Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Johanns Opposes Raising Spending Caps

 

 U.S. Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) today opposed a budget that amends the Budget Control Act to bring federal spending for the next two years back over a trillion dollars.
“This proposal simply raises more money to spend more money,” Johanns said. “I don’t object to replacing the sequester cuts so long as the alternative includes targeted cuts that address waste or fraud, or achieves long-term savings through structural changes. Unfortunately, this agreement does not meet that standard. It’s going to require difficult decisions, but that’s the only way we are going to dig ourselves out of our $17 trillion debt.”
The bill advanced by a vote of 67-33.
The budget legislation would increase the legal spending caps signed into law in 2011, bringing spending to more than a trillion dollars annually. While the bill does not raise taxes, it does increase numerous fees and the spending cuts do not take effect for years. Some of the cuts, like the reductions to Medicare provider payments, are unlikely to be implemented in 10 years, as outlined, once again leading to a greater deficit.

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