(WASHINGTON, DC) – Congressman Dennis Moore (Third District-KS) joined his fellow members of the Blue Dog Coalition in order to highlight the effect of the Administration’s policies on the ever-increasing federal budget deficit, now at $374 billion.

“The Administration's tax cuts and budget policies have squandered the surplus that they inherited and created huge deficits that will stifle future growth and burden our children and grandchildren with debt,” Moore said. “The billions we spent last year for interest on our $6.8 trillion national debt represents a ‘debt tax’ that must be paid by all future generations and can never be repealed. We cannot afford to ignore our budget problems or postpone action to address them.”

The group met to highlight the need for fiscal responsibility and the cooperation that is necessary to achieve a balanced budget.

Earlier this year, Blue Dogs submitted a budget proposal that would have balanced the budget by 2013 without including the Social Security surplus through a combination of spending restraints and deferring a portion of additional tax cuts – until the budget was balanced and the costs of the war in Iraq were paid.

“We are in the worst jobs recession since the 1930s and the unemployment rate is not expected to improve in the immediate future,” Moore said. “It’s time to get out of the deficit ditch and back on the road to fiscal responsibility.”

The Blue Dog Coalition was formed in the 104th Congress as a policy-oriented group to give moderate and conservative Democrats in the House of Representatives a common sense, bridge-building voice within the institution. A top priority for The Coalition is to refocus Congress on truly balancing the budget and ridding taxpayers of the burden the national debt places on them.