Lankford: Budget obligation

Representative James Lankford (R-OK) issued the following statement after final passage of the House Fiscal Year 2013 Path to Prosperity budget proposal.

“I am pleased that my colleagues in the House put forth a number of budget proposals to fulfill our moral and legal obligation to produce the annual budget for the next fiscal year on time,” said Rep. Lankford. “Passage of the House Budget Committee’s Path to Prosperity today demonstrates that America can balance our budget without raising taxes on hardworking Americans and perpetuating Washington’s reckless spending culture.  

“The Path to Prosperity tackles our nation’s fiscal challenges on multiple fronts, including proposals to consolidate six income tax brackets into a simple two-tier system. Our budget cuts federal spending from its current elevated level of 24% of the economy down to our historic average of 20% of GDP by 2015. We balance the budget and cut the debt by tens of trillions over time, allowing our nation to avoid a European-style debt crisis and long-term economic decline.

“We have reaffirmed our commitment to bringing fiscal sanity to Washington with this blueprint for spending reform. Our stagnate economy proves we cannot tax and spend our way to prosperity,” continued Representative Lankford.

“The much needed renovation of Washington’s ‘spendgo’ culture changes the discussion to a ‘cutgo’ or ‘paygo’ system. House Republicans insist that we pay for important federal projects, rather than simply shift the debt burden onto future generations.

“With the passage of the Path to Prosperity, the House has presented the American people with a bold plan of action to address our fiscal woes. It is now incumbent upon the Senate to end its 1,000-day budgetless spending spree and begin working with House Republicans on a real plan to restore long-term economic and fiscal sanity,” concluded Representative Lankford.