Rep. Tom Graves: My Constituents Overwhelmingly Support Entitlement Reform

Tina Korbe /

Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.) — a self-described “pro-life, pro-gun constitutional conservative” — never expected to serve on the House Appropriations Committee. As he puts it, he didn’t come to Washington to be “a part of spending money.”

Now, even though he serves on Appropriations, he still makes spending cuts his focus.

“I’m thankful leadership has allowed me to be who I am, to ask tough questions and to take a different approach in the committee process,” Graves said yesterday at Heritage during The Bloggers Briefing. “My hopes are that we can reform the way Washington operates.”

Fortunately for Graves, his constituents support his reform agenda. Of 627 constituents polled at a recent tele-townhall meeting, 463 — or 74 percent — want major reforms to entitlements.

“Our constituents understand; they know we we need to make significant changes,” Graves said. “Everyone agrees we need to move toward a balanced budget, we need spending caps in place and we need major reforms to the entitlement areas.”

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