OUR PRINCIPLE: The money the government spends does not belong to the government; it belongs to the taxpayers who earned it. Republicans believe Americans deserve to keep more of their own money to save and invest for the future, and low tax policies help drive a strong and healthy economy. Bringing the deficit into balance is our responsibility to this generation and future generations; tax-and-spending our way to a balanced budget will not balance the budget but instead threaten our economy and sap the American people for more of their tax dollars.



The Administration announced this year’s federal deficit will narrow to $205 billion. The deficit now has been cut in half in just the last three years, and is at its lowest point in five years. With each new deficit report comes more good news. As a fraction of the economy, the deficit is at its lowest level since 2002, right after the economic pain caused by the 9/11 attacks.

• “The nation's budget deficit will drop to $205 billion in the fiscal year that ends in September, less than half of what it was at its peak in 2004, according to new White House estimates. It’s also a gain over the $244 billion predicted by President Bush in February…” (AP, 7/11/07)

• “The deficit peaked at $413 billion in 2004, though economists say the best way to measure the deficit is in relation to the size of the economy. By that standard, the current deficit, at 1.5 percent of gross domestic product, is the lowest since 2002.” (AP, 7/11/07)

Republican pro-growth policies have helped keep our economy strong, resulting in increased tax revenue even though taxes have remained low. In the last six-and-a-half years, Republican passed tax relief has returned $2 trillion to the taxpayers who earned it and fueled our historic economic growth and record of job creation. Republicans have worked to keep spending in check, curbing entitlement spending by $40 billion in the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act and fighting for greater fiscal responsibility and earmark transparency today.

• “The deficit last year was $248 billion and has closed in recent years due to impressive revenue growth from the healthy economy.” (AP, 7/11/07)

•  “Income tax revenue has climbed 11 percent so far this financial year, to $765.6 billion, while corporate tax receipts have gained 15 percent, to $210.9 billion. ‘The deficit is improving faster than almost anybody had anticipated and it's entirely because revenue growth has far exceeded even the most optimistic expectations,’ said Chris Wiegand, a Citigroup Inc. economist in New York.” (Bloomberg News, 7/11/07)

• America has experienced five years of uninterrupted economic growth, with 8.2 million new jobs created since August 2003. Unemployment remains a low 4.5 percent.

Democrats’ reckless tax-and-spend budget and fiscal irresponsibility will undermine our progress in reducing the deficit, jeopardize our healthy economy and raise taxes on the American people. The Democrats have shown no interest in addressing the generational crisis of entitlement spending, instead proposing a bill that creates nine new entitlement programs on the same day Americans’ receive good deficit news.

• “House Democrats will adopt a budget resolution containing the largest tax increase in U.S. history amid massive national inattention.” (Washington Post, Robert Novak, 3/29/07)

• “Congressional Democrats are employing another Washington spending fiction to mask more spending increases in their proposed $2.9 trillion federal budget for fiscal 2008. It's called the 'Reserve Fund' ... The problem is that like all lies, Washington's spending fictions are meant to obscure the truth about irresponsible budgets...” (Washington Examiner, 5/18/07)

• “Will Democrats try to raise your taxes? ... The budget bills create dozens of 'reserve funds' for spending and tax-cutting priorities, providing they are paid for -- with tax increases, Republicans predict...” (USA Today, 3/30/07)

• “Bush is trying to hold discretionary spending to no more than $933 billion for the coming fiscal year -- roughly $60 billion more than the current year -- but Democrats in Congress are pushing for an additional $23 billion for domestic programs.” (Washington Post, 6/17/07)