Budget Committee Republicans: Obama’s Budget ‘Not A Serious Plan’

U.S. Senate Budget Committee Staff Assistant Eric Chalmers unpacks printed copies of Presi
Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

Republicans on the House and Senate Budget Committees panned President Barack Obama’s 2016 budget proposal Monday as unserious— stressing that the plan increases spending, raises taxes and would add trillions to the national debt.

“Our nation is on a fiscal and economic path that is simply unsustainable. Failed policies and stale thinking in Washington are contributing to a growing mountain of debt and an underperforming economy,” House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-GA) and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) said in a joint statement.

Obama submitted his 2016 budget proposal to Congress Monday. According to the budget committees, the plan would increase spending by $2.4 trillion, slap Americans with $2.1 trillion in new tax increases, and add $8.5 trillion to the national debt.

“The president is advocating more spending, more taxes and more debt,” the pair continued. “As we have seen over the past several years, that approach will yield less opportunity for the middle class and a crushing burden of debt that threatens both our future prosperity and our national security.”

They noted that despite the tax increases, the proposal would not balance the budget.

“A proposal that never balances is not a serious plan for America’s fiscal future,” Price and Enzi added. “Especially when we have to borrow money just to afford the programs we already have.”

Enzi and Price added that Congress will work to offer a budget that will balance within the next decade.

“We are ready to move past the new normal of President Obama’s budget and in a new direction,” they said.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) also weighed in Monday, characterizing Obama’s plan as a repeat of old, failed policies.

“Like the president’s previous budgets, this plan never balances – ever. It contains no solutions to address the drivers of our debt, and no plan to fix our entire tax code to help foster growth and create jobs,” Boehner said. “Worse yet, President Obama would impose new taxes and more spending without a responsible plan to honestly address the big challenges facing our country.”

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