Rokita: Obama's Budget Raises Taxes, Grows Government, Never Balances

Statement

U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita, a member of the House Budget Committee and a coauthor of the House-passed FY2014 budget resolution, today issued the following statement on the budget proposal released by the Obama administration:

"Months after it was required by law, and weeks after both the House and the Senate passed their budgets, the President finally got around to submitting his own. While the President has found time to give more speeches, hold more concerts at the White House and play more golf, he has not found the time to come up with a new vision for our nation.

"Today's budget submission rehashes the same incomplete, tired themes we have heard for five years now. The President's budget envisions a country with higher taxes, more debt and a federal government that continues to grow beyond control. Most importantly, just like the Senate budget, the President's budget does not balance -- ever.

"I am particularly concerned about the White House's recent assertions that it has the right to limit how much money Americans can save for their retirement using IRAs, which would be an alarming expansion of government power. And as chairman of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, I'll be closely examining the billions of dollars in new pre-K spending in the President's budget. The federal government has a poor record of administering similar programs, and we can't afford to simply throw money at duplicative, inefficient programs that don't serve children and families well.

"In contrast to the President's budget, the budget we produced in the House actually contains a real, prosperous vision for our country: one where Americans who want work can find it, where government respects its citizens enough to let them live their own lives, and most importantly, a vision for a nation that actually balances its budget. A balanced budget is the only way to grow our economy and save future generations from the mountain of debt this President seems intent on increasing," said Rokita.

The President's budget contains several new specific policy provisions that deserve closer scrutiny. They include:

Source