Issue Position: Fiscal Responsibility

Issue Position

Like most Idahoans, I am troubled by the United States' growing debt. The impact of an ever increasing debt, if allowed to grow unchecked, can be disastrous for the economy. I am especially concerned that future generations of Americans will probably be the ones expected to pay down this debt. Unfortunately, without serious efforts to turn our debt crisis around, it is likely that the Treasury Department will be forced to continue to sell vast amounts of debt to finance the prospected record budget deficits. If we want to improve economic conditions in this country, Congress must act responsibly in the short-term to avoid being forced to purchase more debt, which puts the long-term health of the economy in jeopardy. This means drastically reducing discretionary spending, reforming entitlement programs, which are the major drivers of our debt, and fundamentally reforming our tax code. It also means passing a balanced budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION

I am an original cosponsor of H.J.Res. 2, a resolution that proposes a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In addition to directing the President to submit a balanced budget to Congress annually, H.J.Res. 2 requires that any federal spending beyond debt repayment which exceeds revenues for the year be authorized by a three-fifths vote of Congress.

ENTITLEMENT REFORM

Since becoming the majority party, House Republicans have taken major steps to drastically reduce discretionary spending. I recognize, however, that this is only the first step in addressing our budget woes. If we are serious in getting our fiscal house in order, we must carefully examine mandatory programs that are not a part of the annual budget--and make up almost two-thirds of federal outlays--but which continue to grow at a rate that is quickly becoming out of control.

Reforming these entitlement programs, including Medicare and Social Security, will require both Members of Congress and the American people to make some decisions that they would rather not have to make. These programs must be reformed, not only because they are creating huge yearly budget deficits, but also because, left alone, they will collapse under their own weight, leaving today's young people without future benefits.

For over a decade I've said that the out of control debt is the number one danger to the future prosperity of this country, and we need to turn our economy around before time runs out.

FY14 BUDGET

I voted in favor of the budget agreement reached by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA). The bill passed the House by a vote of 332-94, with support from 169 Republicans and 163 Democrats. It passed in the U.S. Senate and became law.

The agreement avoids another government shutdown, preserves dozens, perhaps hundreds, of jobs at Idaho National Laboratory, lays the groundwork for extending PILT payments, achieves greater savings for taxpayers than those contained in sequestration, and does all of it without raising taxes.

My Republican colleagues and I have been seeking reforms to sequestration that lessen the pain on the military, allow Congress to budget in a more orderly process, and maintain or enhance the long-term savings achieved by the Budget Control Act. This bill accomplished all three of those goals and was a positive step in the right direction. I am especially relieved that the agreement short circuits some of the devastating sequester-based cuts to Idaho National Laboratory -- including cuts to its core nuclear energy research programs, the guard force that secures the facility against terrorism or sabotage, and ongoing cleanup activities that are so important to the protection of the environment and human health. The agreement also provides room in the budget to continue funding for PILT -- something that was simply impossible under the clean CR advocated by some who voted no.

Among its provisions, the agreement would do the following:

Reduce the federal deficit by an additional $23 billion without raising taxes (according to CBO).

Put us on a path to reduce the deficit by $85 billion over ten years, $78 billion of which is spending cuts (according to CBO).

Replace sequestration's arbitrary, across-the-board cuts with more rational deficit reduction.

Allow Congress to reclaim its Constitutional role in spending decisions and take spending authority away from the President.

Stop government checks to ineligible criminals and dead people.

Stop Medicaid payments that should be covered by dead-beat parents and insurance companies.

The bill was not perfect, but it is a positive agreement. Congress now has considerable work ahead of it to further reduce the budget and eliminating the deficit. I remain a strong proponent of a Balanced Budget Amendment and I am a leading advocate in Congress for reforming the tax code and entitlement programs to achieve real progress toward smaller, more efficient federal government. This agreement is a positive step in the right direction, but much work remains.

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