Mar 14 2013
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor today regarding Senate Democrats’ left-wing budget blueprint that raises taxes on Americans and continues to grow the government, not the economy:
“Yesterday, I asked Senate Democrats to put forward a thoughtful budget that Americans of both parties could rally around: one that controls spending, gets our economy healthy again, and advances the serious reforms necessary to make government programs more efficient, effective, and responsive to the needs of 21st Century Americans.
“I asked them to please shelve the tax hikes. That’s because we understand the negative effect more taxes would have on our fragile economy and the millions of Americans still looking for work.
“It’s also because we know Washington Democrats already got the $600 billion in taxes they demanded earlier this year – and, remember, that’s in addition to the more than $1 trillion they got in taxes from Obamacare too – so now it’s time for the balance they promised.
“Washington doesn’t need to tax more. It needs to finally figure out how to spend less.
“I said that these things were the least Senate Democrats owed the American people, given their lack of responsibility in not producing a budget over the last four years.
“Well, I’m sorry to report that the plan they put forward yesterday will do none of these things.
“Instead of getting Washington spending under control, their proposed budget doubles down on the same wasteful ‘stimulus’ spending we already know doesn’t work. In fact, at a time when Americans believe about half of every dollar they send to Washington is wasted, the Democrat budget would increase spending by nearly 62 percent.
“Their budget will do more to harm the economy than to help it, and it will let Medicare and Social Security drift closer to bankruptcy. And then there’s the Democrats’ $1.5 trillion tax hike. Trillion with a T.
“Let me just repeat that: any Senator who votes for that budget is voting for a $1.5 trillion tax hike, the largest in the history of our country.
“So the Senate Democrat budget is more than just disappointing: it’s extreme.
“It’s really one of the most extreme, most left-wing budgets of the modern era. It says something, I think, about today’s Washington Democrats.
“There was a time when the Democrat Party cared about fiscal responsibility, when Democrats understood the need to be concerned about the impact their policies would have on hardworking taxpayers. A time when they would have rejected this budget as a joke.
“But those voices of reason have mostly been chased out of today’s D.C. Democrats. The few who remain have been sidelined and silenced throughout the budget process. Even the Chairman of the Finance Committee has been pushed aside so his fellow Democrats can quickly ram through their massive tax hike.
“So, it will be no surprise to hear that my caucus opposes this left-wing manifesto masquerading as a responsible budget. And when Americans get a chance to digest their budget and the one House Republicans put forward earlier this week, they will see some clear differences.
“Between a budget that balances, and one that enshrines waste and cronyism.
“Between a budget that helps bring the economy back to health, and one that kills jobs.
“Between a budget that measures compassion in how many people it helps, and one that counts compassion in how many hard-earned tax dollars are sent to Washington for politicians to waste.
“Between a budget that strengthens Medicare, and one that would put Medicare even further out of reach for future generations.Emphasis mine.
“In short, they will see a bold, reformist Republican budget centered on their needs, and an extreme Democrat budget centered on the needs of Washington bureaucrats and politicians.
“I hope Senate Democrats think again before they choose to push such an extreme budget forward. Because I think they’ll find that Americans agree with Republicans on this most important point: we need to grow the economy, not the government.”