Marathon Pundit: Boehner debt bill passes House, 218-210; Kinzinger statement

Friday, July 29, 2011

Boehner debt bill passes House, 218-210; Kinzinger statement

Not only do the Republicans have a plan, they have one that passed the House of Representatives. Just a few minutes ago, the lower chamber passed the Boehner debt-limit bill, 218-210. No Democrats voted for it.

It now moves to the Senate, where it faces an uncertain future.

But the GOP has a plan. President Obama doesn't.

House Republican freshman Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) issued the following statement:

"Over the course of seven months, House Republicans have changed the conversation in Washington from where to spend to where to cut and how much. Today, many of my colleagues and I in the House voted to reverse the failed trajectory.

"House Republicans recognize that we must pay back the bills that have been racked up by prior Congresses. We must get ourselves on a fiscal trajectory because our spending is out of control. We have the same tax rates, the same two wars, the same prescription drug benefit in 2007, and the same tax loopholes, but the deficit then was $161 billion. This year it's $1.5 trillion.

"The House Republicans' Budget Control Act upholds the promises made – it cuts more spending than the increase in the debt limit and it does not raise any taxes. This plan cuts and caps spending by $917 billion over 10 years and would prevent a national default which threatens our economic growth as well as the national security of our country.

"The plan forces Washington to maintain a strong focus on cutting spending and requires a plan by December that cuts at least $1.8 trillion more. Upon passage, this plan would mark the deepest spending cuts since World War II. According to the House Budget Committee, the Budget Control Act includes about two-thirds of the discretionary spending cuts in the 2012 House-passed budget.

This plan is far from perfect. There are a lot of changes that House Republicans would like to see made. However, the House only controls one stem of the legislative branch and now it's time for Leader Harry Reid, who supported the basic structure of this proposal, the Senate Democrats and the President to come to the table and pass a real solution with us – not one filled with accounting gimmicks."

Organizations such as the American Conservative Union, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business all agree that this is the only serious proposal offered to remove barriers to job growth and refuel our economy.

Dan Danner, President and CEO of the National Federation of Independent Business commended Kinzinger for his support of the Budget Control Act:

"Small-business owners know they will go out of business if they spend more than they take in, and expect the government to operate by the same common-sense principle. Washington has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. We at NFIB thank Congressman Kinzinger for helping make the cuts necessary to start us on a path to get our fiscal house in order without raising taxes on America’s job-creators."