Spending Cuts and Debt

Since being elected I have worked to get federal spending under control. In my first term we were able to cut discretionary spending by $95 billion. Importantly, there were no earmarks in any bill we passed. In fact, we cut total domestic discretionary spending two years in a row for the first time since World War II and the cumulative deficit reduction measures we have passed since 2010 cut the deficit in half to $642 billion. I have also long supported a Balanced Budget Amendment. As millions of Americans continue to cut back and make difficult choices in order to stay on budget, they should expect their government to do the same and require that our budgets balance each year.

Our federal budget deficit and national debt are both projected to rise sharply over coming decades as entitlement spending grows, which means there is still more to be done. Moreover, even as we continue to fail to stay on top of the current debt, many in Washington argue still that more government and more spending is the solution to our fiscal problems. That is why I have consistently voted for the proposals created by the House Budget Committee, which would balance the budget within 10 years. President Obama’s budget proposals never balance. My priority is finding a long-term plan to end our out-of-control spending, which has left our country more than $19 trillion in debt.