Op-Ed- Caucus to listen to Tea Party, not lead it

Op-Ed

Published in the Hill

Congress has strayed from the fundamental principles of the Constitution and Americans have noticed. Your federal government is recklessly overspending and vastly expanding its reach and powers the likes this country has never seen. More than a year ago, Tea Party groups started springing up all over the country. Their members cried for adherence to the Constitution and they looked for lawmakers to listen.

I formed the Tea Party Caucus here in the House to serve as a means for everyday Americans to express their views to Members of Congress. Congressmen will not be setting the rules; rather Americans are encouraged to share their thoughts and frustrations with the direction our country is heading. This Caucus is not a mouthpiece of the Tea Party. We are not vouching for the Tea Party. And most importantly, we are not leading the Tea Party. We are merely here to listen to hard working Americans who are concerned about the future of this great country.

In its first meeting Wednesday morning, 24 members of Congress heard from several individuals including a small-business owner, a construction worker and a homemaker. They voiced their desire for a government that would create laws supporting a free market and less government bureaucracy. Since the meeting, membership has swelled to 38.

By the way, this isn't the first time I've heard these ideas. People from across my district in Minnesota have shared these same thoughts with me time and time again. Americans are tired of seeing a large chunk of their paycheck go to the government so that we just continue borrowing money from China and add to our debt. They are rightly worried, for this is an unsustainable path for the future of our nation.

Americans have voiced these concerns, among others, to me and other members of Congress. They have urged lawmakers to follow the Constitution when legislating to return our government to one where our control is limited and that operates with the utmost fiscal integrity.

Wisely, our founders wrote the Constitution to guide a young nation into a great nation of freedom and prosperity. The United States has been a beacon of liberty for those less fortunate throughout the world. Our values must not be discarded as we are continuously faced with new challenges and threats everyday.

The Tea Party speaks for the timeless principles our nation was founded on, and the new Tea Party Caucus will represent the values all members of Congress swore to uphold.

Source