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On February 19, Congress passed historic legislation to cut over $100 billion from government spending in the last seven months of the current fiscal year. The debate on the spending bill lasted for five days and included hundreds of amendments and I voted in favor of this legislation to further support crucial efforts to rein in the out-of-control spending in Washington, DC. For some, cuts of this magnitude can be hard to swallow as they will directly impact many Americans, but we must face the reality of what will happen if we do not make these hard decisions.

This past week, I introduced legislation to ease the burden on individuals and families taking advantage of telework, by proposing an annual tax credit for qualified teleworking expenses.

More and more, folks have acquired equipment and upgraded technology to create a work environment in their homes, and the expenses can add up quickly. With all of the benefits of telework, I believe it's important to make it easier for working individuals to benefit from the flexibilities of today's technologies.

This week in Washington, DC, the critical discussion on the economy and spending continued. The Appropriations Committee began its work to craft legislation to continue the federal government's operations after March 4, 2011, when the current law expires. As we see the proposals come out, there are tough decisions to be made within the next few weeks about what we need to do to get government spending under control. Simply continuing at current levels is not acceptable. We are where we are today with the current deficit and the highest debt in U.S.

My week started with a trip to the USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH (CVN 77), the Navy's newest nuclear powered aircraft carrier, and a true modern marvel. I flew down to the ship as a guest of Admiral Kirkland Donald, the Director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion. We flew from Washington, DC, to Mayport, Florida, where we boarded an aircraft flown by the pilots from the BUSH where she was conducting operations of the coast of Florida.

It was a busy week in Washington that began with the annual State of the Union Address from the President. I had hoped to hear first and foremost the ways that Washington would trim its waistline to cut the deficit. However, the President's address failed to look beyond the "Washington" state of mind by suggesting more deficit spending to fix our economy. He proposed a partial freeze of the current out-of-control spending levels in the federal government. We cannot continue the spending habits that got us to the point of record deficits and national debt.