Newsletter: A Tone-Deaf Budget that will Never, Ever Balance

Statement

Dear Friends,

This week, President Obama complied with his legal duty to submit a budget to Congress.

But his $4 trillion blueprint for fiscal year 2016 falls recklessly short of our government's obligation to live within its means and begin paying off the $18 trillion debt.

The president proposed an audacious tax, spend and borrow scheme that would balloon our debt to $26 trillion by 2025. We were $10.6 trillion in the hole when he took office.

Rather than offering tax reform to level the playing field and boost the economy, the president wants to raise taxes by $2.1 trillion over a decade.

He wants to increase spending by $2.4 trillion, a 7 percent increase next year and a 65 percent jump in 10 years.

This abdication of responsibility is at the heart of why so many Americans have all but given up on Washington.

Even the president's allies are skeptical. The left-leaning Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution, debunks Obama's claim that his budget will help the middle class.

"The proposal would have very little net impact on middle-income households," says the Tax Policy Center. The middle 20 percent of households -- making between $49,000 and $84,000 -- would see their annual after-tax incomes drop by an average of $7, according to the center.

The president has boasted of providing "a little bit of a cushion" for working families. More like a Whoopie cushion, now available at Target for $3.

Idahoans sent me to Congress to end unsustainable government growth. In the new Congress, I'll be joining my colleagues in making the hard choices necessary to get us back on track.

Only by restraining government, bringing fairness to the Tax Code and reducing regulatory burdens will we unleash American innovation and improve our standard of living across the spectrum.

Thank you,

Source