We continue our Member of the Week segment with a questionnaire with the Congressman. We want you to know the most conservative members of Congress on both a professional and personal level because it's important to see them as real people, not just politicians. Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) answers 5 questions, some policy oriented and some personal:
Heritage Action: What aspect of government (i.e., program, department, agency) do you want to reform the most? What legislation are you currently pushing or working on to achieve that reform?
Rep. Huelskamp: Our tax system is a mess. If the President and Members of Congress had to prepare their own taxes, it would not be this complicated. We need a system that is fairer, flatter, and less complex. What should worry Americans the most right now is that without any change in law, massive tax increases are right around the corner. At the end of this year, the Bush-Obama tax cuts will expire, and everyone who pays income taxes will be subject to higher rates. Capital gains taxes will go up. The death tax will jump to 55%. And, a year later in 2014, all of the ObamaCare taxes go into effect. This coming storm will doom any shot our economy has of recovering.
I have introduced the American Opportunity and Freedom Act which, among other things, will make permanent the Bush-Obama income tax rates and other tax credits associated with the 2001 and 2003 cuts (and the 2010 extension of them). At a time when our economy is teetering between success and fail, the last thing we need is to take more money out of the pockets of American families trying to get by. The federal government has proven an unfit steward of taxpayer dollars; Washington needs less, not more.
HA: What's a piece of smaller legislation, or nominee, that is currently on the agenda but flying under the radar that you feel conservatives should be concerned about?
Rep. Huelskamp: Throughout the past 16 months my colleagues and I have been drawing attention to the Obama Administration's regulatory assault on business. One regulation that has really caught my attention and that should concern conservatives is the proposal from the Department of Labor to essentially prohibit children from working on American farms and ranches.
This regulation is a direct assault on family and the rights of parents and families - not some distant bureaucrats - to know what is best for their children. This regulation, if implemented, will jeopardize the future of the family farm, which is the backbone of rural America. And, above all else, this regulation is just one more example of Washington inserting itself into the affairs of families and businesses simply trying to provide for themselves and trying to leave things a little better for the next generation.
HA: What do you enjoy the most and the least about being a Member of Congress?
Rep. Huelskamp: Enjoy the most: It is an unbelievable opportunity that a farm kid from a small town of 500 can be elected in America to represent nearly 700,000 Kansans in Congress.
Enjoy the least: Being away from family, having to travel.
HA: What is your favorite thing to do when you are not in Washington?
Rep. Huelskamp: I enjoy being on the farm with my family, playing with and watching our four children in sports.
HA: What do you miss most about being a kid?
Rep. Huelskamp: As a kid, I did not have to worry about what happens in Washington. Children today do not have that luxury; the federal government has already taken out $50,000 for every man, woman, and child living today. Our youngsters will have to bear the consequences of today's politicians being unwilling to step up to the plate and put an end to the reckless spending and borrowing.