Newsletter: Dave's Weekly Wrap - October 26, 2014

Statement

Friends,

Being back in Northeast Ohio and having the opportunity to visit with you has been a welcome change from the day-to-day power struggles of Washington. But with October coming to a close, I can't help but think about the work ahead of us when Congress recovenes in November.

Many of you know I went to Washington to fight for Northeast Ohio workers and families. When I arrived in D.C., Washington hadn't produced a budget in four years. There's still much more to do, but we finally forced Washington to sit down and put together a budget that reduced discretionary spending by $165 billion -- and I'm proud to have been part of that solution as a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

That was just the start. There are still countless areas of the federal government that need a strong dose of common sense. Consider these examples:
The average government processing time for an interstate natural gas pipeline is 558 days. These unnecessary delays continue to slow our nation's march toward energy independence.

Before Congress passed a water resources reform bill earlier this year, it could take 10 to 15 years for the Corps of Engineers just to complete a project feasibility study.

As of August 2014, people requesting hearings to review Social Security Administration decisions on benefits elligibility faced an average wait time of 7 to 22 months.

Nearly half of the Social Security Administration's scheduled continuing disability reviews for children with mental impairments are overdue, and an estimated 205,000 of those reviews are overdue by more than 3 years.
These are only a few of the many, many places our government is not being accountable to those it is supposed to serve. It's time to put a stop to inefficiency and incompetence in government in order to restore the people's trust and do what's best for our nation.Friends,

Being back in Northeast Ohio and having the opportunity to visit with you has been a welcome change from the day-to-day power struggles of Washington. But with October coming to a close, I can't help but think about the work ahead of us when Congress recovenes in November.

Many of you know I went to Washington to fight for Northeast Ohio workers and families. When I arrived in D.C., Washington hadn't produced a budget in four years. There's still much more to do, but we finally forced Washington to sit down and put together a budget that reduced discretionary spending by $165 billion -- and I'm proud to have been part of that solution as a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

That was just the start. There are still countless areas of the federal government that need a strong dose of common sense. Consider these examples:
The average government processing time for an interstate natural gas pipeline is 558 days. These unnecessary delays continue to slow our nation's march toward energy independence.

Before Congress passed a water resources reform bill earlier this year, it could take 10 to 15 years for the Corps of Engineers just to complete a project feasibility study.

As of August 2014, people requesting hearings to review Social Security Administration decisions on benefits elligibility faced an average wait time of 7 to 22 months.

Nearly half of the Social Security Administration's scheduled continuing disability reviews for children with mental impairments are overdue, and an estimated 205,000 of those reviews are overdue by more than 3 years.
These are only a few of the many, many places our government is not being accountable to those it is supposed to serve. It's time to put a stop to inefficiency and incompetence in government in order to restore the people's trust and do what's best for our nation.

I remain committed to doing all I can to make our government functional, bringing stability and greater opportunity to Northeast Ohio.

Below I've included photos from a few of my recent travels around the district. Thank you for the honor of serving you.

-Dave

I remain committed to doing all I can to make our government functional, bringing stability and greater opportunity to Northeast Ohio.

Below I've included photos from a few of my recent travels around the district. Thank you for the honor of serving you.

-Dave

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