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Posts Tagged ‘budget’

Federal Deficit Tops $1 Trillion, Highlights Need to Cut Spending Now

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

Associated Press reports that “with three months still to go in the budget year,” the “federal deficit has topped $1 trillion” for the second year in a row – an unsustainable pattern driven by “runaway government spending,” according to the Heritage Foundation’s Brian Riedl. Riedl explains:

“The fact is that rapidly increasing spending will cause 100% of rising long-term deficits.  … Using the budget baseline deficit of $13 trillion for the next decade as described above, CBO figures show spending surging to a peacetime record 26.5% of GDP by 2020 and also rising steeply thereafter. Putting this together, the budget deficit, historically 2.3% of GDP, is projected to leap to 8.3% of GDP by 2020 under current policies.”

Riedl notes that the massive “stimulus” spending bill is partly to blame for the “trillion-dollar deficits beginning in 2009.” But as economist Thomas Sowell argues, “the stimulus is not actually stimulating” and “the unemployment rate remains up near double-digit levels, despite all the spending…”

That’s why Congressman Boehner is fighting to cut government spending and help small businesses create new jobs. His goal is to implement reforms that boost our economy and help get control of the debt at the same time. Our 8th Congressional District – and Ohio overall – needs jobs, not more spending and more debt.

Unfortunately, the Democrats running Washington have no plan to create jobs and no plan to cut spending – they don’t even have a budget. Instead, they’re trying to deflect attention away from their failures by 1) attacking Boehner, 2) blaming Republicans for “stalling” their agenda (despite the massive Democrat majorities in both the House and the Senate), and 3) “planning an ambitious, lame-duck session to muscle through bills in December they don’t want to defend before November.”

But John’s not letting them get away with it. In a press conference today, Boehner explained that Democrats are in trouble because their jobs-killing agenda is “the opposite of the what the American have wanted”:

BOEHNER: “The president says we’re moving forward but the American people are asking, ‘Where are the jobs?’ Democrats say they’re focused on jobs but they can’t even fulfill the basic responsibilities of governing like doing a budget or passing a troop funding bill to take care of our troops.

“They’re going try to do everything they can to make this election about us because they don’t want it to be about them. But it is about them. They’re the ones who voted to increase taxes. They’re the ones who voted for these trillions of dollars in wasteful Washington spending. It was their majority that imposed ObamaCare on our country. You can’t take the focus off them. They can try all they want; they’ve got big majorities in the House and Senate, they have the White House, and the policies they’ve pursued have been the opposite of what the American people have wanted.”

With trillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see and a $13 trillion debt, it’s time to cut government spending now. If you want to get involved in Boehner’s campaign to cut spending and create jobs, click here to become a Boehner Campaigner today!

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Boehner: “It’s Time to Cut Spending” to Create New Jobs

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

Ohio in particular has been battered by the recession, suffering from a double-digit unemployment rate for more than a year and struggling with a gaping budget deficit. US News & World Report recently covered a letter signed by 100 economists who have an idea – they say Democrats’ “economic stimulus has failed and that ‘immediate action is needed to rein in federal spending’” to create new jobs.

Congressman John Boehner, who is leading the charge for reforms that will jumpstart the economy in Ohio and across the country, told The Michael Medved Show yesterday that “it’s time to cut spending.” But Democrats aren’t listening. They’ve even canceled the budget for the year. Here’s Boehner:

BOEHNER: “Listen, I ran a small business, I met a payroll, I understand about having a budget. And when times are tough it’s more important to have a budget, not less. And here the Democrats are, they have no budget. They have no plan to control spending, no plan to create jobs, nothing. And what they did last week in this supplemental spending bill for our troops was they ‘deemed’ the budget passed. They didn’t pass a budget, they just ‘deemed’ a budget to have passed so they can continue to spend and continue to borrow.” [LISTEN]

BOEHNER: “It’s time to cut spending.” [LISTEN]

Instead, as John noted in post for TownHall.com, Democrats are focused on attacking Republicans and ramping up the same kind of “stimulus” spending that’s already failed us:

“Last week, President Obama traveled all the way to Racine, Wisconsin – a city suffering from 14 percent unemployment – and used his time there to talk about me. Of course, it’s easier for the president to attack Republicans than it is to come up with new excuses for his broken promises and failing policies. …

“The ‘stimulus’ focused on expanding government, not creating private-sector jobs. In fact, since February 2009, more than three million jobs have been lost in the private sector, but more than 400,000 federal government jobs have been added. That’s not a recipe for recovery, and the American people continue to ask: ‘Where are the jobs?’ …

“Our economy will ultimately recover, but it will do so because of the hard work and entrepreneurship of the American people, not more wasteful Washington spending. Republicans have proposed better solutions to cut spending now, help small businesses create jobs, and get our economy back on track. Less spending, more jobs – it’s that simple.”

Read the whole thing here.

Families and small businesses in our district, our state, and our country face serious challenges – challenges that require real leadership. Boehner knows what it takes to cut government spending and create new private sector jobs – he has experience with both – and he’s working hard to make those reforms a reality.

If you want to get involved in Boehner’s campaign for reform, click here to become a Boehner Campaigner today!

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Boehner Exposes Democrats’ Backroom “Scheme & Deem” Spending Plan

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

Democrats canceled the federal budget for the year but that isn’t stopping them from spending our money – or, more accurately, borrowing money to the tune of 43-cents out of every dollar spent.

In a nod to their previous attempts at “deeming” controversial legislation as “passed” without actually voting on it, Democrats have cooked up a scheme whereby they can keep spending, taxing, and borrowing by simply pretending to pass a budget. Congressman Boehner called them on it in a press conference today:

Even Democrats admit it sounds crazy. The Democrat who heads up the appropriations committee, retiring Chairman David Obey (D-WI), says the plan would “deem as passed the budget resolution which they have not been able to pass.” Or in other words, according to Obey, “the rule says ‘Let us pretend that in spite of the fact that the Congress hasn’t passed its budget, it has.’” Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) says the scheme “allows the House to pretend it has adopted a binding budget resolution…”

This is just another part of a pattern of behavior by Democratic politicians who treat taxpayers as little more than ATMs.

In his press conference, Boehner also referenced Vice President Biden’s run-in with a small business manager in Wisconsin. The VP called the manager of a frozen custard store a “smart ass” when questioned about Democrats’ tax policies.

Then there’s the president’s PR campaign designed to boost public opinion for the “stimulus” that didn’t work – but actually just booted Ohio workers off the job for a day.

And that’s all just the tip of the iceberg.

Congressman Boehner is fighting hard for real reforms that will curb government spending and create new jobs right here at home. Whether it’s plans to shut down TARP or impose strict spending caps, or the Boehner-led ban on earmarks, Republicans are stepping up when taxpayers need it most. If you want to get involved in Boehner’s campaign for reform, click here to become a Boehner Campaigner today!

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Boehner: Canceling the Budget is a “Colossal Failure of Leadership”

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

Congressman Boehner is leading the charge to cut government spending in an effort to help create new jobs. That’s why, in a press conference today, Boehner called Democrats’ failure to pass a budget this year a “colossal failure of leadership.” Watch Boehner here:

Boehner wrote a post for The Hill website hammering home the importance of a budget and arguing that “the ideology of Washington Democrats” is to “just keep spending taxpayers’ money — with no plan, no discipline and no accountability”:

“[E]very American family knows what Washington Democrats can’t seem to grasp: In tough times it’s more important — not less — to have a budget, to set priorities and to live within your means. …

“This year alone, Washington will spend a record $3.6 trillion. That’s $31,000 per household, or one out of every four dollars made in America. But instead of cutting spending to create jobs, out-of-touch Democrats are doubling down.  In fact, since last year, the president has signed into law $1.8 trillion in new government spending and $670 billion in new job-killing tax increases, which has exploded the deficit and pushed the national debt over the $13 trillion mark, a number that will hit nearly $20 trillion by 2015.”

And all of Democrats’ spending, taxing, and borrowing is only making matters worse – in Ohio and across the country. In fact, the Washington Post reported today that the Democrat agenda is dampening economic growth and causing crippling uncertainty for private sector employers:

“The chairman of the Business Roundtable, an association of top corporate executives that has been President Obama’s closest ally in the business community, accused the president and Democratic lawmakers Tuesday of creating an ‘increasingly hostile environment for investment and job creation.’

“Ivan G. Seidenberg, chief executive of Verizon Communications, said that Democrats in Washington are pursuing tax increases, policy changes and regulatory actions that together threaten to dampen economic growth and ‘harm our ability . . . to grow private-sector jobs in the U.S.’

The Democrats running Washington don’t get it and aren’t listening. If you want to help Boehner fight to curb government spending, get control of the debt, and help small businesses create new jobs, click here to become a Boehner Campaigner today!

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Democrats Propose Middle Class Tax Hikes to Fuel Budget-Less Spending Binge

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

It’s official: the Democrats running the House of Representatives have abandoned what they once called “the most basic responsibility of governing – enacting a budget.” And Congressman Boehner is calling for quick action to make up for their failure by cutting spending and helping create new jobs.

Rather than cut spending to create new jobs, Democrats are punting on the budget process and eyeing middle class tax hikes in the meanwhile to fuel their reckless spending binge. Here are the stories:

>> THE HOUSE HAS PASSED A BUDGET EVERY YEAR SINCE 1974: “The House has okayed a budget resolution every year since Congress re-wrote the budget rules in 1974.” (House Majority Leader: No Budget This Year, Fox News, 6/22/10)

>> BUT NOT THIS YEAR: “Majority Leader Steny Hoyer made official Tuesday morning what most insiders have known for months: Congress won’t do a budget this year.” (Steny Hoyer: No budget this year, Politico, 6/22/10)

>> DEMOCRATS DON’T WANT TO MAKE TOUGH CHOICES BEFORE AN ELECTION: “Budgets require tough choices. Budgets require (at least notionally) that the numbers all add up. Budgets require leadership. … [I]f they actually did a budget, they would have to explain that in no uncertain terms in a budget document, which is not something they wanted to do.” (We don’t need no stinking budget, The Hill, 6/22/10)

>> THEY JUST WANT MORE SPENDING: “If Democrats pass the $50 billion for the states plus their $100 billion ‘jobs bill’ now in front of the Senate, this would mark the third and fourth spending bills — the stimulus plan and the Obama health care bill being the first two — that will have been enacted almost exclusively with Democratic votes.” (Spending Binge, Part Deux, Wall Street Journal, 6/18/10)

>> AND HIGHER, JOBS-KILLING TAXES TO PAY FOR IT ALL: “House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Tuesday that tax increases will eventually be necessary to address the nation’s mounting debt, raising a difficult election-year issue as Democrats fight retain control of Congress. … Republicans argue that many of the high earners who would face tax increases under Obama’s plan are small business owners struggling to stay afloat in a tough economy.” (Hoyer: Permanent middle class tax cuts too costly, Associated Press, 6/22/10)

>> EVEN IF IT MEANS BREAKING THEIR PROMISES: “Tax cuts that benefit the middle class should not be ‘totally sacrosanct’ as policymakers try to plug the nation’s yawning budget gap, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Monday, acknowledging that it would be difficult to reduce long-term deficits without breaking President Obama’s pledge to protect families earning less than $250,000 a year.” (Rep. Steny Hoyer says middle-class tax breaks may not be affordable long-term, Washington Post, 6/22/10)

With families and small businesses struggling under the weight of a $13 trillion national debt and sky-high unemployment, a group of 100 economists and Congressman Boehner have called on Democrats to quickly cut spending to help create new jobs and get control of the debt.

If you want to help Boehner fight to curb government spending, get control of the debt, and help small businesses create new jobs, click here to become a Boehner Campaigner today!

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Obama Kicks Off “Recovery Summer” By Kicking Workers Off the Job

Friday, June 18th, 2010

With a $13 trillion debt, double-digit unemployment in Ohio and 1-in-10 Americans out of work, and oil gushing out of the gulf, President Obama is visiting Columbus today to tout his trillion-dollar “stimulus” spending bill that didn’t work, according to the Columbus Dispatch. But as ABC 6 in Columbus reports, not everyone is happy about that – specifically the hundreds of workers being forced off the job to make way for the president’s PR tour:

Instead of kicking off his so-called “Recovery Summer” with a PR event that kicks hundreds of workers off the job, the president should be working with Republicans to cut government spending now to create new jobs.

According to U.S. News & World Report, a letter signed by 100 economists says the “economic stimulus has failed and that ‘immediate action is needed to rein in federal spending’”:

“There are, they say, a series of hurdles ahead on the road to economic recovery including the new burdens being placed on small business by the federal government, the threat of tax hikes, and the newly-enacted healthcare law, which will discourage hiring, increase the deficit and, the chief actuary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently concluded, raise healthcare costs.

“Obama is not alone in being singled out for criticism of his handling of the economy. The letter also references Congress’s failure to propose a budget for ‘the first time in modern history.’”

The Associated Press reports that even the president’s chief economist says the “stimulus” has “already had its biggest impact on economic growth and will likely not contribute to significant expansion next year.” It’s time to take real action.

Congressman Boehner and Republicans in Congress have a real plan for creating new jobs and it starts with cutting government spending now. If you want to help Boehner fight to curb government spending, get control of the debt, and help small businesses create new jobs, click here to become a Boehner Campaigner today!

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Already Deep in Debt, ObamaCare Slaps Ohio Taxpayers With Another $1.45B

Friday, June 18th, 2010

Already suffering from 14 straight months of 10%+ unemployment, a deep budget gap, and a Democratic Governor with no plan to fix any of it, Ohio taxpayer are in for more bad news: another $1.45 billion in costs thanks to ObamaCare. The Columbus Dispatch reports:

“The sharp Medicaid expansion under the new federal health-care law will cost Ohio taxpayers $1.45 billion from 2014 through 2019, according to projections released to The Dispatch yesterday by the state. …

“‘Wow. We couldn’t afford Medicaid before the expansion,’ said veteran state Rep. Jay Hottinger, R-Newark. …

“Ohio’s cost, according to the Kaiser analysis, would be $266 million a year, nearly $1.6 billion over the six years and slightly higher than the state projection.”

This is the last thing Ohio needs, and it’s one big reason why Congressman Boehner led the fight this week on a proposal to repeal the jobs-killing, unconstitutional “individual mandate” at the heart of ObamaCare. The Hill reported:

“The resolution takes aim at one of the parts of President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats’ signature legislation, the individual mandate. Republicans had often protested the measure within the healthcare bill, arguing that it would drive up costs for consumers and that it was possibly unconstitutional.”

Democrats ultimately rejected the proposal, but Boehner isn’t giving up the fight to repeal ObamaCare and start over with common sense solutions that drive down costs for families, small businesses, and taxpayers. And sixty-three percent of Americans – including a majority of Ohioans – agree with him.

If you want to help Boehner repeal the Democrats’ government takeover of health care and fight for better solutions, join the team and become a Boehner Campaigner today!

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Reckless Spending & Massive Debt Are “A Massive Drag on Our Economy”

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

Congressman Boehner is working hard to shake things up and alert Washington to the need to cut government spending – now – to get our economy back to creating jobs. The Examiner reports:

“Boehner told reporters on Wednesday that the nation wants Congress to cut spending immediately, but he believes Democrats aren’t listening and may not even vote on spending guidelines this year. …

“‘I think it’s time for Democrats here on Capitol Hill to start listening to the American people,’ Boehner said. ‘They want spending cut and they want it cut now.  And I’m wondering, why isn’t the President looking for someone’s ‘ass to kick’ on this subject?’”

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned that “the federal budget appears to be on an unsustainable path.” In less than two years, America has seen an unprecedented level of federal spending (more than $3.6 trillion), the biggest deficits (more than $1.42 trillion), and a record national debt (more than $13 trillion). And a new report by the Treasury Department says the debt will “climb to an estimated $19.6 trillion by 2015.”

All of this reckless spending and unimaginable debt is a “massive drag on our economy,” says the ranking lawmaker on the House Ways & Means Committee. Reuters reports:

“The [Treasury] report that was sent to lawmakers Friday night with no fanfare said the ratio of debt to the gross domestic product would rise to 102 percent by 2015 from 93 percent this year. …

“‘The president’s economic experts say a 1 percent increase in GDP can create almost 1 million jobs, and that 1 percent is what experts think we are losing because of the debt’s massive drag on our economy,’ said Republican Representative Dave Camp, who publicized the report.”

In fact, a University of Maryland professor testified before the president’s so-called “debt commission” to the fact that “debt topping 90 percent of GDP could slow economic growth.” Hundreds of other economists agree, and have called on Congress to start cutting spending now in order to get control of the debt and help get our economy back on track. Last month’s “terrible” jobs report – in which private sector hiring dropped-off dramatically – only highlighted the urgency of the situation.

If you want to help Boehner fight to curb government spending, get control of the debt, and help small businesses create new jobs, click here to become a Boehner Campaigner today!

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Debt Hits $13,000,000,000,000, $42K for Every American

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

The national debt officially passed $13,000,000,000,000 this week, which “works out to an obligation of more than $42,000 for every U.S. resident” according to the Washington Times. And as Democrats continue to add to the debt, the unemployment rate remains in double-digits here in Ohio. How many Ohioans do you think have an extra $42,000 to pay for Washington’s wasteful spending?

Democrats talk a good game about fiscal responsibility but have no budget and no plan whatsoever to cut government spending and get control of the debt. Republicans do. And Congressman Boehner is leading the charge.

With more than 200 economists urging Congress to cut spending in order to create new jobs, Boehner is fighting to:

>> Impose strict, binding caps on all federal spending to “force Congress to sit down, go through the budget line-by-line, and make tough decisions”;

>> Shut down TARP and using the remaining funds for deficit reduction;

>> Freeze all non-defense, non-veterans’ health care spending for five years, and then allow it grow modestly after that;

>> Stop the bailouts and reform Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, the root cause of our financial crisis;

>>Start cutting spending now by using the president’s rescissions authority; and more.

On Boehner’s watch, Republicans have also adopted a unilateral ban all earmarks, the pork-barrel spending that hurts local communities and hampers job growth. Hot Air Blog has more on the Republican proposals for cutting spending now.

While Boehner is a long-time opponent of excessive spending, he acknowledges that Republicans spent too much last time they ran Congress. The Wall Street Journal says “Republicans lost their majority in part because they lost their way on spending,” but …

“But since Mrs. Pelosi became speaker in 2007, the national debt has risen by more than $3.5 trillion. Democrats have placed America on a path to borrow an average of $1 trillion a year for the next decade, which is more than was borrowed from 1776 to 2000.”

The simple fact is that even when Republicans voted to curb spending, Democrats objected and pushed to spend more. They opposed measures like the Deficit Reduction Act that slowed the growth of entitlement programs, and since taking control of Congress, Democrats have taken their appetite for more spending, taxing, and borrowing to a whole new level. Enough is enough.

Under Boehner’s leadership, Republicans have gotten back to basics and fought to curb government spending, get control of the debt, and help small businesses create new jobs. If you’d like to join Boehner’s fight for reform, click here and become a Boehner Campaigner today!

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Boehner Pushes Spending Cuts As Democrats Add to the Deficit

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

More than 200 economists have urged Congress to cut spending in order to create new jobs and Congressman Boehner has risen to the challenge, promoting plans that would shut down TARP and using the remaining funds for deficit reduction; freeze all non-defense, non-veterans’ health care spending for five years; stop the bailouts and reform Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac; and much more.

But according to ABC News, the Democrats in charge have gone on an unprecedented spending spree, adding “$230 billion to the national debt” in just three months, and ignoring economists and beleaguered taxpayers alike. Watch the report here.

ABC says “It took the federal government 206 years to hit the first trillion dollars in debt. To go from $12 trillion to $13 trillion, it took a little more than six months.”

And according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Democrats’ government takeover of health care – billed by their leaders as a way to increase spending and reduce the deficit at the same time – “does not substantially diminish” the “rising costs of health care” that “will put tremendous pressure on the federal budget.” In fact, as Grace Marie-Turner writes in the Washington Times:

“Federal and state governments, as well as businesses, consumers and taxpayers, are finding they cannot afford this massive and unpopular health overhaul law.”

Democrats aren’t serious about cutting spending. Republicans are. And Congressman Boehner is leading the charge to help create new jobs and get control of our debt. If you’d like to get involved and help Boehner in his fight to cut spending and create new jobs, click here and become a Boehner Campaigner today!

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