John Boehner 8TH DISCTRICT OF OHIO

Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) released the following statement today after the United States Treasury Department announced the national debt has now surpassed $16 trillion, having increased more than $5 trillion during President Obama’s term despite promises to cut the deficit in half:

“Today’s news is another sad reminder of President Obama’s broken promise to cut the deficit in half.  Instead of working in a bipartisan way to fulfill his promise, the president went on a ‘stimulus’-fueled spending binge that stuck every American man, woman, and child with a $50,000 share of this $16 trillion national debt. This debt is a drain on our economy and a crushing burden on our kids and grandkids, and it’s yet another indication that the president’s policies have made things worse.

“To tackle the debt in a meaningful way and help our economy grow, we need pro-growth tax reform, and we need to strengthen and secure Medicare and other critical entitlement programs.  Unfortunately, President Obama hasn’t had the courage to join us in working on these common-sense reforms. Instead, he’s still pushing a tax hike on small businesses that would destroy more than 700,000 jobs, and letting Medicare go bankrupt.  Democrats may think we’re ‘better off’ with more debt and fewer jobs, but the American people know we can do better.”