Last night, Tuesday, May 31, the House of Representatives took a stand against Washington’s out-of-control spending and rejected an attempt to increase the debt limit without significant spending cuts and enforceable budget caps.  I voted with the majority of my colleagues, including 82 Democrats, to oppose this irresponsible proposal.

The legislation, H.R. 1954, reflects President Obama’s request for a “clean bill” to raise the debt ceiling – meaning it would have significantly raised our debt limit without requiring any spending cuts. Over the past two years, under a Democrat-controlled Congress and with President Obama at the helm, our country has been burdened with the largest budget deficits in our history.  During that time, the debt ceiling was raised three times – increasing more than $2.9 trillion.

That’s why it was essential that the House send a strong message that we’re serious about reigning in government spending, and that’s exactly what we did last night.  By rejecting the President’s bill, the House made clear that any proposal to increase the debt ceiling must include a serious commitment to reduce spending.  In my opinion, the debt limit legislation should include, at the very least, significant spending cuts AND enforceable budget caps that put us back on the path to a balanced budget.

The American people expect us to be serious about ending the wasteful spending practices that have produced record deficits and more than $14 trillion in debt, and I hope that the President and Senate Democrats will now agree that the time has come for us to put a stop to Washington’s spending-driven debt crisis. 

I’d love to hear your opinion on this issue.  Visit the Contact Me page to send me an email.