In a recent interview with the National Journal, President Obama was quoted saying he would be “happy to sit down” with Republican members of Congress and go through the budget “line by line” to address the enormous fiscal challenges this country is facing because of the unsustainable levels of spending.
The president has made similar offers in the past, like when he offered to go over the health care bill “line by line,” which I took him up on. To this day, I am still waiting to hear back from him. Even still, I would certainly like to take President Obama up on his offer and meet at his earliest convenience to discuss areas in the budget that can be reduced or eliminated. That is why I, along with several of my colleagues, am sending the president a letter — once again — taking him up on his offer.
In the interview, President Obama claims that “everybody’s for a balanced budget amendment in the abstract.” In fact, I am a cosponsor of H.J.Res. 1, Congressman Goodlatte’s balanced budget constitutional amendment, which is specific, concrete legislation pending right now in Congress. It would require the next and all future Congresses to balance the budget, except in the case of wars or military conflict. Given that the president did not offer any of his own solutions, I would encourage him to develop consensus around this particular legislation.
This country’s ever-expanding debt and deficits are a fiscal crisis. Ultimately, the government has to live within its means, just like everybody else. An important part of government reform is spending less than you take in. Despite my opposition last year, Congress also spent an amount similar to the administration’s proposed levels of $3.9 trillion, which will be 27 percent of the gross domestic product. This has created the largest federal government since World War II, which has averaged about 19 percent of GDP. This year, Congress has failed to pass a budget altogether.
Our government needs accountability and balance because our future depends on it. That is why I hope that this time President Obama is serious about sitting down with members of Congress and going over the budget “line by line” in an effort to work together to come up with the best solutions to get our nation back on track towards fiscal health.
By sitting down and going through ways to balance the budget together, we can attain a mutual understanding about why many House Republicans are raising concerns and move forward towards solutions. Additionally, I would be happy to share some ideas on how we can enact bipartisan reforms that will decrease the deficit.
As someone who is truly concerned about the direction in which this country is headed, I hope the President’s offer is sincere this time and look forward to engaging on ways to move our country forward — something that has been lacking for much of the last two years.
Rep. Phil Roe represents Tennessee’s First Congressional District.