Paul Ryan: The President is shirking his duty about our fiscal challenges

WASHINGTON—Today, President Obama is required by law to submit his budget request for Fiscal Year 2014. For the fourth time in five years, however, he will miss the statutory deadline. In response, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin issued the following statement:

"I’m disappointed the President has missed his deadline. But I’m not surprised. In four of the last five years, he’s failed to submit his budget on time. We still don’t know when we’ll receive the president’s request. And for nearly four years, Senate Democrats haven’t passed a budget at all. We deserve better.

"We spend $1 trillion more than we take in each year. In fact, we spend $3 for every $2 we take in. And we can’t keep that up. If we stay on this path, our finances will collapse. The economy will stall. And the most vulnerable will suffer. We need a budget that reflects our priorities—that expands opportunity. The fact is, we cannot achieve those goals unless we budget responsibly.

"Every time the President and Senate Democrats shirk their duty, they delay choices we need to make. We’ve still got time, but it’s dwindling. Every missed deadline is a missed opportunity. We need to get serious about spending now.

"The House Budget Committee will do its job. We’ll write a budget—and submit it on time. In the past two years, we’ve offered our solutions to the country’s fiscal challenges. Now the President must do the same."

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February 4, 2013. Contact: William Allison 202-226-6100 Committee on the Budget: U.S. House of Representatives 207 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515

Rand Paul on H.R.152, the Sandy Supplemental Appropriations Bill

Sen. Paul Statement on Sandy Supplemental Bill Jan 29, 2013

This evening, the U.S. Senate voted on a series of amendments to H.R.152, the Sandy Supplemental Appropriations Bill, to fund disaster relief for victims of Hurricane Sandy. While the H.R.152 passed, with a vote of 62-36; the Lee Amendment No. 4 failed.

Following the votes, Sen. Paul issued the following statement.

"When Hurricane Sandy struck the eastern coast of the U.S., I agreed that we needed to assist those in the affected areas. However, this bill lacked any fiscal restraint or responsibility. The bill was completely unpaid for, adding billions to the debt with money being used for programs known to fund cultural festivals and public art exhibits. In addition, of the $60 billion in total disaster funding provided, only a small fraction will be spent this year; more than half will be spent after 2015. Furthermore, while the cost of this bill will never be offset, the government will still just have spent every dollar of this year's tax hike. We can help those in need, but we should do so providing them with only the resources they need today and prioritizing this funding by reducing spending elsewhere."

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