For years, Washington was stuck in a deficit ditch, digging itself deeper and deeper in debt through unrestrained spending. Huge deficits resulted in a massive federal debt that totaled $5.7 trillion as the 1990s drew to a close. It seemed as if the red ink would never end.

Then, in the mid-1990s, Republicans and Democrats finally came together to put the country on track for balanced budgets. The economic boom times we enjoyed a few years ago helped speed our exit from deficit spending. This gave the federal government a budget surplus and ended the destructive habit of using Social Security funds for general government spending.

Unfortunately, those good times came to an end in 2001, with the double shock of a recession and the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. The economic slowdown cut the government’s income at the same time we increased spending on homeland security and defense to keep America safe.

Some have blamed the President’s tax cut for the return to deficits. While it is true that the tax cut did decrease government revenues, I voted for it and I believe it helped shorten the length and severity of the recession. The revenues "lost" to the tax cut were gains to you and your family and are spurring our nation’s recovery.

The President has said the only times we should deficit spend are during a war, recession, or a national emergency, and we’ve experienced all three. I agree with him. The majority of Americans do as well.

But, I believe that most Americans agree that it’s time to get out of the deficit ditch and back on the road to fiscal responsibility. We’ve got to balance our budget and stop spending Social Security.

That’s why I recently joined with other fiscal conservatives in Congress to introduce a budget plan that would get the federal budget back on track and stop spending the Social Security trust fund.

My proposal required a ‘mid-year review’ and corrective action if we are not on track to balance the unified budget this year and stop spending Social Security surpluses by 2007. Any sensible businessperson would take another look at their books mid-way through the year. Why shouldn’t the federal government?

If Congress’ budget assumptions are wrong, then we should all sit down and fix the problem, not ignore it like Congress has in the past. That’s what led to years of deficits and billions of dollars of the Social Security trust fund being spent.

We simply cannot afford to return to the free-spending days of the past. To do so would throw away all the hard work of the past several years and simply continue the damaging practice of spending the Social Security trust funds just as the baby boomers prepare to retire. The American people deserve better.

Being responsible requires making tough choices. That’s what I was elected to do. We offered our budget plan in the spirit of bipartisanship and in the hope that the President and the leadership in Congress would work with us to control spending, balance the budget, and protect Social Security.

Unfortunately, the budget my fellow fiscal conservatives and I drafted was not allowed to be voted on or even debated in the House. I am disappointed that our offer of bipartisanship was rejected. But I will not stop my effort to get our country out of the deficit ditch.

We must get back on the road to fiscal responsibility and stop spending the Social Security surplus before we hand the nation’s keys – and our debt – over to our children.

Congressman Dennis Moore represents Kansas’ Third U.S. Congressional District, which includes Johnson, Wyandotte, Miami and Douglas counties. Rep. Moore has offices in Overland Park, Kansas City, Lawrence, and Washington, D.C. The Congressman’s website is www.house.gov/moore, and his office can be reached at 913-383-2013.