Letter to The Honorable Kent Conrad, Chairman, U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget

Letter

Senator Ayotte Urges Budget Chairman to Produce a Plan that Reduces Spending

Newest Member of Panel Expresses Concern About Lack of Budget in Letter to Chairman

With today marking the 750th day since the Democrat-controlled Senate last passed a budget, U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) - the newest member of the Senate Budget Committee - expressed her eagerness to work with the panel to produce a spending blueprint that significantly reduces federal spending and puts our nation on a path to fiscal sustainability. In a letter to the committee's chairman, she also raised concern that the Budget Committee has failed to meet its statutorily mandated April 15 deadline for producing a budget for 2012.

"I am disturbed by the Senate's reluctance to address one of the most challenging fiscal crises in our nation's history," wrote Senator Ayotte. "Congress needs to make tough decisions to spare future generations from being saddled with crushing debt. The Senate cannot make the same mistake as last year, and I urge you, as Chairman of the Budget Committee, to produce a budget proposal that significantly reduces federal spending and puts us on a path to eliminating our debt entirely."

Senator Ayotte was appointed on May 11 to serve as a member of the Senate Budget Committee.

AYOTTE LETTER TO THE BUDGET CHAIRMAN:

The Honorable Kent Conrad
Chairman
U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget
624 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairman Conrad:

As a newly appointed member of the Budget Committee, I am eager to work with you to begin the difficult work of tackling our nation's fiscal crisis.

In my travels across New Hampshire, citizens continue to express deep concerns to me about business as usual in Washington. The November 2010 mid-term elections should have been a loud and clear signal to Congress that the ways of Washington had to change. Yet, during my first few months in office, I have witnessed the Senate take a mere 73 roll call votes (as opposed to 159 last year at this time), mostly on non-controversial or procedural matters, and we have taken six full weeks of recess since the beginning of the year.

In addition, the Senate Budget Committee has failed to meet its statutorily mandated April 15 deadline for producing a budget for the next fiscal year, and has gone an inexplicable 750 days without creating a spending plan for our government. As someone who comes from a small business family, I am disturbed by the Senate's reluctance to address one of the most challenging fiscal crises in our nation's history. Like most Granite Staters, my husband and I sit around the kitchen table to create a budget for our family and his small business. If my family operated the way Congress has, we would be in financial ruin.

The people of my home state sent me to Washington to cut spending and get our fiscal house in order. Last year, Congress failed to pass a budget and any of the twelve annual appropriations bills, opting instead to irresponsibly fund the government with a series of short-term spending bills. With our country facing a fiscal crisis, Congress needs to make tough decisions to spare future generations from being saddled with crushing debt. The Senate cannot make the same mistake as last year, and I urge you, as Chairman of the Budget Committee, to produce a budget proposal that significantly reduces federal spending and puts us on a path to eliminating our debt entirely.

It's not too late to make the tough decisions needed to save our nation from economic catastrophe. This is not hyperbole; this is a predictable crisis. We are blessed to live in the greatest nation on Earth, and it is our responsibility to ensure future generations have the same opportunities we had to proposer. As history reminds us, great nations can fall, and when they do, it's often from their own self-indulgence.

As the mother of two young children, I am determined to change our nation's path to ensure a prosperous future for our children and grandchildren, free from the enslavement of indebtedness. We owe our nation's future generations nothing less.

I urge the Budget Committee to take a leading role in addressing this debt crisis by producing a fiscally responsible and honest budget that addresses the explosive growth of government and the drivers of our debt. I stand ready to work with you and my colleagues on the Committee to produce a substantive budget blueprint that significantly reduces spending and reforms our entitlement programs to place our nation on a responsible path to sustainability which preserves our country.

Sincerely,
Kelly Ayotte
United States Senator

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