Pence and McMorris Rodgers Oppose Taxpayer-Funded Bailouts for Europe

The House Republican Conference: Washington, DC - U.S. Congressman Mike Pence, Chairman of the House Republican Conference, and Conference Vice Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers urged their House colleagues today to sign a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, calling on the Obama Administration to block any American taxpayer-funded bailouts of Greece. Greece is seeking funding from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), due to the country's debt, and other European countries, including Portugal and Spain, may soon make similar appeals. Congressman Pence made the following remarks today:

"The American people are tired of the endless bailouts. The United States is facing nearly 10 percent unemployment and a fiscal crisis of its own, and propping up Greece or any other European Union nation that may face a similar crisis in the future should not be the responsibility of American taxpayers. The EU was created to compete economically with the United States, and if it needs to bailout one of its own, it should do so without bilking the American taxpayer.

"The administration should do everything in its power to block taxpayer money from financing an international bailout slush fund. Hard-working Americans should not see their tax dollars sent overseas to bail out nations that have acted irresponsibly. As we are seeing here in the United States, borrowing, spending and bailouts are not the path to economic prosperity, but are instead a formula for disaster."

"At a time when America is experiencing its worst economy in 30 years and is burdened by a $1.3 trillion deficit, it is simply unfair to force American taxpayers to spend billions more of their hard-earned dollars to prop up failed policies in a relatively wealthy nation," said Vice Chair McMorris Rodgers.

Congressman Pence added, "The Obama Administration needs to understand that bailing out Greece will not solve Greece's problems; it will only create a moral hazard that gets America more involved in the gathering storm of European bailouts. A Greek bailout today will encourage larger countries, such as Spain and Italy - which have similar problems - to get in line for American tax dollars tomorrow and continually delay the fiscal disciplinary actions that are necessary for a long-term recovery."

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Tags: Europe, Bailout, Stop the Bailouts, Mike Pence, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Obama Administration, U.S. Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, Greece, European Union, American taxpayer To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!