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PRIORITIES FOR THE 11TH DISTRICT
Dear Fellow Citizen --
Imprudent Actions By Mark Meadows. Our illustrious 11th District Congressman is at it again. His first national claim to fame was to lead a shut-down of the government in 2013, which cost western North Carolina an estimated $23 million. He later tried to deny his lead role, but it is a matter of record. His next fame seeking maneuver was to file a motion to vacate the Speaker’s chair for the US House of Representatives, then occupied by his Republican party leader John Boehner. Tired of fighting with Mark and his right-wing extremist cohorts, about 40 of whom who call themselves the “Freedom Caucus”, Boehner decided to retire. Fresh off his conquests, Mark is now leading an effort to impeach John Koskinen, the IRS Commissioner since December 2013, for allegedly treating Tea partiers unfairly. Good luck with that!  See, Meadows pushes for action against IRS head Koskinen in the Asheville Citizen-Times .
Priorities Of The Extreme Right-Wing. Mark is not fighting for legislation needed for the good of the people of Western North Carolina, which is his job, but is instead focused on the extreme right-wing agenda of disempowering the federal government and cutting taxes for the ultra-rich. He wanted to file impeachment documents against Koskinen, but Speaker Ryan shunted the effort to committee hearings in order to appease the right-wingers and avoid a fight which would go nowhere in the Senate. John Boehner had previously considered the IRS matter and “felt that there was nothing there” to justify it. The ranking Democratic committee member calls the effort “an exercise in partisanship and a total waste of time and money.”
Needs Languish While Mark Dallies. The 11th District faces many problems which Congress should address, ranging from immigration to equitable treatment of citizens to environmental protection, and it is Congress' responsibility to provide needed legislative action. Here are two examples of a number of such problems:
- Undocumented Workers. WNC farmers cannot harvest their crops without these workers, the vast majority of whom work hard and are law-abiding. Mark has promised our farmers that he will ensure the availability of workers but has also committed to send them back to Mexico to await bureaucracy approval for their return to the US. Speaker Ryan has stated that he supports legalization of the workers, presumably contingent on their payment of taxes and other requirements. Mark does NOT support such a bill, but instead supports immediate deportation.
- The Road To Nowhere. During World War II the federal government condemned thousands of acres in Swain and Graham Counties to construct the reservoir for Fontana Dam. The government promised to build a new road to isolated home lands but never did so. In 2010 the Interior Dept. signed an agreement to pay $52 million to Swain to be used for educational purposes and other services in lieu of the road, but after paying $12.5 million, the money was zeroed out by the Republicans in 2012 when Mark was elected. Mark pressured the Interior Department to pay the money, but the Department cannot do so since Mark's own party refuses to budget it. See, http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2014/12/nearly-five-years-later-congress-balking-road-nowhere-payments-great-smoky-mountains-national-park26036
Right-Wing Extremism Does Not Work For WNC. Right-wing extremists have only succeeded in blocking remedial legislation needed by the nation, especially in districts such as ours. Congressmen like Mark oppose the interests of their own constituents by failing to deal intelligently with immigration reform. In addition, as a minority force which opposes federal programs such as disaster relief for citizens in other districts, the extreme right-wingers receive no support from more moderate Republicans and Democrats when they attempt to pass measures needed by their own districts. Mark’s pursuit of a discredited ideology has little relevance to the day-to-day needs of the working people, and it is past time for the voters of our District to demand better representation and fewer meaningless glad-hands and empty assurances.
What Tom Hill Stands For. I am devoted to passing legislation to cure the problems that our nation faces, and my only ideology is common sense. Please visit my web site listed below for specifics of legislation that I support. If I am elected, I further pledge not to spend my time in Congress on the phone begging wealthy donors for money. Most of our Congressmen spend four hours every day on the phone begging wealthy donors for money. If they do not, their parties ostracize them.
Please Contribute. During my campaign I am relying on modest donations from supporters such as you – win or lose. In order to make a contribution, click on "home" at my web site, and then on "contribute". I appreciate any and all donations.
Tom Hill
tomhillforcongress.com
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