Lee Calls on Washington to Pass a Budget
Lawmaker Expresses Concerns with Washington and Albany’s Failure to Pass a Fiscal Blueprint; State and Federal Budgets Are Months Overdue
WILLIAMSVILLE– Congressman Chris Lee (NY-26) and local county and municipal elected officials were at the Amherst Municipal Building today to discuss their concerns over Washington and Albany’s failure to provide a fiscal blueprint on how to reduce runaway spending.
Leading House Democrats pushed a so-called “budget enforcement resolution” that is not a budget at all and does not disclose growing deficits, while state leaders are more than three months late in producing a fiscal roadmap. Compounding matters is the fact that counties throughout New York State are at the mercy of Federal and State government mandates that comprise significant shares of their budgets.
“Struggling Western New York families are making tough choices every day in order to live within a budget, and Washington and Albany need to do the same,” said Congressman Lee. “With a national debt of more than $13 trillion, Washington and Albany both need to stop kicking the can down the road and develop bipartisan fiscal blueprints to strengthen our economic future.”
“The budget uncertainty in the state and federal government creates great stress for our local governments and the economy,” said Erie County legislator Ray Walter. “The cost of mandated services that were already provided by the County have not been reimbursed creating cash flow problems that could result in delayed payments to service providers. This creates a ripple effect in our already shaky economy. The economy likes certainty and right now the State and Federal governments are failing to provide anything close to that.”
“If the United States doesn’t come to terms with its crushing debt, the interest payments alone will be unaffordable for the next generation,” said Amherst Supervisor Barry Weinstein. “I would hate to see the United States spend itself out of existence.”
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, the failure of the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a budget resolution would be unprecedented in the modern era. In 2006, House Majority Leader Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) – who was then the Democrat Whip – said enacting a budget was “the most basic responsibility of governing.” Rep. John Spratt (D-SC), the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, put it more succinctly that year when he said, “if you can’t budget, you can’t govern. ”Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former Director of the Congressional Budget Office has said that “[B]udgets are the bricks and mortar foundation of a policy vision.The Democrats’ failure to produce a budget is a clear indictment of their lack of a vision to steer America to a stronger future.”
http://chrislee.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=76&itemid=1241
