Women who want to break through the “glass ceiling” may look askance at how the federal government keeps raising its own  ceiling ”“ the debt ceiling ”“ to allow room for more spending.
The debt ceiling ”“ and the entitlements U.S. House of Representatives”™ Nan Hayworth says is driving the federal budget to an unsustainable level ”“ keeps rising, but the programs that have driven up the expense continue unabated, said the freshman congresswoman.
She spoke to 200 business leaders from the Orange County Chamber of Commerce at the Falkirk Estate and Country Club in Central Valley June 21, telling listeners she would like to see government “right-sized” so Congress and the Senate can face challenges together.
One thorn in the side of Republicans, who control the vote in the House of Representatives, is the Patient Care and Affordable Care Act, which Hayworth said “has good goals, but I feel it has a negative net effect. I”™m sure most business can relate stories about your insurance premiums, if you are indeed able to afford to continue offering them to employees.”
One item she said both sides of the floor agreed on was eliminating the requirement that would make employers file 1099s for any business or service with which they do $600 or more a year in business with. “We are not going to make any business, large or small, an extension of the Internal Revenue Service.”
She chastised the passage of Dodd-Frank, saying it will have an adverse effect in a variety of ways. “It is tinged with pessimism. This 880-page law is going to be followed by thousands of pages of regulations which will affect small business, make it much harder and more costly ”“ approximately 30 percent more costly ”“ to meet its demands. … it will make capital harder to come by; in fact, it is driving working capital outside of the country.”
At the House Republican Conference held with President Obama recently, Hayworth said the president listened courteously to forthright comments, including  budget chairman Paul Ryan”™s “Path to Prosperity.” House Republicans reiterated their concern about the debt ceiling.
“As of now, the federal budget is $3.6 trillion and expects to take in $2.2 billion in revenue,” Hayworth said. “That leaves us with $1.4 trillion in overspending, which will not stop anytime soon, since 60 percent of the budget is made up of entitlement programs.” Changes to Medicare will be made for those ages 54 and younger and be converted to “premium support … the trust fund for Medicare is quickly running out. Many who receive it get four times more than what they actually paid into the program, as with Social Security. We need to plan carefully for our future so we are not handing down programs our younger generation will be unable to sustain.”
She supports nuclear energy with appropriate attention to safety, so as to lessen dependency on foreign oil, which she predicted the U.S. will need for the next two decades before it can sustain itself without it. “We need to develop a safe sensible energy portfolio that includes geothermal, biomass, wind and put it within reach of peoples”™ needs and cost … but because of the deficit, it is not possible to afford the massive funding needed for these initiatives.”
Hayworth encouraged her audience to get involved politically on the state and federal level, letting congressmen, senators and the President know what they”™d like to see done. “Regardless of your affiliation, you need to let your voice be heard.”
It’s a shame that she voted to do away with tax credits for small businesses that provide health benefits to their employees. And that she voted to re-open the Medicare donut hole.