Renacci talks balancing budget, spending cuts, jobs

By KATIE SAXON
Wadsworth Post editor

Wadsworth native and U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci spoke for a little more than an hour about his first seven months in Congress, his recent vote on the debt ceiling crisis and his future goals this year during the Sept. 1 Wadsworth 9.12 meeting.

Renacci opened the town hall type meeting by giving an overview of his experience as a "freshman" Congressman noting the size and scope of the government, including the House of Representatives.

"There are approximately 100 people here. Now multiply that by four and that’s how many different opinions you’re dealing with in the House," Renacci said.
Also, what many citizens do not realize, he said, is that the House functions as one-half of one-third of the federal government and that the Senate and President’s support is needed to approve legislation. He said many constituents have asked him, "What have you done so far?"

"In the last seven months, there have been 688 pieces of legislation that I’ve had to vote yes or no on and very few of those (pieces of legislation) have been taken up by the Senate and that’s part of the problem," Renacci said.

In order to better understand his fellow colleagues, Renacci and other representatives have developed a small bipartisan round table group that meets every few weeks to discuss current legislation.

He also said that he communicates frequently with his constituents in order to gauge public opinion encouraging those in attendance to contact him with questions or concerns.

Also during the meeting, the congressman highlighted some of the recent Congressional activities, including the recent debt ceiling vote.

The congressman said that some constituents have questioned him as to why he voted in favor of the recent legislation to extend the debt ceiling. He said that while he believes that the government needs to cut spending, he could not justify sending the government into default.

Renacci said that banks across the country began requesting more cash from the Federal Reserve in the days leading up to the vote, as people began withdrawing their checking and savings accounts, as well as other investment funds. In addition, he and other Congressional representatives also looked at the federal government’s expected daily revenue and expenses in the days following the vote deadline. Each of the expected daily expenses, which included Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid payments, as well as defense and military funding, exceeded the expected income.

"By day three we were estimating that we wouldn’t be able to pay our military," Renacci said.

While he did vote to extend the debt ceiling, he said that the House is also working on another piece of legislation that would address the national debt and reduce spending by more than the amount that the debt ceiling was raised. He also said that it would establish spending caps to restrain future spending and advance the cause of the Balanced Budget Amendment, which would require the federal government to pass a balanced budget each year, all without raising taxes.

Moving forward, the congressman said the he plans to focus on tax reform, passing the Balanced Budget Amendment, restoring oversight and pulling back on government regulations that hinder job growth.

Following his presentation, Renacci took questions from those in the audience. Questions and comments varied, covering several topics including: taxing the wealthy, reducing foreign government aid and creating more accountability for government agencies and programs.

Renacci said that he did not support increasing the income tax rate for the wealthy and that even if the government doubled the income tax rate for the wealthy, it would not cover the federal deficit. Instead, he said that he believes all Americans should be taxed less and able to hold onto more of their income, which they could then reinvest in the economy.

Another audience member noted that when he is unable to pay his personal bills, he often reduces gifting or charity donations. He asked why the U.S. would continue giving aid to other countries, including several that do not like or support America, when the country is having its own financial trouble. Renacci said that he believes that foreign aid is one part of the total budget that should be addressed when determining how to reduce government spending.

Finally, another audience member asked why it seemed like there is no accountability in government and how the country could prevent fraud and corruption in government programs. Renacci said that they restored oversight hearings after a four-year drought and that constituents should contact their representatives with concerns. In addition, he noted the need for reform in several government programs, including Medicare, Medicaid and unemployment benefits, in order to prevent fraud.

He also said that if residents were unhappy with an elected official’s performance, then they have the right to vote him or her out of office.
Following the meeting, Renacci remained on hand to answer questions and to speak to residents. He said that he plans to circulate throughout the district and hopes to host one town hall meeting each month.