Congress must exert more fiscal discipline and work to decrease the federal deficit. Our current debt level is unacceptable. We now face a $9.6 trillion debt with annual interest payments that rival our defense budget. As a budget item, these interest payments on debt are wasted dollars that do not feed, educate or provide any benefit for our citizens.

The SAFE Commission Act, which I cosponsored, would establish a bipartisan commission to develop legislation that will reform the United States' tax policy and entitlement programs. The growth of our national budget is unsustainable and this bill will help Congress take the first tough steps toward reigning in unnecessary spending.

We should look for ways to pay for necessary programs like Medicare, Social Security, Homeland Security, and Education without borrowing at the expense of our children and our future. Republicans must get back to our roots of limited and effective government, sound and responsible budgets, reform of the bureaucracy and a constitutional approach to public policy in order to restore the bonds of trust with the American people.