Skelly: Culberson likes pork barrel; incumbent backs budget amendment
by Alan Bernstein
U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, backs a constitutional amendment to force Congress to balance the federal budget, but Democratic challenger Michael Skelly is trying to use the belt-tightening issue against him.
Skelly, a wind power executive who has contributed at least $200,000 to his own campaign, says in his latest TV ad that he would pass up any congressional pay raises until Congress brings federal spending under control.
And at a news conference this week, he said Culberson, his November election opponent in the 7th Congressional District race that covers most of western Harris County, is part of the wasteful spending problem.
Skelly cited ratings of each House member by watchdog groups such as Citizens Against Government Waste, which in June placed Culberson on its list of top five advocates in Congress of pork-barrel spending in a Homeland Security funding bill.
Culberson, through a spokesman, responded that he has established an anti-spending record that is listed as such by other rating groups.
"I've voted against $345 billion in new spending in this Congress, and since 2001, I've voted against over $1 trillion in new spending," Culberson said. "I have always co-authored a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and my starting answer for all new spending requests is 'no,' and 'yes' is very hard to earn."
He said he also returns to the U.S. Treasury an average of $145,000 a year from his office budget.
Skelly on Monday listed the Iraq war as a spending item that imperils the nation's finances.
"I think we cannot afford to stay in Iraq," the challenger said after the news conference.
Skelly pointed out that Iraq is running a budget surplus thanks to the sale of its oil while the U.S. continues to spend on military operations there.
Congress has authorized $859 billion for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and Homeland Security efforts since Sept. 11, 2001.
<< Back to News Archive