10.23.12

Sessions Analyzes Release Of President’s ‘Plan’: ‘One Of The Greatest Financial Misrepresentations Ever Made’

“This is surely one of the greatest financial misrepresentations ever made to the American people. His budget achieves one-tenth of the pledged deficit reduction and, instead of cutting spending, he surges it dramatically… It is not only a question of leadership but a question of character—and duty.  At this point, the greatest obstacle to preventing a debt crisis is a President who won’t tell the truth about his budget and our financial dangers, and a Democrat Senate that refuses to even write a plan at all.”

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued a statement today following the release of the President’s "The New Economic Patriotism: A Plan For Jobs & Middle-Class Security.”

Sessions’ comments follow:

“After the enactment of the Budget Control Act in August 2011, America was projected to spend $44.8 trillion and add roughly $11 trillion to our gross federal debt over the next ten years. President Obama’s budget, submitted several months later in February, according to his own budget tables, would raise taxes $1.8 trillion, spend $46.2 trillion and add $10.6 trillion to our gross federal debt. Relative to the spending baseline that he signed into law, the President’s budget achieves virtually no deficit reduction.  His $1.8 trillion tax hike fuels a $1.4 trillion spending increase above current growth projections, resulting in an anemic $400 billion in deficit reduction. Overall, the President’s budget increases total spending levels by 60 percent (from a budget of $3.5 trillion this year to $5.74 trillion in 2022) and increases our nation’s total debt by more than 70 percent to $25.4 trillion in 2022.

Yet in his ‘plan’ released today the President describes his budget proposal as achieving $4 trillion in deficit reduction, with $2.50 in cuts for every $1 in tax hikes. This is surely one of the greatest financial misrepresentations ever made to the American people. His budget achieves one-tenth of the pledged deficit reduction and, instead of cutting spending, he surges it dramatically. As Admiral Mullen has said, ‘the single, biggest threat to our national security is our debt.’ But our commander-in-chief is deliberately misrepresenting his budget plan to the nation. It is not only a question of leadership but a question of character—and duty.

At this point, the greatest obstacle to preventing a debt crisis is a President who won’t tell the truth about his budget and our financial dangers, and a Democrat Senate that refuses to even write a plan at all.”

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