Congressman Robert Hurt
Weekly Column 3/04/13
Each month we provide an address to the people of Virginia’s 5th District to keep you posted on the work we are doing in Washington and throughout the District. You may read our February video address below:
This past month our country came together as we honored the legacy of George Washington and the legacies of all of our presidents on Presidents Day. This month we also joined together to remember those who made sacrifices in the cause of freedom when we unveiled the statue of Rosa Parks in our nation’s capitol.
A great Virginian and former President, Thomas Jefferson, once said: “I place economy among the first and most important virtues and public debt as the greatest of dangers to be feared. To preserve our independence, we must not let our rulers load us with public debt.”
Today, the public debt held exceeds 16 trillion dollars – an amount that equals a size greater than our entire economy. The people of Virginia’s 5th District constantly share their concerns with the federal government’s spending problem, yet many in Washington have made it clear that they do not believe that we having a spending problem. As our debt continues to grow, every day we delay is a day closer to the day that we will be unable to prevent a devastating debt crisis. Now is the time for leadership from the President and the Senate.
True to our founders and to the principles upon which our nation was founded, we in the House have fought to pay down our debt. And though we believe the sequester does not properly assign spending reductions, we do believe that those cuts must be made. In fact, the House adopted two measures that will replace the arbitrary cuts with prioritized cuts and reasonable spending reforms. And we have also adopted a measure that requires the President to present his plan for balancing our budget over the next ten years.
As this debate goes on, the people of Virginia’s Fifth District are suffering in this stalled economy. As I have visited with folks from Danville to Warrenton, it is clear that years of failed policies set forth in Washington are negatively impacting our local communities. And budget uncertainty is preventing our small businesses and family farms from expanding and creating jobs. We need action now.
The President spoke about these important issues in his State of the Union address. But as we look at his track record over the past four years, the record shows something different. The President has failed to submit a budget on time for the past four out of five years and the debt has skyrocketed more than $6 trillion under his watch. It is time that the President’s words are followed by action.
The House stands ready to work together in the coming month, and to make the important decisions to put us back on a path to prosperity. We await leadership from President Obama and the United States Senate as we continue our work in the House to pay down the debt in a responsible way. The future of our country depends upon it.
If you need any additional information, please visit my website at hurt.house.gov or call my Washington office: (202) 225-4711, Charlottesville office: (434) 973-9631, Danville office: (434) 791-2596, or Farmville office: (434) 395-0120. WC: 573
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