Blackburn Rejects Devastating Tax Increases, Calls for Fiscal Sanity

Statement

Congressman Marsha Blackburn (TN-7) issued the following statement on her vote in opposition to the so-called deal to avert the fiscal cliff by imposing devastating tax increases without including any meaningful spending reductions to address our nation's debt crisis.

"Speaker Boehner and our leadership deserve a tremendous amount of credit for what they have done in our efforts to solve the problem and avert the fiscal cliff. Unfortunately, President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have shown no willingness to address the real root of the problem -- Washington's out-of-control spending.

"House Republicans passed a number of bills with bipartisan support prior to the election last year to deal with the tax extenders, put in place a plan for tax reform, and prevent the devastating defense cuts that will come as a result of sequestration. If the President and Senate Democrats were truly serious about solving our nation's fiscal problems, they should have stayed in DC and off the campaign trail until they were able to get something done.

"It is disrespectful to the American people for Majority Leader Reid to wait until the last minute to pass a bill at 2am on New Year's Day. Leaders make choices. Their choice was inaction and the consequence has been a classic tax and spend DC drama.

"This bill only makes the situation worse. It imposes job-killing tax hikes, does nothing to restrain spending, adds to our annual deficit, and increases our debt by nearly $4 trillion over the next decade.

"The problem in Washington is not that we tax too little, it's that we spend too much. That is why I recently supported the Spending Reduction Act, which passed the House before the holidays and would put in place mandatory spending reductions. It is what my constituents expect to see. They are demanding fiscal restraint.

"We can't continue to give the President money we don't have to spend on programs the American people don't want. For the future of our children and grandchildren, we have to exercise fiscal restraint."

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