This page contains the correspondence of Jean-Paul Tertocha with his Senators and Representative, and their replies.

4/8/2011

  First off, I want you to be informed who this constituent is.  I am the son of a WWII Veteran.  My Father was drafted, and sent to Europe and missed his High School graduation ceremony.  His Mother accepted his diploma for him.  My Mother, who met my father during the war, immigrated to the United States.  She did so to escape the Fascism and other negative aspects of Europe at the time.  She WANTED her children to be Americans.  I am a staunch patriot, and learned that from BOTH parents.  I am proud of this, and will not budge on my stance!

   Following are some issues that involve the United States of America, that as a Citizen, I find intolerable.

1. Gasoline prices!  As I see the price rise on a DAILY basis I wonder how stupid, and/or gutless the average American politician is.  Over forty years ago, I was taught in business and economic class' that a person should diversify their portfolio.  In other words, don't put all your eggs in one basket.  I learned this throughout high school.  I learned this in college as well in business class'.   So what have our idiot politicians and presidents done the last forty years?  Allow the country to become dependent on one energy source, petroleum.  And then to add insult to injury, allow one organization, OPEC, to manipulate the supplies of oil in an unrealistic manner.  Plus, OPEC is dominated by individuals that hate the Western culture.  Don't believe me?  Here is what Osama Bin Laden said a few years ago; " We are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy.  Allah willing, and nothing is too great for Allah". And thanks to the gutless, weasel, traitors at the Federal level in our country, this is happening.  Oil prices have NOTHING to do with supply and demand.  Oil prices are a political statement made my America's enemies!

2.  Homosexual rights.  I am flat out sick of having this krap shoved down my throat.  I was taught to believe homosexuality is a perversion.  It is a deviation of the norm in the human standard. Those people are not a part of a minority, they are deviations from the norm.  Scientifically speaking you will find that homosexuals have a malfunction of the brain.  Something to do with an imbalance of key enzymes.  The Bible states that homosexuality is an abomination in the eyes of the Lord.  FACTS!  I refuse to accept this as normal because some bleeding heart homosexual politicians want to be accepted as they are.  Homosexuals are not only perverts, they are pure hedonists.  All they do is seek out personal delight at the expense of society.  Rarely does a homosexual do something on a purely altruistic basis.   So I am telling you I WILL NOT accept homosexuals as normal members of society.  WILL NOT!!

3.  There are serious problems with the military.  First off, our troops over-seas, are not there to promote Democracy.  They are promoting imperialism!  America's  troops are assisting foreign governments that are unpopular with the people that live in the area.  The fact is, the borders of countries in the Middle East DO NOT accurately define the cultures of people that actually live there.  That is a FACT!  Secondly, the military of the United State of America is being filled with skinheads, militant minorities, and homosexuals.  This has gotten so bad, that REAL military individuals, those who truly love their country and the military, are not re-upping nor are quality individuals signing up.  I know of individuals in the Army that are not re-upping because they are disgusted with the direction the military is taking.  So Americans, thanks to inept and unethical politicians, the military will be filled with groups of people that hate each other, and are in the military to learn how to destroy things to promote their cause.  FACT!

4.  The Federal system in this country is bloated and has gotten to a non-productive stage.  George Washington and crew set the USA up as a group of semi-autonomous states bound together by a Federal constitution.  The Federal government's job is to provide a national postal system, a national military to protect the federation, and of course to provide a working currency that may be used in all states.  Well, over the years politicians have bastardized this beautiful and simple plan.  The Department of Energy must be eliminated.  It was started to keep the USA energy independent, and has failed miserably.  The DOE now is just an organization to keep politicians friends and relatives employed.  The same goes for the Department of Education.  Education is a state issue, not a federal one.  The federal government has no business telling any state how to run it's schools.  So this bloated, federal agency must be eliminated.

4.  I feel I am being taxed without representation. I feel I am being taxed by the federal government in the USA and my needs and opinions are being ignored.  On top of that, the tax codes are ridiculously complicated.  I personally believe they are made to be complicated on purpose in order to discourage the average citizen to do their own taxes.  A way to remove the average citizen from their own government.   The federal income tax is WAY out of line.  A solution would be a flat tax of no more than 15%.  I am sick and tired of bearing the burden of politician's economic follies.

    As a form of protest, this is the last year I am paying federal income tax.  Until I see politicians begin to represent me and my needs, and people like me, I will not pay income tax.  I have studied this and find the Constitution of the United States of America guarantees me certain rights that people on the federal level are attempting to remove.  I will be dammed if I will pay these politicians to remove my constitutional rights.  I also intend to publish a web site promoting this cause.  If you all think one person cannot promote changes, then you have not studied history very well.

 You need to understand this is a form of protest, and it grieves me to have to do this. I love my country and I love my state.  I have no quandary paying income taxes, as long as they are used for America and her people, but this is not the case.   I cannot set idly by as elected officials continue to destroy the USA from inside.  I refuse to finance this!  I refuse to be a part of this!

   I demand that you send this message to the president, and all of your associates!  That is your job!

4/23/2011

Dear Mr. Tertocha,

Thank you for contacting me with your thoughts in regard to the direction of our country and issues that Congress needs to address. I appreciate the benefit of your views and welcome the opportunity to respond.

l believe that the most serious problem facing our country is the financial crisis. Projections for the national debt are at $ 15 trillion in 201 1, or 98% of GDP. Additionally, between 1999 and 2008 the annual average increase in domestic non-defense and non-discretionary spending (things such as education, food stamps, and excluding Medicaid/Medicare/social Security) was 6.4%. However, in 2009, this rose by 11.2%, and in 2010, it has grown by an additional 14.7%.

This type of spending is simply unsustainable, especially when compared to a 4.2% reduction in household income since 2008.

Our financial problems are far beyond what our country has ever faced. To put this in perspective, the average budget deficit (or shortfall) under President Bush was approximately $200 billion, with the largest deficit equaling $468 billion. By contrast, under President Obama deficits for his first two years in office have been at $1.5 trillion each year. In addition, the President's proposed 2012 budget, by his own projection, is scored with a deficit of $ 1.6 trillion.

Even with overspending by previous Congresses and the Bush Administration, our nation could have grown out of our debt in a generation, but no more. As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, l know that we must do better and write a budget that does not add more crushing debt to our already overburdened fiscal situation.

The House passed H.R. 1, the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, also known as the Continuing Resolution, in February. This legislation would fund the Federal Government for the remaining months of the fiscal year, and cuts $100 billion from discretionary spending.

Everything was on the table for cuts, both Republican and Democrat priorities, and virtually no program, including defense spending, was spared.

Unfortunately, some of my Senate colleagues have chosen to offer criticism rather than a viable alternative to the House's spending bill. As the budget debate continues, 1 look forward to suggestions from my colleagues in the Senate as well as the House. 1 do not believe that it is enough to highlight the spending problem, only to turn around and ask that those cuts not affect Illinois. The hard truth is that everyone must do their part. It should also be noted that the same Senators and Representatives who are criticizing these cuts are responsible for failing to pass a full-year budget last year for the first time since 1974.

The current levels of government spending also have far-reaching consequences for the economy and job creation. While it may seem that these two issues are completely unrelated, the truth is that they are very much connected. The President's own economic advisors have estimated that debt loads above 90 percent of GDP result in a reduction in economic growth of one percentage point. Conversely, a one percent increase in GDP could create 979,000 jobs. Put more simply, our current debt level is creating a drag on our economy that could be removed just by reducing our level of spending. Far from destroying jobs, cutting government spending will create thousands of new jobs. The best way to help struggling Americans is to help create an economy that is growing and that will provide them with job opportunities so they can support themselves and their families. Ultimately, that is what a vote to cut spending is about.

I have come to accept that we can no longer afford certain spending items 1 would have supported only a few years ago. Some items simply are not at the top priority level and thus can no longer be funded. Other worthy programs must be trimmed back significantly if we are going I to return to fiscal sanity and restore economic growth with robust job creation in the private sector. Every program we can do without-.-, or that can be done in the private sector-.- must l have its federal funding eliminated.

I ! I While it is important to make significant cuts to government discretionary spending, that is only |1 a down-payment on reducing the deficit. In 2010, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, ' k' datary spending'' because the government is obligated to pay these benefits, make known as man up 60% of federal spending, vastly more than any other spending segment. By 2016, spending on those three programs alone will equal the amount of federal spending on all programs in 2010 and amount to 72% of spending. By 2045, the amount the federal government is obligated to pay in mandatory spending will equal the entire revenue of the federal budget. In other words, the federal government will literally have no funds left over to fund anything else, including education, defense, and transportation. We need entitlement reform if we are going to get a handle on the financial crisis facing our country.

What is more, if we keep borrowing to cover huge annual deficits, the interest on our accumulated national debt will equal every dollar of annual revenue with no money left for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid payments, let alone discretionary spending-even for national defense.

l believe the American people have been lied to in the past about the dire financial condition our country faces. Catastrophic crises are looming if we fail to take dramatic action to get back on track to living within our means and growing our economy. 1 will not be part of deceiving the people 1 serve by voting for funding that is popular with various segments of people, even if we cannot afford it. It is long past time our government representatives stand up and do the right thing, even though the opposite is the politically popular position. We cannot continue on an unsustainable financial path until we hit a brick wall or fall off a steep cliff as a few American cities and foreign nations have done.

In addition to cutting federal spending through the budget, 1 have also introduced H.R. 606, the Federal Sunset Commission. H.R. 606 is a hi-partisan bill that calls for the creation of a Commission that would review all federal programs and abolish those for which no public need exists. Streamlining federal programs by eliminating those that are unnecessary or redundant will save taxpayer money, as well as make remaining federal programs more efficient. H.R. 606 has been referred to the House Commit-tee on Oversight and Government Reform, and it is my hope that it will be brought to the House floor for a vote in the near future.

l have also no-sponsored H.R. 10, the Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act. This legislation requires all major regulations from executive agencies to be submitted to Congress for approval before becoming law. The REINS Act will increase transparency in the regulation process, and keep burdensome and unnecessary regulations from being enacted with no input from the American people. 1 believe that executive agencies should be held accountable for how they spend the taxpayers' money, just as Congress is, and this legislation will do just that.

Ultimately', we are at a crossroads. lf we do not make difficult decisions now and get government spending under control, the problem will only grow, and eventually we will reach a crisis point. l recognize that there are no easy solutions for the challenges facing our country, but 1 am willing to make difficult decisions to save future generations from a crushing burden of debt. We have the advantage right now to look into the future; we know the consequences if we do nothing. We must ad now to avoid the fate of those who failed before us.

Again, thank you for contacting me. Please don't hesitate to contact me in the future with regard to this or any other issue. Also, to stay informed on what's happening in Washington, feel free to sign up for my online newsletter, The Schock Report, at www.schoek.house.gov.

Respectfully,

Aaron Schock

Member of Congress

AJS/KR

4/14/2011