02.01.12

Sessions, Snowe Explain Need For Honest Budget Act: ‘Washington Uses A Different Set Of Rules’

“Americans have a right to expect honesty, transparency, and accountability from their elected officials. They have a right to know that a cut is a cut, an increase is an increase, and that a price tag is accurate.”

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, and U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, issued the following joint statement today regarding the Honest Budget Act:

“Washington uses a different set of rules than the rest of America. Nowhere is this more evident than in the way Washington does accounting. A wide array of budget gimmicks are used in order to enable or conceal billions of dollars in deficit spending. To start putting an end to these practices, last fall we introduced the Honest Budget Act. This legislation, introduced today in the House by Congressman Roby and her colleagues in the freshman caucus, strips away many of the most dishonest budgetary gimmicks, makes it harder to spend money we don’t have, and confronts the culture of fiscal sleight-of-hand that is threatening our nation’s future.

It’s time to end the gimmicks, tricks, and empty promises in Washington. Americans have a right to expect honesty, transparency, and accountability from their elected officials. They have a right to know that a cut is a cut, an increase is an increase, and that a price tag is accurate. We are honored to join our Republican colleagues in the House to restore honesty in budgeting and to rebuild the trust Washington has regrettably eroded. We hope to be joined by our colleagues on the other side of the aisle in this nonpartisan reform campaign.”