Will Washington Bust Spending Caps, Expand Debt Further?

Will Washington Bust Spending Caps, Expand Debt Further? 

Some in Congress Pushing to Reverse Bipartisan Fiscal Commitment

(Washington, D.C.) – With funding for federal agencies set to expire at the end of the current fiscal year on September 30, Congress and the President have only two weeks to agree on legislation to fund the government into 2014. Some Congressional leaders favor overall spending increases beyond the level authorized in the Budget Control Act of 2011, which set binding spending caps as part of legislation to raise the nation's debt ceiling. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the "Continuing Resolution" – recently proposed in Congress to provide funding – would exceed these spending commitments by nearly $20 billion in 2014. This attempt to get around previous spending commitments comes as Washington contemplates another increase in the nation's borrowing limit.

Daniel Garza, Executive Director of The LIBRE Initiative released the following statement:

"In 2011 the President and members of both parties in Congress came together on a deal to allow trillions in new government borrowing and enact small spending reductions going forward. A few years down the road, Congress is considering breaking its promised cuts and the White House is again calling for an increase in the federal government's $16.7 trillion borrowing limit.

Congress and the President have their priorities wrong. Instead of pushing for more government spending and figuring out how to raise the nation's borrowing limit – again – they should be working to balance the budget and begin to pay down our nation's debt. Congress and the President should commit to the bipartisan spending limits adopted in 2011 and lay a foundation for real economic growth – which is the top priority of the American people right now." 

For interviews with a LIBRE representative, please contact: Judy Pino, 202-578-6424 or Brian Faughnan, 571-257-3309.