Newsletter: Empowering North Carolina with a Balanced Budget

Statement

Friends,

March Madness is quickly coming to an end, and at this point, your basketball bracket might be either busted or barely hanging on. Whether we're NC State, UNC or Duke fans, we can all agree that North Carolina's teams have had a good run in the tournament this year. Basketball -- as it is with most sports -- requires practice and a detailed strategy. A play, a plan, a blueprint... whatever you choose to call it, it sets the stage and lays out a specific way to reach an end goal. Of course, there are times when winging it and taking a 3-point shot with seconds to go from the half succeeds. But the best way forward is a responsible plan.

Unfortunately, folks in Washington have failed to take a page out of this playbook and continue to wing it, recklessly spending our tax dollars without a budget. Clearly, when one is seriously in debt as America is, a detailed blueprint on how to get out of the hole becomes even more important. Since 2005, Congress has failed to pass a joint budget resolution and our federal government has essentially run on autopilot. Every single dollar of our mindboggling $18 trillion debt represents a failed opportunity to address our nation's fiscal challenges and offer solutions to people who are suffering under the Obama economy. The truth is, we are experiencing the slowest economic recovery since World War II - one that hasn't touched the lives of too many families in North Carolina.

Right now, Congress has a tremendous opportunity ahead to accelerate economic growth in our region and get our nation's spending under control. Last week, the House passed a bold conservative budget that does just that while balancing within 10 years and restoring fiscal responsibility in Washington. This plan will create an environment that promotes job creation and grows our economy by empowering individuals, families and businesses with freedom and flexibility. It ensures we have the ability to make our own health care decisions; it gets government out of the way of job creation; and it returns control back to our local communities.

In stark contrast to President Obama, whose budget increases taxes on hard-working Americans by $2.1 trillion without ever balancing, we presented a bold plan that cuts $5.5 trillion in reckless spending without raising taxes. This is the highest spending cut of any previous House Budget Committee proposals. While creating the economic security needed to move our country forward, this budget also provides for a strong national defense. By prioritizing defense spending, we will guarantee the security of our nation and the defense of our priorities around the world.

And last, but definitely not least, it will rid us of Obamacare and its job-killing taxes, regulations and mandates. By repealing Obamacare, we will pave the way for patient-centered health care reforms. Instead of forcing families and individuals under a 1950s style, one-size-fits-all system, this budget will empower you to have better control over your health care and restore the doctor-patient relationship.

At the end of the day, budgets reflect priorities. Our budget puts the ball in your hands -- not Washington bureaucrats'. In the following weeks, the Senate and the House will meet to work out the differences in our budgets, and I am hopeful that we will move forward with many of the conservative provisions found in the House-passed plan. Because for North Carolina's job seekers, families who can't pay their bills, and businesses struggling, our balanced budget is a step in the right direction towards a stronger economy and a more prosperous America.

Until next week,

Richard Hudson

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