Dear Neighbor:

I have been deeply unhappy with Republican leadership's inability to block the destructive policies of President Barack Obama. When John Boehner resigned as Speaker, he stepped aside to make room for a new leader that could unify Republicans and stand firm for the conservative values this nation needs. He knew that he needed to do the right thing for the country and now we have the opportunity for a new beginning in Congress.

As soon as Speaker Boehner made his announcement, I began to hold a series of meetings with neighborhood leaders and activists from all over District 7 to be sure we were on the same page in our search for a new Speaker.  I confirmed that we were looking for a fearless, principled and articulate conservative leader who did not want the job and would have to be drafted to do it for the good of the country. It is urgent that we have a new Speaker who will block President Obama's destructive policies as successfully as Speaker Nancy Pelosi blocked President George W. Bush. Our new Speaker and our Republican majority in the House must act boldly, aggressively and quickly to preserve the America we know and love.

Therefore, today I joined all but one of my Texas Republican colleagues in voting to elect Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as the Republican nominee for Speaker of the House. Congressman Ryan has a long history as a principled free market fiscal conservative.   He has vowed to rescue our social safety net programs from bankruptcy which is the only way to balance our budget and turn around our growing national debt.  He has also repeatedly promised to do whatever it takes to secure our borders and enforce our immigration laws.  

Equally important, Congressman Ryan has promised that there will be no more last-minute agreements right before critical deadlines, and he has used this current budget agreement as Exhibit A of what will not happen again on his watch. He has assured us we will begin planning for big deadlines in advance so we can prepare thoughtful conservative solutions that the country has time to understand before we vote on them.

The Treasury Department has told world markets that next Tuesday the United States will no longer be able to finance our debt.  I have no problem shutting down the government if it would truly enable us to stop President Obama's destructive policies, but we cannot allow America to default on our debt.  A debt default would do immense long-term damage to our economy and drive interest rates up dramatically.  This could easily trigger a deep world-wide recession.  Debt defaults are completely different from shutting down the government.

I share Congressman Ryan's unhappiness with the last minute appearance of this two-year budget agreement, and I share his belief that the looming debt default leaves us no other option but to pass it with the assurance that he will never let this happen again.  But there is good news with this budget agreement.  For the sixth year in a row, House Republicans reduced annual spending, resulting in a total savings of $175 billion over the six year period.

Detailed spending bills are the only way to truly rein in and actually stop President Obama since he has proven he will ignore the Constitution, the law, public opinion, court orders, subpoenas, and congressional hearings. The only way to pass detailed spending bills this year and next is by passing this budget agreement. For example, I was able to use the detailed 2015 spending bill we passed in December to stop President Obama's attempt to ban .223 ammunition.

It is also very important that this budget agreement reforms the Social Security Disability Insurance program for the first time since 1983.  The agreement saves the program from insolvency next year, and astonishingly, the Democrats even agreed to let us include a requirement that qualified doctors must confirm that applicants are truly disabled.  This will eliminate vast amounts of fraud.  The agreement also protects over 8 million Medicare recipients from an immediate 54% premium increase later this year.  

President Obama has been systematically dismantling our military and withdrawing American power in the most dangerous parts of the world.  This agreement gives our troops essential peace of mind with the assurance they will be paid on time, and they will have all the state-of-the art equipment they need to do their job and protect us around the world.  

The increase we won in defense funding is a vitally important victory for American security.  President Obama has all but abandoned our best friend on Earth, the state of Israel. He has given our mutual mortal enemy, Iran, nearly $150 billion and access to nuclear weapons, and enabled ISIS terrorists to run rampant across the Middle East.  This budget agreement gives our men and women in uniform the tools they need to fight these threats and protect our interests around the world for the first time in a long time.

Finally, every dollar of spending increases for military and domestic programs in this agreement is fully paid for with $79.9 billion in cuts and offsets with no tax increases. Therefore, this budget agreement does not increase the deficit as you can see in the analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office here.
 
I am confident that Congressman Ryan will keep his word to the country and to the House majority to stay true to our core conservative principles. He will ensure that the House passes important legislation long before critical deadlines are upon us.  Congressman Ryan will be an articulate, charismatic and unifying leader for conservatives in Congress and across the country.  It is absolutely essential that we stop shooting at one another as conservatives and we unify to stop President Obama and force the Senate majority to act like a majority so we can truly protect the America we know and love.  

Sincerely,

John Culberson