Issue Position: Budget and Fiscal Responsibility

Issue Position

It's unfair to young people and the next generation for today's Congress not to get government spending under control. Washington's culture of reckless spending is the root cause of our nation's escalating debt crisis. The federal government is borrowing over 30 cents of each dollar spent and our national debt has skyrocketed to over $16.4 trillion. The situation will only get worse as spending on entitlement programs--which already represent over fifty-five percent of federal spending--is set to skyrocket in the coming few years. Our growing debt burden is hurting job creation and economic growth, and it threatens to shatter confidence in our economy.

I will work tirelessly to tackle the federal government's massive debt problem, and I believe Congress should examine every federal program to ensure that it is working, cost-effective, and a legitimate function of the federal government. In addition, I'm pleased that the House of Representatives has committed to balancing the budget within ten years. I believe this is just the most basic step to restoring fiscal responsibility in Washington. The first bill I introduced, the Balanced Budget Accountability Act, would terminate pay for members of Congress if our respective chamber (House or Senate) does not pass a budget each year that would meet this balanced budget deadline. Beyond that, we need to balance our budget every year so that we can start paying down the federal debt. It is imperative that Congress address the escalating debt crisis so we can leave our children and grandchildren a strong, prosperous country.

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