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In the Weekly Republican Address, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell previews the budget President Obama is expected to release on February 13th.
Gov. McDonnell says, "While federal law mandates that the President release his budget on the first Monday of every February, the Administration has extended that period another seven days. Of course that one week delay from the White House pales in comparison to the nearly three-year holdup in the Democratic Senate. In that body, Senator Harry Reid's majority hasn't passed a budget in over 1000 days. Now, the Senator is refusing to even consider a budget on the floor. This is an astounding failure of leadership and management of the nation's finances.
"Harry Reid may not want to act, but we will still get a budget from the President in less than 48 hours. While we don't know the specifics of that budget, we can reasonably predict a lot from the President's previews and his past policy decisions.
"We can expect the President's budget to make private sector job creation tougher because it will raise taxes and continue policies like Obamacare that are making it harder for small businesses to hire—at a time when millions of Americans remain out of work. We can expect the President's budget to ignore the growing entitlement crisis in this country. It won't protect the security of Medicare and Social Security and, absent major reforms, it'll continue down the road to bankrupting these programs in the years ahead. Now we can expect the President's budget to again fail to address the $15 trillion, and growing, national debt—in fact, it will probably make it worse. With no boldness or leadership or setting priorities, the Obama approach is simply more debt, more taxes, and more blaming others.
"In short, we can expect that this will not be a proactive budget built to promote fiscal responsibility and future prosperity. Rather it appears we'll see a bloated budget that doubles down on the failed policies of the past.
"Republicans know that we can do better."
In stark contrast to the Obama administration, Gov. McDonnell notes, "While Washington D.C. borrows at a staggering $3.5 billion a day just to keep the lights on, Republican governors have closed $65 billion in deficits the past two fiscal years alone.
"Here in Virginia, we closed $6 billion in budget shortfalls without raising taxes and produced nearly $1 billion in surpluses the past two years, by putting new money into transportation and colleges and universities. In Nebraska, Governor Dave Heineman proposed $326 million in tax cuts. In New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie is pushing to cut the state income tax by 10 percent. And Republican governors in Florida, Georgia, Iowa, New Mexico and South Carolina are all working to reform their tax systems to make their states more competitive.
Republican governors are balancing their budgets on time, without tax increases, and without deficit spending. And their hard work to make government more efficient and effective is helping to create the environment in which Americans can use their God-given talents to compete, grow, innovate and pursue the American Dream. In fact, in the most recent CNBC rankings of the most business friendly states in the country, 11 of the top 15 states have Republican governors. And Republican led states are outpacing Democratic counterparts when it comes to job creation. Seven of the 10 states with the lowest unemployment rates have Republican governors, and in 2011, states with Republican governors added 912,000 new jobs."
He concludes, "A true and lasting economic recovery will not come from government. It will come from the hard work, talents, and vision of the American people. Republicans believe that it is our duty to help create an environment in which private sector jobs can be best created and sustained. And we know that when we limit government to free up capital, and reduce onerous regulations and litigation, we spur private sector job creation.
"In short, we believe the role of government in an economic recovery is simple: At every level, governments should pass budgets on time that fund core functions like education, transportation, and public safety well, and don't waste precious taxpayer dollars. And, at every level, governments should enact policies that ensure our private sector job creators, small business owners, and entrepreneurs can compete against the world, create jobs, and innovate.
"The American people can out-compete and out-work anyone, anywhere. All they need is the opportunity. Republican leaders in our state capitals are creating those opportunities for success and they are getting results. Now, we need that kind of leadership in the U.S. Senate and the White House."
Gov. McDonnell says, "While federal law mandates that the President release his budget on the first Monday of every February, the Administration has extended that period another seven days. Of course that one week delay from the White House pales in comparison to the nearly three-year holdup in the Democratic Senate. In that body, Senator Harry Reid's majority hasn't passed a budget in over 1000 days. Now, the Senator is refusing to even consider a budget on the floor. This is an astounding failure of leadership and management of the nation's finances.
"Harry Reid may not want to act, but we will still get a budget from the President in less than 48 hours. While we don't know the specifics of that budget, we can reasonably predict a lot from the President's previews and his past policy decisions.
"We can expect the President's budget to make private sector job creation tougher because it will raise taxes and continue policies like Obamacare that are making it harder for small businesses to hire—at a time when millions of Americans remain out of work. We can expect the President's budget to ignore the growing entitlement crisis in this country. It won't protect the security of Medicare and Social Security and, absent major reforms, it'll continue down the road to bankrupting these programs in the years ahead. Now we can expect the President's budget to again fail to address the $15 trillion, and growing, national debt—in fact, it will probably make it worse. With no boldness or leadership or setting priorities, the Obama approach is simply more debt, more taxes, and more blaming others.
"In short, we can expect that this will not be a proactive budget built to promote fiscal responsibility and future prosperity. Rather it appears we'll see a bloated budget that doubles down on the failed policies of the past.
"Republicans know that we can do better."
In stark contrast to the Obama administration, Gov. McDonnell notes, "While Washington D.C. borrows at a staggering $3.5 billion a day just to keep the lights on, Republican governors have closed $65 billion in deficits the past two fiscal years alone.
"Here in Virginia, we closed $6 billion in budget shortfalls without raising taxes and produced nearly $1 billion in surpluses the past two years, by putting new money into transportation and colleges and universities. In Nebraska, Governor Dave Heineman proposed $326 million in tax cuts. In New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie is pushing to cut the state income tax by 10 percent. And Republican governors in Florida, Georgia, Iowa, New Mexico and South Carolina are all working to reform their tax systems to make their states more competitive.
Republican governors are balancing their budgets on time, without tax increases, and without deficit spending. And their hard work to make government more efficient and effective is helping to create the environment in which Americans can use their God-given talents to compete, grow, innovate and pursue the American Dream. In fact, in the most recent CNBC rankings of the most business friendly states in the country, 11 of the top 15 states have Republican governors. And Republican led states are outpacing Democratic counterparts when it comes to job creation. Seven of the 10 states with the lowest unemployment rates have Republican governors, and in 2011, states with Republican governors added 912,000 new jobs."
He concludes, "A true and lasting economic recovery will not come from government. It will come from the hard work, talents, and vision of the American people. Republicans believe that it is our duty to help create an environment in which private sector jobs can be best created and sustained. And we know that when we limit government to free up capital, and reduce onerous regulations and litigation, we spur private sector job creation.
"In short, we believe the role of government in an economic recovery is simple: At every level, governments should pass budgets on time that fund core functions like education, transportation, and public safety well, and don't waste precious taxpayer dollars. And, at every level, governments should enact policies that ensure our private sector job creators, small business owners, and entrepreneurs can compete against the world, create jobs, and innovate.
"The American people can out-compete and out-work anyone, anywhere. All they need is the opportunity. Republican leaders in our state capitals are creating those opportunities for success and they are getting results. Now, we need that kind of leadership in the U.S. Senate and the White House."
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