"We need real cuts, not fake cuts, and we want to support our Congressman in standing up for his own good work" - Julie Turner

Members of the Texas Patriots PAC met with Congressman Kevin Brady's (TX-8) District Director Sarah Stephens Thursday to communicate their position on Congressman Brady's legislation “Maximizing America’s Prosperity Act” (MAP) and to encourage Congressman Brady to only vote for a Supercommittee proposal that includes MAP.

Julie Turner, President of Texas Patriots PAC, states: "Congressman Brady's MAP is designed to keep government spending from 'jumping the rails' of previous spending caps. He has persuaded us that something like MAP is mandatory to restrict the growth of spending. If MAP, or something like it, is not included in the Super Committee proposal, we would like to see Congressman Brady vote against the proposal. We need real cuts, not fake cuts, and we want to support our Congressman in standing up for his own good work."

Congressman Brady revealed details of his proposal in June in order to impose smart statutory caps on congressionally controllable spending relative to the size of the economy. In addition to mandatory smart caps on spending, Congressman Brady’s legislation includes other important guardrails around Congress and the White House to keep America on the path to restoring fiscal responsibility.

During the meeting, Julie Turner told Sarah Stephens, "If [Congressman Brady] believes in MAP, if MAP is the way to keep government from jumping the guardrails, how about he not vote for whatever comes out of [the Super Committee] unless MAP is part of it. We can get behind that." Jon Bauman of Texas Patriots PAC added: "I understand Congressman Brady is just one of the congressmen up there. I understand there is a limited amount that he can do, but somebody has to be a voice crying for these fundamental changes."

Bauman continued: "It's the structure of the system that's wrong, and it's the structure of the budgeting system and the scoring system in Washington that's wrong, and we're not going to ever fix it by playing on this playing field, this game that we're playing where we're pushing around the edges."

Earl Johnson of Texas Patriots PAC explained: "[Congressman Brady] needs to know that if he stands up, we're not going to leave him. He needs to know that we're very serious...I am trying to encourage more risk, encourage Mr. Brady to walk further out on the limb because between the establishment part of the Republican Party and between the Democrats and between us, you've got three forces to deal with. We want him to know that the further out on that limb he goes, the more of our support he has."

The MAP Act will help change the way that Washington does business in several ways:

1. Realistic Sequestration: Congress must live within its budgetary means. If Congress fails to keep spending below the caps, the MAP ACT provides for a sequestration that balances spending restraint with humanitarian concerns. 
2. Prioritization of Spending: The President would be required to prioritize all spending programs in his budget submission in order from most essential to least essential. 
3. Legislative Line-Item Reductions for the President: The President may submit up to 4 line-item reduction bills to Congress each year—considered with expedited procedure—to rescind funding for discretionary budget authority. 
4. Sunset Commission: All agencies and programs would be terminated over a 12-year cycle unless Congress votes to extend them. 
5. Permanent Continuing Resolution: A permanent CR would fund government at 90% of the appropriation for the previous fiscal year if Congress fails to pass necessary spending bills on time. Thus, “big spenders” could no longer threaten a government shutdown to push for more spending

As constituents of Congressman Brady, this meeting is an excellent example of an effective way to meet with Representatives and get a point across in a respectful and dignified manner. District Director Sarah Stephens also did a great job representing Congressman Brady.

Click to see video of the meeting:

Texas Patriots PAC meeting with Congressman Brady District Director Part 1

Texas Patriots PAC meeting with Congressman Brady District Director Part 2