McCaskill: It's time to break the cycle of debt

U. S. Senator Claire McCaskill is asking for feedback on her amendments concerning spending caps on our nation's budget:

It's going to take full, comprehensive budget reform to break the cycle of debt and put us back on track. I am committed to making that reform a reality.

But the first piece of the puzzle is holding down government spending where we can. That's why Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama) and I are offering an amendment that would cap increases in discretionary spending through 2014 and encourage the President to renew the caps when they expire.

Read about the amendment, and let me know what you think.

Discretionary spending only makes up about a third of the federal budget, so this amendment alone won’t solve our huge fiscal problems.

Much more will need to be done. I introduced legislation that would reinstitute a Pay-As-You-Go law that would force across-the-board spending cuts if Congress passed any legislation that increased spending or cut taxes without offsetting the cost. I also support efforts to create a Fiscal Task Force, which would propose legislation to close the long term budget gap and submit it to Congress for a vote.

The reason this is so important is our back is against a wall – unless the debt limit is raised our country will default on our debt, our nation’s credit will be ruined, inviting a new global economic crisis.

People who say we should let our nation default are being irresponsible, but we can’t keep kicking the can down the road – that's why I’m introducing this amendment.

Please share your thoughts here after reading about the spending caps.