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Congress writing costly checks that taxpayers can't afford to cash
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12/14/09 04:17 PM ET
One of the primary reasons that I chose to run for Congress last year was out of a deep concern for the fiscal state of our nation. Unfortunately, our Democratic Leadership in Congress and in the White House have opted to increase our economic struggles through spending, spending and more spending.
In his first year in office, President Obama has teamed with Congressional Democrats to quadruple our national deficit from $400 billion to $1.85 trillion. Unemployment also remains at 10% in spite of record federal spending. A responsible head of household might look for ways to curb spending, tighten the purse strings and work to reduce our deficit.
In just one year in Congress, House Democrats have set records for unprecedented spending, including a failed $787 billion stimulus bill and a costly $821 billion cap-and-trade energy bill. And, of course, the health care reform bill now carries a hefty price tag of $1.3 trillion.
Instead of reigning in spending, Congressional Democrats, the head of our federal household, have proposed to raise the debt ceiling from $12.1 trillion to an even more staggering $13.9 trillion. After this increase, they will have raised the limit on the federal credit card by nearly $5 trillion. That’s an increase of 55 percent since Democrats took control of Congress in 2007.
In a recession with extremely limited resources, Congress has gone on a spending spree writing costly checks that taxpayers simply cannot afford to cash. We have a duty to ensure that we are not mortgaging our children’s future.
Equally troubling to me is the notion that we won’t be able to vote on raising the debt ceiling as a stand-alone bill. This institution was created to initiate a healthy debate on the policies that come before it. Sadly, my Democratic colleagues have opted to shut out debate on this matter by attaching this fiscally irresponsible measure to the defense appropriations bill.
The Democrats don’t want to debate their spending and know they will have serious trouble garnering support to increase our nation’s debt limit. So those of us concerned with an escalating national debt will be forced to choose between support for our troops or opposing uncontrolled federal spending.
Slick maneuvers like this are part of the reason why the American people are fed up with Congress. The Democratic Leadership should not be afraid to debate the real issues that confront us. Exploiting funding for our troops is both deplorable and demoralizing, and I will continue to oppose such actions. We owe the American people, our children and grandchildren, and the men and women risking their lives in defense of our freedom, much better than this.
In his first year in office, President Obama has teamed with Congressional Democrats to quadruple our national deficit from $400 billion to $1.85 trillion. Unemployment also remains at 10% in spite of record federal spending. A responsible head of household might look for ways to curb spending, tighten the purse strings and work to reduce our deficit.
Instead of reigning in spending, Congressional Democrats, the head of our federal household, have proposed to raise the debt ceiling from $12.1 trillion to an even more staggering $13.9 trillion. After this increase, they will have raised the limit on the federal credit card by nearly $5 trillion. That’s an increase of 55 percent since Democrats took control of Congress in 2007.
In a recession with extremely limited resources, Congress has gone on a spending spree writing costly checks that taxpayers simply cannot afford to cash. We have a duty to ensure that we are not mortgaging our children’s future.
Equally troubling to me is the notion that we won’t be able to vote on raising the debt ceiling as a stand-alone bill. This institution was created to initiate a healthy debate on the policies that come before it. Sadly, my Democratic colleagues have opted to shut out debate on this matter by attaching this fiscally irresponsible measure to the defense appropriations bill.
The Democrats don’t want to debate their spending and know they will have serious trouble garnering support to increase our nation’s debt limit. So those of us concerned with an escalating national debt will be forced to choose between support for our troops or opposing uncontrolled federal spending.
Slick maneuvers like this are part of the reason why the American people are fed up with Congress. The Democratic Leadership should not be afraid to debate the real issues that confront us. Exploiting funding for our troops is both deplorable and demoralizing, and I will continue to oppose such actions. We owe the American people, our children and grandchildren, and the men and women risking their lives in defense of our freedom, much better than this.
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