Graves: My goal is to let you keep more of your own money

(From Sixth District Congressman Sam Graves)

A budget can tell you a lot about someone's priorities. For President Obama, a balanced budget has never been a priority.

The President's newest budget raises taxes on Americans by $2.6 trillion, and it is centered around the belief that Washington can solve all of our problems.

Since Republicans took over the House in 2010, we've saved a trillion dollars in discretionary spending, cut our annual deficits in half, and have become the number one producer of energy in the world.

Still, Obama’s budget tries to reverse all the steps we’ve taken in the right direction. It includes a $10 tax on each barrel of oil, which would be used to fund “clean energy” projects that let government pick winners and losers. Think about paying a 25 cent per-gallon tax that's used every year to fund a new Solyndra, the solar energy company whose failure cost taxpayers half a billion dollars in stimulus money.

In the House, we will continue to focus on real priorities that help people sustain themselves while putting this country on the path toward a balanced budget.

Last year, we cut taxes on American people and small businesses by $700 billion. These permanent tax breaks give families and small businesses certainty to plan and reinvest in America, putting people back to work and putting money back in our economy.

Tax cuts are not federal spending, and the right ones lower the deficit by growing our economy. Letting Americans keep more of their own money is not only the conservative thing to do, it is the right thing to do.

And that is my priority.