A Message from David

Statement

We have 8 hours until our government shuts down for the first time in 16 years. And unfortunately, if it does, it will be because Washington cannot agree on the core principles of fiscal responsibility and accountablity to the people.

It is absolutely unacceptable for a government to mortgage our children and grandchildren's future. Jefferson and Madison called this generational tyranny - - and Washington's out-of-control spending can no longer hide.

What got us here?

Last year, the Democratic controlled Congress failed to pass a budget for the first time since 1976, when modern budget laws were enacted. Now, this Congress is forced to face the FY2011 budget head-on.

What have we done?

The House of Representatives did the heavy lifting to pass a budget. Forty-seven days ago, we passed H.R. 1, the first bill to keep the government running through FY2011. The Senate has yet to address this bill or create their own.

Since January, the House has passed two bills that would keep the government running through the end of this fiscal year and cut $61 billion in job destroying spending. H.R. 1, passed February 19th and H.R. 1255, passed April 1st. Our third bill, H.R. 1363, passed the House yesterday.

By voting for this third stopgap measure, I voted to take our troops out of the front lines of this political battle by voting for yet another short-term continuing resolution which would fund our troops through the end of the year.

This budget proposal also cuts an additional $12 billion in government spending and would prevent a government shutdown. We passed this third continuing resolution in hopes the Senate would take it seriously; that has yet to be the case. Less that 8 hours away, there is still no Senate action and the Commander-in-Chief has already claimed he will veto it without reason.

At a time when our deficit is in the trillions and our government is on a verge of a shutdown, it is incomprehensible that Senate Democrats will not accept a modest budget cut that equals just two percent of this year's budget.

I have been willing and ready, like my colleagues in the House, to work with the Senate and the President. However, I will not compromise on cutting out-of-control spending that will compromise our children's' future. Nor will I vote to compromise or stand down when it comes to supporting the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect us.

Just last night, residents of Arizona's 5th Congressional District held a live telephone town hall. The feedback was resounding - - hold firm, stay focused, stand for the principles that have always made our country great. Our freedoms are too precious to allow government to take them away.

What next?

I am optimistic. America has always been the land of opportunity and we can still have the kind of recovery we should be having, but we're not going to get there by allowing government to operate without limit. Our commonsense budget can pass the Senate in the next couple hours, if they decide that funding the troops and cutting waste is more important than digging in for partisan sake.

The decision for Senate Democrats and President Obama is simple: vote to pay our troops and get our fiscal house in order or walk away and let the government shut down.

I truly appreciate your feedback and hearing your concerns. Every single night, I spend hours on the phone calling folks back who have contacted the office. I will do everything I can to keep our lines of communication open if there is a shutdown. Thank you for staying connected, and I appreciate your patience with this process as we fight to restore fiscal sanity and undo the damage done by Washington.

Source