11.17.11

Citing Gimmicks And Spending Increases, Sessions To Oppose Appropriations Bill

“It is strange and bizarre that we have tasked a committee of 12 to achieve deficit reduction at the same time that Congress is working to increase the deficit with bills such as this… With the president at the helm, Washington is continuing to steer the ship of state towards financial disaster. I therefore oppose this bill and hope the president will do the same.”

 WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, delivered the following statement announcing his opposition to the conference report on the combined appropriations package being voted on in the Senate tonight:

“Every American knows that when you are in debt you have to cut back on spending. But Washington remains in denial. This bill is a statement that Washington does not take seriously the extraordinary danger posed by our debt. It is strange and bizarre that we have tasked a committee of 12 to achieve deficit reduction at the same time that Congress is working to increase the deficit with bills such as this.

After the first two years of the Obama Administration, in which non-defense discretionary spending surged 24 percent (not including the stimulus), it should not be difficult to achieve substantial reductions. But instead of performing this basic due diligence, the big spenders in Washington are demanding a taxpayer bailout in the form of a tax hike.

I also recently addressed some of the gimmicks in this bill used to conceal additional spending. One of these gimmicks, creating the false appearance of cash savings in mandatory spending, has actually been increased in the current version of the bill. That’s why I introduced the Honest Budget Act—to confront this routine dishonest accounting.

Perhaps most offensive is that this bill is being represented as a spending cut when, in truth, spending is increased.

With the president at the helm, Washington is continuing to steer the ship of state towards financial disaster. I therefore oppose this bill and hope the president will do the same.”