Sylvester Turner: “America is at war, and the Blue Dog budget reflects this new reality. Our plan strengthens national defense, improves…”

“America is at war, and the Blue Dog budget reflects this new reality. Our plan strengthens national defense, improves homeland security, all in the context of a responsible budget. I have always tried to support my colleagues on the other side of the aisle when they were right, but today their budget is all wrong. In an effort to squeeze the President's tax cut package into their budget, our Republican colleagues have proposed spending levels below the President's that are highly unlikely to be attainable in the current climate of war and the need to protect the homeland from terrorism. And even after cutting the President's budget, the Republican budget continues to dig the deficit hole deeper, saddling the taxpayers of this country with a national debt of over $11.5 trillion in 2013. That is an increase of $5.1 trillion in debt in the next 10 years. That means every American taxpayer will owe approximately $5,100 every year just to pay the interest on the national debt. That is a debt tax that cannot be repealed. In contrast, the Blue Dog budget is a realistic effort to control runaway Federal spending.”