NTU urges all Senators to vote "YES" on S. Amdt. 4300, the "2007 Solution" introduced by Senator George LeMieux (R-FL). This effort would put America back on the path to budget surpluses without resorting to crippling tax increases, while still leaving the federal government with as much to spend as it had just three years ago.
At the beginning of the millennium, our federal budget was $1.9 trillion. In the ten years since then, Presidents Bush and Obama have succeeded (with a willing Congress) in more than doubling it, and the recklessness will continue for the next decade unless we take immediate action. Under the President’s budget outline, the federal government would spend an average of $853 billion more than it brings in each and every year in that period. The time to reform discretionary and especially entitlement spending is now.
S. Amdt. 4300 would kick-start that process by guaranteeing a vote on a bill that freezes future federal spending at the level of 2007 outlays, amounting to roughly $2.7 trillion. This would bring the budget into balance by 2013 and lead to sizable surpluses thereafter, allowing for meaningful debt reduction. Enacting this plan would give Congress the incentive it needs to begin making the difficult and necessary decisions to address runaway spending. For too long, Washington has buried its collective head in the sand about the grim mathematical realities we face. Though S. Amdt. 4300 demands substantial and potentially painful sacrifices, it would head off even more draconian actions that will be required if we do not act today.
A vote for the LeMieux Amendment is a vote for confronting our fiscal challenges rather than continuing to run from them. Any roll call votes on it will be heavily weighted in our annual Rating of Congress.
If you have any questions, please contact NTU Director of Government Affairs Andrew Moylan at (703) 683-5700