IN THE NEWS

Hoyer: CBO Projection Is Another Wake Up Call to Fiscally Irresponsible Republicans

Democratic Whip Challenges President Bush, Congressional Republicans to Offer Plan to Balance the Budget

WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement this morning after the Congressional Budget Office projected that the budget deficit in Fiscal Year 2006 will be $337 billion, and that the federal government would run deficits every year for the foreseeable future:

      “The budget deficit estimate released today by the Congressional Budget Office is as deeply disturbing as it is completely expected.

      “The objective evidence is undeniable.  Over the last five years, the Bush Administration and Congressional Republicans have enacted the most fiscally irresponsible policies in American history, turning a projected $5.6 trillion surplus – which they inherited from the Clinton Administration – into a projected deficit of $4 trillion.  Washington Republicans have driven our nation right back into the fiscal ditch, and their policies threaten to drag down our economy for years to come and immorally force our children and grandchildren to pay this generation’s bills.

      “Next week, in his State of the Union Address, President Bush will likely disclaim any responsibility for the out-of-control deficits and spiraling debt that his policies have instigated.  But the President cannot escape the truth: There is only one person in the entire United States government who can stop federal spending in its tracks, and that person is the President of the United States.  Yet, during his five years in office, President Bush has refused to exercise the power of the veto once – not once.

      “Even today, despite the record deficits and debt, the Washington Republicans want to enact budget and tax reconciliation bills that will increase the budget deficit by $30 billion.  And, even as they talk about restoring fiscal responsibility, they are demanding that Congress raise the debt limit by $781 billion – the fourth increase to the debt limit in five years.

    “Today’s CBO report confirms that the Washington Republicans are completely unmoored from fiscal reality.  It’s time that President Bush and Congressional Republicans join Democrats in supporting a real, effective deficit-reduction plan that leads to a balanced budget.  We must re-enact the common-sense pay-as-you-go budget rules that Republicans allowed to expire and which led to record budget surpluses during the last Administration.  Furthermore, I believe Congress must refuse to provide a long-term increase in the debt limit until the Administration and Congressional Republicans get serious about restoring fiscal discipline.”

###