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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Letter From Elijah Cummings:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Ken Chrane</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=md07ima@mail.house.gov href="mailto:md07ima@mail.house.gov">Congressman
Elijah Cummings</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=kenneth.chrane@verizon.net
href="mailto:kenneth.chrane@verizon.net">kenneth.chrane@verizon.net</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, February 08, 2012 11:44 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Re: Website Contact Form Submission From Kenneth
Chrane</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<CENTER><IMG src="http://house.gov/cummings/images/cummings.jpg"></CENTER>
<DIV align=center>
<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=700>
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<TD align=left><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=Normal-P><SPAN class=Normal-H><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">February 8,
2012</SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P class=Normal-P><SPAN class=Normal-H><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt"></SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P class=Normal-P><SPAN class=Normal-H><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt"></SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P class=Normal-P><SPAN class=Normal-H><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Mr. Kenneth
Chrane</SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P class=Normal-P><SPAN class=Normal-H><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">6839 Parsons
Avenue</SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P class=Normal-P><SPAN class=Normal-H><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Gwynn Oak,
Maryland 21207</SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P class=Normal-P><SPAN class=Normal-H><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P class=Normal-P><SPAN class=Normal-H><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P class=Normal-P><SPAN class=Normal-H><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Dear </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Mr.
Chrane</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">:</SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P class=Normal-P><SPAN class=Normal-H><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"
class=normal-p-P><SPAN class=normal-p-H><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"
class=normal-h1-H>Thank you very much for your correspondence regarding
Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. I appreciate hearing from
my constituents on issues pending before the Congress. </SPAN></SPAN>
</P>
<P style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"
class=normal-p-P><SPAN class=normal-p-H><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"
class=normal-h1-H></SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"
class=normal-p-P><SPAN class=normal-p-H><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"
class=normal-h1-H>According to the Congressional Research Service, the
annual budget deficit in each of 2009 and 2010 was more than $1 trillion
(9 percent of Gross Domestic Product), and the budget deficit is projected
to be at least that large in 2011. Such deficits and the debt to
which they are contributing are unsustainable. For that
reason, I believe that we must make significant cuts to our budget but
these cuts must be made with the precision of a heart surgeon, and they
must not threaten our ability to remain competitive as a nation. As
such, I believe that we must prioritize expenditures made to support the
education of our children, to maintain and expand our infrastructure, and
to conduct the research and development that have enabled us to be the
world's leading innovator. </SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"
class=normal-p-P><SPAN class=normal-p-H><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"
class=normal-h1-H></SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"
class=normal-p-P><SPAN class=normal-p-H><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"
class=normal-h1-H>Further, as we continue to consider how we will reduce
the national debt, I believe that almost all aspects of the budget must be
considered for cuts. That said</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"
class=normal-h1-H>,</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt" class=normal-h1-H>
I also believe we have made obligations in the form of Social Security,
Medicare, and Medicaid that are inviolable. Social Security benefits are
modest, averaging less than $13,000 a year, but for millions of Americans,
Social Security is not just a cushion, it is the single lifeline keeping
them out of poverty. Similarly, Medicare and Medicaid are the
only forms of insurance many of our nation's seniors and children have or
can obtain and it is critical that these systems be preserved for future
generations. I will continue to oppose efforts to reduce Social
Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits.</SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"
class=normal-p-P><SPAN class=normal-p-H><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"
class=normal-h1-H></SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"
class=normal-p-P><SPAN class=normal-p-H><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"
class=normal-h1-H>Unfortunately, the debt deal that was finally put before
the House of Representatives for a vote on August 1 known as the Budget
Control Act was not a balanced deal. This bill provides for
incremental increases in the debt ceiling through 2012, while locking in
nearly a trillion dollars in cuts to discretionary security and
non-security spending over the next ten years and requiring that an
additional $1.5 trillion in cuts be identified by a so-called "Super
Committee." Should the Super Committee fail to identify the
requisite amount of cuts </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"
class=normal-h1-H>or should Congress fail to enact these cuts then
the Budget Control Act will automatically require an additional $1.2
trillion in cuts in discretionary spending; Medicare payments to health
care providers could also be reduced but not by more than 2 percent per
year. </SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"
class=normal-p-P><SPAN class=normal-p-H><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"
class=normal-h1-H></SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"
class=normal-p-P><SPAN class=normal-p-H><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"
class=normal-h1-H>I believe it is critical that we avoid defaulting on our
debt obligations and thus that we prevent the terrible consequences that
default would bring. However, the full faith and credit of the
United States is a national commitment and upholding this commitment
should entail a shared sacrifice made by every American particularly as
the national debt we now face has been created both by increased spending
and by forgone revenues resulting from tax cuts provided to the wealthiest
Americans and to multi-national corporations. The legislation put
before Congress mandates cuts that will fall hardest on those who have
already borne the most devastating consequences of a recession caused
primarily by the reckless and even illegal actions of those on Wall
Street. At the same time, it requires nothing from the wealthiest
Americans or from corporations that at times pay taxes at rates lower than
those upon whom the cuts made by this legislation will fall
hardest. </SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"
class=normal-p-P><SPAN class=normal-p-H><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"
class=normal-h1-H></SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"
class=normal-p-P><SPAN class=normal-p-H><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"
class=normal-h1-H> It is certainly not hard to envision a deal that
would have prevented default while requiring a balanced approach to debt
reduction and that is the deal that I believe would have been in the
best interests of the nation and of all its citizens. It is for this
reason that I voted against the Budget Control Act. As the Joint
Committee on Deficit Reduction moves forward to identify proposed spending
cuts under the requirements of the Budget Control Act, I will continue to
urge that we focus on addressing our fundamental economic challenges and
that we direct our limited resources toward supporting the commitments we
have made to our seniors and to the most vulnerable among us while
investing in those areas that are most essential to ensuring that our
nation will continue to be the world's strongest and most innovative
economy when we emerge from this crisis.</SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"
class=normal-p-P><SPAN class=normal-p-H><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"
class=normal-h1-H></SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"
class=normal-p-P><SPAN class=normal-p-H><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"
class=normal-h1-H>Thank you again for your correspondence on this critical
issue and please do not hesitate to contact me whenever I may be of
assistance.</SPAN></SPAN> </P><BR>Sincerely,<BR><IMG
src="http://cummings.house.gov/images/signature_cummings.jpg"> <BR>Elijah
E. Cummings<BR>Member of
Congress<BR></FONT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></DIV> </BODY></HTML>