Congressman Mike Quigley's Newsletter

As your Representative in Congress, it is an honor to be in Washington fighting for you.

This means voting and speaking on the House floor with your concerns and priorities in mind, as well as providing the best constituent service and communication I can for all of our communities.

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UNDER THE DOME

The halls of Congress have been very busy lately. Here are some highlights of what I’ve been doing:

Fighting for Ethics Reform, Transparency, and Fiscal Responsibility

Recently, I introduced two bills to target and root out what has become far too common in Illinois - public corruption. The State Ethics Law Protection Act (SELPA) will allow Illinois to crackdown on pay-to-play without federal interference, and the Public Officials Accountability Act restores a statute to prevent elected officials from using their offices for personal gain. The Chicago Sun-Times called our bipartisan, bi-cameral efforts “welcome teamwork.”

I also introduced The Taxpayer Receipt Act, a bill to give each taxpayer an itemized receipt of how your tax dollars are spent. As I said when we announced the legislation last month, we check our grocery receipts to make sure our hard-earned dollars are being spent properly. There’s no reason we can’t do the same with our taxes. It’s simply good government.

On the budget front, I recently released a report with 60 recommendations to save the federal government $2 trillion over the next 10 years. We are on an unsustainable fiscal path, and must make some tough – but necessary – choices in the coming years. The key to reducing our deficit is to look at every part of our budget to ensure we are not protecting sacred cows (like weapons systems the Pentagon says it does not need!) while stifling job growth or eliminating services middle-class Americans count on.

And as always, I remain committed to what have always been key priorities to me: protecting our environment, a woman’s right to choose, and fighting for equality and justice.

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CLOSER TO HOME

No matter how much time I spend in Washington, our neighborhoods are where the rubber meets the road. Here is what my staff and I have been doing in the district:

Providing Outstanding Service

In the past months, my staff and I have held a number of successful Constituent Service Fairs, geared toward assisting seniors, veterans, and homeowners. We’ve also worked with residents on individual issues they’ve encountered with federal agencies, ranging from Social Security and veteran’s benefits to obtaining a visa to deciphering loan modification paperwork. Since taking office in 2009, my office has closed more than 1,000 of these cases and returned more than $1 million to 5th District taxpayers. If you have a concern or problem with a federal agency, please don’t hesitate to call my office for help.

“Undercover Congressman”

For the past two years, I have worked alongside 5th district residents in dozens of jobs so I can better understand the challenges my constituents face on a daily basis. I’ve done everything from delivering mail to making pinball machines to working as a car hop at Superdawg. Recently, I traded in my suit for scrubs to work with the staff of Illinois Masonic Medical Center and the following week, joined the manufacturers at Graymills to learn more about what they do.

There is nothing better than summer in Chicago, and I’m looking forward to sharing the great weather with my neighbors and constituents. I hope to see you out at a Cubs game, a street festival, or one of our district offices!

And remember, to stay up to date on what’s happening in the district and in Washington, please follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

If I can ever be of assistance to you, please let me know through the contact information below. It is an honor to serve you in Congress.

Sincerely,

Mike Quigley
www.quigley.house.gov

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