Blog: The Webster Wire: Neither Your Zip Code Nor Your Circumstances Should Determine Whether Your Student Has Access to a Good Education

Statement

Dear Friend,

On Monday, I visited Nancy McDonald, owner of N.G.M. Productions, Inc., and her husband David at their nursery in Mount Dora. In addition to owning and operating her own business, Nancy is a remarkable source of knowledge about Florida's horticulture industry. I appreciated her unique perspective and insight based on first-hand experience of the challenges facing entrepreneurs who invest in Central Florida.

On Wednesday, I received the "Bejamin Franklin Award" from the 60 Plus Association, a seven million member non-partisan senior's organization. This award was in recognition of my firm stance against the Death Tax. Throughout their working lives, Americans pay our various levels of government income taxes, gas taxes, payroll taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, business taxes and many, many other types of taxes. Death should not be a taxable event. It is a harmful form of double taxation and that's why I cosponsored the repeal of the Death Tax.

In Africa, resource development, minerals and metals mining and energy production all carry the potential to accelerate economic development, to build civil societies and to raise standards of living. Yet too often, communities in African countries are exploited by their own governments and ineffectual or corrupt institutions mismanage the resources of the people.
Some refer to it as the "resources curse," and it was the topic of my discussion with Anquan Boldin, former Florida State University football player, current San Francisco 49ers wide receiver and Oxfam Ambassador. I hosted Mr. Boldin and his wife Dionne ahead of his testimony before a House Committee on Foreign Affairs subcommittee to discuss his work with Oxfam America to help Africans avoid the resource trap and crack down on corruption and human rights abuses.

Your servant,
Daniel Webster
Member of Congress

Constituent Corner:

A constituent contacted my office regarding her passport renewal application. After submitting her application, her travel dates were moved up and she was concerned she would not receive her passport in time. We inquired on her behalf with the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs and were able to expedite her application in time for her trip. If you ever need assistance cutting through the red tape at a federal agency, contact my office at one of the numbers below. We are here to serve you.

Share Your View:

Despite the authors' best intentions, the outdated No Child Left Behind Act is failing students. It's top down, Washington-knows-best, one-size-fits-all approach to education takes education dollars and decision-making away from those who know students best -- parents and teachers.

Do you support replacing No Child Left Behind with education reforms that reduce the federal intrusion into the nation's classrooms, let our teachers do their jobs, and give parents more choices?

Response to last week's survey question; "Now that President Obama has given big businesses an exemption from Obamacare's mandates, should individuals and families receive one as well?" No -- 21% Yes -- 77%

Legislative Update:

Given the overwhelming response to last week's question, I am pleased that I supported and the House approved the Fairness for American Families Act (H.R. 2668) and the Authority for Mandate Delay Act (H.R. 2667). Combined, these initiatives give families, small businesses and individuals the same temporary protection from Obamacare as President Obama extended to big businesses.

The employer mandate placed a stumbling block in front of businesses that want to expand, hire or just maintain existing employees. The President's decision to delay this portion of his own bill demonstrates that even acknowledges what Americans have warned from the start: Obamacare is unworkable, unaffordable and harms our economy.

The Obama Administration listened to big businesses. Now it is time to listen to individuals, small businesses and families, and urge Senate Democrats to act on these common sense House-passed measures.

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