James Barrett: “our constituents did not send us to Congress to create debt and pass it on to our children and grandchildren. Yet it is…”

“our constituents did not send us to Congress to create debt and pass it on to our children and grandchildren. Yet it is estimated by the end of the fiscal year 2006, we will have a Federal budget deficit of $337 billion. There are many variables affecting this number, but government spending is out of control, bottom line. In the coming weeks, we will debate the fiscal year 2007 Federal budget, and we will be faced with a choice to continue spending at the same level or make tough decisions to rein in spending. We cannot continue to fund everything, because if we do, we won't be able to support anything. Later this morning, the Republican Study Committee will introduce an alternative budget. This budget allows us to renew our purpose of fiscal restraint, paying down or national debt and balance the budget. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Budget Committee, Republicans and Democrats alike, because spending should not be a partisan issue. ____________________”