Newsletter: Kicking the Can Down the Road. Again.
Statement
Dear Friends,
I came to Washington to find solutions to our nation's most pressing problems. This week's decision by Congress to continue to duck the hard choices necessary to tackle our $18 trillion debt was a great disappointment.
Unfortunately it's become routine for Congress to avoid confronting our spending problem, leaving the hard work to future lawmakers and saddling our children and grandchildren with the economic consequences.
The latest procrastination came Wednesday, as the Senate and House passed a bill extending the expired fiscal 2015 budget until December.
The bill passed with the support of all 186 Democrats, along with 91 Republicans. I was among 151 Republicans who voted no.
The bill uses a budget gimmick to classify about 15 percent of Defense spending as "Overseas Contingency Operations," overriding the one meaningful act of Congressional restraint since I took office -- the spending caps in the 2011 Budget Control Act.
Meanwhile non-defense discretionary spending exceeds the caps, increasing pressure to abandon these restraints. Not only does the bill continue to fund Planned Parenthood, it also allows the Obama Administration to fund its illegal executive amnesty program on immigration and the lifting of sanctions against Iran.
Our national debt has reached 74 percent of our gross domestic product. That's the highest debt ratio since World War II. On our current course things get worse, with debt projected to reach 77 percent of GDP in 2025.
I agree with Admiral Mike Mullen, who has long warned that excessive federal spending risks surrendering our leadership role in the world. "The most significant threat to our national security is our debt," Mullen said in 2010 when he was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
But Congress doesn't even fulfill our basic duties. The House has passed just six of 12 spending bills through the Appropriations Committee process. The Senate hasn't even debated an appropriations bill, less alone pass one.
We'll revisit the budget in December, under new Republican leadership in the House. My sincere hope is that our party will finally fulfill our promises to restrain spending and the debt.
Thank you,
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