Non-partisan, self-proclaimed deficit hawk Hartzler disappointed in supercommittee

Fourth District Congresswoman and self-proclaimed deficit hawk Vicky Hartzler, (the only deficit hawk who thinks that not one penny should come from the defense budget) shares her feelings about the failure of the supercommittee in the following news release.


Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler (MO-4) is expressing her disappointment with the failure of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. The so-called supercommittee, set up as part of the August agreement to raise the debt ceiling, was unable to reach consensus on achieving between $1.2 trillion and $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction.

“It was clear, early on, that this committee would have a difficult time producing a positive result,” said Hartzler. “Hopes for success were dealt a serious setback when President Obama and Democrats pushed for huge tax increases on America’s job creators. The President then insisted that $450 billion of his failed stimulus policies be included in any agreement. This is a missed opportunity. Democrats put their tax and spend dogma ahead of the interests of the America people and failed them!”

“We now know that Republicans made multiple offers, including a proposal to consider new revenues achieved by making the tax code fairer, simpler, and more competitive – and create jobs,” continued Hartzler. “Democrats never seriously considered any of these proposals and never put forward any serious plan to slow the unsustainable growth of the big drivers of our national debt, which include our nation’s health care costs. Our debt situation is bad and it is time for us to get serious. The debt has topped $15 trillion, with the amount owed by every man, woman, and child in America nearing $48,000!”

“President Obama has demonstrated his inability to lead,” added Hartzler. “He was AWOL as negotiations reached their critical stage, globetrotting to such places as Australia and Indonesia as talks crumbled in Washington.”

“It appears as though President Obama is content to allow the trigger mechanism that was established in the August deal to rip $600 billion from our national defense,” concluded Hartzler. “Sadly, President Obama and other liberals in Washington are happy to take money from our national defense in order to keep spending on social programs that must be reformed if we are to secure America’s solvency. This action will endanger both America’s sovereignty and our national security. We cannot allow this to happen. This Democratic strategy of taking money from our national defense to allow for continued out-of-control spending is one reason I opposed the debt ceiling agreement when I voted against it in August.”

Congresswoman Hartzler, a deficit hawk, voted against the August debt ceiling deal that created the supercommittee.