Simpson enjoys meeting with Idaho business owners, teachers, farmers, and workers throughout Idaho. He also realizes that he’s not able to visit every community during a district work period, so he has scheduled a number of telephone town hall meetings in the coming months.

“Telephone town halls are a great way to communicate with constituents,” said Simpson. “It gives me a chance to answer questions and learn more about issues that are important to people back at home.”

If you would like to participate in the next telephone town hall, scheduled for Tuesday, November 15, at 7:00 MST, please visit Congressman Simpson’s webpage, https://simpson.house.gov and click on the TELETOWNHALL button in the bottom right or click here to link directly.

Veterans’ Day, Honoring Those Who Have Served
By Congressman Mike Simpson
 “On this Veterans Day, I wish a warm welcome home to the soldiers of the Idaho Army National Guard 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team. These Idaho citizen soldiers served the past nine months in Iraq and returned home this fall. Idaho is proud of our men and women who serve our country honorably at home and abroad and of all the veterans who have served our nation.  Thank you for your great service to our nation.

“It is important to support measures to help our service members transition back into their daily lives and successfully enter the civilian workforce. We must all work together to ensure that they reacclimate to their roles in their families and communities, and we must help them move forward toward accomplishing their personal and professional goals.  

“Employment is critical for veterans transitioning back to civilian life. Unfortunately, the latest job figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that too many veterans are unemployed, and the overall veteran unemployment rate continues to rise faster than the national unemployment rate.  Nationally, about 1 million veterans are reported out of work, and the unemployment rate for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan is an alarming 11.7 percent. 

“We all know the current economic environment is very difficult, and I am doing all I can in Congress to stimulate job creation and reduce costly regulatory burden on Idaho’s job creators.  On this Veterans Day, I ask Idahoans to work to employ our nations’ veterans and their spouses.  I urge Idaho employers to reach out to veterans that are struggling to find work.  The people who have fought for and defended our nation deserve the opportunity to become your best employees.  Furthermore, I call on Idahoans to support veterans’ education, mentoring, and job-training programs at Idaho’s institutions of higher learning. 

“I believe that finding ways to help today’s veterans in need is a way to honor all generations of veterans.  We will never forget our previous generations of veterans, as we will never forget those that gave their lives in ultimate sacrifice.  Veterans have made tremendous sacrifices to preserve our way of life, and the American people are indebted to the men and women who have served our nation.  I will continue working in Congress to ensure that veterans programs receive adequate funding so that all our nation’s veterans receive the treatment and care they deserve. As always I appreciate your input and active involvement in this most worthy endeavor.”

Floor Schedule

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH
On Monday, the House will meet at 2:00 p.m. for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 p.m.

Legislation Considered Under Suspension of the Rules:
1) H.R. 1791 - To designate the United States courthouse under construction at 101 South United States Route 1 in Fort Pierce, Florida, as the "Alto Lee Adams, Sr., United States Courthouse” (Sponsored by Rep. Thomas Rooney / Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)
2) H.R. 588 - To redesignate the Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge as the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge (Sponsored by Sen. Gregg Harper /Natural Resources Committee)
3) H.R. 2079 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 10 Main Street in East Rockaway, New York, as the “John J. Cook Post Office” (Sponsored by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)
4) H.R. 3004 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 260 California Drive in Yountville, California, as the “Private First Class Alejandro R. Ruiz Post Office Building” (Sponsored by Rep. Mike Thompson / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)
5) S. 1412 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 462 Washington Street, Woburn, Massachusetts, as the “Officer John Maguire Post Office”(Sponsored by Sen. John Kerry / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)
6) H.R. 298 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 500 East Whitestone Boulevard in Cedar Park, Texas, as the “Army Specialist Matthew Troy Morris Post Office Building” (Sponsored by Rep. John Carter / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)
7) H.R. 2422 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 45 Bay Street, Suite 2, in Staten Island, New York, as the “Sergeant Angel Mendez Post Office" (Sponsored by Rep. Michael Grimm / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)
8) H.R. 2660 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 122 North Holderrieth Boulevard in Tomball, Texas, as the “Tomball Veterans Post Office” (Sponsored by Rep. Michael McCaul / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)
9) H.R. 2415 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 11 Dock Street in Pittston, Pennsylvania, as the “Trooper Joshua D. Miller Post Office Building" (Sponsored by Rep. Lou Barletta / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH, AND THE BALANCE OF THE WEEK
On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for morning hour and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business.

On Friday, the House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business. Last votes for the week are expected no later than 3:00 p.m.

Complete Consideration of H.R. 2838 - Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2011, as amended (Structured Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Frank LoBiondo / Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)

The rule provides for no further general debate and makes in order only the following remaining amendments:
Rep. Jeffrey Landry Amendment (10 minutes of debate)
Rep. Pedro Pierluisi Amendment (10 minutes of debate)

Senate Amendment to H.R. 674 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the imposition of 3 percent withholding on certain payments made to vendors by government entities, to modify the calculation of modified adjusted gross income for purposes of determining eligibility for certain healthcare-related programs, and for other purposes (Suspension, 40 Minutes of Debate) (Sponsored by Rep. Wally Herger / Ways and Means Committee)

H.R. 822- National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011 (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Cliff Stearns / Judiciary Committee)

H.J.Res. 2 - Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte / Judiciary Committee)

Conference Report on H.R. 2112 - the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012 (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Hal Rogers / Appropriations Committee)

In the Press

Deficit reduction requires cuts and new revenue
Is real reform within the ability of the supercommittee?
Wednesday, November 9, 2011, www.mysanantonio.com
“I have great respect for each of you individually, but collectively I'm worried that you're going to fail — fail the country,” former Bill Clinton chief of staff Erskine Bowles said last week to the 12-member joint congressional supercommittee tasked with cutting the federal deficit by some $1.2 trillion over 10 years.

The safe money in Washington is betting on failure. On Monday, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., predicted that the supercommittee will fail, and he blamed Republicans for a failure that has yet to occur. Apparently Schumer represents the branch of the Democratic Party that cares more about blaming the GOP than doing something about the deficit.

There are Democrats — and Republicans — who understand the high stakes involved. Last week, Reps. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., and Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, joined 98 other House members in a letter that urged the supercommittee to go big — to shave $4 trillion off the deficit. The letter noted that “all options for mandatory and discretionary spending and revenues must be on the table” — which Washington took as a green light for tax increases.

Now I don't understand why House members would push for a $4 trillion package when insiders think the $1.2 trillion plan won't fly. But I have to agree that, at the end of the day, serious deficit reduction will have to include both spending cuts and revenue increases — although better to put off serious revenue increases until the economic recovery is solid.

Note: Revenue increases aren't necessarily tax increases. Congress could raise revenue by eliminating tax breaks. As Simpson told Fox News, “Nobody is in favor of increasing tax rates. But we are in favor of increasing revenue.”

At a GOP debate last summer, all the GOP presidential candidates raised their hands when asked if they would reject a deficit-reduction package comprising $1 in tax increases for every $10 in spending cuts. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, was one of them.

So I was surprised to see that Paul signed the Shuler-Simpson letter. I called Paul's office to find out more. His office responded with a statement that said Paul “signed the letter because he believes the supercommittee needs to hear from both sides that cutting spending is gravely important. Revenues are part of that equation, and while Congressman Paul is not willing to raise taxes he is willing to consider any major tax reform proposals that could simplify the code and reduce compliance costs.” That works with Simpson's distinction.

According to news reports, the supercommittee is considering a deal to extend the Bush tax cuts, while raising revenue by eliminating tax loopholes. Why wouldn't one of six Democrats rush to embrace such a proposal? Maybe they don't want to compromise. Maybe they don't want to reform spending on entitlements.

Democrats have set up this fiction — that they can fix the deficit simply by going after waste and rich people — when they know that real reform requires big changes in Medicare and small (but real) changes in Social Security.

AARP has been running advocacy ads that warn Washington politicians, “before you even think about cutting my Medicare and Social Security benefits,” think about the 50 million seniors who vote. No compromise there, just 50 million reasons to fail.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Deficit-reduction-requires-cuts-and-new-revenue-2260766.php#ixzz1dhEZgood