David Perdue – Making a Difference

Senator David Perdue took his first oath of office less than four months ago. He ran as an outsider with real world experience.

In his first days in office he co-sponsored term limits legislation. He is going to be one of the key players running the ball for the Fair Tax in the Senate.

He had barely taken office before making a trip to Israel and meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He was appointed to the Foreign Relations Committee and now is Chair of a Subcommittee that is reviewing the State Department.

He intensely, but politely, questioned Carolyn W. Colvin, the Acting Commissioner of Social Security about the lack of a long term solution proposal from the President for Social Security Disability. He repeatedly refused to let her get by with the typical dodge answers of “working together for a solution.”

As a member of the Finance Committee, he most recently got attention by voting against the annual, “Doc Fix.” His vote caught the attention of Atlanta Journal and Constitution Political Blog writer, Jim Galloway because Perdue was one of only 8 Senators who voted against the bill.

Some background is necessary to understand the reason for Perdue standing out on this vote. In 2009, Congress passed the budget resolution with some long standing rules that supposedly would add discipline in the budget process. One of the rules is 311(b). It is simple and clear. Just one sentence.

311(b) Long-term Deficits: Prohibits consideration of legislation that would cause a net increase in the deficit in excess of $5 billion in any of the four 10-year periods: 2024-2033, 2034-2043, 2044-2053, and 2054-2063.

The annual “Doc Fix” has been going on for nearly two decades. After the budget is passed, Congress suddenly realizes that they have not funded enough for physician reimbursements. So there is a sudden rush to “fix” the problem by amending the budget. The problem is that they just add money to the budget and do not reduce any other expenses. So much for budget discipline.

This year’s Doc Fix increased the budget over the next decade by 141 billion. Senator Sessions called a point of order on considering the Doc Fix. Senator Hatch from Utah then made a motion to “waive all applicable sections of the Budget Act.” His motion needed 3/5 or 60 votes to pass. It passed with 71 votes.

Senator Perdue voted NO on that motion. He also voted NO on the budget bill as amended.

Senator Perdue was not against making sure that the physicians were adequately paid for their services to Medicare patients. His reasoning was that this was something that Congress has known about for the past two decades and they have gone through the same drill every year.

This was not a surprise. This should have been addressed during the overall budgeting process instead of tacking on more deficits as if the money is somehow going to magically appear.

This is the prime reason that David Perdue ran for Senate. He is a freshman with barely 90 days in office. Our problems will not be solved overnight. David Perdue is taking them on and making an impact.

Thank you, Senator Perdue. This will not be the last decision where you have to say, “No.” Keep standing firm and resolute. We need someone who will do that.

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