WASHINGTON DC -- House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) today issued the following statement on the President’s FY2013 Budget:

“American small businesses are facing an unprecedented number of barriers to growing their companies, and today’s budget adds to their problems by fueling the cloud of debt that lingers over the nation. This budget is bad for small businesses because it further strains the economy by worsening the national debt and punishing business owners by raising their taxes. Despite the obvious need to address our nation’s unsustainable debt and despite thePresident’s promise to cut the deficit in half, this budget actually increases it even more, marking the fourth straight year of deficits exceeding $1 trillion.

“Make no mistake about it – we have a debt crisis because Washington has a spending problem. Not only will raising taxes negatively impact business growth, but this administration has signaled that it is likely to use any new revenue to grow the size of government in the name of stimulus, rather than paying down the debt.

“Unlike the Senate, House Republicans have passed a budget that addresses the real drivers of our debt and includes pro-growth tax reform that eliminates loopholes and subsidies. Addressing our debt through cutting federal spending and pro-growth tax reform will help create a better environment for small business job creation – not more deficit spending and not more unfair tax increases.”

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