Accountability
Congress should lead by example to reduce federal spending and the national debt. Since 2010, Congress has passed legislation to freeze the pay of legislators. Members of Congress and their staff are also required to participate in the health care exchanges set up by the Affordable Care Act.
Likewise, Congress should continue to exercise its oversight authority of the Executive Branch. I believe Congress must work to rein in expansion of Administrative power and uphold the legislative responsibilities given to Congress by the Constitution.
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I consider it an honor to serve and believe it is an important responsibility to listen to my constituents. That is why I will continue to meet with constituents throughout the district in a variety of formats. Since taking office I have held countless small group and one-on-one meetings, as well as 26 listening sessions.
While I have been available to meet with and listen to my constituents at events in all 15 counties, many have requested a large district-wide listening session.
Today, Congressman John Moolenaar (R-Midland) was named to the House Appropriations Committee.
He is the first member from Michigan to be a member of the committee since 2011 and the first Michigan Republican to serve on the committee since 2009.
The Appropriations Committee and its twelve subcommittees are responsible for writing the twelve funding bills that formally set the spending levels for every department, agency and program in the federal budget.
This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to crack down on texting scams. Laws that prohibit scam artists from spoofing telephone numbers on telephone calls are already on the books.
The legislation passed this week makes it a crime to spoof telephone numbers on text messages.
Congressman John Moolenaar (R-Midland) voted for the legislation.