Letter to Representative Schweikert  (R-AZ-01) about the OBBB

Written By H. Pike Oliver

On July 2, 2025 I sent this letter via email to a long-time deficit hawk who is my Congressman—David Schweikert (R-AZ 01). The letter was drafted by artificial intelligence (Microsoft Copilot), and I edited only one sentence. 

From: "H. Pike Oliver" <pike@urbanexus.com>

Date: July 2, 2025 at 05:24:06 MST

To: schweikert.scheduling@mail.house.gov

Subject: One Big Beautiful Bill is a deficit disaster

Dear Congressman Schweikert,

As a constituent, I’m writing to urge you to oppose the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB). While the bill includes provisions that may appeal to some voters, I’m deeply concerned about its long-term fiscal impact.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the Senate version of the bill would add $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, a full trillion more than the House version. This is not a path consistent with the principles of fiscal discipline and deficit reduction that you’ve championed throughout your career.

I understand that the bill includes tax cuts and regulatory rollbacks, but these benefits come at the cost of massive increases to the statutory debt limit. The bill’s structure—bundling unrelated provisions into a single package—makes it difficult to support without compromising on core values of transparency and accountability.

I urge you to stand firm in your commitment to responsible budgeting and vote against the OBBB. Your leadership on this issue matters deeply to those of us who believe that fiscal integrity is essential to our nation’s future.

Respectfully,

H.Pike Oliver

pike@urbanexus.com

H. Pike Oliver

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, H. Pike Oliver has worked on real estate development strategies and master-planned communities since the early 1970s, including nearly eight years at the Irvine Company. He resided in the City of Irvine for five years in the 1980s and nine years in the 1990s.

As the founder and sole proprietor of URBANEXUS, Oliver works on advancing equitable and sustainable real estate development and natural lands management. He is also an affiliate instructor at the Runstad Department of Real Estate at the University of Washington.

Early in his career, Oliver worked for public agencies, including the California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research where he was a principal contributor to An Urban Strategy for California. Prior to relocating to Seattle in 2013, Oliver taught real estate development at Cornell University and directed the undergraduate program in urban and regional studies. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute, the American Planning Association and a founder and emeritus member of the California Planning Roundtable.

Oliver is a graduate of the urban studies and planning program at San Francisco State University and earned a master’s degree in urban planning at UCLA.

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