In a message sent Dec. 9 via email newsletter, newly reelected Republican Congressman Patrick McHenry says he won't vote for any tax increases to avert the so-called "fiscal cliff," which is basically a series of drastic tax hikes and spending cuts that will automatically kick-in if no other deal is made by the President and congress in the next month. McHenry represents the 10th District, which includes most of Asheville. Here's the full text of his email newsletter:

FROM THE DESK OF
CONGRESSMAN PATRICK McHENRY
10th DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA

Dear Friends,

You’re probably hearing a lot these days about the ongoing debate in Washington over how best to avert the Fiscal Cliff. While the President’s tax hikes might make good political fodder, that doesn’t make them good policy. Even if the President is successful, our debt will still go up about $7 trillion dollars over the next 10 years. What’s worse, a study by Ernst & Young released this year shows that over 700,000 jobs would be lost as a direct result of the President’s proposal.

You know that I’ve never voted to increase taxes, and I don’t intend to do so now. We need economic growth and jobs, not tax rates going up. In fact, a recent study by the Joint Economic Committee shows that if our economy was growing at the rate of past recoveries, revenue would be $653 billion higher per year than it is today. That’s close to the revenue President Obama’s tax hikes could achieve in a decade.

Increasing taxes won’t solve our problems or create jobs. Pro-growth tax reform and meaningful spending cuts will. That’s why I’ve been fighting for a fairer, flatter tax code coupled with entitlement reform to cut our debt and jumpstart our economy.

I’ll continue to fight for you to keep more of your hard earned paycheck. I hope you’ll continue to contact me with your thoughts and ideas on these issues.

God Bless,

Patrick McHenry
Member of Congress