Congressman John Carter & Habitat For Humanity

Is John Carter starting to feel the heat? He's scheduled to be at a groundbreaking for the Congress Building America house in Round Rock on Saturday, November 12. He will use the Habitat for Humanity of Greater Round Rock event as a photo-op to try to show that he cares for the less fortunate. For him to be involved with Habitat for Humanity while he simultaneously goes along with the Republican plan to cut funding to the poor, the children, the elderly and the disabled -- the neediest among us -- in order to pay for the Katrina disaster makes little sense:

Unless the Ways and Means Committee is willing to ignore the reluctance of the House Republican leadership to secure savings from Medicare, the additional cuts that Committee imposes are likely to be made largely (or entirely) in programs that serve low-income families with children or low-income people who are elderly or have disabilities, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Supplemental Security Income program, and the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program. In addition, media accounts have reported that the Agriculture Committee is expected to take the bulk of its additional reductions out of the Food Stamp program.

I certainly do not want to discourage anyone from attending this event. Habitat for Humanity works for the greater good in the community. However, for Congressman Carter to try to show his "humanity" while he cuts funding to the neediest among us seems rather hypocritical.


For more information on the plight of the poor, check these two sites:
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and OMB Watch.

Congressman Carter is a member of the Republican Study Group, the committee which is responsible for Operation Offset.