Deficit & Debt

Since I first came to Congress in 2001, I have been sounding the alarms on federal spending and our national debt.  Since the late 1990s when we had a balanced budget under President Clinton, federal spending has ballooned out of control and the federal government has made too many promises it can no longer afford.  I firmly believe we can no longer avoid addressing the nation’s fiscal challenges because we are passing this immense burden on to our children and grandchildren and it is a threat to our national security.

We must stop the out-of-control spending in Washington and begin reducing our skyrocketing national debt.  If we do not, we will begin to suffer from massive inflation costing our already fragile economy even more jobs.  I am committed to finding new ways to jumpstart our economy through responsible, common sense policies.  We are faced with the worst economic recession since World War II and it is time for bold action.

American families have tightened their belts in these tough times and it is time that the federal government takes the same responsible approach to budgeting.  We have to change the way Washington operates and begin working together to develop solutions to our problems.  As a member of the fiscally conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition, I have helped develop a comprehensive plan aimed at cutting spending and balancing the budget. 

For more information about each proposal in the Blueprint, click here.

With this blueprint, I am helping to introduce several common sense proposals that will put this country back on a path to balanced budgets and long term fiscal sustainability.  It is time to change the way Washington operates and we must begin to sincerely work together and develop solutions to these systemic problems.  We must roll up our sleeves and make the tough decisions necessary to once again put the country back on secure economic footing.  Washington needs a good dose of some common sense and I intend to provide it.

Politicians have a long history of talking about the deficit and debt, but few have concrete ideas, the courage or the will power to change the unsustainable fiscal path our country is heading down.  However, I, along with my Blue Dog colleagues, have put forth this Blueprint for Fiscal Reform to provide a concrete pathway to reduced deficits and it includes a number of proposals that historically have earned bipartisan support. 

For more information about each proposal, click here.

-- Blueprint for Fiscal Reform Bill Tracker --

Click on a bill title for description, text of the bill and to track its status.