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(Alexandria, VA) – On the evening of Tuesday July 19th, in a significant victory for taxpayers and citizens concerned with the fiscal stability of the United States, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the “Cut, Cap, and Balance” bill by a 234-190 vote. This legislation would raise the debt ceiling, but only after enacting immediate spending reductions, a statutory cap on expenditures, and a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution that would make deficits rarer. The 362,000-member National Taxpayers Union (NTU) praised passage of the measure as the only long-term solution to America’s budget crisis.

NTU Vice President of Government Affairs Andrew Moylan offered the following comments: 

Cut, Cap, and Balance is the only comprehensive solution on the table that will actually rein in unsustainable debt, and change our nation’s course to avoid the prospect of a crippling fiscal crisis in the future. It includes not only the short-term spending reductions and guidelines necessary to avert a debt disaster, but the long-term reform needed to maintain fiscal security, grow the economy, and create jobs.

In passing such a powerful measure, the House has taken concrete action to begin fixing the federal budget and set a strong example for the Senate.

Cut, Cap, and Balance is tightly focused on the cause of our debt disaster: overspending. Even if we extend the taxpayer relief measures of 2001 and 2003 and patch the Alternative Minimum Tax, revenue is on track to equal its historical average of 18 percent of the economy in just a few years. Meanwhile, the President’s budget outline foresees spending that never dips below 22 percent of the economy, well above its historical average of about 19.6 percent. Even scarier, the Congressional Budget Office projects that spending will skyrocket to upwards of 30 percent of the economy, a level as unsupportable as it would be unprecedented for our nation. 

Those pushing proposals to reduce deficits by raising taxes are wrongly focused on symptoms, rather than our true disease: a bloated and unaffordable federal government.

We urge the Senate to take advantage of the momentum “Cut, Cap, and Balance” has gained after passing the House, and immediately schedule and support a vote on the legislation in their chamber. NTU and its coalition allies will make every effort in the coming days to ensure success, and bring America one step closer to fiscal stability.

The National Taxpayers Union is a founding member of the “Cut, Cap, and Balance” coalition comprised of more than 200 activist groups, and signed on to by more than 190,000 Americans. For over 30 years, NTU has worked to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution, and for similar legislation throughout state governments.

The 362,000-member NTU is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working for lower taxes, smaller government, and economic freedom at all levels. More information on NTU’s work, is available at www.ntu.org.