Former OMB Director Addresses Government Spending, Economy & Jobs

Sen. Robert Portman (R-OH)
Former OMB Director

GOP Weekly Address: In the Weekly Republican Address, Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio and former Bush White House Budget Director says, "We've had to relearn the lesson we all know in our hearts: you can't spend your way to prosperity. As American families have tightened their belts over the past couple of years and businesses have had to do more with less, the federal government has taken the opposite path, spending more, growing bigger, and becoming more involved in our economy and our lives. This historic failure to control spending directly affects our economy and the ability to create jobs."

"There is an urgency about this that the American people get even while many in Washington seem to be in denial. We must rise to the challenge and work together to meet our economic and fiscal problems head-on by putting in place pro-growth measures and spending restraint and we must do it now."

Sen. Portman expresses his disappointment that Democrats in Washington still don't seem to understand this. "Having chosen to duck the tough choices for the coming year and beyond, the President and Democrats in Congress are now objecting to any reductions in spending Congress can control in the current budget year. This is despite the fact that this year's $1.6 trillion deficit is at record levels, and over the past two years under Democrat leadership, this type of spending has increased 24 percent, and over 80 percent if you include the Stimulus. Our goal as Republicans is to make sensible reductions in this spending and create a better environment for job growth, not to shutdown the government. Getting our debt and deficits under control is the first step we can take, and the single most important step Washington can take, to get our economy moving and create the jobs we so badly need."

---

Tags: US Senator, Rob Portman, Ohio, Republican former OMB Director, Address, response, White House, Barack Obama, Congress, Government, deficit, debt, budget spending, economy, jobs, taxes, fiscal commission To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!