Key Vote NO on Transportation and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act

Dear FreedomWorks member,

As one of our million-plus FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to contact your representative and urge him or her to vote NO on H.R. 5972, the FY 2013 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. Commonly referred to as T-HUD, the bloated bill contains many wasteful programs that should be eliminated or reformed.

The proponents of the bill are claiming that it saves taxpayers money. The reality is that it actually increases spending for many programs and bases its supposed “savings” on increases in revenue from the Federal Housing Administration. There is reason to believe that these increases in revenue will not materialize. However, even if revenue is increased, then the focus should be on cutting spending from the bill instead of increasing spending.

There are numerous programs in the bill that should be eliminated. Unfortunately, T-HUD increases funding for Amtrak subsidies by $384 million, the Essential Air Service by $71 million, Tenant-based rental assistance by $219.9 million, and community development block grants by $396 million. With our massive $15.7 trillion national debt, we should be focused on getting rid of these wasteful programs instead of increasing their funding.

I urge you to call your representatives and urge him or her to vote NO on H.R. 5972, the FY 2013 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. We will count their vote as a KEY VOTE when calculating the FreedomWorks Economic Freedom Scorecard for 2012. The Economic Freedom Scorecard is used to determine eligibility for the Jefferson Award, which recognizes members of Congress with voting records that support economic freedom.

Sincerely,

Matt Kibbe
President and CEO
FreedomWorks
[Click here for a PDF version of this key vote notice.]