By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
On Monday, February 2, US Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama) and US Representatives Bradley Byrne (R-Montrose) and Martha Roby (R-Montgomery) issued written statements following President Obama’s fiscal year 2016 $3.99 million budget submitted to Congress on Monday.
Sen. Sessions said in a written statement, “The President has sent another tax-and-spend budget to Congress. The budget busts the very spending caps he agreed to and signed, increasing discretionary spending by $74 billion in the first year alone. He also raises taxes by $2.1 trillion—once again increasing taxes to increase spending. This massive tax-and-spend budget increases spending over 10 years by 65 percent from today’s levels and adds $8.5 trillion to our nation’s debt. Under the President’s plan, annual interest payments alone rise from $229 billion to $785 billion a year. That’s almost 20 times what we spend right now on the highway budget. Within six years our annual interest payment will exceed the defense budget.”
Rep. Byrne said in his statement, “President Obama’s latest budget proposal just further demonstrates the President is governing outside the realm of reality. Despite the American people soundly rejecting the President’s policies last year, he continues to advocate for the same tax more, spend more policies. The President’s proposal makes no serious commitment to reducing our $18 trillion dollar debt.”
Rep. Roby said, “It’s Groundhog Day. Again. And President Obama has released a budget with unrealistic promises and more taxes. Again.” “The president’s budget just isn’t serious. It would amount to at least $1.44 trillion in new taxes over the next decade, a 7% increase in discretionary spending next year alone and overall bigger government—three outcomes Congress simply must not allow.”
Senator Sessions wrote, “Tax, spend, borrow, regulate, and add to the debt does not work. Labor force participation is at a nearly a four-decade low, while average family incomes are down more than $4,000 since 2009. Wages fell 5¢ an hour in December 2014. The government is becoming bigger and more powerful, while working families are getting squeezed out. It’s time for a budget that puts working Americans—not Washington bureaucrats—first.”
Congressman Byrne said, “It doesn’t have to be this way. Instead of growing the federal government, the President should promote policies that support small businesses and empower American families. In the coming weeks, I look forward to working with my House colleagues to put forward that alternative fiscal path that is based on a smaller, more efficient federal government.”
Congresswoman Roby wrote, “The Appropriations Committee will soon begin analyzing each area of federal spending line by line to set priorities and cut waste. Unlike the president, we’ll take a serious and realistic approach to reining in government waste while funding critical needs like the military.”
The Republican controlled U.S. House of Representatives will likely jettison the Obama budget and pass their own. It is hoped that the U.S. Senate will be able to pass a budget and the two can come to some sort of agreement, then they can begin the arduous process of reaching a budget that the President will sign.
