Rooney Statement on Debt Limit Vote
Washington, D.C. –U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney (FL-16) today issued the following statement after voting in favor of the Budget Control Act of 2011:
“This vote sends a message to the American people that while we still have significant work left to do, we heard their demands in November to cut spending and get government under control. President Obama and Congressional Democrats began this debate by requesting a so-called clean increase in the debt limit – basically, a blank check to continue their spending binge. We successfully changed the debate from, ‘How much can we spend?’ to, “How much can we save?’
“At the beginning of this debate, I said my goal was to prevent a default while cutting spending significantly and enacting serious reforms to change the way Washington spends taxpayer dollars. While I’d like this bill to go further, it meets these core principles. This legislation cuts spending by a larger amount than it raises the debt limit, caps spending to limit the growth of government, protects Americans from job-destroying taxes, and guarantees the American people a vote on a balanced budget amendment.
“I am gravely concerned about the additional cuts to our defense that could be triggered if the Joint Committee cannot reach an agreement on further deficit reduction. While we must find ways to save, we cannot put our national security in jeopardy. I will do all I can to ensure that these potential cuts are not enacted.
“This bill isn’t my first choice. I wish President Obama and Senate Democrats shared our commitment to getting government spending under control and saving our children from crippling deficits and debt. Unfortunately, they did not get the message from voters last November, and so we had to drag them kicking and screaming toward this effort to cut spending and enact meaningful reforms. If we had a different President and a different Senate, we could have done something much bigger to address the true drivers of our national debt – but this is an important and meaningful step.”
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