Van Hollen Statement on the CBO Budget and Economic Outlook

Statement

Today Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen, Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, issued the following statement on the budget forecast released this morning by the Congressional Budget Office:

"This morning, the independent, non-partisan Congressional Budget Office issued its Budget and Economic Outlook. The report confirms two important things: that our economy is starting to recover from the worst recession since the Great Depression, and that we must tackle the deficit and put our nation on a path to long-term fiscal sustainability.

"This recovery is largely a result of the pro-growth policies House Democrats and President Obama enacted over the last two years. These policies cut taxes for the middle class, created over a million private sector jobs, and pulled our economy out of the ditch. Much more work still needs to be done, but we are in a much stronger place today than we were two years ago.

"There is no question that we must act to put a long-term, bipartisan plan in place for deficit reduction, and the President took another important step with some serious belt-tightening proposals in the State of the Union last night. But we also know that blindly slashing investments in important priorities that will help us win the future will slow down our fragile economic recovery and put more people out of work. Unfortunately, draconian cuts are exactly what House Republicans are proposing, putting them at odds with business leaders, economists, and the President's Bipartisan Fiscal Commission.

"We are committed to putting our fiscal house in order, but we must also keep the economy strong by pursuing actions that will create jobs and support working families. I look forward to working closely with the President and my Republican colleagues to keep our economy moving forward and put our nation on a long-term fiscally sustainable path."

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