Washington, DC– Congresswoman Kay Granger (TX-12) issued the following statement after the House passed the Budget Control Act:
“I voted tonight to cut spending now and raise the debt ceiling. Conservatives had two options: Vote for a plan that cuts more than $900 billion from the federal budget – with another opportunity to cut even more six months from now – or vote “no” and support Senator Harry Reid and President Obama. That was the choice.
“Some claimed that voting against the Budget Control Act and defeating it would have somehow resulted in Congress being able to pass a more conservative bill. With the Senate and the White House controlled by Democrats, that notion is simply out of touch with reality. We already passed a more conservative bill last week – the Cut, Cap and Balance Act. In a perfect world, that bill would have been signed into law. But this is not a perfect world. That bill was immediately killed in the Senate by Harry Reid and Senate Democrats.
“Ronald Reagan raised the debt limit 17 times during his two terms in office. Each time, the increase covered only a limited period of time, forcing Congress to reassess spending priorities immediately and try to correct the country’s fiscal path. President Obama wants to raise the debt limit enough to get him through the 2012 election. It’s not hard to figure out that he doesn’t want to deal with this issue in an election year. His timetable is driven by pure politics.
“Going into this debate, conservatives said we would increase the debt ceiling only if we cut spending more than we increased the debt ceiling, we didn’t increase taxes, and the debt ceiling increase was short-term. The Budget Control Act meets those requirements.
“The legislation I voted for cuts spending more than it increases the debt ceiling, does not increase taxes, and forces Congress to vote on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. This bill will make sure that the President doesn’t receive a blank check to continue paying for his expensive programs and bailouts.
“Spending cuts will continue to be at the top of our agenda in Congress. Our credit cards are maxed out. Tonight, we began cutting them up.”
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