E-Newsletter: From the Selkirks to the Owyhees, Canada to Nevada

Statement

Dear Friend,

From the Selkirks to the Owyhees, Canada to Nevada

The August Congressional work period reminds me how fortunate I am to represent one of the most beautiful and diverse districts in the United States. Driving along the Salmon River, I feel sorry for colleagues who return home to a homogenous landscape.

After meeting with hundreds of people who attended nine town halls from north to south, I came away with a renewed commitment to resume our important work when I return to Washington next week.

We began at Priest Lake, near Coolin. I'd never seen the northernmost of the 1st District's three big glacial lakes and it was well worth the wait.

Constituents who met with me at the Cavanaugh Bay Resort voiced their frustrations about matters of great concern to me: the squeeze the new health care law puts on the middle class; the regulatory burden hamstringing our natural resource industries; the false hopes given Central Americans streaming to our southern border; and the crippling impact of a $17 trillion national debt.

Those issues were top-of-mind at town halls in Bonners Ferry, Moscow, Lewiston, Cottonwood, Emmett, Cascade, Nampa, and Meridian. My travels also took me to the Post Falls Rotary Club and Orofino Chamber of Commerce, a meeting with firefighters who successfully battled the Big Cougar fire in Idaho County, and a tour of the Hewlett-Packard plant in Boise. I also was interviewed by journalists in Sandpoint, Bonners Ferry, Coeur d'Alene, Moscow and Lewiston.

Despite what can seem a gloomy forecast, I believe there is reason for hope as more and more Americans demand change.

In the next Congress, I will join hundreds of colleagues pressing to put us on the path to long-term solvency, including a flattening of tax rates and elimination of loopholes benefitting special interests. We will continue to press for a federal balanced budget amendment to ensure enduring fiscal discipline like that practiced by the Idaho Legislature.

I am privileged to serve hard-working people who care deeply about keeping their republic. August is the month when I recharge my batteries on the energy of an informed citizenry. My thanks to all my constituents -- agree or disagree with me -- who make the effort to engage in the hope for a stronger Idaho and a stronger America.

Source