Hartzler, Long encourage Senate to pass Cut, Cap, and Balance

(A news release from Fourth District Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler)

Now that the U.S. House has passed the Cut, Cap and Balance Act to restore fiscal sanity to Washington, Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler (MO-4) is leading the way among Missouri’s House Republicans in calling on the state’s U.S. Senators to follow suit and pass the Act. In a letter to Senators Roy Blunt and Claire McCaskill, Hartzler is joined by Congressmen Billy Long and Blaine Luetkemeyer in urging the Senate to move quickly to pass this common sense legislation.


“We support this responsible plan to bring runaway government spending under control,” states the letter. “Today we call on the Senate to swiftly pass this legislation to reform our government’s spending process. Taking this action without further delay would bring certainty to our economy and hope for our children and grandchildren.”

The letter acknowledges Senator Blunt’s support for the Senate version of the Cut, Cap and Balance Act and asks Senator McCaskill to do likewise: “We call on you, Senator McCaskill, to follow the lead of the people of Missouri by supporting this legislation and pushing for quick passage by the Senate.”

“This historic moment provides us with an opportunity to solve the huge economic challenges facing our country,” commented Hartzler. “The Senate must not say ‘no’ to this chance to put America on the right trajectory to balance the budget and pay off our debt. President Obama and some Senators have so far rejected this fiscally responsible plan in favor of calls to dig deeper into the pockets of American taxpayers and to spend more money. This is the wrong approach! It is time to cut up the credit cards and stop spending money we don’t have.”

Cut, Cap and Balance will cut $111 billion in 2012 and around $5.8 trillion over ten years. It caps spending to below 20 percent of GDP by 2021 to ensure government lives within its means. It grants President Obama his request for a debt ceiling increase only after Congress has passed a Balanced Budget Amendment and sent it to the states for ratification.

The Cut, Cap and Balance Act is the ONLY bill that heads off a default. President Obama and the Senate are talking but they have no serious proposal on the table to avoid default. The plan passed by House Republicans, with support from some Democrats, is the only plan that will stave off default.