U.S. Representative Steve Austria spoke to the New Carlisle Rotary Club on Tuesday (August 18) and recounted his first few months in office.

 “The first bill that came to us was the bailout,” said Austria.  “I had a lot of concerns.  We asked [Treasury Secretary] Tim Geitner how the money was spent and we couldn’t get a straight answer.”  Austria said he voted “no” because there was not enough transparency and accountability.

The second bill was the stimulus package.  “I believe the way to turn the economy around is to promote small business,” said Austria.  His opponents believe that expansion of government is the answer.  Austria responded, “Small business can provide more permanent jobs.  Government jobs will be temporary.”

“What really troubled me was increasing spending by $32 billion,” said Austria about the Omnibus Appropriations Bill, the third bill presented to the House.

The $3.6 trillion budget bill was the fourth bill.  Austria believed that there were some good things, but there was also increased spending and increased taxes.  “Businesses are always calling and saying ‘Steve, we can’t get credit to expand,’” he said.  He added that increasing taxes would increase the burden on small businesses.

What is the number one topic that residents of the 7^th district contact their representative about?  “Jobs,” said Austria.  And second was Energy.

“As I look at the Cap & Trade bill, I thought there’s no way any representative from Ohio could support this bill,” he said.  “The intent is good, but the way they’re doing it puts us at a competitive disadvantage.  There WILL be job losses in Ohio if it passes.”

Austria also expressed grave concerns about the way business is being done in Washington, citing the fact that the stimulus bill was rushed through Congress without any opportunity for representatives to read the bill and or to discuss it.  “The American people expect better than that,” he said.  “The rules say we should have 48 to 72 hours.   We should have an opportunity to debate the pros and cons.  But that’s not being done.”

Then he moved on to health care.  “The President and Speaker wanted to have it done by August 1,” said Austria, “but the public outcry was so great that we started having discussions.”  Austria added that the phone calls to his office increased during Cap & Trade and are continuing.  “90% of the calls were opposed to Cap & Trade and about 98% of calls are opposed to the health care bill,” said Austria.

Austria said that he is hearing mostly from the elderly and, surprising to him, from mothers.  He said that when it comes to their child’s health care, mothers will not let you “mess with it.”

When asked specifically about the health care bill, Austria stated that we have the best health care in the world.  He agreed that it does need to be more affordable.  “I believe the best way is to offer encouragement to buy insurance,” said Austria.  “We don’t want government telling us what doctor we need to see and what type of care we can have.”