Congressman Walberg recently was recognized at the U.S. Capitol by U.S. English, Inc. for his dedication to preserving the unifying role of the English language in the United States. The Congressman was one of a select number of House members honored with an “A in English” award based on his votes and co-sponsorships of official English legislation in the 110th Congress.

“I am pleased to present this award to Rep. Walberg for his efforts to unite our diverse nation under the common language of English,” said Mauro E. Mujica, Chairman of the Board of U.S. English, Inc. “Rep. Walberg has actively reflected the viewpoints of his constitutents regarding official English legislation. At a time when there is renewed interest toward preserving what unites us as a nation, we are grateful to Rep. Walberg for his dedicated and enthusiastic support of this issue.”

“A in English” honors were awarded to members who received “A” grades on the U.S. English, Inc. legislative scorecard for the 110th Congress. Legislation that factored into the decision included co-sponsorship of H.R. 997, the English Language Unity Act, as well as a series of Congressional votes on reducing multilingualism in government and allowing employers the flexibility to enact English-in-the-Workplace policies. A full listing of the votes and grades can be found at http://www.usenglish.org.

According to several recent nationwide polls, an overwhelming majority of Americans support making English the official language of the United States. Polls conducted by Zogby International, the Winston Group and Rasmussen Reports have all found more than 80 percent of Americans in support of official English policies, with strong majorities among Republicans, Democrats and Independents.

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The Federal Election Commission (FEC) issued regulations two years ago that protect bloggers from being hampered by certain campaign finance laws. The regulations state bloggers cannot be considered to have made a contribution or expenditure on behalf of or in opposition to a candidate simply because a blogger links to campaign websites or writes about the positions of federal candidates.

Additionally, under these regulations, blogs are treated as any other publication under the general media exemption from most campaign finance restrictions. Bloggers could be subject to various limitations and reporting requirements under campaign finance law without these protections.

But these blogger protections are just regulatory, and they are not in statute. Right now, the FEC cannot take any official actions because the Senate has not acted on commissioner nominations. Down the road, current regulations could be changed without congressional action by future, unchecked FEC action.

I believe Congress should protect bloggers in law, and I am supporting the Blogger Protection Act of 2008. This bill would put the FEC’s protection of the freedom of bloggers into law and protect their freedom of speech.

The bill would not exempt monetary contributions to candidates from current campaign finance limitations merely because the contributions are made using the internet. The Blogger Protection Act of 2008 would codify existing regulations protecting such things as linking through blogs to campaign websites and editorializing about candidates from being regarded as contributions to those candidates.

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U.S. secretary of transportation in town to encourage state to allow use of use of private dollars for I-94 improvements - Jackson Citizen Patriot

I-94 May Get Federal Help - WILX

Plans for Widening Highway - WLNS

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Congressman Walberg’s health care bill, The Making Health Care More Affordable Act (H.R. 5955), ties together six core reforms:

Title I - Health Insurance Tax Credit
- Provides a $2,500 refundable tax credit for individuals ($6,000 for families) that would allow the purchase of qualified health insurance.

- Allows individuals to use a portion (up to $150 for individuals, plus $100 for each child for family credits) of their tax credit for wellness exams.

- For individuals/families purchasing a high-deductible health plan, any credit amount not used to pay plan premiums may be deposited into a Health Savings Account.

Title II - Small Business Health Plans
- Allows small businesses to band together in an association to create a competitive advantage to leverage purchasing power on healthcare plans, which labor unions and corporations already receive.

- Increases small businesses’ bargaining power with health care providers.

- Gives small businesses freedom from costly regulations.

- Lowers the overhead costs for small businesses, reducing prices for employees.

Title III - Purchase health care across state lines
- Gives individuals and families the freedom to find the best rates for health coverage because of increased competition and choice.

- Consumers will maintain current choices and have access to all the local benefits and services in any of the 50 U.S. states.

Title VI - Expansion of Health Savings Accounts
- Allows the purchase of health insurance through H.S.A. contribution.

- Doubles H.S.A. contribution limits.

- Reduces H.S.A. “catch-up” gap to age 50 (from 55).

- Allows beneficiaries of Medicare and veteran health programs to establish and contribute to H.S.A’s

- Increases tax deductions for supplemental Medicare insurance premiums and high deductable health care premiums.

Title V- Health Care Tort Reform
- Places a cap on non-economic damages of $250,000.

- Reforms contingency fee claim rates in order to increase the share of the monetary damages awarded to injured patients.

- Ensures that damages are allocated fairly, in direct proportion to fault.

- Provides for guidelines on the how the awards of punitive damages are determined.

Title VI - Health Information Technology
- Encourages establishment of a nationwide health information technology network.

- Ensures health records are HIPPA compliant.

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Congressman Walberg is hosting three “How to Pay for College” Seminars on Saturday. The forums will provide parents and students with information on ways to make college education more affordable for working families and students.

Saturday, May 3, 2008

“How to Pay for College” Workshop
Kellogg Community College, Binda Theater, 450 North Avenue, Battle Creek
10:00 a.m.

“How To Pay For College” Seminar
Potter Center 1st Floor, Federer Room A, Jackson Community College, 2111 Emmons Rd, Jackson
1:00 p.m.

“How to Pay for College” Seminar
Adrian College Merillat Sport Center in the Bulldog Room on Charles Street on the Adrian College campus, Adrian
4:00 p.m.

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Guide for Stimulus Payment Schedule for Tax Returns Received and Processed by April 15, 2008

Direct Deposit Payments

If the last two digits of your         Your economic stimulus payment deposit should be

Social Security number are:         sent to your bank account by:
00 – 20                                                  May 2
21 – 75                                                   May 9
76 – 99                                                   May 16

Paper Check
If the last two digits of your

Social Security number are:             Your check should be in the mail by:

00 – 09                                                     May 16
10 – 18                                                      May 23
19 – 25                                                      May 30
26 – 38                                                       June 6
39 – 51                                                       June 13
52 – 63                                                       June 20
64 – 75                                                       June 27
76 – 87                                                       July 4
88 – 99                                                      July 11

A small percentage of tax returns will require additional time to process and to compute a stimulus payment amount. For these returns, stimulus payments may not be issued in accordance with the schedule above, even if the tax return was processed by April 15.
For more information on the delivery of the Stimulus checks, the full document can be viewed at http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=180247,00.html

You can check to see what your rebate will be by using this stimulus payment calculator.

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Congressman Walberg wrote the column below in Sunday’s Jackson Citizen Patriot:

American citizens need freedom from taxes
Posted by Tim Walberg April 27, 2008 08:06AM
Categories: Guest Column

In his 1801 inaugural address, President Thomas Jefferson declared that “a wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.”

President Jefferson believed in limiting the size and scope of our federal government, and letting citizens keep the bulk of their personal income. More than 207 years later, our governmental system has strayed far from Jefferson’s ideals.
Wednesday was National Tax Freedom Day. It was the 113th day of 2008 — and the first day this year American citizens actually worked for themselves and not to pay for local, state and national governments.

I always have held the conviction that American citizens should keep as much of their hard-earned money as possible. Keeping taxes low encourages savings, investment, job creation and individual responsibility.

Unfortunately, politicians in Washington, D.C., follow a different fiscal philosophy. In 1910, the average American paid 5 percent of his or her paycheck to the government. This year the average American will fork over 30.8 percent of his or her income to federal, state and local governments.

Tax rates have grown because elected representatives have not fulfilled their responsibility to make sure taxpayer dollars are being spent carefully and responsibly. Not only are taxes too high, but Washington and Lansing spend too much money and waste much of what taxpayers send them.

We need to reduce government spending to bring down our national deficit and allow Americans to keep more of their paychecks. With so much money being wasted, I believe it is wrong for government to try and take more money out of the pockets of taxpayers.

In Congress, I introduced the Tax Increase Prevention Act (H.R. 2734) to stop Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s budget proposal that contains a $683 billion tax increase. In total, the Pelosi plan is the single largest tax increase ever proposed in the history of the United States, a $3,000-per-taxpayer tax increase.

With Michiganders facing rising health costs, high energy prices and slashed wages as a result of recent state tax hikes on wages and small businesses, the last thing families need is to be hit with a massive, job-killing tax increase. My bill would make permanent the tax relief of 2001 and 2003, and stop tax increases on raising children, earning money, saving and investing, operating a small business, adopting a child, paying off college loans and even dying.

Rather than working to increase taxes, Congress could better spend time eliminating ineffective and inefficient government programs, and reducing spending. We must commit ourselves to policies that encourage economic growth, control excessive spending and keep taxes low.

U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, represents the 7th Congressional District, which includes Jackson County

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Good Afternoon,

Today Sue and I welcomed a new granddaughter in to our family. At noon, Claire Elise Walberg was born to my son Matt and daughter-in-law Erin. She weighed seven pounds, 10 ounces. Both mom and dad are doing great, and I am excited to welcome Claire to the Walberg family.

Have a great weekend,

Tim

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Congressman Walberg has been an outspoken critic of the No Child Left Behind Act. Columnist George Will has an insightful op-ed out today on education policy in the United States and the failures of NCLB. Here is an excerpt:

“Finn thinks NCLB got things backward: ‘The law should have set uniform standards and measures for the nation, then freed states, districts and schools to produce those results as they think best.’ Instead, it left standards up to the states, which have an incentive to dumb them down to make compliance easier.”

The full column is available here.

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The Pelosi Premium

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