The Hill - We Need a Bipartisan Budget

Op-Ed

BY Representative Robert Dold

This week, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) stated "if the fiscal policies currently in place are continued in the coming years, the revenues collected by the federal government will fall far short of federal spending, putting the budget on an unsustainable path." This is unacceptable. With trillion dollar deficits and a skyrocketing debt, now is the time to put people before politics and progress before partisanship. That is why I was proud to co-sponsor the only bipartisan budget that has been voted on in the House of Representatives in decades.

Clearly, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the fiscal crisis that faces our nation. We can't just raise taxes on millionaires and we can't just cut spending and expect that everything will be fine. We must work together, find common ground, and move forward policies that will put our nation back on a sustainable economic path. There are a lot of things we can agree on. We know that we need to rein in spending and we know that we need pro-growth tax reform. These are places that we can start to come together and find bipartisan agreement amongst Independents, Republicans, and Democrats. We have no other choice if we are truly serious about spurring the economy and empowering businesses to hire more workers.

First and foremost, we must begin to operate on a budget. Every family in this nation operates on a budget. They know that if they spend more than they make, that they will be in serious financial trouble. The CBO is telling the government the same thing. It's just commonsense. However, despite an obvious solution to the problems plaguing our nation- the Senate has failed to pass a budget in over 1,120 days. Enough is enough. It is the obligation of Congress to pass a budget and it is shameful that some in this body would rather kick the can down the road than make the tough decisions.

No budget will be perfect. It will require compromise, it will require hard work, and it will require putting partisan rhetoric aside so that we can move forward and find ways to implement a long-term solution to the fiscal challenges our nation faces. As one of 38 people to vote for the bipartisan Cooper-LaTourette budget, I will continue to come to the table and listen to any serious proposal. I would urge my colleagues in both chambers to do that same.

Rep. Dold (R-Illl.) is a small business owner and represents Illinois' 10th Congressional District.

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