Issue Position: Fight For A More Effective Government

Issue Position

For years, John McCain has fought against wasteful and excessive spending -- and leadership is needed now more than ever to curb such waste. With an agenda of bigger government and higher taxes, the current Administration and its allies in Congress have more than quadrupled the budget deficit in this year alone. In 2009, the federal government spent more than $1.4 trillion more than it actually had -- growing our national debt to more than $12 trillion, much of which is owed to foreign nations. What happens when countries like China stop financing our debt? John McCain believes America's destiny is too promising to be squandered by placing our economic wherewithal in the hands of foreign governments.

President Obama made a convincing case during the last election to reverse the trend of pork-barrel spending in Washington -- until it was put to the test. Sadly, while John McCain has actually fought to reduce government spending, the Obama Administration and far too many in Congress on both sides of the aisle are content to spend away. Every major spending bill, including the so-called stimulus bill, has been riddled with earmarks and wasteful spending. The stimulus bill, which cost the taxpayers over $1 trillion, was little more than a wish-list for every Democrat spending project, inexcusably passed under the guise of "economic recovery".

The habitual earmarking of American taxpayer dollars has led to a culture of corruption in Washington, and this past year has seen little indication of that changing. The bill to fund federal government alone contained over 9,000 earmarks. While it's bad enough that congress has failed to change its penchant for wasteful spending in a recession, it's truly disgraceful that some of those earmarks were secured by a lobbying firm only recently raided by the FBI. President Obama vowed to curtail the practice of earmarks while campaigning for the presidency, but we have seen no on the part of the Administration to reform pork-barrel spending.

John McCain has taken the lead by proposing alternatives to such out of control disgraceful spending to the Stimulus, Omnibus, and budget, which took a more responsible approach by offering more promise of job creation in a struggling economy. Unfortunately, the approach embraced by Democrats in Congress and the Obama Administration was an agenda of profligate spending, poorly directed to creating jobs, while promising higher taxes on the American taxpayer in the future.

At a time when our economy is struggling, John McCain believes it is unconscionable to threaten our economy with higher taxes to fund a spending binge that is riddled with special interests and corruption. John McCain has opposed higher taxes throughout his career, but he knows the only way to keep taxes low, is to keep spending low. The current Administration's agenda threatens higher taxes on Americans across all walks of life: middle class families, seniors, and small businesses who can't afford it and we need leaders in Congress like John McCain to continue the fight.

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