Floridians are concerned about the out-of-control spending in Washington that is piling up debt. Today, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says the “federal budget is on an unsustainable path.” Right now, forty cents of every dollar the federal government spends is being borrowed from future generations. This is unacceptable and a $14 trillion debt is unsustainable. We need a government that stops spending more money than it takes in.

Senator Rubio has made a commitment to Floridians to tackle this debt problem. To start cutting our spending and reduce the deficit, Senator Rubio believes that we must immediately freeze non-defense, non-veterans spending at 2008 spending levels.

He also believes that we need to cut the budgets of the White House and Congress by ten percent and has co-sponsored legislation that would require all savings from Congressional budgets to be used for deficit or debt reduction.

Furthermore, Senator Rubio will work to reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy, reallocate the bank bailout program funding to cut the debt, end the stimulus program, require new safeguards against raising taxes, automatically sunset government programs and pass a presidential line-item veto. We must also pass a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget. In November 2010, Senator Rubio supported several resolutions committing Senate Republicans to passing a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ending the stimulus program, freezing discretionary spending at 2008 levels and implementing a net federal hiring freeze. Senator Rubio also successfully worked with fellow Senate Republicans to institute an earmark moratorium as he has committed to the people of Florida not to seek any earmarks in office.

Finally, we must reform our entitlement programs. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are going broke and will bankrupt our country. Benefits for those currently receiving them or those approaching retirement should not and will not change. But for those who are younger, the programs will need to change or they will no longer exist when they themselves approach retirement age. Senator Rubio is willing to confront this reality, to talk about it with Floridians, and to come up with common-sense solutions that will safeguard our future.