Rep. Graves: Deal Brings Spending Down To Pre-Obama Levels

Press Release

U.S. Rep. Tom Graves (R-GA-14) issued the following statement after he voted for, and the House passed, a deficit reduction deal that keeps the government open for the rest of Fiscal Year 2014:

"This is a better deal for taxpayers than the autopilot spending of recent years. We were able to knock discretionary spending down to pre-Obama Administration levels and replace old and wasteful programs with new, jobs-focused priorities. These spending reforms mean that defense workers in Georgia have more job security and the Savannah Harbor project is closer to the finish line.

"I strongly support the provisions that protect our constitutional rights from the Obama Administration's political agenda. The bill bans the IRS from targeting people for exercising their First Amendment rights and prohibits attempts to infringe on Second Amendment rights.

"While this deal isn't perfect and there are valid criticisms, taken as a whole it is a positive step toward fixing our debt problem and making Washington more respectful of taxpayer dollars. I am satisfied that conservative principles and Georgia's priorities are both defended and promoted in the final bill."

Background information:

Base discretionary spending will be at its lowest level since Fiscal Year 2009 (or, pre-Obama Administration, since FY09 spending was passed in 2008).
At $1.012 trillion, the government's discretionary spending level is lower under this deal than it would have been under the FY12 and FY13 budgets passed by House Republicans, including Rep. Paul Ryan's famed "Path to Prosperity" (which proposed to spend $1.019 trillion).
The Savannah Harbor Expansion Project is upgraded from an investigations budget category to an ongoing construction project.
Medically retired veterans will see no change to their pension benefits.
The Internal Revenue Service is banned from targeting groups for their ideological beliefs or for exercising their First Amendment rights.
Funding is prohibited for the implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty and for government research projects that promote gun control.
Obamacare funding is cut by over $1 billion.

Source