August 24, 2011

Jeb Hensarling

WASHINGTON – House Republican Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) issued the following statement today regarding the summer budget outlook released by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.  

“Today’s report shows once again that President Obama’s policies are making things worse.  As CBO again warns Congress that we must get spending under control, Democrats continue to call for more shortsighted measures and failed stimulus spending.  We must stop spending money we don’t have. 

“Under President Obama’s leadership, the national debt has increased $4 trillion, the most rapid debt increase in history.  And under his leadership, the jobs record is on track to be the worst in modern history.  By any historic standard, America should be back to work by now, but this report once again shows why we are not. 

“American families and businesses are facing tough times and have had to make many sacrifices over the last few years.  While they didn’t cause this crisis, they’ve had to learn how to do more with less by tightening their belts and living within their means.  It’s past time for Washington to do the same.  The president’s policies of borrowing, taxing, spending, and bailing out our way to economic growth and job creation have failed, and it’s time for a new course of action. 

“It’s clear that there has never been a more urgent time to stop spending money we don’t have. Republicans continue to remain committed to economic growth policies that will control spending, provide job creators with much-needed confidence, and preserve the American dream for our children and grandchildren.” 

Note:  The CBO report projects the budget deficit to exceed $1 trillion for the third year in a row and for unemployment to remain above eight percent into 2014.  CBO also noted that the enactment of the Budget Control Act, which reduces spending by $2.1 trillion over the next decade, accounts for nearly two-thirds of the improvement in the baseline fiscal outlook.

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