Letter to Constituents

Letter

Dear Friend,

Monday marked the 1,111th day since the United States Senate has passed a budget. Passing a budget is the responsibility of Congress, and it is disappointing that Senate Democrats refuse to lead by example when addressing our nation's financial stability.

This is why I am a cosponsor of H.R. 3643, the No Budget No Pay Act, which prohibits Members of Congress from being paid if each chamber doesn't pass a budget. This bill wasn't offered last Congress or the one before that, but I will continue to advocate for common-sense ideas in Washington.

Working for the Arsenal and our troops
On Friday, the House approved the FY 2013 defense bill. Ensuring the brave men and women in our military have the tools they need to successfully complete their mission is of the utmost importance to me. It's an honor to represent the interests of warfighters, veterans, the Rock Island Arsenal, and our region's manufacturing capabilities on the House Armed Services Committee.

I worked to include common-sense language in this bill that makes it easier for small contractors to do business with the federal government, as well as a provision that creates a working group focused on improving health care for children of our service men and women. The Senate is expected to begin work on its version of the bill May 22. I will continue working to ensure our troops are equipped, our Arsenals are workloaded, and our veterans are cared for.

Small Business Week
This week - the week of May 20-26 - is National Small Business Week. This is an opportunity to recognize the contributions of small businesses and entrepreneurs to America's economic stability. In cooperation with local Chambers of Commerce, I'll be sitting down with local business owners in Galesburg and Rock Falls this week to discuss what government can do to empower the private sector, spur job creation, and grow the economy.

Outreach and constituent service
Recently, I've come under a coordinated political attack designed to distort the truth and criticize me for my office's outreach. It's not surprising; we know how well our customer service is working, so we expected to be attacked for this strength. But the truth is that we are doing more with less.

As your representative in Congress, I believe we must keep in contact with folks across the district, asking for your input on issues before Congress or notifying you of upcoming events and how we can help. Just ask Mark Graves of Aledo, one of many to reach out to us after receiving a mailer on the services my staff provides. Mark served our country with the United States Army Military Police in Iraq, where he earned a number of awards. The award that eluded him -- the one he contacted us for help acquiring -- was the Combat Action Badge. My staff got right to work on his case, and it was my honor to present Mark with the Combat Action Badge in March of this year.

It's important for you to know that we work for you, and to know the facts. The negative political attacks aren't going to tell you the truth.

Each Congressional office is allotted an annual office budget from which we pay all our expenses, including district office rent, staff salaries, office supplies, and mail to constituents. I voted to reduce this budget by 5 percent in 2011, and another 6.4 percent in 2012. For years, Congress continually saw it fit to increase their office budgets, but that stopped in 2011 when this new House took office. On top of cutting my own budget, I saved enough to return another 8 percent or $110,000 of my 2011 budget to taxpayers, keeping true to my pledge of spending significantly less than my predecessors.

In the face of hundreds of thousands -- maybe even millions -- of dollars outside groups have spent to distort my record and scare seniors, we found it important to communicate the truth and the facts to the people of the 17th District. We sent five mailers with information on issues Congress was considering and actions I was taking on behalf of constituents, and asking constituents to return a tear-off questionnaire so I could better know what issues were of concern to them. We sent two postcards specifically regarding Medicare, two postcards inviting folks to the opening of new regional district offices, and one postcard inviting folks to a forum on veterans issues. And we sent three letters specifically regarding ways we could help veterans. You may have even received one of these pieces of mail from me.

This is called constituent service, and it hasn't happened in our area for a long time. I've had folks tell me that they weren't aware a Congressional Office could help out to the extent that we do. I've had people tell me that Members of Congress don't typically ask their opinion on certain issues. We've even had folks from Iowa and from other Congressional Districts in Illinois call our offices asking us for help.

As an elected official, I will never stop communicating with the constituents of the 17th District. My staff and I prioritize constituent service and communications, and will continue working to keep in close contact with folks in all corners of the district. We work for you, and that is something I will never forget.

If there's anything my staff and I can do for you, just give us a call at (309) 757-7630, stop by one of my district offices, or drop in to our mobile office hours. We're happy to help.

Sincerely,
Bobby Schilling
Member of Congress

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