Issue Position: Budget and Economy

Issue Position

Overview

The biggest crisis our nation faces is our fiscal future, and we must act soon to start solving these problems.

As you know, I've spent decades talking about these issues. In fact, I've been called everything from "A Budget Cassandra" to "Mr. Fiscal Responsibility" and "Dr. Doom" because I am such a fierce advocate for balanced and honest federal budgeting. I've served on the Budget and the Oversight and Government Reform Committees and used my position in the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition to advocate for making the hard choices that lead to balanced budgets: cutting spending, closing tax loopholes, and being upfront with taxpayers about how the federal government spends their money. Everything must be on the table -- spending and revenue.

So far, only one bipartisan and balanced budget has been introduced in Congress that's big enough to address our problems -the Simpson-Bowles budget alternative that I introduced in 2012. Although it didn't win the support of the majority in Congress, it was praised by budget experts and newspapers all over the country as a serious effort that would actually work.

I've also supported a balanced budget amendment, voted for across-the-board spending cuts and worked to reinstate "pay-as-you-go" rules into law. I've introduced bipartisan bills to eliminate wasteful spending and prevent agencies from duplicating programs that already exist. The main ideas behind my No Budget, No Pay Act, which would stop paying Congress if it fails to pass our budget and spending bills on time, became the law of the land in early 2013.

We need citizens, business leaders and elected officials to work together to protect the future of our nation. From debt ceiling debates to fiscal cliffs, I believe delay is never an option. Every day we wait adds over $17 billion to our debt, prolongs the economic slowdown, delays the creation of millions of private-sector jobs, and risks the credit rating of the federal government.

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