Boehner: Both Democrats, GOP must work together to solve deficit crisis

House Republican Leader John Boehner (Ohio) stressed Wednesday that both parties needed to work together to rein in the "reckless spending" that has brought federal deficit to its record high.

In an op-ed published this morning in the USA Today, Boehner also responded to the editorial board's criticism that his party was without "credible conservative ideas for fixing" the country's burgeoing federal deficit and debt -- an argument, he said, that overlooked the many alternative plans his colleagues have offered to stabilize the economy and address such issues as climate change and healthcare reform.

"As I've stated before, Republicans lost our way on fiscal responsibility when we held the majority in Congress. Since then, we have held firm to our commitment to show the American people we learned our lesson by offering better solutions to hold the line on spending, rein in red ink and get the nation's fiscal house in order," the House's top Republican explained.

"In stark contrast, the Obama administration and the Democrats in Congress have gone on a spending spree the likes of which our nation has never seen," he added. "Now, even while operating on a budget that doubles the debt in five years and triples it in 10, Democrats are proposing a new round of spending — and borrowing — to make up for the "stimulus" that isn't working. This is on top of a trillion dollar government takeover of health care, a cap-and-trade national energy tax and other costly initiatives passed this year.

Ultimately, Boehner urged both parties to work together "to ensure the American people have a government that lives within its means."

The Republican leader's tough words arrive about a week after the Treasury Department officially pegged the 2009 budget deficit at more than $1.4 trillion -- its highest to date. Republicans have since blamed those numbers on Democrats' billion-dollar federal stimulus and bank rescue programs, but Democrats have shot back that some of the credit for the country's current budget crisis is owed to the Bush administration, which also incurred substantial deficits.