Issue Position: Spending Cuts and Debt

Issue Position

A principal goal of the new Republican Majority in Congress is to cut spending. Our nation is currently borrowing 42 cents on the dollar, much of it from the Chinese. This had led to a $14 trillion national debt, a burden that our children and grandchildren will be left with. This Fiscal Year, our country is projected to have a $1.6 trillion deficit - the gap between our spending and receipts taken in. This is a result of non-defense discretionary spending increasing 84 percent - when you include the stimulus funds - between 2008 and 2010.

Congressman Reed believes that tough choices need to be made now to reign in the federal government's excessive spending. We have a responsibility to our children and grandchildren to be better stewards of taxpayer dollars. We cannot leave them a legacy of debt and the potential of a national bankruptcy.

Tom was proud to vote for $100 billion in spending cuts in the House-passed Continuing Resolution for Fiscal Year 2011, and will be continuing to push for more spending cuts - done in a responsible and thoughtful manner through the House Appropriations process - as Congress considers the budget for Fiscal Year 2012.
The Continuing Resolution for FY 2011 is only the beginning. The battle ahead will not be popular and many will yield to political pressure to continue spending as usual. We cannot. We will not. Making difficult decisions now is the only way we can win this war against a great and common enemy: the national debt.

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