Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Congressman Jay Dickey Gets Boost

By JOHN MILLER

Jay Dickey, Fourth Congressional District Representative, got a boost in his campaign.

Bob Livingston, R-La., Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, spoke on his behalf at a GOP rally Friday at the Citizens National Bank Farmhouse in Hope.

Livingston said he is working to help representatives like Dickey as the Republican Party is making progress in Washington, D.C. with its platforms and programs.

In fact, he claimed the GOP saved the American taxpayers $50 billion and eliminated 297 programs last year alone.

"Jay Dickey has been an outstanding representative in Washington," Livingston said.

"He also believes Washington is too big and takes too much money from American families and wastes it."

According to Livingston, the GOP is getting more money for those who need it the most. This, he said, is one of the reasons more republicans have been elected.

Dickey said there are a lot of exciting things happening on the Hill these days, with more to come in the future if the GOP remains in control of Congress.

These changes include more bills to control spending, the shrinking of government at its core, but the centerpiece, he said, will be tax cuts. "We'll be working more on tax reform than anything," Dickey said.

"Any tax cut is favorable. We need to cut the blood supply to government, or we won't be able to bring giant government in tow.

"But we want to preserve services. We need to spend the money smarter and cut waste, fraud and abuse."

Dickey said there is a good bill on the floor concerning immigration. At this point, he added, America is enticing aliens to come here because of the "give aways" which include AIDS treatment, free schooling, welfare, health benefits and social security.

Tossing the ball back to Livingston, Dickey said the Louisiana congressman took the heat when the government shut down earlier this year.

He said the appropriations committee made suggested cuts which weren't approved and Livingston was criticized for them.

However, Dickey decried Livingston as the "architect of change" who took a new approach to the budget problems and put them into effect.

Livingston, taking center stage once again, informed those on hand Dickey is doing a "wonderful job" in Washington. "You sent us a good one, and I'm stumping for the president's congressman," he said, referring to the fact President Bill Clinton is from the Fourth District originally.

According to Livingston, the GOP placed an audit measure on the House because of the recent scandals, including the House Post Office and others.

He said laws passed now apply to members of Congress as well as the average person in America, and the committee staffs have been sliced by one-third, with the chairmen placing term limits on themselves of six years.

"I predict we'll pass a balanced budget amendment next year," he boasted. "If we don't balance the budget, we'll be leaving our children and grandchildren with a load of debt.

"We did a lot of good things," he said of the GOP, "but you never hear about them in the press."

One of these things, Livingston said, was a provision in health insurance reform making the policy portable if workers change jobs.

He said there are tens of thousands of programs in existence, with the GOP leading the way in eliminating 297 of them.

The reduction of duplicated programs, he said, will save the taxpayers money, which, in turn, can be returned to them.

"This next Congress," Livingston said, "will reverse the tax trend."

Dickey, who promised to stay in Washington no more than three terms when he first ran four years ago, said "I'm perfectly satisfied where I am, and hope the people are. I have no plans for higher office."

Unless he has changed his mind, this will be Dickey's final term in the House.

Lt. Gov. candidate Win Rockefeller was also supposed to be on hand for the GOP rally, but, according to sources there, got the dates confused and showed up Wednesday, Oct. 9 instead.

Rockefeller is running against Democratic foe Charlie Cole Chaffin for the office.