Prior to the devastation caused by these catastrophic hurricanes, our nation was already experiencing record fuel costs.  In their relentless aftermath, our nation’s domestic energy production and distribution infrastructure suffered considerable damages causing already inflated gas prices to skyrocket even further. 

American families and farm families can expect to see natural gas prices soar by 48%.  The cost of natural gas this winter is expected to average above $12 per thousand cubic feet, double the cost of just one year ago.  Natural gas is the primary heating fuel for 55% of all households in the United States.  This 100% price increase will have a considerable and noticeable impact on all Americans, particularly the working poor, the elderly, the disabled, and industries that rely on natural gas for their livelihood.  I am concerned that energy costs and winter fuel prices will be an unbearable burden for Americans, such as our poultry producers, who rely heavily on natural gas to heat poultry houses during the cold winter months. 

I am pushing for increased funding for Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a federal grant program designed to assist low income families with their energy bills.  In the recently passed Energy Policy Act of 2005, $5.1 billion was authorized for each Fiscal Year 2005-2007 to assist those American families truly in need.  However, as natural gas prices are expected to almost double this winter season, this funding is simply not enough. 

The cost of natural gas prices is an issue of grave concern that will face this Congress and Americans all across the nation this winter.  American families are feeling their wallets tighten as they struggle to find the balance between soaring natural gas and fuel prices and everyday living expenses such as food, healthcare, and prescription drugs.  I am committed, as your Representative in the United States Congress, to working with my colleagues on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce to take the necessary action to provide much needed relief and assistance to the poor, the elderly, the disabled, and our farm families as the winter months descend upon us.  As always, I am steadfast in my commitment to voicing your needs and concerns in our nation's capital and will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to address these unprecedented energy costs. 

“Our nation’s debt has reached an $8 trillion dollar milestone.  If every single person in America wrote a check to pay off the national debt, including babies born today, each check would be written to the tune of $27,000,” said Ross. “It is hard to believe that we had a balanced budget from 1998 to 2001, because now this administration, this Republican Congress, has given us the largest budget deficit ever in our nation's history for a fifth year in a row.  This unprecedented and continually mounting debt is demonstrative of fiscal irresponsibility at its finest, and we absolutely must restore fiscal discipline and common sense to our nation’s government and its budget.”   

“Our nation spends about $500 million each day simply paying the interest on the national debt.  This same money could be invested in jobs, education, healthcare, and our road needs across Arkansas’s Fourth Congressional District,” Ross continued.  “As our national debt continues to climb, fewer opportunities will be available to cut taxes for our working families and fund programs important to our children and seniors.  American families strive each and every month to live on a balanced budget at home, and I don’t think it’s asking too much to hold the government to these same standards.” 

Earlier this year, Ross and the Blue Dog Coalition offered a ‘12-Step Plan’ that would cure our nation’s addiction to deficit spending that required, among other things, that all federal agencies pass clean audits, a balanced budget, and the setting aside of a rainy day fund to be used in the event of a natural disaster.
 

1.    Require a balanced budget.

·    Adopt a constitutional amendment to require a balanced budget every year except in times of war or national emergency.   

·    Require three-fifths vote of both the House and Senate to increase the debt limit or to waive the balanced budget requirement.  

·    A Budget Amendment protects Social Security from benefit cuts and forbids increases in Social Security payroll taxes in order to balance the budget.  

2.   Don’t let Congress buy on credit.

·    Irresponsible spending has caused the budget deficit to soar to a record $413 billion in 2004.  

·    Restore PAYGO (pay-as-you-go). 
 
 
 

3.        Put a lid on spending.

·    From 2001 to 2003, total government spending soared by 16 percent.  

·    Blue Dogs propose holding the line on discretionary spending for the next three fiscal years at 2.1%--the percentage increase proposed this year in the President’s fiscal 2006 budget.  

4.       Require agencies to put their fiscal houses in order.

·    GAO: 16 of 23 major federal agencies can’t issue a simple audit of their books.  The federal government can’t account for $24.5 billion it spent in 2003.

·    Blue Dogs propose a budget freeze for any federal agency that can’t properly balance its books.  
 

   Make Congress tell taxpayers how much they’re spending. 
Any bill calling for more than $50 million in new spending must be put to a roll call vote.     
 

      6.      Set aside a rainy-day fund.
 

     7.       Don’t hide votes to raise the debt limit.
 
 

• Current House rules allow for automatic increases in the debt limit if Congress passes a budget resolution that increases the public debt.  

9.       Ensure that Congress reads the bills it’s voting on.

Recently some of the largest spending bills in American history have been voted on after only a few hours of consideration.  Example: Medicare Bill.  
Blue Dogs propose that members of Congress should be given a minimum of three-days to have the final text of legislation made available to them before there is a vote.  

10.   Require honest cost estimates for every bill that Congress votes on. 

11.   Make sure new bills fit the budget.

Propose that the Budget Committee strengthen its oversight role by preparing budget compliance statements for every bill that is reported out of committee for consideration by the full Congress.   

12.   Make Congress do a better job of keeping tabs on government programs.

Propose that each committee be required to submit reports at least twice a year, available to the public, that provide an update on how each committee is fulfilling its oversight duties.  
In an effort to return fiscal responsibility to our nation's government, Ross is a leading co-sponsor of H.R. 903, the Fiscal Honesty and Accountability Act of 2005, legislation which would amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 and the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to extend the discretionary spending caps and the pay-as-you-go requirement.

“The Blue Dog ‘12-Step Plan’ sets forth sensible objectives such as supporting a constitutional amendment that would require a balanced budget every year, establishing "paygo" standards -- meaning any new spending must be paid for by cuts in other programs or by new revenues -- and justifying spending for pet projects,” said Ross. “Our budget plan has received tremendous praise from many non-partisan watchdog groups across the country, and I can only hope this focus will eventually have an impact on the way the majority in Congress chooses to address our nation's budget needs.”

Ross delivered the following comments on the United States House of Representatives floor: 

“Willie Vaughn spent most of his life giving back to this small town located near the Ashley and Chicot County line in southeast Arkansas, just a few miles north of Louisiana,” said Ross.  “I can think of no person more deserving of this prestigious honor than Willie Vaughn. Mr. Vaughn embodies the definition of ‘giving back to your community.  At 101 years of age, Mr. Vaughn has spent a lifetime, or one might say over a century, working to improve Parkdale through dedication to the CME Church, as a civil rights leader working to remove racial barriers, lending an ear to friends and family throughout the community, throughout southeast Arkansas, and, throughout America. He did so as a school bus driver, as a farmer, as a devoted husband and father. It is evident that Mr. Vaughn's commitment and dedication to his church, to civil justice, and to community service has made a lasting impact on the Parkdale community and its people.  

“Willie Vaughn has served as a role model to many young people who grew up in this small town of 377 people, people like Congressman Danny Davis (IL-07), who now resides in Chicago but grew up in Parkdale, who has gone on to do great things all across America because of the way their lives were shaped and influenced by Mr. Willie Vaughn.”  

“The Willie Vaughn Post Office will stand for decades and generations to come as a testament to Mr. Vaughn's life and the influence, the impact he has made on so many people from all across this great country that spent a little bit of time growing up in that southeast Arkansas community that we call the town of Parkdale.” 

Congressman Danny Davis (IL-07), a Parkdale, Arkansas native, also commented on the United States House of Representatives floor, “Uncle Dude never had much formal education. My cousin Cora said that he finished the second grade, and yet he has always been one of the smartest and wisest persons that I have ever known. He had what we call a degree in CSTA; that is, common sense, talent, and ambition.  Legend of Folklore has it that Willie as a little boy did not take kindly to farm work, did not practice it, and did not act as though he wanted to learn. Therefore, he was called “Dude,” and it stuck. However, Mr. Vaughn became self-taught and in many ways self-educated. He could do almost anything on and off the farm. He, like most of his peers, was a sharecropper, but he also owned the molasses mill and made syrup. He was a tailor and measured me for my first tailored suit, which another uncle of mine sent to me from St. Louis when I was graduating from elementary school, and, I might add, it was one of the few tailored suits that I have ever owned.” 

The naming of post offices in the U.S. House of Representatives requires unanimous support of a state’s congressional delegation before the bill can be considered in the Government Reform Committee. H.R. 3853 was introduced by Ross and co-sponsored by Congressmen Marion Berry (AR-01), Vic Snyder (AR-02), and John Boozman (AR-03).  Ross worked with the Parkdale city council to garner community support to name the local post office in honor of Willie Vaughn.