| Friends,
Fiscal conservatives
across the country scored a meaningful win this week in Congress by
taking a stand on the President’s request for a clean debt limit
increase. I’d like to take a moment to explain why this debt ceiling
debate is so important.
For the first time,
a line was drawn in the sand. This debate set a precedent for any President
going forward, Republican or Democrat, that gone are the days of a debt
limit increase without corresponding or greater spending cuts. Far too
often, requests to raise the debt ceiling have been met with little
debate, zero negotiation and no regard for the fiscal consequences of
kicking the can down the road and growing our nation’s massive
debt. Those days are over and this shift is a major win for the American
people.
For example, President
Obama’s last request in February of 2010 was a clean $2 trillion
debt limit increase with zero spending cuts, zero caps, zero reform
and not a mention of a balanced budget amendment. Not a single House
Republican voted for this bill, but the then Democrat majority pushed
it through and the borrow and spend status quo continued on in Washington.
Fast forward a short
year and a half later and the President is back at the trough after
blowing through the entire $2 trillion pot of free money. The President’s
initial calls were for a repeat of February 2010: a clean debt limit
increase. Well, times have changed and my conservative colleagues and
I stood our ground and pronounced this ridiculous, irresponsible request
as dead on arrival in the House of Representatives.
We responded by
passing Cut, Cap and Balance legislation and sending it to the Senate,
which I still believe is the only true solution to our nation’s
debt crisis. The Democrat-controlled Senate refused to even bring Cut,
Cap and Balance up for a vote. This should outrage the American people
who have to balance their budgets every day.
Forces wanting the
status quo in Washington reared their ugly heads, yet fiscal conservatives
held strong for a deal that would forever change the way Washington
handles spending. While the agreement will not solve the problem overnight,
the huge leap forward will ensure spending cuts, spending caps and demands
a crucial vote in both chambers on a balanced budget amendment to the
Constitution. Yesterday I voted for a revised version of the Budget
Control Act. This agreement doesn’t go as far as I wanted, but
it still represents real progress for the American people by cutting
spending, reducing our debt and forcing a vote on a balanced budget
amendment.
I voted for this
bill because in an era of divided government, it is a game changer.
For the first time, debt ceiling legislation completely offsets the
President’s debt limit increase with $2.4 trillion in spending
cuts, caps our future spending, pushes the Democrat controlled Senate
into a corner on entitlement reform and requires the Senate to follow
our lead and hold an up or down vote for a balanced budget amendment
on the Senate floor – something we all know Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid would have never allowed to happen on his own.
Let me be clear,
the agreement reached by Congress does not solve our debt crisis, and
anyone who says otherwise is not telling the truth. But we took the
largest step forward possible with President Obama in the White House
and Harry Reid in control of the Senate. We changed the debate and gained
the leverage we need to continue fighting another day for fiscal sanity.
This huge leap forward only marks the beginning of the fight on Washington’s
borrow and spend policies. I assure you that I will continue this fight
until our budget is balanced and fiscal sanity is restored.
Sincerely,
Representative John Sullivan (8/2/2011)
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