Hilleary Calls On Congress To Stand Up And Fight For Conservative Principles In Reconciliation Process

Hilleary Calls On Congress To Stand Up And Fight For Conservative Principles In Reconciliation Process

Posted on November 16, 2005

Murfreesboro, TN - Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate Van Hilleary today called on Congressional Republicans to stand up and fight for spending cuts and tax relief in the reconciliation process. Hilleary pointed to recent Republican failures to extend tax relief and to significantly curtail federal spending as further evidence that we need to send more solid conservatives who will stand up and fight for conservative principles to the U.S. Senate.

"It is unconscionable that a Republican controlled Congress does not have the political will to cut spending and extend tax relief. We desperately need more solid sincere conservative leaders in Washington who will stand up and fight for conservative principles no matter who they have to face," said Hilleary. "I have spent my career fighting for lower taxes and smaller government. I stood up to the Republican chairman of the Ways and Means Committee when he tried to sneak through a $2.7 billion tax increase. I stood up to Governor Sundquist when he tried to impose a state income tax on Tennesseans. In the U.S. Senate I will stand up to weak-kneed Republicans and Democrats alike when they stand in the way of commonsense conservative fiscal policy."

Recently a weak-kneed Republican on the Senate Finance Committee derailed a tax cut reconciliation package from going to the floor of the U.S. Senate when she refused to support the pro-growth policy of extending capital gains and dividends tax cuts. This was followed by last week's derailment of the House Budget Reconciliation by moderate republicans who refused to support even a modest $50 billion in spending cuts over the next five years.

"The inability of a Republican controlled Congress to act on something as basic as pro-growth tax cuts is unacceptable," commented Hilleary. "It is high time we sent some solid conservatives with a little backbone to the Senate so that we can restore some fiscal discipline and commonsense to Washington. We need to get back to the basics of being conservative and champion limited government and lower taxes."

Hilleary was elected to Congress as part of the Republican Revolution in 1994 and was a leader in the effort to cut taxes, reform welfare, balance the budget and limit the federal government. Hilleary believes that out of control spending and the Republicans inability to control it is a serious issue. Hilleary has proposed a BRAC style commission on spending to deal with the lack of political will to cut federal spending.

"Excessive spending is like an intravenous political drug for both parties in Congress and the only way to kick the habit is to take the drug away," Hilleary said. "If Congress can't get spending under control on its own, it's time we use the only model we know that works and that's the BRAC model that takes Congressional politics out of the decision."

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