Barton tackles spending at town hall

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Daily Sun photo/Raymond Linex II U.S.Rep. Joe Barton (R-Ennis) answers questions during a Town Hall meeting Tuesday in Kerens. It was Barton's third event of the day.
Daily Sun photo/Raymond Linex Ii Medicare and a balanced budget were the main topics of conversation Tuesday at a Kerens Town Hall meeting held by U.S. Rep. Joe Barton (R-Ennis).

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August 21, 2012

Barton tackles spending at town hall

Solid Kerens crowd turns out to hear Congressmen

By Raymond Linex II Corsicana Daily Sun The Corsicana Daily Sun Tue Aug 21, 2012, 09:59 PM CDT

KERENS — Joe Barton’s town hall meetings in Kerens always draw well, the Congressman said. The topics for discussion are likely the same select few, though.

Budgeting, Medicare, Social Security and GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney’s choice for a running mate were the topics discussed most at Tuesday evening’s meeting at the Kerens Ex-Student’s Association Building.

Barton’s unofficial theme?: The future is now.

A four-page handout awaited the almost three dozen people in attendance, and Page 1 dealt directly with Medicare. Page 2 tackled President Obama’s healthcare plan, Page 3 Social Security and the final page a glance at three different budgets: the Republican Study Committee’s, Obama’s and that submitted by Paul Ryan, Romney’s recent choice for his running mate in November.

Barton voted for the Study Committee’s proposal, but liked a number of elements in the Ryan submission, labeled “Path to Prosperity.” It cuts spending $5 trillion dollars compared to the president’s budget, Barton’s literature stated.

“It just didn’t cut enough,” Barton said.

The Republican Committee’s budget took spending back to 2008 fiscal year totals, balances by 2017 and repeals Obamacare, as does Ryan’s.

“Our No. 1 problem is we’re not controlling federal spending,” Barton said. “I support Medicare and Social Security, but we can’t spend what we don’t have forever.”

Barton related a story from his freshman year in Congress in 1985, when in a preliminary vote he was the only Republican ready to pass a Ronald Reagan plan to balance the budget in one year. Barton stuck to a campaign promise to fight for one, and eventually other GOP congressman joined him. It still failed, but his mission then remains the same today, he said.

Obama’s budget plan increases the deficit, Barton said, and under the Ryan it will take 26 years to balance the budget. Barton, 28-year veteran on Capitol Hill, said he’s not waiting that long.

“I want to balance the budget in four years, not in 10 years, not in 20 years,” he said.

Barton gave a glowing endorsement of Ryan, and told a story of how he had to call the Wisconsin congressman on a weekend, only to secure a cell phone number from his wife. When he reached Ryan, he asked him where he was. “I’m walking into a True Value store,” Ryan told Barton. “My wife gave me a list of honey-dos and I’ve got to get on them.”

Barton praised America, saying its the largest manufacturer in the world, producing more than any country in the world, and has the best workforce in the world, China included. He talked about reducing drilling restrictions in North Dakota, how he’d like to see a voucher system for veterans, and said he’d never vote for another debt ceiling increase. He fielded about a dozen questions.

He referenced his meeting in Mexia, where he was challenged because former Democratic Governor Ann Richards always balanced the budget. It drew a laugh in Kerens. Texas lawmakers are bound by the state constitution to do so.

Barton lauded Texas lawmakers last session who had to cut billions from its budget to balance it.

“They cut things you don’t cut, like education,” Barton said. “And they survived. We don’t do that in Washington. ...

“We can do it, and it won’t be that painful.”

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Barton tackles spending at town hall

Solid Kerens crowd turns out to hear Congressmen

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