Washington, D.C.--Today Congressman Joe Donnelly voted against H.R. 4314, a bill that, if signed into law, would raise the United States Government’s debt limit $290 billion to $12.394 trillion, allowing the government to deficit spend for approximately two more months.  The total amount of debt the government can issue is capped and can only be raised by an act of Congress.  Donnelly opposed the increase because it was not tied to strong deficit reduction tools currently being debated in Congress.  The House of Representatives passed the legislation by a vote of 218 to 213.

“We did not get into this situation over night.  We began this decade with our budget in surplus and now our national debt has grown to record levels.  I intend to be part of the solution, and I am committed to making the tough choices necessary to restore fiscal responsibility in our nation’s capital.  The Congress has tools available right now that could be combined with the debt limit increase to start forcing those tough choices.  I was disappointed that the creation of a debt commission or statutory Pay-As-You-Go legislation was not tied to the debt limit increase, and as a result, I did not vote to increase our debt ceiling.”

Donnelly, a fiscally conservative Blue Dog, is an original cosponsor of H.R. 1557, The SAFE Commission Act, which would create an independent bipartisan commission to recommend solutions for long-term fiscal problems facing the U.S. and require the Congress to take an up or down vote on its recommendations.  He is also an original cosponsor of H.R. 2920, The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act.  The legislation would require all new government spending or new tax cuts be “paid for” so they do not add to our national debt.  Statutory Pay-As-You-Go was instrumental in turning deficits into surpluses in the 1990s.  The House has passed H.R. 2920 three times this year but the Senate has so far refused to support it.
 

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