Jones Votes "No" on Big Spending Budget

Democrats’ budget would nearly triple the national debt over the next 10 years.

Press Release
April 29, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Representative Walter B. Jones (R-NC) voted against the conference report for S. Con. Res. 13, a bill setting the congressional budget for the U.S. government for fiscal year 2010 and the budgetary levels for fiscal years 2011 through 2014. The more than $3.55 trillion budget passed the House by a party-line vote of 233 to 193 and is expected to be signed into law by the President.

Congressman Jones’ statement on the Democrats’ budget follows below:

“During difficult times, American families and small businesses make sacrifices and do what they can to tighten their belts and reign in spending. Most people expect the federal government to do the same. Sadly, Washington has chosen to go on a spending spree and ignore the pressing demand for fiscal discipline. Rather than scale back wasteful spending, this budget resolution is projected to nearly triple the national debt over the next 10 years.”

“The spending in this budget resolution calls for a $1.23 trillion deficit for 2010, which will lead to unprecedented borrowing from China, the Middle East, and other foreign countries that own our ballooning debt. Problems that have been caused by too much spending and too much debt simply can’t be solved by more government spending and more federal debt. The fact that April 26^th was already “Debt Day” – the day in the fiscal year when federal spending surpasses revenues – obviously hasn’t registered in Washington. This Congress needs to wake up and realize its moral obligation to avoid passing on a mountain of debt to America’s future generations.”

“While our nation continues to suffer amid a faltering economy, this budget includes $1.5 trillion in tax increases over the next 10 years. It not only imposes new taxes on corporate businesses but raises income taxes, harming the most successful small businesses that pay taxes at the top two individual rates. This budget also includes a new national energy tax that will cost every American household. Hiking taxes during an economic downturn will only hurt small businesses and slow job creation.”

“With its fast-track ‘reconciliation’ procedure to push through sweeping policy changes like government run-health care and its expansion of the federal government through huge increases in spending, taxes, and deficits, this budget resolution will plunge our nation further into debt and keep us from getting back on the right economic track.”

Jones to Congress: "No More Bailouts"

Jones Cosponsors No More Bailouts Resolution

Press Release

March 24, 2009

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Walter B. Jones (R-NC) has joined Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) as a cosponsor of H. Res. 199, the No More Bailouts Resolution. The resolution calls on Congress to stop spending billions of borrowed taxpayer dollars on bailouts for private industries.

“Over the past year, financial markets have been infused with well over a trillion dollars from the federal government – including $200 billion to bailout Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, $29 billion for Bear Stearns, $85 billion for AIG, $700 billion for Wall Street, $25 billion for automakers, and $247.5 billion for Citigroup,” Congressman Jones said. “Yet instead of driving economic growth, these bailouts have done nothing but fuel public anger over how these institutions are spending the taxpayers’ money.”

“Bailout after bailout, the American taxpayer gets put on the hook again and again,” Jones continued. “There seems to be no recognition by government officials that many taxpayers face just as difficult of an environment as the financial institutions they are being forced to bailout – the kind of bailout for which individuals and small business are ineligible to apply.”

“Without a doubt, our country is in serious economic turmoil. But passing massive government bailouts at the expense of the American taxpayer and future generations is not the proper solution. Applying bailout band-aids merely rewards the executives and companies who have broken their promises and helped put our economy in its current sorry state – it doesn’t address the root of our nation’s economic problems,” Jones said. “For this reason, I’m proud to join Congressman Tiahrt in his call for Congress to help American workers and businesses achieve long-term prosperity through incentives for private-sector solutions instead of government bailouts. I hope many more of our congressional colleagues will join us in saying, ‘No more bailouts!’”