Voinovich on Voting No on Omnibus

Statement:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator George V. Voinovich (R-OH), a member of the Appropriations Committee, today voted against the “omnibus” appropriations package because of its exorbitant 8 percent increase in government spending. In fact, the bill is a 49 percent increase over the budget authority for 2008. Sen. Voinovich has called for fundamental tax and entitlement reform as well as responsible and transparent budgeting as the proper way to fund the government and restore some much-needed fiscal sanity. He released the following statement on his vote:

“In 27 of the past 30 years, Congress has failed to enact all the appropriations bills by the start of the fiscal year. This year, instead of doing the work they were elected to do, my colleagues have yet again relied on budget gimmicks to mask their fiscal irresponsibility. While keeping the minority out of the process, Democrats have pushed through additional spending increases on top of the $787 billion ‘stimulus bill’ that was passed last month, and added to the already staggering $9.8 trillion projected national debt.

“This omnibus budget bill, which includes $408 billion in non-emergency spending, is eight percent larger than it should be. Some of the agencies included in the bill are set to get a 40 percent increase in funding. My colleagues are spending more money at a time when we should be working harder and smarter and doing more with less. And we don’t even know if the government has the human capital to spend the money without waste, fraud and abuse.

“With the passage of this omnibus, we are simply piling on the burden for our children and grandchildren. Our spending has increased from 34 percent to 40 percent as a percentage of GDP over the past 10 years. Meanwhile, in many European nations, spending has actually declined from 48 to 47 percent in that same time period. When you consider the TARP, the ‘stimulus’ package, this omnibus and the money we continuously borrow from the Social Security trust fund, we are facing a projected deficit of $1.5 trillion in 2009. This is more than triple the 2008 deficit of $455 billion.

“Both sides of the aisle have a moral obligation to improve the fiscal health of our nation. It starts by taking the appropriations process seriously and formulating a fair and honest budget with proper oversight. It starts with ripping the current tax code out by its roots and replacing it with something simple, fair, transparent and economically efficient. And, it starts with reforming the entitlement systems to put us back on a fiscally sustainable course and ensure the solvency of entitlement programs for generations.”