Snowe: Obama's Budget 'Wholly Unacceptable'
'No family could run their financial house in such an irresponsible manner.' Read More...
Snowe Statement on President Obama’s FY 2011 Budget
February 1, 2010
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine), a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee and Ranking Member of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, released the following statement today regarding the President’s FY 2011 budget proposal:
“A projected $1.6 trillion deficit that outpaces this year’s record of $1.4 trillion is wholly unacceptable, and in this uncharted fiscal territory of unparalleled budget deficits, we should do far more to reduce government and reorient our priorities to restore long-term fiscal stability to our nation. No family could run their financial house in such an irresponsible manner and it is time for the federal government – which will be borrowing more than 68 percent of the economy by the end of next year and 77 percent by 2020 – to make the kind of tough choices Americans are confronted with every day.
“Unfortunately, freezing non-security discretionary spending is merely a step in the right direction when we should instead be taking leaps toward fiscal responsibility – and instead of waiting until next year we should institute that freeze immediately, particularly for provisions signed into law last December as part of an omnibus appropriations package that I opposed as it increased funding for nine cabinet departments by an astounding 13 percent over FY 2009 levels.
“Moreover, there should be no mistake that a jobless recovery is not a true recovery, and given we must focus like a laser on building an environment for businesses to create jobs in our ravished economy, as I’ve heard repeatedly in small business forums throughout Maine, the last thing we should do is raise taxes by nearly $1 trillion beginning in 2011. Neither the administration nor Congress should create or enhance any uncertainty with respect to taxes on our nation’s 30 million small business owners who are the economic engines that have already generated two-thirds of net new jobs in America, and represent our greatest hope for economic recovery.
“Finally, I agree we cannot forsake those Americans who are continuing to suffer from the devastation brought upon our economy by the fraudulent practices and unchecked greed of mega-Wall Street firms. At the same time, instead of simply adding another $169 billion for economic recovery spending over the next three years as the President has done and using TARP funds that banks have returned to help pay for a jobs package is not the answer – that was a loan to be repaid, not to be spent, and only in Washington would that count as sound fiscal policy.
“Rather, I have proposed in a letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMD) Director Peter Orszag that we should reallocate the more than $500 billion in unspent Stimulus act funds toward legitimate job creation. Further, I am introducing legislation that would require the Office of Management and Budget to within 15 days provide Congress with a list of provisions from the stimulus for which funds remain unobligated, and their recommendation for redirections of those funds toward more effective programs to either assist the displaced or spur job creation.
“Once Congress receives the Administration’s proposals, all Members, as well as the appropriate congressional committees, can evaluate their suitability with an eye toward using them as offsets for forthcoming legislation to ensure the growth of our economy as we look to emerge from the worst recession since World War Two – the American people expect and deserve no less.”
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