Dennis A. Ross
15th District, Florida

Committee on Financial Services

Subcommittee on Capital Markets & Government Sponsored Enterprises

Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations

Congress of the United States, House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515
Washington, DC
229 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-1252
Fax: (202) 225-0585

Lakeland
170 Fitzgerald Road, Suite 1
Lakeland, FL 33813
Phone: (863) 644-8215
Fax: (863) 648-0748

http://dennisross.house.gov
April 24, 2013
Mr. Gordon Wayne Watts
821 Alicia Rd
Lakeland, FL 33801-2113

Dear Mr. Watts:

Thank you for contacting my office regarding the federal budget and spending.  I appreciate that you took the time to express your views on this important matter and am happy to respond.

Government spending has increased dramatically over the past decade, and Congress must consider bold and concrete solutions to balance the federal budget and restore fiscal sanity.  As a small business owner, I have had to make a payroll, balance my budget, and reduce spending during difficult economic times.  Congress should take the same care and caution.  If not, the current level of government spending will lead to grave consequences for the American economy.  

For these reasons, I voted against the fiscal cliff Senate amendment to H.R. 8, the American Taxpayer Relief Act.  As an alternative, I introduced H.R. 243, the Bowles-Simpson plan of Lowering America's Debt (BOLD) Act, and H.R. 239 the Zero-based budgeting Ensures Responsible Oversight (ZERO) Act.  The combined bills will reform America's tax code and require justified budgeting by Agencies and Departments.  The bills have been referred to the Committees on Ways and Means and Budget, respectively, and I am busy working on gaining support to bring them to the House floor for a vote.  I am hopeful that in the coming months of the 113th Congress, we can do what is right by Floridians and reform both our tax code and the way that Washington spends the hard-earned money of Florida Taxpayers.  

It is an honor and a privilege to represent constituents like you of the 15th District of Florida.  To learn more on how I may serve you, please visit http://dennisross.house.gov.  Please feel free to continue to contact me in the future.
Sincerely,
(signed)
Dennis A. Ross
Member of Congress
DR/GP