The release last week of a $3.8 trillion budget proposal from President Barack Obama for the 2013 fiscal year that begins in October is one with which Dist. 3 Rep. Lynn Westmoreland said he cannot abide.
From his perspective, Westmoreland said the proposal is dangerous and a fiscal reflection of less-than-adequate leadership during the past three years.
The budget proposal includes $3.8 trillion in spending and carries a deficit of $901 billion. Among those having their say was Westmoreland. The Congressman said the budget proposal increases spending over the next 10 years, with the $3.8 trillion figure climbing to $5.8 trillion in expenditures by 2022.
“Speaking of our debt, when the president first took office in February 2009, he made a promise to ‘cut the deficit we inherited in half by the end of his first term in office.’ Did he honor that promise in this budget, the last budget of his first term and his last opportunity to keep his promise? Nope. Instead, he has once again proposed a budget that is projected to produce almost $1 trillion in deficit spending. Even more shocking, if we followed the president’s ten year budget proposal submitted to Congress today, our country would be $25.9 trillion in debt by the end of FY 2022,” Westmoreland said.
Commenting on an aspect of the President’s proposal, Westmoreland said Obama aims to look to the nation’s job creators to raise tax dollars. He cited the proposed $1.9 trillion in new taxes that will not be used to decrease the current $15 trillion of indebtedness facing the country.
Westmoreland said the budget proposal essentially bypassed the “largest drivers” of U.S. debt.
“Well, he must have addressed the entitlement programs that are the largest drivers of our debt, especially Medicare and Social Security, right? Nope. Instead, he passes the buck on to the next guy to figure them out, allowing them to slip into bankruptcy and forcing seniors to face the reality that they may see their benefits dramatically cut or ended all together in the near future.”
Calling the proposal bloated and filled with tricks and gimmicks, Westmoreland maintained that the proposal displays a lack of concern for the economic strain affecting job growth.
“To be honest, I can’t say I’m surprised by the president’s bloated budget proposal. After all, he’s shown us time and again how unconcerned he is by the serious problems facing our country today. When faced with a mounting debt threatening to bankrupt our nation, he proposed spending more money. When his $800 billion stimulus plan failed to stimulate the economy, he proposed another stimulus plan. When American job creators told the president the threat of higher taxes and more government regulations have deterred them from hiring more employees, he proposed raising taxes on job creators and implementing thousands of new regulations that will increase the cost to do business.”
Westmoreland vowed to be a part of the effort to prevent the passage of what he called a dangerous budget proposal stemming from a failed presidency.
“When reading the president’s proposal, I am just reminded of how big of a failure he has been as President of the United States. He has failed to govern responsibly, failed to provide even adequate leadership as our country struggles through these tough economic times and failed to provide this country with any sustainable plan for our future. House Republicans are currently drafting a budget for the 2013 fiscal year that will address our debt, put Americans back to work, and lower federal spending without raising taxes on American families and small businesses. Until then, you can rest assured that we will not let the president’s dangerous FY2013 budget be enacted. Four years of his failed policies is long enough,” Westmoreland said.
