Garrett Says Obama 'Doesn't Get It' On the Budget

New Jersey Fifth District Congressman Scott Garrett criticized President Obama after a White House visit, voted against a higher debt ceiling and honored veterans on Memorial Day last week.

Garrett wants to move forward on the Budget Crisis

Following a meeting on Wednesday between House Republicans and President Obama, the influential Republican issued a statement saying, “The president still doesn’t get it…Rather than step up to the plate and offer a plan of his own, he chooses instead to sit on the sidelines as a spectator.”

The meeting was the first between President Obama and the entire House GOP since the majority takeover last fall. White House representative Jay Carney described the meeting as “productive,” saying, "I think it helps in that it allows everyone in the room to look each other in the eye," according to foxtoledo.com.

One day earlier, Garrett voted against legislation from Obama requesting a statutory debt ceiling increase from $14.294 trillion to $16.7 trillion.

“We should only vote to raise the debt ceiling is if it is accompanied by significant spending cuts and budgetary reforms to ensure that we continue cutting,” he said.

“Until the White House and Senate Democrats prove they are willing to accept this reality and join House Republicans in offering honest solutions to the problem, we will continue to oppose any attempt to raise the debt ceiling.”

As Chairman of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) Budget and Spending Task Force, Garrett has been working with RSC Chairman Jim Jordan to develop a  plan with a “cut, cap, and balance approach” to the fiscal crisis.

The plan calls for immediate spending cuts and a spending cap at 18 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). “Over the long-term, our plan would help prevent future generations from ever having to face these difficult choices again by passing a Balanced Budget Amendment through Congress,” he said.

Garrett Remembers Veterans

Garrett issued a statement honoring soldiers who’ve died in combat Memorial Day, saying, “It is incumbent upon a grateful nation to live worthy of their sacrifice by supporting those who protect us in war, providing for them upon their return, caring for those they leave behind and retelling their stories. Let us not forget their sacrifice.”