Sen Ron Johnson: Too Much Govt Hurts People

At a time when there is much finger pointing in the GOP some are looking for better ways to reach the people. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) is one such person. This week he announced a “Victims of Government” project where he introduces Americans to the effects of too much government and federal regulations. The Victims of Government series is meant to portray the impact of over-regulation through real life stories.

Watch the first installment as Senator Johnson explains the cost and expense of one man who tried a common sense approach to stop flooding in his neighborhood only to be thwarted by agency upon agency. Now more than 20 years later the man has spent all his money, is still waiting on permits. . . and there is still flooding.

Share this with your friends who don’t understand the problems of mismanagement within the giant self serving government bureaucracy.

Read the press release below:

Washington, D.C. – Senator Ron Johnson (WI), Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Financial and Contracting and Oversight today announced the release of the first installment of his Victims of Government project. The series will perform oversight of the cost and impact of unnecessary, ineffective, and excessive federal regulations. Johnson also invited anyone who has been dealing with excess regulation to submit their stories on his Senate website.

“The root cause of our economic and fiscal problems is the size, the scope, and the cost of government – all the rules, all the regulations, and all the government intrusion into our lives,” Johnson said. “The Victims of Government series is designed to demonstrate that – in a very personal and powerful way. Over-regulation consumes massive amounts of the people’s money, too often lacks common sense, has no heart, costs jobs and economic growth.”

Today Johnson released a video explaining the case of Steven Lathrop, a resident of Granite City, Illinois who has spent more than 20 years attempting to comply with federal wetlands regulations. That video can be viewed on Senator Johnson’s website here.

Johnson also announced that he and Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) have sent a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers, seeking to clarify the regulations with which Mr. Lathrop has been attempting to comply.

Johnson said, “I am pleased that Senator McCaskill has joined me in writing to the Corps of Engineers to request their assistance in addressing Steve Lathrop’s situation. Hopefully shining a little light on this awful mess will lead to a resolution that allows Steve to get on with his life, and recover some of the investment that federal involvement has cost him.”

More information regarding the Lathrop case will be available at the Victims of Government blog on Senator Johnson’s website. Senator Johnson encourages people dealing with burdensome and intrusive regulation to share their stories, and anyone interested in the cost of regulation to check the website in the future.