US House Passes Balanced Budget Plan that Would Grow Economy, Save and Strengthen Retirement Programs

Press Release

Iowa Congressman Tom Latham voted today for a House budget resolution that would balance the budget in ten years, help encourage economic and job growth for a nation still struggling, and save and strengthen the important retirement program promises and personal health care choices of seniors. Latham noted that the plan helps make government sustainable and more accountable to Americans in the long term, ensuring that Washington does not continue spending beyond its means.

"Hardworking, responsible Iowans prioritize and balance their own finances every month, and they deserve nothing less from their elected officials," Congressman Latham said. "The budget plan approved today balances the budget while saving and strengthening Medicare, protecting the health care choices of seniors, fixing our broken tax system, and setting us on a course to responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars and job growth. It achieves the basic goals of accountability and fiscal soundness that are necessary to get our economy moving again."

The House budget stands in stark contrast to the Senate Democrats' proposal, which allows an increased level of spending that results in endless budget deficits, and hikes taxes by as much as $1.5 trillion. House Democrats also offered a budget that never balances but does smother American families with over $1.2 trillion in taxes, all while increasing federal spending by $5 trillion more than the GOP plan over the next decade. House and Senate Democrats clearly and publically rejected the idea of putting forward a plan that puts the federal budget on a path to balance. Both the House and Senate Democrat plans also ignore the need to address the impending crisis in the Medicare program -- instead allowing the safety net to unravel, jeopardizing the retirement security of America's seniors. Latham added that this presents Americans with two clear visions for the future of the country.

"Government has its limits, and the potential of the American people has none. While the Senate and House Democrats' tax-and-spend blueprints reject this truth, the House-passed budget embraces it, giving us a clear view of who is on the side of the Iowa taxpayer and who isn't."

Additionally, the House budget guarantees the solvency of Medicare for future generations while also protecting the personal health care choices of seniors from decisions by Washington bureaucrats. In addition to preserving the program, the budget offers future enrollees a voluntary option to choose an insurance plan from a menu of choices, similar to the health plan that is available to members of Congress. Among the options offered is traditional Medicare.

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