Mount Vernon Optic-Herald

HOUSE CONCLUDES BUSINESS FOR THE YEAR;
HALL CONCERNED ABOUT RISING DEBT

WASHINGTON, DC . . . As the House adjourned for the year and voted on a provision to increase the national debt limit, Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX/4) declared the rising debt as “the greatest threat to our children’s and grandchildren’s security, freedom and prosperity.”  Hall joined all Republicans in opposing an increase in the statutory limit on the national debt by $290 billion.  Although 39 Democrats joined a unified Republican caucus in opposing the increase, the measure passed by a narrow vote of 218 – 214.     

“This is not good news for American families,” Hall said.  “They want to see their Representatives working to reduce spending – not increasing the debt limit in order to spend even more.  This level of spending is unacceptable and unsustainable.”

“Americans have witnessed stimulus packages that haven’t stimulated the economy, proposed health care reforms that will cost trillions, and cap-and-trade energy policies that will increase – not decrease – energy costs.  This is not the change that Americans want or need, and this is not the right way for Congress to recess for the year,” Hall stated. 

The PEW Charitable Trusts, a reputable nonpartisan organization, this week called for action to stem the mounting federal debt, noting that over the past year alone, the public debt rose sharply from 41 to 53 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).   The PEW Trusts noted  that, unless checked, the debt would continue to rise to unprecedented levels, triggering a debt-driven crisis that would cripple the economy.

“PEW recommends – and I support – a commitment to stabilize the public debt, establish annual debt targets with enforcement mechanisms to ensure these are met, and reduce the debt level over the long term – and not leave it to our grandchildren to solve.  The projected debt is a generation killer,” said Hall. 

Hall is a cosponsor of H.R. 3140, which requires that each time a financial institution makes a repayment under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), such funds would be transferred to the special account established in the Treasury for reducing public debt.  Hall also is a cosponsor of H.R. 4110, which would repeal extension of the TARP program, and a cosponsor of a House bill proposing a constitutional amendment to require balancing the federal budget. 

“In the coming year I plan to keep working on behalf of my constituents to reduce the debt and stop this Administration’s out-of-control spending and over-reaching of government authority.  That’s a tall order but one that we can accomplish if fiscal conservatives stick together,” Hall said.  “My major thrust is to create jobs – which will help us grow our way back to being the Nation we once were.”