Time to get tough, fire Congress

After serving 11 years in the U.S. Army, I understand the importance of a strong, properly equipped military. Like most vets, I saw firsthand the wasteful spending that occurs on overseas operations.

At West Point, I taught cadets Article I of the Constitution which gives Congress the power of the purse. Yet it is the Executive, in Defense Secretary Gates, that recently proposed cuts in military spending. Incumbent members of Congress, bent on their own re-election, seem unable and unwilling to do their fiscal duty. This isn't a party problem -- it's an incumbent problem.

In the time Jo Ann Emerson has been in office we've increased our national debt by $8,072,355,112,448, or $27,000 for every man, woman and child in our district. She'd like to blame someone else for putting us in debt to China, but as an appropriator, she writes the checks. She represents DC politics as usual, voting for her own pay raises while refusing to make the tough decisions that cutting the deficit requires.

It's time to get tough. This November, let's fire Congress and send new blood and a message to Washington. I support term limits and a balanced-budget amendment and have the military background to lead the way in making our nation more secure.

TOMMY SOWERS, 614 N. Pine St., Suite 202, Rolla, MO 65401