Jacksonville Progress - Hensarling Hears from Locals at Meeting

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By Unknown

U.S. Congressman Jeb Hensarling (TX-05) was in Jacksonville on Tuesday for a town hall meeting to update the citizens of Cherokee County on his continued efforts to hold Washington accountable to the American people and to hear from them about the issues that are most concerning to them.

"The American people expect and deserve a Congress and White House that works together to forge common sense solutions that address the real problems that families are facing. Unfortunately, President Obama and his administration continue pursue the "my way or the highway approach' to governing that focuses on advancing his own agenda instead of addressing the real problems that families are facing today," Hensarling said.

"In the first few months of the year, I have worked with other conservative House Republicans to focus on finding common sense solutions to the issues that East Texans are concerned about.

From passing a bill that defunds President Obama's unconstitutional executive amnesty; to passing several bills aimed at creating tax certainty and relief to middle income Americans and small businesses; to putting forth a budget that puts the family budget first by getting our nation's fiscal house in order while making sure our troops have the resources they need to defend our nation.

"In the Financial Services Committee -- which I have the honor of chairing -- we have taken many steps to stop the Obama Administration's overreach into the lives and pocketbooks of hard working East Texas families and small businesses," Hensarling explained. "Most recently, the Committee has begun an extensive investigation into an Obama Administration initiative known as "Operation Choke Point.' This program, which is spearheaded by the Department of Justice, has forced several legal businesses to close by pressuring financial institutions to not do business with them, effectively closing their bank accounts. Many times this pressure is not because the companies themselves have done anything wrong, but because the administration has decided that companies within that industry have a "reputational risk,' -- meaning they aren't in political favor with this Administration. So far, this target list includes gun manufacturers and dealers, certain financial lenders, and tobacco shops, just to name a few. Operation Choke Point is yet another example of the Obama Administration's executive overreach to advance their political agenda. Under my leadership, the House Financial Services Committee will continue to protect law-abiding business owners by ensuring that all businesses are treated fairly on a case-by-case basis."

Hensarling went on to discuss other ways in which he was working to stop Washington from impeding on the freedom of Americans. "Recently, I joined 238 of my House colleagues in a letter calling on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms (ATF) to abandon their proposal to examine whether commonly used sporting ammunition should be banned.

The ATF's proposal would have clearly been beyond the bounds of the original congressional intent and violated the Second Amendment rights of Americans, and I am glad to see the ATF heeded our push back and abandoned their plans to do so. To prevent the Obama Administration from attempting this ban again, I've cosponsored the Ammunition and Firearms Protection Act (H.R. 1365), which would permanently prevent the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) from classifying M855 ammunition as armor-piercing and from instituting any ban on the sale and manufacture of ammunition that is intended, marketed, and sold for rifle use.

"Whether it is stopping executive overreach and holding Washington accountable; fighting to remove tax loopholes and crony programs that unfairly benefit the politically connected in Washington at the expense of hardworking taxpayers on Main Street; or preventing Washington regulators from imposing unfair and improper regulations on community financial instructions and small businesses that, in turn, prevents Americans from achieving their version of the American dream, I remain committed to fighting Washington each and every day on behalf of the good people of the 5th Congressional District," Hensarling concluded.

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