[nfb-talk] [Nfbmd] {Disarmed} Fw: Avoiding the Fiscal Cliff and Sequestration

Sat Dec 22 04:49:43 UTC 2012

Ken,

                Thank you for starting the discussion we have been having on
the NFB Talk list regarding the fiscal cliff issue and how it will effect us
as blind people. However, I'm afraid that you are getting the wrong
impression from these emails from Senator Mikulski and other legislators you
are contacting.

After reading these notes they purport to have written to you in response to
your correspondence, it looks to me as though they are nothing but form
emails which are sent to anybody who writes to the Senator or Congressman
regarding the fiscal cliff. Granted, I haven't seen your original notes to
Senator Mikulski, so I can't tell you whether the generality of their
responses is a result of the generality of your original notes. However,
what I'm reading suggests that, although it is addressed to you, the
substance of Senator Mikulski's email letter is prewritten and sent out as a
form email.

Please don't misunderstand me here. I am not in any way trying to discourage
you from contacting your legislators; quite the contrary. After all,
advocacy is one of the most important things we in the Federation do. I am
just pointing out that these emails you are sending with your comments at
the beginning saying that you got a response from Senator Mikulski might not
be what they are presumed to be. I hope she did respond to you directly, but
I wouldn't count on it. This email you forwarded to us is probably just
another form email her office automatically sends out. Maybe I'm reading
between the lines too much here, but I just want to point that out before we
think we're engaging in direct correspondence with a Senator. <Smile!> I
hope I'm making sense and that this doesn't offend you in any way. Merry
Christmas to you, to Carol, and to your entire family!

Chris Nusbaum

From: Nfbmd [mailto:nfbmd-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kenneth Chrane
Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2012 10:12 PM
To: NFB Talk Mailing List; NFB of Maryland e-mail list
Cc: Blind_Democrats at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Nfbmd] {Disarmed} Fw: Avoiding the Fiscal Cliff and Sequestratio

----- Original Message ----- 

From: senator at mikulski.senate.gov 

To: kenneth.chrane at verizon.net 

Sent: Wednesday, December 19, 2012 8:40 AM

Subject: Avoiding the Fiscal Cliff and Sequestration

 <http://mikulski.senate.gov> Image removed by sender.

Dear Mr. Chrane: 

Thank you for contacting me about the fiscal cliff and the federal deficit.
It's good to hear from you.  

Americans need to have a government on their side that is capable of solving
tough problems.  That's why Congress must act now to avoid the devastating
impact of the fiscal cliff and across-the-board cuts known as sequester.
Without swift action to avoid the fiscal cliff, millions of Americans would
see their taxes go up and face spending cuts that could bring our nation
back into recession.  The longer we delay the more damage we do to ourselves
and the economy.  

My principles for avoiding the fiscal cliff are simple.  We must have a
combination of spending cuts and new revenue to reduce our debt and still
grow the economy.  We must also protect the social contract between the
American people and their government.  Medicare and Medicaid need to be
reformed and refreshed not gutted or block-granted.  

I believe there are ways to achieve the savings required to avoid the fiscal
cliff in a balanced and thoughtful way.  We can start by letting the 2001
and 2003 tax cuts expire for households making more than $250,000 per year.
This could save an estimated $700 billion over 10 years.  We can also make
thoughtful and balanced cuts to spending - both military and domestic - that
will begin to reduce our deficit.  That's why I supported the Budget Control
Act passed by Congress in 2011 that would require $900 billion in cuts over
10 years.  

What we can't do, however, is use across-the-board spending cuts to get us
to a balanced budget.  It would unfairly harm middle-class families and do
nothing to raise the additional revenue needed to reduce the deficit.  In
Maryland alone, this could result in the loss of tens of thousands of jobs
and $3.1 billion to our state economy.  

I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to prevent the fiscal
cliff and make thoughtful and balanced changes to our spending policy to
reduce our national debt.   

Thanks again for getting in touch with me.  Knowing of your views is very
important to me.  Please let me know if I can be of any assistance to you in
the future. 

Sincerely, 
Barbara A. Mikulski
United States Senator 

Please do not respond directly to this e-mail. The originating e-mail
account is not monitored.
If you would like to get in touch with me again, please visit the comments
page of my website here
<http://mikulski.senate.gov/contact/shareyouropinion.cfm> .
If you would like to get regular updates, please sign up for my E-Newsletter
here <http://mikulski.senate.gov/media/enewsletter.cfm> .
Please follow me on Twitter and Facebook.
 <http://www.facebook.com/senatormikulski> Image removed by sender.
<http://twitter.com/senatorbarb> Image removed by sender.  

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