Issue Position: Balancing the Federal Budget

Issue Position

* I can't balance the federal budget all by myself, but I can promise that I will follow four basic principles as I do everything I can to restore this nation to fiscal health. When considering any bill affecting the budget, I will (1) protect your wallet, (2) seek fair tax policies, (3) protect the elderly and vulnerable, and (4) maintain the functions we rely on. These functions are under attack today, and they include such vital things as education, air traffic control services, disaster response and accurate weather forecasts.

* We must take a balanced approach to solving our budget problems. If it were in effect this year, a proposal co-sponsored by Congresswoman Jenkins would have thrown 15 million more people out of work than there are today. (This is the estimate of Macroeconomic Advisers, a firm that advises both Republican and Democratic presidents.) As written, this constitutional amendment, called the balanced budget amendment, would have doubled unemployment, shooting the jobless rate up to 18 percent. I can't support such a badly written proposal.

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