House Passes Cut, Cap and Balance Act

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Congressman Chip Cravaack released the following statement regarding House passage of H.R. 2560, Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2011:

“I was proud to support this bill and urge the Senate to act quickly and get this bill to the President’s desk as soon as possible. It would cut spending in FY 2012 by $111 billion and would get next year’s projected deficit below $1 trillion.  Additionally, it would cap total government spending as a percentage of GDP, starting at 22.5% in FY 2012 and slowly coming down to 19.9% by 2021. According to the President’s Office of Management and Budget, since the end of World War II, United States spending has averaged 19.7% of GDP.  This means that under this bill, government spending will return to its historical average.   Furthermore, it would require Congress to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment, which has spending caps and requires a 2/3 majority to increase taxes. Then it would be up to the States to ratify the amendment.  The legislation does not impact Medicare, Social Security, or veterans spending and Defense is funded at the level requested by the President. If all conditions of the bill are met, the debt ceiling would be raised by $2.4 trillion and we can avoid having our credit rating downgraded.

Bottom line is, we are broke and it’s time to cut-up Washington’s credit card. I wasn’t sent here to continue the status quo or kick the can down the road for another six months.  If we want our children to enjoy the quality of life that we have, inaction is simply not an option. “

Congressman Cravaack serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee – where he is Vice Chair of the Aviation Subcommittee – the Homeland Security Committee, and the Science, Space and Technology Committee. The 8th Congressional District covers 18 counties in Northeast Minnesota.