Issue Position: Budget

Issue Position

Our nation is currently experiencing an unprecedented level of spending and expansion of our federal government. Unfortunately, for far too long the government has lived beyond its means, borrowing money from future generations to pay for unnecessary government programs, ignoring the long term liabilities of entitlement programs.

I believe these bad habits can be turned around with intelligent discretionary-spending cuts and measured investments in future generations. We cannot continue to manage the needs of our nation if we are saddled with a national debt of more than $17 Trillion. Furthermore, the debt ceiling cannot be raised merely because elected leaders of our country can't agree on spending measures to cut.

Three years ago when I first came to Washington, federal spending was $3.5 Trillion with tax revenues of $2.1 trillion. From the beginning, I understood the blatant discrepancy between the money brought in and the money going out.

Arizona families understand the need for budgetary restraint and so do the rest of households across the country. The current economy and credit crisis have reminded us all of the need to live within our means and the value of a dollar saved. One of my top priorities in Congress is to ensure the federal government accomplishes the same goal.

The country possesses a variety of options for fiscal responsibility. I have sponsored legislation that identified trillions of dollars in liquid assets the federal government could tap into to boost revenues and eliminate the deficit. By combining assets sales from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Mortgage Backed Securities, the broadcast spectrum and Federal Real Property in addition to a sweeping of unobligated Appropriations balances, it is conceivable we could reach primary balance in FY2014.

I wrote a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew about these option for financial security in October 2013. The full version can be read here.I look forward to hearing from his office on a chance to dive into these potential options.

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