In Support of a Balanced Budget Amendment
It's no secret spending in Washington is completely out of control. Our President and the majority in Congress are on pace to rack up an unprecedented $1.5 trillion deficit this year. That's following a $1.6 trillion deficit last year. The total national debt stands at over $13 trillion. This has to stop.
The easiest way to begin to restore fiscal sanity to the federal budget is simply to stop spending. To accomplish that goal, I support returning all non-defense funding to 2008 spending levels. That one adjustment would save us almost a trillion dollars compared to what Congress wants to spend – which illustrates just how high spending has risen in the last two years alone. We should also cancel and return all of the TARP and stimulus dollars that have not yet been spent. That would save us almost another $300 billion right there.
However, we need to put structural and permanent mechanisms against overspending in place. That is why I've co-sponsored a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution making it illegal for the federal government to deficit spend in any given year. Missouri – along with all but one state – already has a balanced budget provision on its books. The federal government should too.
Importantly, the amendment I support includes language preventing Congress from simply raising taxes to try to balance the budget. The goal should be to reign in government spending. Americans already pay too much in taxes. They can't afford to send even more money to the big spenders in Washington, especially right now.
Sincerely,
