Graves Statement on the House Vote to Raise the Borrowing Limit of the Federal Government
(RANGER, GA) – State Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ranger), Republican candidate for the 9th Congressional District of Georgia, released the following statement after House Democrats agreed to a Senate amendment to H.J. Res. 45, which raised the amount the federal government may borrow by an additional $1.9 trillion:
“House Democrats today voted to raise the federal government’s credit card limit to over $14.2 trillion. Today’s $1.9 trillion increase comes just 42 days after last raising it by $290 billion.
“This increase comes just one week after President Obama called for a spending freeze in his State of the Union address and four days after submitting his budget that shows trillion dollar deficits for the next three years. Our country cannot continue to operate like this, raising our debt limit a trillion dollars each year in order to pay for excessive spending is unsustainable.
“We must alter the debate and change Washington’s thinking. Instead of raising the amount the federal government is authorized to spend every time we reach our credit limit, Congress should be looking to reduce or eliminate areas of the federal budget.
“Citizens Against Government Waste noted that in fiscal year 2009, Congress approved over 10,000 pork-barrel projects worth $19.6 billion, a 14 percent increase from the year before.
“That’s why I am running for Congress - clearly Washington needs new energy and new ideas to combat the print and spend mentality that now prevails in Washington.
“When elected, I will seek to rid budgets of pork and find like-minded members who will work with me to eliminate wasteful spending, such as:
The Nation Endowment for the Arts allotting $30 million in stimulus funds for 600 non-profit grants on programs such as puppets shows and basket weaving;
The Federal Highway Administration allocating $4 million in federal stimulus dollars to build a 2.66 mile bike trail in Massachusetts to connect the Manhan Bike Trail to the Northampton and Norwottuck just so Manhan bikers will have access to the Taco Bell in Northampton;
The Florida Department of Transportation spending $3.4 million in stimulus funds to build an ‘eco-passage’ for turtles and other animals under U.S. Highway 27 in Jackson Lake, Florida;
And, the state of Michigan announcing plans to spend $1.5 million in federal stimulus money to streetscape six blocks of a downtown Detroit area surrounding a local casino and its parking garages, costing taxpayers $254,000 per block.
“We can return fiscal sanity to Washington, but it will take a disciplined, committed conservative who is not afraid to rock the boat and who will stand-up against wasteful spending each and every time.
Today’s vote in the U.S. House of Representatives was 233-187. All seven Republican members of the Georgia Delegation voted against agreeing to the Senate amendment.
