ConservativeHome's Platform

39 GOP House freshmen: We are making the tough decisions necessary to ensure that we remain the greatest and most prosperous nation in the world - it's time for the Senate to join us

Rich Nugent (R-Fla.), Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho), Austin Scott (R-Ga.), Bill Flores (R-Texas), Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.), Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio), Rob Woodall (R-Ga.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Tim Griffin (R-Ark.), Andy Harris (R-Md.), Jeff Landry (R-La.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Chris Gibson (R-N.Y.), Robert Hurt (R-Va.), Nan Hayworth (R-N.Y.), Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), Blake Farenthold (R-Texas), Martha Roby (R-Ala.), Sean Duffy (R-Wis.), Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), Ann Marie Buerkle (R-N.Y.), Allen West (R-Fla.), Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), Scott Rigell (R-Va.), Joe Walsh (R-Ill.), Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.), Steve Pearce (R-N.M.), Frank Guinta (R-N.H.), Jeff Denham (R-Calif.), Diane Black (R-Tenn.), Kristi Noem (R-S.D.), Reid Ribble (R-Wis.), Sandy Adams (R-Fla.), Steve Womack (R-Ark.) and Steve Stivers (R-Ohio).

Just over a week ago, the creditworthiness of our country was officially called into question, for the first time since the United States’ “full faith and credit” was established in 1790.

Over the last few months, the House and the Senate have received the same dire warnings from Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and the other ratings agencies.

The House led by crafting solutions to our debt problem. Months ago, the House passed a budget that reduces short-term deficits by more than $4.4 trillion and addresses the unsustainable, long-term structural deficits that threaten this nation.

Just a few weeks ago, the House passed a bipartisan bill, “Cut, Cap and Balance,” that could have cut federal spending by $111 billion next year, capped future expenditures and required passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution.

In doing so, the House twice met the requirements that Standard & Poor’s laid out to avoid a downgrade.

The Senate, on the other hand, did nothing. So far this year, the Senate has failed to adopt a budget or pass “Cut, Cap and Balance.”

In fact, it has been more than 850 days since the Senate passed a budget. Given the fiscal crisis we are facing as a nation, the Senate’s failure to act is unacceptable — both to our creditors and to all Americans, who must ultimately shoulder the burden of paying our debts.

Keep reading at Politico...

Rep. Pete Olson: To infer that the Tea Party was the reason behind this rating change is beyond preposterous - it's the spending, Stupid

Congressman Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land, represents Texas 22nd Congressional District

It was probably predictable, but still troubling that the Obama Administration blames the downgrade of our nation's credit rating on the Tea Party. When his party controlled both chambers of Congress, we heard the blame-Bush mantra. When conservatives regained the House following the President and Democratic-led Congress’ two-year spending spree, the blame quickly shifted to Republicans and the Tea Party. President Obama owns this economy, but none of the fault lies with him.

For years, and to be fair, under both parties’ rule, Washington increased spending beyond any reasonable limit. In 2009, with our economy crashing, a newly elected President Obama ignored this important wake-up call, and instead escalated the spending spree. And in order to preserve the status quo, President Obama and Senate Democrats insisted on tax hikes to feed their appetite.

As the Wall Street Journal recently pointed out, in 2008 spending was only 20.7 percent and debt held by the public was only 40.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), which is the calculation of everything our economy produces annually. In one year, under complete Democrat control, federal spending increased to 25 percent of GDP. The debt to GDP ratio also climbed to 53.5 percent in 2009, 62.2 percent in 2010, and is estimated to hit a record 72 percent this year.

This escalation is the reason for the downgrade to our nation's credit rating. To infer that the Tea Party was the reason behind this rating change is beyond preposterous.

Keep reading at the Fort Bend/Sugar Land Sun...

Rep. Geoff Davis: We need a better solution to create jobs - more government is not the answer

Congressman Geoff Davis is the US Representative serving Kentucky's 4th congressional district.

In August 2010, Treasury Department Secretary Timothy Geithner wrote an op-ed for the New York Times titled Welcome to the Recovery.  One year later, as the economy teeters on the edge of a double dip recession, Americans are still asking: where are the jobs?

New unemployment data released last week revealed that only 117,000 jobs were created during July, short of the 125,000 new jobs needed every month just to keep up with population growth.  The national unemployment rate ticked down to 9.1%, but only because of the number of people who have given up looking for work or otherwise dropped out of the labor market.

To address this problem, President Obama announced last week that he will turn the focus of his administration to jobs.  This is the seventh time that he has claimed his administration will make such a pivot to jobs, but the problem is that his policies are not working.

For example, we were told the stimulus bill would create or save 3 million jobs and keep unemployment below eight percent.  Since the stimulus bill was signed into law more than two years ago, more than 1.6 million jobs have been lost.  Furthermore, the unemployment rate has been at or above eight percent for thirty consecutive months, the longest period since the Great Depression.

The last two and a half years have reinforced that we cannot spend, tax and borrow our way to economic prosperity.  And we only need to look at the example of Greece to see where we are heading if we continue to spend money we do not have.

We need a better solution.  More government is not the answer.  In order to foster a growing and healthy economy, Congress must enact policies that will increase our competitiveness, reward entrepreneurship and ingenuity.  

House Republicans are working to reverse course by passing bills to cut spending, and get government out of the way of our economic engines.  This will promote investment, encourage entrepreneurship and allow the private sector to grow and create jobs.  For these job creating bills to take effect, the Senate must pass them and the President should then sign them into law.

House Republicans passed legislation to repeal the President’s job destroying takeover of health care which would prevent over half a trillion dollars in tax increases and cut hundreds of billions in spending, in addition to easing the burden of PPACA on employers.

The House has directed ten committees to review existing, pending and proposed regulations to identify the effect on jobs and the economy.  We also plan to pass the REINS Act, legislation I introduced to require Congressional approval of any new regulations that have a significant impact on the economy.

Affordable energy is critical to job growth.  The House has passed four bills that would increase American energy exploration in Alaska and off of our coasts to increase supply and keep prices low.  We also passed the Energy Tax Prevention Act to prohibit the EPA from instituting a backdoor cap and trade program through regulation.

We have been calling on the President repeatedly to send Congress the three pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea.  To date, he has not done so.  Finalizing these three agreements would create an estimated 250,000 American jobs by opening new markets to our goods and products.

Finally, as Standard and Poor’s downgrading of our credit rating last week confirmed, we need to continue to cut spending, reduce our debt burden and make the tough choices necessary to live within our means.  While the House has taken some first steps in the right direction, and successfully changed the conversation in Washington from whether to cut to how much to cut, there is much more to be done.

If the White House and Congressional Democrats are serious about getting America back to work, they should join Republicans to pass these commonsense proposals to get our fiscal house in order and get the government out of the way of job creation.  Only then will Americans stop asking, where are the jobs?

Rep. Mike Turner: I do not wish to see future generations working to pay off the debt of past generations - the time has come to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment

Congressman Michael R. Turner represents Ohio’s Third Congressional District.

In 1995, the House of Representatives passed a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution with bipartisan support. The total national debt at the time was $4.95 trillion – an amount alarming enough to warrant an attempt to change the Constitution in order to prevent the debt from further increasing. Today, our national debt stands at $14.6 trillion dollars and we are on a path toward $26 trillion in ten years time.

A Balanced Budget Amendment added to our Constitution would require that the president submit a budget to Congress which doesn’t spend more than we take in each year – except in time of war or national emergency. It’s a basic approach which the majority of American families adhere to. If you don’t have the money – you shouldn’t be spending it.

With an ever growing mountain of debt, it’s clear why our country needs a Balanced Budget Amendment. We cannot afford to continue spending at this rate. Every man, woman, and child in America is responsible for $46,000 of the national debt. With the Federal Government spending over $10 billion a day, we must change the course we’re on. A Constitutional requirement to balance the budget placed in the framework of our government is part of the solution to the stop the endless spending in Washington.

Keep reading at the Highland County Press...

Rep. Raúl Labrador: Why a balanced budget amendment is necessary to save our nation

Congressman Rep. Raúl Labrador is the U.S. Representative for Idaho's 1st congressional district.

As a Congressman, I witness a seemingly endless stream of special interest groups seeking funding for their pet programs and I listen to testimony from countless bureaucrats whose only goal seems to be seeking a larger budget.  Spending by the federal government is absolutely out of control, and it has been for a long time.  I have arrived at the same conclusion that the majority of Americans have: the time for a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution is now. 

Congress and the federal bureaucracy cannot be trusted to show fiscal restraint on their own and say no to reckless spending of taxpayer dollars. A balanced budget amendment to the Constitution would legally force the federal government to spend no more than the amount of money that it brings in. 

Forty-nine states abide by a balanced budget requirement – including Idaho- and many families balance their checkbooks regularly. As individuals, we understand that we have a limited ability to borrow and spend money, it's time the federal government followed suit.  While any bills this Congress passes which cut spending can be changed by this or future Congresses, a constitutional amendment is permanent.

Our country currently owes $14.3 trillion in debt and borrows roughly 40 cents of every dollar we spend.  Admiral Mike Mullen—the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff—has called our debt “the single greatest threat to national security.”

Our government simply cannot control itself when it comes to spending. Members of both political parties have a history of not being able to say no. Since President Obama took office in January of 2009, the national debt has increased by $3.7 trillion. For reference, it took the United States from its founding in 1776 to 1992 to accumulate the same amount of debt that this administration has accumulated in only two and a half years. And previous Congresses and Presidents have not been much better.  Under President George W. Bush spending increased by nearly 33% - adding nearly $5 trillion in debt.

Raising taxes is not the solution -particularly at a time with such high unemployment. Higher taxes on anyone would simply damage the economy more and hurt individuals and employers and wouldn’t balance the budget at all.  In order to balance the budget, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that tax rates would have to more than double and some estimate that a 60-percent across-the-board tax increase would be necessary. I do not believe many families or business could endure a 60-percent increase. Even if you taxed the top 10-percent of income earners at 100-percent, you could not come close to balancing the budget. Spending is the problem.

This past November, voters made it clear that they were tired of business as usual in Washington and voted for a change in direction. They elected folks like me who ran on a mantle of reform and they expect us to fulfill those promises.  They wanted their voices to be heard. I came here to change the way Washington works and I won’t back down from that challenge.

I believe failing to raise the debt ceiling carries consequences, but I believe that failing to permanently change the structure of the way the government budgets and spends taxpayer money carries much more dire consequences.  Credit rating agency Moody’s has stated that even if the debt ceiling is raised, it could lower the U.S. credit rating if we do not find a way to improve our overall debt situation. 

A balanced budget amendment is neither a gimmick nor a new concept. Congress nearly passed one in the 1990s with then-Senator Joe Biden supporting it as well as Democrat Whip Steny Hoyer. In 1982 Ronald Reagan also called for one, “most Americans understand the need for a balanced budget, and most Americans have seen how difficult it is for the Congress to withstand the pressures for more spending. This amendment will force government to stay within the limit of its revenues. Government will have to do what each of us does with our own family budgets – spend no more than we can afford.”

I understand there are concerns with both the procedural hurdles to passing a balanced budget amendment and the impact of such a move on our fiscal outlook, but I wholeheartedly reject the notion of the passage of a balanced budget amendment as a gimmick.  In fact, it may be the only way to save our Country from fiscal ruin.

 

Rep. Ed Royce: Now is the time for Washington to pass a balanced budget amendment

Congressman Ed Royce is serving his tenth term in Congress representing Southern California's 40th District, based in Orange County.

Thomas Jefferson, an influential figure in drafting the Constitution and co-founder of what is today's Republican Party once wrote: “I wish it were possible to obtain a single amendment to our Constitution. I would be willing to depend on that alone for the reduction of the administration of our government; I mean an additional article taking from the Federal Government to the power of borrowing.” 

Andrew Jackson, whose devoted base formed the present day Democrat Party, entered his presidency focused on debt - to him a "national curse." Determined to "pay the national debt, to prevent a monied aristocracy from growing up around our administration that must bend to its views, and ultimately destroy the liberty of our country."

Jefferson's desire for a borrowing limit amendment has failed to materialize on multiple occasions over the decades. Given Jackson’s discomfort with national debt, he would surely be troubled to learn that it now stands over $14 trillion. The Cut, Cap, Balance Act, passed last night in the House, will address both outstanding issues of Jefferson and Jackson and bring us back on a path of fiscal sanity. 

Given the current path, drastic change is needed. This year the size of our national debt will surpass the size of our economy; a profound threshold and one not lost on the markets. Just this week, a rating agency (Egan-Jones) downgraded the U.S. debt rating because of the out of hand debt to GDP ratio. Further, PIMCO – the world’s largest bond fund – announced a net short position on U.S. debt. Both are glaring warning signs that the financial market may soon lose faith in our ability to pay our creditors.
The government's spending level is now at 24 percent of our gross domestic product. Unaddressed, this number will climb to 27 percent within the next seven years. With the post-WWII average at 19 percent, history and basic math indicate these spending levels cannot be sustained.

The Cut, Cap, Balance legislation is a much needed life preserver in our sea of debt. The “Cut” consists of drastically cutting our federal spending by $111 billion in Fiscal Year 2012. The “Cap” entails scaling back total federal spending and putting it on a glide path back to sustainability. The “Balance” consists of what Jefferson had imagined, a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution to ensure we never again find our nation drowning in debt.

A few years ago, we came within one vote of passing a balanced budget amendment through the Senate. The year was 1995 and we had passed it through the House by a vote of 300 to 132. Back then the deficits were nowhere near as dire as they are today. Now is the time for Senators and Representatives to hear from their constituents and pass a balanced budget amendment.

Rep. Geoff Davis: We cannot continue to rob our children and grandchildren through endless borrowing

Congressman Geoff Davis represents Kentucky’s Fourth District.

Our country is facing a debt crisis.  The federal government currently borrows 40 cents of every dollar it spends.  This year the government will spend $1.5 trillion more than it takes in, adding to a national debt that is already more than $14.3 trillion, two and a half times the size it was just a decade ago in 2001.

The economic uncertainty created by years of reckless spending and accumulated debt is holding back job creation and growth in the near and long term.  Unless we find ways to handle this massive debt, our children, grandchildren and future generations of Americans will be saddled with the crushing burden of paying our bills.

Out of control spending and debt at this level is not only irresponsible, it is a threat to our national security and economic well-being as a nation.  In order to get the federal government back on the path to fiscal sanity, we have to stop spending money that we do not have.

One of the best ways to do this is to force fiscal responsibility through a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget.  This is not a new idea.  President Ronald Reagan stated in 1982, “We’ve tried the carrot, and it failed.  With the stick of a balanced budget amendment, we can stop government squandering, overtaxing ways, and save our economy.”

Families, businesses, local governments and 49 State governments, including Kentucky, are forced to balance their budgets.  Why should the federal government be any different?  We cannot continue to rob our children and grandchildren through endless borrowing. 

A balanced budget amendment would force future Congresses and presidents of both parties to live within our means and prioritize the projects and programs that Americans truly need instead of the annual unchecked growth that has occurred for too long.

In 1995, Congress came within one vote of passing a balanced budget amendment.  Sixteen years later, we will have another chance to get it right when we vote this week on H.J.Res. 1, a constitutional amendment mandating a balanced budget.  I have co-sponsored the balanced budget amendment since my first term in Congress and look forward to voting for this important measure.

In addition to the standalone vote on a balanced budget amendment, the House will also consider the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2011.  I am an original co-sponsor of this bill that would significantly cut spending immediately, cap future spending on a sliding scale that reduces over time as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and provide for the President’s request for a debt ceiling increase once a balanced budget amendment has passed Congress and been sent to the States for ratification.  

Amending the Constitution requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and Senate and then it must be ratified by three-fourths of the States before it can take effect.

The time has come for this commonsense reform and I call on all my colleagues and all Americans to join me in supporting a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.  

Sen. Jim DeMint: A debt crisis is coming, and simply raising the country's legal borrowing authority isn't going to stop it

South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint is a co-sponsor of the Cut, Cap and Balance Act.

Moody's and S&P have sent us a stark warning: They are likely to downgrade the nation's credit rating if the debt limit is increased without taking serious action to reduce the nation's long-term debt burden.

There is only one plan that can pass the House of Representatives and will avoid default by enacting real reforms to maintain our AAA credit rating. It's called Cut, Cap and Balance. This plan gives the president his debt limit increase, but only on three conditions:

• Significantly cut spending next year.
• Cap spending over the next decade at historical averages.Most editorials are accompanied by an opposing view — a unique USA TODAY feature that allows readers to reach conclusions based on both sides of an argument rather than just the Editorial Board's point of view.
• Send a constitutional amendment to the states to force Washington to finally balance the budget.

Cut, Cap and Balance is the only plan that reins in spending immediately and permanently, making this the last debt limit increase we may ever need.

Keep reading at USA Today...

Senators Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee: We know what needs to be done; we just need the will to act

Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee, both Republicans, are Utah’s two U.S. senators.

It’s been called the most preventable disaster in American history.

The coming debt crisis is so predictable it’s difficult to find a single economist, expert, politician or American taxpayer who doesn’t warn of the consequences of spending and borrowing ourselves into oblivion.

A recent publication from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office called America’s debt problem “daunting.” The ratio of debt to gross domestic product has just crossed 90 percent, a threshold linked to lower-than-average economic growth. If left unchecked, our ballooning debt will almost certainly lead to the country’s long-term economic decline.

Fortunately, the solution is basic and one that is followed by most responsible state and local governments, families and business owners. When faced with tough times they know they must eliminate spending on the things that aren’t absolutely essential. Then they make a budget for the things they need and have the discipline to stay within that budget. Finally, they stop borrowing and spend no more than they take in.

Keep reading at The Salt Lake Tribune...

Rep. Rob Woodall: By continuing to punish wealth, growth and productivity, we are handicapping ourselves in the global marketplace - it's time to eliminate hidden taxes

Rep. Rob Woodall is a freshman Republican from Georgia and serves on the House Budget Committee.

I’ve been in Congress for a little more than six months now, and not a single day has gone by without a call for more jobs, more innovation and faster economic recovery. We wonder why foreign investment continues to stay overseas and our own American companies are flocking to foreign shores as fast as they can. All the while, our corporate tax rate remains the highest in the industrialized world, our federal government continues to punish productivity, and roughly $431 billion will be wasted this year trying to comply with our baffling tax code. We continue to ask the questions, but the answer is simple: The United States is no longer the best place in the world to do business.

The Department of Labor reported recently that for the fourth month in a row, the unemployment rate has risen. That rate stands at 9.2 percent, and in June, employers hired the fewest number of workers in nine months. Rampant federal spending and borrowing has increased our national debt by more than $3 trillion since President Obama took office, and as a result, foreign and domestic investors are financing food stamps, unemployment benefits and debt rather than private-sector innovation and jobs. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that for the first time in decades, America is on net losing, not attracting, growth capital. While these numbers are troubling, they cast a sanitized, clinical perspective on the pain and uncertainty that many American families are feeling as the result of a sad reality: Job creators are simply taking their ball and going home.

Keep reading at the Washington Times...