Press Releases

GOODLATTE STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF REPUBLICAN BUDGET

Washington, D.C.: Congressman Bob Goodlatte delivered the following remarks on the floor of the House of Representatives in support of the House Republican budget and the alternative budget offered by the Republican Study Committee:

“Thomas Jefferson once wrote: "To preserve [the] independence [of the people,] we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election between economy and liberty, or profusion and servitude.”  In this choice of two futures, unfortunately, Congress has all-too-often chosen the latter path of out of control spending and expansion of government power.

There is a spending addiction in Washington, D.C., and it has proven to be an addiction that Congress cannot control on its own.  The nation has gone in a few short years from a deficit of billions of dollars to a deficit of trillions of dollars.  The government is printing money at an unprecedented pace, which presents significant risks of inflation.  Our debt is currently an unfathomable 15 and a half trillion dollars and mounting rapidly, as is the waste associated with paying the interest on that debt.  Yet, Congress has done little to address this crisis.

Families all across our nation understand what it means to make tough decisions each day about what they can and cannot afford.  Yet, far too often this fundamental principle has been lost on a Congress that is too busy spending to pay attention to the bottom line.  If Americans must exercise restraint with their own funds, then government officials must be required to exercise an even higher standard when spending other peoples’ hard-earned money.

While I believe that the House budget we are considering today is a good budget and I support it, it is dependent on fiscally-minded Congresses being elected for the next 28 years who will be committed to upholding this budget, as well as a President who will sign fiscally-responsible appropriations measures into law.  That is why I am also a supporter of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) budget.  While this RSC budget is bold, and some say drastic, these measures are needed to solve our nation’s fiscal crisis. 

Mr. Chairman, unless each Congress – regardless of party affiliation – is forced to make the decisions necessary to actually set a budget, unlike the U.S. Senate, and create a balanced budget, the temptation will always be there for Congress to spend more than it receives in revenues.  That is the advantage of a constitutional Balanced Budget Amendment.

I support this budget.  I support the Republican Study Committee budget.  I support fiscal responsibility.”

The House Republican budget passed by a vote of 228-191.  Click here to watch the video of Congressman Goodlatte’s floor speech.