As families across western Wisconsin know, a budget is about priorities. They also know that responsible budgeting means adhering to some simple principles: don’t spend more than you take in and make smart investments that will help you down the road. Congress must start following the lead of ordinary American families by reversing years of record deficits and making key investments to grow our economy.

That is why I proudly supported the House’s 2009 budget (H.Con.Res. 312). This budget brings the country back to surplus starting in 2012 and strictly adheres to the pay-as-you-go budgeting rules. It also makes a significant investment in education, health care, and vital infrastructure, and provides tax relief to middle class families through directed tax cuts.

The House budget plan rejects the harmful cuts in the President’s budget, including reductions in Medicare, education, energy assistance for low income families, and the COPS community police program. It also paves the way for an expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) that funds BadgerCare in Wisconsin, which would allow millions of additional uninsured kids to be covered.

Our country must return to the days of fiscal responsibility with a realistic, workable plan to put America back on a path to fiscal security. We need to start making decisions that will leave our children a better country to inherit. As a father of two boys, I do not want to leave a legacy of enormous debt for their generation that will hurt economic growth and make us more dependent on foreign nations who carry a growing percentage of our national debt. We must restore fiscal responsibility and get this economy growing for middle class families again. To assist in the measure of reducing the national debt, over the past nine years, I have returned more than $950,000 of my offi ce’s budget to the U.S. Treasury in order to reduce our nation’s debt.

I hope you find this information helpful. If you should have further comments or questions, please contact me.