RSS
Extension Of Payroll Tax Cut Passes Senate
Nelson Plan Cuts Spending For Congress
Congress Approves New U.S. Stratcom Headquarters
U.S. Postal Service Agrees To Five-Month Moratorium On Closing Rural Post Offices
Read More > >
As a former Governor, it was my job to balance the state budget which I did eight years in a row, not only because it’s required by the Nebraska Constitution but because it just makes good economic sense.
These are tough times, and the federal government needs to take a lesson from Nebraska on how to get through them. We may be the Big Red State but we are not big on red ink. When times are tough in Nebraska, our families tighten their belts, spend less, cut down on things we can do without and don’t run up our credit cards.
Why I Voted “No” on the Budget
The Senate may have cut back the budget submitted by the President but it was still too big and didn’t go far enough to control the spiraling deficit, leaving me with no choice but to vote against it.
The bottom line is that spending needs to decrease, and we need to get the deficit under control. It should be down to about 2% of GDP, the Gross Domestic Product, to get on a long-term path to reducing our debt. The goal should be to get GDP growing and the deficit shrinking.
Of course, it gets much easier to control that deficit with a robust and growing GDP, which is why I’m very wary of pulling productive resources out of the economy by increasing taxes; there’s just no way the federal government can spend that money more productively than the private sector.
No More Fudgets
While I am very concerned about the size and scope of the budget, the administration is to be commended for submitting an honest budget that included all spending rather than the gimmicky “fudgets” of the past administration that conveniently omitted such big ticket items as funding the war in Iraq.
An honest budget, yes, but for me it was still a “no” vote because it was an unsustainable path. I agree with the President that we need to make certain long-term investments, such as reforming health care and supporting renewable energy, to secure our long term economic and fiscal future. But first, we need to take a hard look at a lot of the autopilot spending in the current budget.
Restore Economy First
We need to give the recently passed stimulus bill time to work before offering huge new spending plans, in part to get a more accurate picture of the long-term economic outlook. The stimulus plan is in its early stages but already it has begun to deliver billions of dollars to states across America to create and save jobs, and get our economy back on track.
We see and hear news stories everyday how the money is going to work in communities all across Nebraska paying for energy, education, and roads projects that are building infrastructure while creating or saving 23,000 jobs in Nebraska.
I support the Administration’s outline for addressing challenging programs like energy and health care, but if we’re going to address critical programs and policies like these, we need to cut spending in other programs. This budget doesn’t achieve that so I voted against it.
I will continue working to try and bring a good old fashioned dose of Nebraska fiscal restraint to Washington – but it’s an uphill battle.
###
Search: Budget, Speeches, Op-Eds, Columns