My Take on Debt Ceiling and Jobs

Statement

By the time you finish reading this sentence, your federal government will have borrowed another $232,000. At $58,000 per second, is it any surprise that Uncle Sam has racked up over $14 trillion in debt?

Our looming debt crisis is the backdrop for current negotiations over raising what's known as the "debt ceiling," the legal limit of money our government can borrow. Currently, that limit is set at $14.3 trillion.

Smart people disagree on the best course of action. Some argue that if Congress does not raise the limit, the United States may not be able to pay off the bills it owes, including interest on the national debt, and that has potentially serious consequences for our markets here and abroad. Others say that if we simply raise the debt ceiling without reforming spending, we'll soon face the economic ruin Greece, Ireland and other European countries are currently confronting.

I have consistently said that if the president is willing to cut up the credit card, I'm willing to pay the bill. But I cannot agree to a debt limit increase without serious, fundamental reforms to the way Washington spends your money.

I decided to run for Congress because I was concerned about the direction our nation was headed. I'm worried about the kind of country our children will inherit if we don't act responsibly now.

We are spending money at an unsustainable clip and borrowing most of it from China. Meanwhile, politicians are making promises they cannot keep and our debt continues to pile up.

The result is our economy is sick with uncertainty right now and that has led to rampant unemployment. Only 64.1 percent of our population is employed, the lowest since 1984. The national unemployment rate is 9.2 percent, which is bad enough, but when you add in Americans who are forced to work part-time jobs because they cannot find full-time jobs, that number shoots to 18.6 percent.

Clearly, just raising the debt ceiling won't get our economy growing again. We must finally reform the way our country spends your money so more Americans can get paychecks instead of unemployment checks.

Job creation is my highest priority here in Congress. That's why I won't agree to a debt ceiling increase that attempts to solve our economic problems on the backs of our entrepreneurs and small business owners -- the very people we need to put people back to work. We don't help job seekers by punishing our job creators. In my view, the only way Congress should go along with a debt limit increase is if the final deal fundamentally reforms government and includes real spending cuts now, not empty promises to cut spending in the future or accounting gimmicks.

I also believe the final deal should not include massive tax hikes. Even President Obama agrees that "you don't raise taxes in a recession." So the last thing we should be considering during this fragile economic recovery is higher taxes.

Currently, we have the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world. We ought to be taking steps to make America more attractive and competitive in the global market by encouraging our businesses to expand, invest and hire new workers right here in the U.S. That means reforming the tax code, getting rid of special interest loopholes, cutting down the red-tape and regulation, and pursuing aggressive spending reforms. These things aren't easy, but it's about time Congress is honest with the American people.

You didn't send me to Washington to continue the status quo. You sent me to Washington to fight for real change that will turn this economy around and leave a better America for the next generation. This debt ceiling debate is a great opportunity to fundamentally reform the way Washington spends your money and that's good for both taxpayers and unemployed Americans.

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