Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) hosted his second “Telephone Town Hall” meeting last Thursday, speaking to nearly 10 thousand constituents to discuss issues and reveal details on his upcoming agenda on limited government.
“I believe the strength of this country comes from the ingenuity of the American people, not the overreach of the federal government,” Ratcliffe said. “The administration continues to tell Texans what they should and shouldn’t be doing without any consideration to the realities on the ground.”
To that end, Ratcliffe has introduced a number of recent measures that work to create transparency with government agencies and reduce the federal government’s role in the daily business activities of Americans. One Texas farmer participating in the call backed Ratcliffe’s initiatives, stating “we can’t operate at the speed of bureaucracy, we have to operate at the speed of business.”
The congressman’s most recent piece of legislation, the All Regulations are Transparent Act of 2015, was recently approved by the House Judiciary Committee. Ratcliffe has also presented an amendment to the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill that would shut down all funding for the Open World Leadership Center, a program that has wasted hundreds of millions of dollars with duplicative and unnecessary services. He also supports the continuing freeze on pay for members of Congress.
“With a national debt over $18.2 trillion, we must take a serious look at each and every program,” Ratcliffe said. “This specific program is duplicative in nature, and with nearly 90 identical programs spread out across other agencies, it’s simply no longer necessary. I’m pleased my amendment to eliminate it passed, and I will continue to fight for a more limited, less wasteful government.
“Many concerned constituents on the telephone town hall spoke specifically about how Washington continues to squeeze the middle class in Texas,” Ratcliffe said. “I say the only way to rein in the federal government is to reduce its size.”