Carper: Budget Offers ‘Wrong Recipe for Responsible Budgeting’

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) said today the administration’s new budget does not display the fiscal discipline the nation needs to keep itself out of long-term budget deficits and avoid a growing national debt. By increasing federal spending by nine percent while proposing an additional $500 billion in new tax breaks, this budget fails to meet the goal of fiscal responsibility. Carper noted, “The nation already spends $900 million a day paying interest on the government’s debt”. “No budget can be all things to all people, but this one tries,” Carper said. “Congress must work together to craft a budget that keeps our commitment to homeland security, better protects Social Security and Medicare and keeps our nation out of growing deficits. The proposed budget does not accomplish these three goals.” With baby boomers nearing retirement, this budget proposes to tap into more than $200 billion of workers’ Social Security and Medicare contributions to cover shortfalls. “Fiscal discipline starts from the top. Responsible budgeting requires a vision that only the chief executive can provide,” Carper said. “By using the Social Security surplus to pay other bills, this budget borrows from the retirement funds and health benefits of millions of Americans. In the end the numbers just don’t add up. In the future, the numbers need to add up.” As Governor of Delaware, Carper cut taxes seven years while balancing eight consecutive budgets. Carper supports increased spending for the military and homeland defense, but believes the nation must also make every effort to come as close to a balanced budget as possible while meeting its domestic financial obligations to programs like Medicare and Social Security.