September 6, 2012

"Hi, I'm Robert Hurt. Thank you for tuning in to our Monthly Video address as I give an update from Chatham as to the work that we've been doing this past month. If you would like to get more frequent updates, I encourage you to stay connected to our office by signing up for our e-newsletter at hurt.house.gov. "Meeting with the people that I represent is very important to me. This August, I have spent time traveling around the 5th District in order to meet with Central and Southside Virginians in their hometowns and listen to their concerns. "With unemployment rates on the rise last month, the price of gasoline on an upward trend, and new data citing that small business owners' top concern is the uncertainty caused by the federal government, constituents across our district have continued to share their concerns with the failed policies that they see coming out of Washington. "These big government, failed policies have lead us to the fourth straight year of trillion dollar deficits. At a time when our nation holds nearly $16 trillion dollars of debt, this trend is simply unacceptable and unsustainable. "The House of Representatives has worked to adopt policies to put an end to this reckless spending culture in Washington, but the Senate and the President refuse to work with us. Since January 2011, we have sent dozens of pieces of legislation over that will reform our broken budgeting process and rein in the expanding federal government, cutting trillions in wasteful spending. "Washington has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. Yet, instead of addressing the issue of reckless deficit spending, the Senate has opted for the path of adding more fuel to the fire. Recently, the Senate voted to raise taxes on the American people in order to sustain the federal government's reckless spending spree. Studies have shown these tax hikes could cost this nation over 700,000 jobs, and recently the Congressional Budget Office noted that the President and Senate's tax hikes, when coupled with arbitrary spending cuts set to take place at the year's end, would plunge us into a deep recession at a time when we can least afford it. "This country needs the recovery that the President promised four years ago. We do not need more federal spending for a growing federal government, and we certainly do not need tax hikes that would harm small businesses and families across the 5th District and the country. "Instead, we need the President and the Senate to work with us in the House as we continue our work to rein in the size and scope of the federal government, and put our nation on the path to fiscal sustainability. We must return to our founding principles of limited government and unlimited opportunity, for the future of this country and for the sake of our children and our grandchildren. "Your feedback is very important to us and hearing from you allows me to serve you better. Please feel free to contact our Charlottesville, Danville, Farmville, and Washington offices -- and you can do so by visiting our website at hurt.house.gov. Thank you."