Congressman Canseco Statement on Super Committee Washington is Broken

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 22nd, 2011

Contact:  Valentina Weis
(202) 225-4511 or Valentina.Weis@mail.house.gov

Congressman Canseco's Statement on the Super Committee

Washington, DC – Congressman Francisco “Quico” Canseco (TX-23), a strong advocate of fiscal responsibility in the House of Representatives and a member of the Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement after the announcement that the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction was not able to reach an agreement:

“I am very disappointed that the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction did not strike a deal. While their failure came as no surprise to some; today's announcement was as shocking to me as it was to the many Americans expecting Washington to get its act together.

The facts are simple, our national debt has soared above $15 trillion dollars and our rising annual deficits are halting economic growth and private sector job creation. We can't tax our way out of this, we can't spend our way out of this. One party didn't get us into this situation and we didn't get into this situation over night, but we can climb out of this economic abyss if we simply stop bickering and fix the problem.

To be clear, the problem isn't about Republicans or Democrats. The problem isn't that Washington can't spend enough. The problem isn't that Washington can't tax enough. Therefore the answer isn't in new taxes or more spending, but lower taxes and less spending. We must have tax code reform; we must have discretionary spending cuts; and as President Obama stated in January of last year, “the major driver of our long-term liabilities, everybody here knows, is Medicare and Medicaid and our health care spending. Nothing comes close.” We must have mandatory spending reform.

Looking forward, Congress must not vote itself out of this mess by "un-triggering" and circumventing the triggers of the automatic sequesters, that would just be typical of the way Washington does its broken business. While we must ensure that our military cuts do not harm our nation's ability to protect itself or put our men and women in uniform at risk, there are sensible cuts that can be made at the Department of Defense that will not harm our soldiers. These triggers are important to show the American people that we are serious about controlling our spending and debt, without raising taxes.

With today's failure, it is time to get serious about the debt and spending that is hurting job creation and economic growth in America. I look forward to fighting the growth of government and out-of-control spending that has plagued a broken system in Washington for decades."

To schedule an interview please contact Valentina Weis at (202) 225-4511 or Valentina.Weis@mail.house.gov

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