By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
The national debt appears to be increasing again and there is no serious effort to rein in out of control federal spending or balance the budget anywhere on the horizon. U.S. Representatives: Martha Roby (R) from Montgomery, Mike Rogers (R) from Saks, and Bradley Byrne (R) voted against the agreement between Democrats and the House’s Republican Leadership.
Rep. Roby said that she can not support any debt limit increase without any reforms to control federal spending. Rep. Roby released a statement after the vote. Rep. Roby wrote, “I cannot support a plan that allows our nation’s debt to increase but fails to include reforms to get spending under control going forward. The consequences of hitting the debt ceiling and being unable to pay for already-incurred spending are real, but so too are the consequences of allowing our spending problem to go unresolved.”
Rep. Byrne said in a written statement: “Our country continues to accumulate new debt without regard for the consequences. The President has shown no fiscal restraint during his time in office, running up historic deficits year after year. I strongly believe fiscal conservatives must continue fighting to hold the line on this issue for the future of our country.”
Congressman Mike Rogers (R) said after voting against raising the debt limit. S. 540, the Debt Limit Extension, “I could not support raising our nation’s debt limit without cutting spending first. Congress must get its fiscal house in order and make the tough spending decisions before passing legislation to further add to our debt.”
Rep. Roby said, “Washington’s addiction to spending is what built this mountain of debt, and simply piling on more while ignoring the spending problem is exactly the wrong approach.”
Rep. Byrne said, “I said that I could only support a debt ceiling package that reflects the urgency of our fiscal situation. Unfortunately, this package does not meet that threshold. I hope to work with my colleagues to promote fiscally conservative policies that will balance the federal budget and reduce the debt.”
The bill allows the Obama administration to borrow whatever it wants to borrow until March 15, 2015. The measure passed by a vote of 221 to 201.
The national debt is $17,325 billion and the deficit is $646 billion.
