Fiscal Restraint Top Priority, Congressman Lance Promises

Too much spending, underfunding for mental health, and high suicide rates among war veterans were just some of the issues and concerns lobbed at Congressman Leonard Lance Monday night at a town hall meeting in Washington Township.

Lance, representing the 7th Congressional District in New Jersey, spent just more than an hour speaking with a group of 50 residents from Washington Township, Mount Olive and Flemington, many of whom wanted answers on sequestration and social security.

Some $3.6 trillion will be spent to keep the government paying its bills through the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 31, Lance said, and nearly $1 trillion of that is borrowed.

“These numbers boggle the mind and imagination,” the congressman said. “We’re borrowing far too much.”

When pushed about he and his political colleagues’ “jargon” and explanation to constituents, Lance fired back emphatically.

“You need to stop using liberal, media garbage — speak to people,” said resident Doug Timbey. “You’re making everything so complex. It seems like the government is getting in the way.”

Raising his voice, and addressing the room as a whole, Lance said without hesitation, “My most important job in Congress is to keep spending down.”

Another audience member, who did not give his name, asked Lance, “where’s the outrage?” in Washington D.C. as spending and sequestration continue to impact citizens.

Lance beat the fiscal responsibility drum yet again.

“The fundamental issue facing the United State is fiscal responsibility,” he said. “It is my number one job.”

The audience, consisting of older citizens, perked up when Social Security came into play.

Lance used his own 26-year-old son as an example for his proposed plans on how to keep the program alive.

Raising the eligibility age for someone to receive Social Security benefits by a year or two would not be detrimental, Lance said, especially if the notice was given far enough in advance.

“Raising the retirement age and Medicare age by a year or two would not be hard to take if given a generation or two notice,” Lance said.

The recently re-elected congressman gleaned about his recent trip to various cities in China and how, after touring the country, believed “(The United States) can win economic competition in the 21st century.”

After a decennial redistricting that eliminated one congressional seat from New Jersey, reducing the number of representatives to just a dozen, Lance’s district jumped to 74 municipalities. He’s conducted a handful of town hall meetings since re-election, his camp said.