Congressman Vern Buchanan; Obama Budget Op-ed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MARCH 27, 2009

Budget Borrows, Taxes, and Spends Too Much By Congressman Vern Buchanan

If you believe as I do that the federal government should be smaller and more efficient, and that Congress should focus on balancing the budget and reducing the debt, then you will share my concerns about the federal budget proposed by President Obama. The administration’s budget borrows, taxes, and spends more than any other budget in history. It adds trillions of dollars to our national debt and proposes an unprecedented expansion in the size and scope of the federal government. Tax increases and deficit spending on big government programs won’t boost the economy. It will discourage job creation and burden future generations with an enormous debt. The President’s budget would raise taxes on almost every American household and small business. The last thing we should do in a slow economy is raise taxes on small businesses, which create most of the jobs and on hard working families struggling to make ends meet. The record $1.4 trillion tax hike would help fund the administrations aggressive expansion of the federal government’s role in health care, education and the environment. I support the President’s goals of affordable health care, quality education, and energy independence. But I am opposed to increasing taxes and spending, and expanding the size of government to a level we can’t afford. The administration has proposed a $725 billion increase in discretionary spending and a $1.2 trillion increase in entitlement spending. This is on the heels of a trillion-dollar stimulus package and a $410 billion omnibus – both of which I opposed.

The spending plan would triple the debt held by the public over ten years. That is more debt that we have incurred in the entire history of the United States. However, neither party has done enough to control spending. The federal deficit is expected to hit $1.8 billion this year and our total public debt is over $11 trillion. The money we borrow today will be paid for by future generations who will inherit our debt. It is morally wrong to leave our children and grandchildren a staggering national debt. That is why the first bill I introduced in Congress would require a balanced federal budget. What our country needs is a responsible budget we can afford that will help strengthen our economy and put Americans back to work. The way to do that is to let families and small businesses keep more of what they earn, stop borrowing from China to spend more than we receive in revenues, restrain the growth of government, which will allow us to provide our children and grand children with the same opportunities we have had. ###