The President’s Ineffective Budget Commission – An Opportunity Missed

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today President Obama signed an executive order to create a budget commission tasked with making recommendations to reduce federal deficits and debt.

 

House Appropriations Ranking Republican Jerry Lewis gave the following statement indicating that the President’s commission is not an effective or appropriate way to enact meaningful budget reform:

 

“The creation of this commission is a clear indication that President Obama the Democrat majority has missed another opportunity for real budget reform. Instead of acting appropriately to rein in spending and control skyrocketing deficits, the Democrat Congress and the President have outsourced their constitutional responsibilities to a powerless commission apparently created to provide political cover. At the same time, they are championing billions in additional spending in yet another “stimulus” bill, a health care “reform” bill, and various other pieces of spending legislation while ironically pretending to “freeze” discretionary spending.

 

“The American people are demanding accountability from their elected officials. They want quick action to fix the unprecedented deficits and debt that are dampening economic growth and hindering the ability of our businesses to create jobs. This commission - which isn’t slated to produce anything until after the November elections - is essentially a way to avoid this accountability.

 

“Families across the country suffering the weight of this recession simply can’t wait another eight more months for Congress to address the debilitating debt that is keeping our economy from recovery. Congress – not a commission - must fix these problems and must begin immediately.

 

“The public can count on House Republicans to fight for real and meaningful spending reductions and the elimination of ineffective, wasteful spending. At this point, Congress needs to take a chainsaw to these ballooning deficits, not a scalpel.”