Holding Line on Debt Ceiling Isn't Enough

This week, I joined my colleagues in the House in voting to disapprove of the President’s request to increase our debt limit by another $1.2 trillion. But we must do much more than “disapprove” of out-of-control spending to address our debt crisis. Last year, House Republicans made some progress in reducing our debt by achieving close to $1 trillion of cuts.

Still, our national debt is now larger than our entire economy, amounting to over $15 trillion. Independent economists have noted that when debt reaches 90 percent of the economy, the result is a decrease in economic growth of one percentage point.  According to the Administration’s own economic predictions, each percentage point equals about 1 million jobs.

The President’s spending spree is costing us jobs, and it cannot continue. It is not just gambling away our future, but it is hindering our current economic growth.

In the coming weeks, the President will propose his budget for 2013. Given that the last three years under President Obama have produced the three largest deficits in U.S. history, I am not holding my breath. However, the President’s proposal is only the first step towards establishing the federal budget, and House Republicans will continue to work hard at every opportunity to return our country to fiscal responsibility.

President puts politics before jobs

More than three years ago, a Canadian pipeline company, TransCanada, filed an application with the US Department of State to build the Keystone XL, which would transport 830,000 barrels of crude oil per day from the sands region of Alberta to refineries in the US.

The Administration delayed the project even after the necessary environment reviews had been completed, and then they moved the goalposts by requiring new environmental reviews.

After these delays, Congress passed bipartisan legislation that required the President to make a decision by February 21. House Democrats also argued strongly for the project because it would spur the creation of over 100,000 jobs.

The Administration this week decided to reject the Keystone XL pipeline, killing the potential for thousands of jobs and missing this opportunity to reduce our dependence on Middle Eastern oil.

President Obama’s decision to reject the Keystone XL pipeline puts politics over job creation. I expect that Congress will work to override this decision with legislation to approve the pipeline.

Next week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee will begin working on legislation to transfer permitting authority from the President. I am hopeful the Committee will produce legislation to move this project forward.