Congressman Tim Griffin (AR-02) issued the following statement after voting in favor of H.R. 2560 – the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2011 (CCB Act) – in the U.S. House of Representatives today:
“We must address the long-term root of our national debt problem: Washington’s spending addiction. That is why I cosponsored and voted for the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act, which will cut federal spending now, enforce a spending cap on the amount the government can spend in the future, and require a Balanced Budget Amendment before an increase in the debt ceiling.”
This year, the federal government will spend twice as much as it did just a decade ago, and more than 40 cents on every dollar is borrowed. Under the CCB Act, federal spending would be reduced by $111 billion in FY 2012 and approximately $5.8 trillion over the next decade. It also would create enforceable caps that will return government spending to below 20 percent of GDP, its historical average since World War II. If those caps are ever broken, the CCB Act would require corresponding spending cuts be made.
The CCB Act would allow an increase in the debt ceiling, but only after Congress passes a Balanced Budget Amendment, which would force Washington to quit its spending addiction permanently. Nearly every state in the country has some form of a balanced budget requirement.
The House passed the CCB Act today by a vote of 234 to 190.
