Issue Position: Spending and Balanced Budget

Issue Position

The single greatest threat to our nation's future is our rapidly growing national debt. The plain truth is that we spend far more than we take in, and now borrow more than 40 cents of every dollar spent. Of our more than $15 trillion in debt, nearly one quarter of it was added since 2008. In fact, our debt is now as large as our entire annual economy. No matter how you look at it, this is unsustainable.

After you sent me to Congress, we immediately changed the debate in Washington. Spending arguments used to center around how much to spend, but now we're talking about how--and how much--we can responsibly cut. While I, like other Americans, can become frustrated that we're not reining in federal spending at a faster rate, it's encouraging to see that discretionary spending--for the first time ever--will be lower this year than last. Next year, it will be lower yet. We would all like to see larger reductions, and that's what I'll continue fighting for. Here are some of bills I've supported:

I voted in favor of adding a Balanced Budget Amendment to our Constitution. 49 states have some sort of balanced budget requirement, and Hoosier families can't spend more than they earn without quickly going bankrupt. The federal government should be no different.

As a Budget Committee member, I helped craft a federal budget last year that cut $6 trillion over the next decade. It gradually bought the budget into balance, at which point it began paying our debt down to $0.

I was a co-sponsor of the Cut, Cap and Balance debt limit legislation, which would have cut federal spending for two years, implemented enforceable spending caps, and added a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution.

I was recognized by the Heritage Foundation for being one of only a few dozen legislators who voted for every non-defense related spending cut amendment during the government shutdown debate early last year.

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