Rep. Mo Brooks' description of his job

{To help me with a sense of the job of a Congressman, I have read and am thinking about the below letter that Congressman Brooks has on the front page of his campaign website.]

A Letter from Congressman Brooks

 

For more than a year now, I have had the privilege of serving as your Congressman. We have faced some tough challenges together during this year – devastating tornadoes, continuing attacks on freedom and free enterprise, and Washington’s out of control spending. As I witnessed first-hand during the aftermath of last year’s tornadoes, Americans are a remarkably strong and resilient people who are capable of solving big problems.

During this last year, my staff and I have been able to assist hundreds of people with problems navigating the federal bureaucracy. I have spoken with thousands of you at dozens of town halls and hundreds of other meetings across the district. Tens of thousands of people from the 5th District have participated in our telephone town halls. These two-way dialogs are extremely important to our representative government.

During this year, I have consistently voted for legislation to stimulate job creation by reducing excess government regulation and other legislation that attempted to repeal ObamaCare. I have consistently voted to support our troops and keep our national defense strong. I have consistently supported efforts to reduce out-of-control spending, balance the budget, and protect Social Security. And, since I was elected, my staff and I have dramatically reduced spending by the 5th District Congressional office.

As part of my service on the House Armed Services Committee, I have visited with our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as on ships and bases throughout the world. I am honored to be the first 5th District Congressman to serve on the House Armed Service Committee, which is a major asset for North Alabama. As part of my service on the House Space, Science and Technology Committee, I have fought to promote NASA and defend other critical science programs such as the National Science Foundation.

Contrary to House Leadership wishes, I stood strong and voted against final passage of the Budget Control Act that created the “Super Committee”, disproportionately cuts national defense, and increases America’s debt burden by $2+ trillion. While I prefer to vote with my GOP leadership, and have done so 93% of the time (according to the Washington Post Congressional Scorecard), my first obligation is to America. I vote accordingly.

I will continue to stand firm for defending our liberties preserved in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, for a strong national defense, for bringing our out-of-control federal spending under control, and for solving the problem with illegal aliens.

America is the greatest nation in history. And now is the time when our county needs us to do our part to solve some tough problems and keep America as the envy of the world.

Thank you for the privilege of serving as your Congressman. I ask for your continued support and encouragement.