. However, instead of enhancing democracy, these revolutions are putting secular freedom at greater risk.

For the larger part of this year, our government has been supporting and encouraging the revolutionary movements in the region, confident that the anti-government forces that drove out their authoritarian leaders will embrace democratic ideals. After nearly 10 months of U.S. support and encouragement, it’s becoming clear that the Arab Spring is, in fact, a turning point for democracy in the region — a turning point away from democracy.

Few on the world stage liked or trusted Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak or Yemen’s Ali Abdullah Saleh. It’s good news that their reigns are over. All were despots who victimized their countrymen through political corruption and unbridled intimidation. But these strongmen also served as important counterbalances to the undercurrents of radicalism in their countries and were able to suppress the threat presented by extremists. As the old adage goes, the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know.

Since President Obama is now supporting the opposition movements, we must ask these two important questions: “Who will emerge as these countries’ new leaders?” and “What will be their intentions toward the United States?” Though these questions remain unanswered, there is cause for concern.

In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood, newly named the “Freedom and Justice Party,” is positioned to assume control of Egypt’s new government. But the group’s new name and prominence in the country has done little to temper its members’ vitriolic rhetoric. In response to the most recent violence in the Sinai, the group’s leadership released a statement demanding that the Israeli ambassador be expelled from Egypt and that the peace treaty between the two countries be renegotiated. Make no mistake, the Brotherhood’s goal is to fashion Egypt into a 21st-century Islamic society.

In neighboring Libya, the rebels, who can thank NATO for their victory, are poised to inherit Gaddafi’s regime. As in Egypt, signs are emerging that the democratic-loving rebels may abandon their principles once they take power. An alleged draft constitutional charter for Libya’s transitional government has surfaced on the Internet containing a clause stating that “Islam is the Religion of the State, and the principal source of legislation is Islamic Jurisprudence [Sharia].” While this alleged charter also contains many items familiar to Western democracies, we have yet to see Islamic law and democracy flourish side by side.

Despite these facts, President Obama has continued to put faith in the good intentions of the rebels. According to published reports, the Obama administration is looking to unfreeze about $37 billion in Libyan assets as a way to get funding to Libya’s Transitional National Council, which the U.S. has recognized as the legitimate authority in Libya. Given the U.S.’s past experience with nation-building, I am wary of any ongoing U.S. support.

In Yemen, opposition forces lit up the streets against President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who predictably resorted to the despot’s playbook and violently retaliated against his own people. In June, Saleh was wounded in an attack on his compound and fled to Saudi Arabia for treatment. The power vacuum created by his departure left Yemen in crisis. Although Saleh loyalists continue to hold on, al Qaeda is exploiting the political upheaval. According to an August 12, 2011 article in The New York Times, American officials believe that al Qaeda’s most direct threat to the United States comes from its Yemeni affiliate, which is “capitalizing on the virtual collapse of Yemen’s government to widen its area of control in the country, and is strengthening its operational ties to the Shabab, the Islamic militancy in Somalia, to exploit the chaos in both countries.”

The United States cannot be expected to provide substantial support to regimes whose motives are unknown. This is the dilemma facing President Obama. But instead of looking before he leaps, President Obama is leaping before he looks. The president has taken a number of other foreign policy risks, like stretching out his hand to known enemies of the United States, like Iran. Hopefully, he has learned from those mistakes and will be cautious in his engagement with these emerging governments.

Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) is a senior member on the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Setting The Record Straight On Jobs

Since the signing of the so called "Grand Bargain" Debt Ceiling Deal, the Administration has been very quick to rush to the rhetorical high ground as it relates to the burgeoning jobs crisis in the United States. The President, and like minded individuals within his party have joined in a bitter chorus, screaming that Republicans have done nothing to allay the proliferating unemployment crisis in the United States, choosing to doggedly focus on partisan bickering. At best these statements are counter-productive, serving as yet another partisan distraction in an environment already rife with problems. At their worst, these statements are stark examples of disingenuous slander, meant to provide an alibi for an Administration out of touch and asleep at the switch since January. The simple truth of the matter is that these malicious statements could not be further from the truth.

In the past seven months House Republicans have introduced five pieces of legislation that not only create jobs, but also have the potential to lower gas prices, and lessen our dependence on foreign oil by increasing our energy production here at home. H.R. 1230, "The Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act",  H.R. 1229, "The Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act", H.R. 1231, "Reversing your Offshore Moratorium Act", H.R. 2021, "The Jobs and Energy Permitting Act of 2011", and H.R. 1938, "The North American-Made Energy Security Act", all have the potential to accomplish these important goals. Regrettably, all of these important initiatives, which have successfully passed the House, became mired in gridlock once they reached the Senate.

Even though it appears that the Democrats find these legislative vehicles so unpalatable they likely will not entertain them with a vote in the Democrat controlled Senate, there are still actions that could be taken to get the United States moving towards a real recovery. Perhaps the most glaring examples are the U.S. Free Trade Agreements. If one simply goes by the numbers, the positive effects of bringing these agreements to fruition are clearly evident. Ninety-five percent of the world's consumers live somewhere other than the United States of America. This being the case, the more agreements that we have with other countries to open their markets to our goods, the more products the U.S. produces for export, the more jobs that will be created stateside to create the aforementioned products. A very simple equation that initially had broad bi-partisan support. The Administration, at least initially, championed the agreements with South Korea, Panama and Colombia specifically citing the potential for job growth and increased export of American goods as irrefutable boons to the U.S. economy. But, despite this wholehearted endorsement, the agreements are still sitting on the President's desk. Congress has now stood ready to act for months to put these agreements into practical action and reap the benefits of robust and healthy trade with our partners abroad.

What is most unfortunate, is that despite the rhetorical vitriol that is being allowed to frame the dynamic in Washington, we have still been able to enact positive change in Washington. Earlier this year, reaching across the aisle, Republicans and Democrats were able to repeal the burdensome 1099 tax provision from the President's health care law. This provision, deeply embedded within the voluminous 2,400 piece of legislation, potentially represented the proverbial straw that broke the backbone of our economy, small businesses. The expectation that, our country's small business owners, already embattled by a teetering economy, would file a tax form with the IRS and any vendor or contractor to which the business paid $600 or more for goods or equipment during the year was simply unrealistic. Together, we were able to identify the problem and address it, resulting in a definitive step forward for our country's job creators. In spirit and practice, this should serve as an ideal template for our dealings, but too often we fall short of this ideal. Just this past week, the Senate inexplicably sat on the House-passed Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization while government workers were furloughed for two weeks, just to unceremoniously pass the bill that the House had originally sent them in the first place at the last minute. I will not be so bold as to conjecture as to why that was the case, and what the rationale was for such action in certain circles, but I am confident this is a clear illustration of the greater problem.

When all is said and done and the pundits sign off,  the attendees at the campaign fundraisers and town hall meetings file out, the only people that are really hurt by the unproductive dialogue emanating from the Administration are the farmers and small business owners depending on all of  us to make decisions that will right this ship. Despite the protestations of the Administration, the President and his colleagues have been presented with a plethora of ideas to promote job growth in the U.S. These ideas, like them or dislike them, at least merit worthwhile consideration and debate which has thus far been notably absent from much our discourse. The bottom line is that we have reached a point economically where no one cares under whose watch these  jobs are created so long as it gets done. It is my firm belief that if engaged, House Republicans and their Senate colleagues would be ecstatic to discuss any plan emanating from Majority Leader Reid or the President that relates to job growth in the United States. Until that time, we must give merit to any plan on the table, if for no other reason than that is what the American people expect of us.

The Danger of Underestimating Obama

Disastrous policies are intentional steps on road to socialism

It is a cardinal mistake in any competition, be it sports or politics - and politics is a competition of ideas - to underestimate your opponent. All too often, underestimating your opponent leads to disaster. I believe that America, especially America's political class, is vastly underestimating President Obama; and if we continue to do so, it will be a disaster for America. Specifically, I am worried about the growing political story line that the Obama administration is "failing" because they are just inexperienced and the president is simply "in over his head."

It is true that Mr. Obama never held an executive position in his life prior to being elected to the presidency. It is true that Mr. Obama had only three years (2005-2008) in the U.S. Senate prior to going to the White House, and it is true that Mr. Obama had just seven years of experience (1997-2004) in the Illinois state Senate - where he cast more than 130 "present" votes rather than go on the record on contentious issues. However, we should be under no illusion that the president's lack of leadership experience means he is "in over his head" or that he does not know what he is doing.

Mr. Obama knows precisely what he is doing: He is changing America into his vision of a European-style socialist utopia where the government controls every aspect of our lives. Consider the facts, since taking office, Mr. Obama has taken control of the student loan industry, the health care industry, the banking and financial sectors, and he orchestrated the bankruptcy and reorganization of two-thirds of the American automotive industry, leaving his political allies in the labor movement in effective control of the companies and allowing the administration to dictate the industry's direction.

Although Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi could not strong-arm enough Democrats to pass legislation to allow the president to take control of our energy sector, the Obama administration's Environmental Protection Agency is aggressively rewriting and reinterpreting environmental regulations to accomplish the same end result: government control of energy.

The pattern is unmistakable: Every solution proposed by the Obama administration to every problem is more government control. That is the textbook definition of socialism: "Any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods" (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).

Putting aside the fact that socialism is absolutely incompatible with the philosophy that made America a world superpower - limited government, light regulations, low taxes and maximum labor-market flexibility - the problem with socialism, as Margaret Thatcher famously said, is "that you eventually run out of other people's money." If you don't believe this statement is true, how do you explain the sovereign debt crisis threatening to destroy the European Union?

While America's debt crisis cannot be laid entirely at the feet of Mr. Obama, the fact is that in pursuit of his socialist agenda, he has accelerated the crisis with his reckless spending. The federal budget deficit in 2008, the last year before Mr. Obama took office, was $458.6 billion. The projected deficit for 2011 is $1.5 trillion - 323 percent higher than the nation's deficit in the last year before President Obama took office. The president's budget request for fiscal 2012 would lead us to the highest-ever budget deficit, roughly $1.6 trillion.

It is not yet too late to save America from financial ruin nor is it too late to save the American way of life. But to confront these threats, we must confront reality and that means we must stop viewing the president's policies as the innocent missteps of a man who is "in over his head." The president is not in over his head; he knows precisely what he is doing: rushing America down the path toward socialism.

Burton Opposes Sham Deficit Reduction Deal

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Dan Burton (R-IN-05) issued the following statement after the House of Representatives' approved the deficit reduction deal negotiated with President Obama and Senate Democrats:

"Our nation has never defaulted in its history and we must take action to continue to meet our financial obligations.  However, in good conscience I could not support the deficit reduction package worked out this past weekend.  I have said repeatedly that Washington does not have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem and this bill does nothing to change the spending culture ingrained in Washington."

“First, A Balanced Budget Amendment is the ONLY way to finally force Washington to live within its means.  However, unlike the Cut, Cap and Balance Act or the Boehner proposal passed by the House of Representatives, the deficit reduction deal does not require a Balanced Budget Amendment be sent to the States for ratification before the President is granted a debt ceiling increase; it merely requires a vote on a Balanced Budget Amendment.  Passing a Balanced Budget Amendment requires a 2/3rds vote in the House and Senate and a majority of Democrats have already expressed opposition to a Balanced Budget Amendment, so obtaining the necessary votes without significant leverage - such as the threat of default - is highly unlikely;

“Second, the deficit reduction deal does not prevent future tax increases or reduce the size of government.   In fact, the deficit reduction deal assumes that all the Bush tax cuts expire in December 2012.  In other words the additional revenue is already built into the bill which would make it difficult if not impossible to meet the deficit reduction targets AND extend the Bush tax cuts beyond 2012.  In addition, the suggestion that it is impossible for the Joint Committee to raise additional tax revenue simply is not accurate, it's false;

“Third, the automatic spending cuts placed in the deal to force Congress to maintain fiscal discipline are unrealistic and unworkable.  Half of the proposed automatic cuts would come from defense programs which will undermine our ability to project power, strengthen our adversaries, and weaken our alliances.  Additional automatic cuts will come from Medicare providers; already underpaid by Medicare.  Historically Congress has rolled back any proposed cuts to Medicare providers and there is no reason to believe Congress won't do so again.  It is also unrealistic to believe Congress will allow substantial cuts to defense spending while our troops are engaged in three wars (Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya);

“Finally, the deficit reduction deal may be unconstitutional.  The deficit reduction deal allows the President to unilaterally raise the debt ceiling subject to a resolution of disapproval by the Congress (which the President can veto).  The debt limit is a statutory requirement and must therefore be changed by law.   ONLY Congress has the power to make law not the President; and Congress cannot, and most importantly should not, surrender this power to the president.

“The American people want a solution to this crisis, not a deal that allows Washington to kick the can down the road once again. Regrettably, the deficit reduction deal is not that solution.”

Rep. Burton Votes Against Harry Reid’s Blank Check to President Obama

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05) issued the following statement after voting against Senator Harry Reid’s debt ceiling proposal:

“The White House and Congressional Democrats have brought this country to the brink of fiscal collapse because they refuse to accept that Washington doesn't have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem.  No grand bargain was ever close, but in the last two weeks, the House has sent the Senate two bills that would have allowed for a debt ceiling increase, but without a needless increase in spending or higher taxes.  Additionally, earlier this year, the House sent the Senate a budget that could have avoided this whole mess.  Meanwhile, the President continues to offer no plan of his own and Harry Reid cobbled together a plan that even the Congressional Budget Office said was loaded with gimmicks and cuts to our fighting men and women overseas. 

“We are reaching the point of no return and while negotiations in Washington could lead to a deadline deal, Americans want a solution.  They want Washington’s out of control spending cut and capped, they don’t want to see their taxes increased and 75% of Americans favor a Balanced Budget Amendment; three basic principles in the House bills.  If every American family and business as well as 49 out of 50 states have to live within their means, then so should Washington.“

Rep. Burton Applauds House Passage of Cut, Cap and Balance

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05) issued the following statement after the House of Representatives approved H.R. 2560 the Cut, Cap and Balance Act of 2011:

“I have said it time and again; Washington doesn’t have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem. Today, the House has taken an important and critical step towards getting our economy back on track and our Nation’s fiscal House in order.  The House Republican Cut, Cap and Balance Plan immediately rolls back the Obama Administration's unprecedented spending spree; sets enforceable caps on spending going forward and clears the way for Congressional passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution which will prevent Washington from ever running up the national credit card again.

“While the House has proven that we are willing to take on the hard decisions that need to be made, this Administration seems far more interested in engaging in political theater. The President's threat to veto rather than embracing the pragmatic ideas of Cut, Cap and Balance continue this Administration's long-standing policy of putting politics above all else.”

HOUSE APPROVES BURTON AMENDMENT PROTECTING PROPERTY OWNERS

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the House of Representatives unanimously approved the Burton-Stark amendment to H.R. 1309, the Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2011, which requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency to properly notify homeowners of their rights when their homes are placed into a flood plain.

"In 2006, Congressman Stark (D-CA) and I both realized a problem exists in the redrawing of the floodplain maps across this country. FEMA is constantly updating the floodplain maps but the only way people who are in the affected areas know about it is through the legal notice section of the newspaper by reading the Federal Register.  At the time, there were about 300 or 400 people in my district that didn't know anything about this until after the fact when they received a letter from their insurance company indicating they had 45 days to buy insurance or else it would be added to their mortgage payment."

The Burton-Stark Amendment requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide written notification, by first class mail, to any property owner affected by a proposed change in flood elevations prior to the 90-day appeal period. Notification would include a clear explanation of the appeals process and contact information for the appropriate officials.
When a conservative from Indiana and a liberal from California can agree on anything, you know it's the right thing to do.

"With the passage of my amendment, we will ensure that the rights of private property owners are protected by ensuring that every American is adequately notified when the government makes floodplain changes. This is a big victory for Hoosiers and families across America who own property in regions that could potentially be affected by flooding."

Burton Votes to Support Defense of Marriage Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05) issued the following statement after passage of the Foxx-Burton Amendment barring funds from being used in contravention of the Defense of Marriage Act.  The Foxx-Burton Amendment was adopted as part of the Fiscal Year 2012 Department of Defense Appropriations Act. 

“With the repeal of the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy last year and President Obama's announcement earlier this year that the Justice Department would no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act, the House had to take definitive steps towards ensuring that current Federal laws concerning marriage are enforced to the letter.

“Earlier this year, the Department of the Navy released a memo directing that training for Navy chaplains be revised to accommodate same-sex marriages on military bases that are located in States where same-sex marriage is legal.  The Navy reversed its plans after the Secretary of Navy received a letter of protest from sixty-three Members of Congress requesting that he direct the services under his control to follow and defend Federal law.

“The passage of the Foxx-Burton Amendment resolves, once and for all, the conflicting messages coming from within the Department of Defense related to its enforcement of the Defense of Marriage Act.  This amendment also ensures that our defense dollars will not be used to implement policy changes that would be in direct conflict of the Defense of Marriage Act.  The Foxx-Burton Amendment reinforces provisions that were included in the Fiscal Year 2012 National Defense Authorization Act that passed the House of Representatives on May 26, 2011. 

“It is not the place for any Federal agency - including any branch of the armed services - to pick and choose which laws they choose to acknowledge and obey. No one is exempt from abiding by Federal law.  If Congress had failed to take a stand on this issue, we would almost certainly have seen more conflicting and confused protocols emerging in the Department of Defense as they relate to the enforcement of Defense of the Marriage Act, all with the complicit support of the Obama Administration.

“Let's keep our Department of Defense focused on the missions at hand.”

Burton Hails Presidential Policy Change on Condolence Letters

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05) issued the following statement after the White House formally changed the Presidential Policy against sending letters of condolence to the families of service personnel who die by suicide:

“In the summer of 2009, a twenty-five year old Hoosier Army Specialist on his second tour of duty in Iraq named Chancellor Keesling died by suicide in Baghdad.  While he received a full, military honor burial and his family received all kinds of letters of condolence from the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs and a three-star General, they did not receive any kind of a comment or letter of condolence from the President of the United States, Chancellor's Commander-in-Chief.  

“A Presidential letter of condolence is as much about respect for the military family; an acknowledgement by the Nation of their personal loss, as it is about the soldier.  And the lack of acknowledgment and condolence from the President only leaves military families with an emotional vacuum and a feeling that somehow their sacrifices have been less than others.   Whether a soldier, sailor, airmen or marine dies in combat, in a car accident, or because of suicide, nothing diminishes the personal sacrifices each family endured on our country's behalf, while their son or daughter, husband or wife, served in uniform.

“With this change in policy, families like the Keeslings can finally receive full acknowledgement for the sacrifice that they shared with their son in his service to our country and the United States will finally be honoring how these brave men and women chose to live, rather than attempting to disavow their passing.” 

Background:

CBS coverage from 07/05/11