Lankford Proud to Join House Budget Committee to Introduce FY15 Budget Proposal

Statement

Representative James Lankford (R-OK), member of the House Committee on the Budget, released the following statement today after the Committee introduced its budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2015 (FY15). The Committee's proposal for FY15 stays within the top-line spending limit of $1.014 trillion passed by Congress in December 2013. The FY15 long-term strategy achieves balance by repealing Obamacare, preserving and reforming entitlements and growing the American economy by reducing burdensome federal mandates on states to allow them to take the lead on a number of initiatives better handled locally.

"The Committee's introduction of this FY15 budget proposal demonstrates our commitment to providing short-term and long-term solutions to get our nation back on a path to fiscal responsibility," said Lankford. "This budget maintains our priority to provide a solution to balance the federal budget in ten years.

"Our proposal strengthens our military, while working to eliminate and prevent government waste. We cannot continue to ignore the glaring inefficiencies in federal spending. But we also cannot weaken our military readiness or revoke benefits promised to our veterans.

"Hard-working American taxpayers continue to pay the bill for hundreds of billions in federal mismanagement of entitlement programs. Our budget shows that the best escape from poverty does not come from a lifetime of dependence on the federal government and federal assistance programs. Americans prosper when they have the freedom and ability to choose what works best for their families, not what Washington tells them they need.

"Conservative solutions don't just focus on fixing Washington's bad spending habits. We also continue to seek a number of objectives to bolster American economic opportunity and help make life work for all Americans, regardless of age, gender, income level or political affiliation. We understand that getting our nation's fiscal house in order does not only happen each spring during budget season. Washington can help stimulate American economic development year-round by empowering our energy companies to help us achieve North American energy security and energy independence. The President can use his pen to expedite the permitting process for LNG exports and encourage energy resource trade among allies and friendly nations.

"The Budget Committee's FY15 budget proposal achieves the goal of repealing Obamacare, which has proven to be an unworkable system fostered by an underlying complicated and burdensome policy. The national model of the ACA does not fit every person or every state. I encourage my colleagues in the House to consider bills like the Health Care Compact. I recently introduced this common-sense resolution to enable member-states struggling with Obamacare's mandates and high costs to run health care at the state level in a way that best meets the specific needs of citizens within their states.

"The House Budget Committee will continue to fulfill our obligation to propose a budget, and the House will continue to work daily to help make life work for American families," concluded Lankford.

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