Legislative Update by Congressman Mike Ross
The Blue Dog Budget Alternative
 
March 14, 2003
 
This week in Congress, I was pleased to help welcome mayors and city leaders from towns throughout our district and across the state as the Arkansas Municipal League paid their Congressional Delegation a visit.  In talking with them about their needs and concerns, I heard again and again of the hardships our local governments face in this struggling economy. 

As we begin the debate in Congress over funding for 2004, I am pleased to let our local leaders know that I am fighting to put an end to deficit spending and restore fiscal responsibility to the budget, stimulating the economy and creating jobs.  On Thursday, I joined fellow members of the conservative Blue Dog Coalition in releasing our 2004 alternative to the budget put forth by President Bush. 

The Blue Dog plan combines short-term economic stimulus and immediate tax relief for all taxpayers with long-term fiscal discipline to balance the budget by 2009 and return to saving the Social Security surplus by 2013.  The Blue Dog budget has nearly $2 trillion less debt than the President’s budget over the next ten years.  Our budget provides the President with everything he requested for defense and homeland security, in fact it sets aside a reserve fund for additional funding for homeland security if the administration requests it.  The Blue Dog budget will hold Congress accountable for increases in the debt tax by limiting increases in the debt limit and requiring regular votes by Congress to raise the debt limit until the budget is on a path toward balance.

That’s important, because the first $2,559 you and I pay in taxes does not go to improve education, does not go to improve roads, it does not go to provide seniors with prescription drugs – it goes toward paying the interest on the national debt; $1 billion every day.

As a Blue Dog, I have stressed the need for fiscal responsibility from day one in office.  My grandparents’ generation left this country a little bit better off for my parents’ generation, and they did the same for my generation.  If we continue to ignore the long-term consequences of our budgetary actions, we will be forcing our children and grandchildren to pay a steep price for the deficit spending we make today.  It’s time to put an end to this unhealthy spending.  Our country cannot afford to wait any longer.


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