-----Original Message-----
From: Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2011 10:58 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Constituent Response From Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
Dear Friend:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the fiscal year (FY) 2012 budget. I
welcome your thoughts and comments.
A spending spree that accelerated during the last Congress has already
driven up the national debt to the legal limit -- more than $14 trillion. This
unprecedented debt burden is hurting our fragile economic recovery, and poses a
long-term threat to America's prosperity and security. Our first priority must
be to stop skyrocketing deficits, bring the federal budget under control, and
move to a balanced budget.
On February 14, 2011, the White House released President Barack Obama’s
budget proposal for FY 2012. Rather than moving toward fiscal responsibility,
the President's proposal would have made things much worse. With a $3.7
trillion price tag, the President’s budget called for massive deficit spending
that would lead to a $1.6 trillion deficit in FY 2011 and a $1.1 trillion
deficit in FY 2012.
The Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate has not offered a better solution.
Senate rules require adoption of an annual budget resolution by April 15, to
set priorities and spending caps. For the second consecutive year, Senate
Democrats have failed to put forward a budget resolution for consideration.
This two-year failure has resulted in a budget free-for-all that has driven up
deficits, frustrated attempts to set spending priorities, and threatened
several times to force a federal government shut-down.
A new low point of irresponsibility was reached on May 25, 2011, when the
Senate majority voted to block debate and voting on amendments for three
different Republican budget resolutions -- without putting forward a proposal
of its own. Senate Democrats then voted (unanimously) against the President's
budget proposal. According to the Senate Majority Leader, it would be
"foolish" for Senate Democrats to support any budget resolution.
The American people understand that Congress and the White House must work
together to put the government's financial house in order. To fail to act
decisively will saddle our children and their children with trillions of
dollars of federal debt, do long-lasting harm to our economy, force us to
reduce or eliminate spending for important national priorities, and bankrupt
Social Security and Medicare.
I have cosponsored S.J. Res. 10, which would amend the U.S. Constitution
to require a federal balanced budget, with annual federal spending capped at 18
percent of our Gross Domestic Product. However, I oppose the trillions of
dollars in new taxes that the President and his supporters in Congress have
proposed to pay for increased federal spending. As we recover slowly from a
long, painful economic recession, tax revenue has been increasing.
Out-of-control deficits are due to government spending increasing at an even
faster rate.
We are at a critical time. We must make bold cuts in spending where we
can in FY 2012, while carefully prioritizing investment and research in areas
of strategic national importance. We also must reform Social Security,
Medicare and Medicaid so that vital retirement and health benefits will be
there for those who depend on them today and those who will need them in the
future.
In the coming weeks, Congress will face difficult decisions about short-
and long-term spending priorities. A crucial point will be reached later this
year when the federal government's monthly $100 billion deficit brings it to
the statutory $14.3 trillion limit on accumulated debt. As we reach these
critical decision-making points, please be assured that I will keep your
thoughts and advice in mind.
I appreciate hearing from you, and I hope that you will not hesitate to
contact me on any issue that is important to you.
Sincerely,
Kay Bailey Hutchison
United States Senator
284 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5922 (tel)
202-224-0776 (fax)
http://hutchison.senate.gov
PLEASE DO NOT REPLY to this message as this mailbox is only for the delivery of
outbound messages, and is not monitored for replies. Due to the volume of mail
Senator Hutchison receives, she requests that all email messages be sent
through the contact form found on her website at
http://hutchison.senate.gov/?p=email_kay .
If you would like more information about issues pending before the Senate,
please visit the Senator's website at http://hutchison.senate.gov . You will
find articles, floor statements, press releases, and weekly columns on current
events.
Thank you.
