Rep. Bob Gibbs (R, OH-18):
“When I came to Washington, my goal was to cut spending, reduce the size of government, and create an environment for job growth. Cutting federal spending will lead to job growth. That is why two weeks ago, I voted to cut spending by over $100 billion from the President’s request to fund the federal government for the last seven months of the fiscal year ending September 30th. H.R. 1 represents the single largest cut in discretionary spending in the history of the United States Congress.Rep. Bill Johnson: (R, OH-06)
“However, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid refuses to consider H.R. 1. Instead, Senator Reid is offering his own plan to keep the current, bloated spending levels frozen in place. But we cannot freeze into place the Democrats’ irresponsible, job-crushing spending binge.“Today, I voted for a short-term spending resolution that will prevent a government shutdown by funding government operations for two weeks, giving the Senate additional time to consider H.R. 1. This two week CR is a $4 billion cut in spending.“The House has taken a significant and historic step towards addressing Washington’s out-of-control government spending and removing barriers to job creation. But H.R. 1 now remains in the Senate for consideration. The Senate and White House must follow suit by taking the fiscal crisis seriously and joining us in making some tough, but responsible decisions.“As Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said, ‘Unless we as a nation make a strong commitment to fiscal responsibility, in the longer run, we will have neither financial stability nor healthy economic growth.’ I remain optimistic that we can make the difficult and necessary decisions to avoid such a fate, restore confidence in our economy and create a more prosperous future for our children and grandchildren.”
“The two-week stopgap measure is not ideal – it’s barely acceptable. House Republicans have pledged to cut spending and this measure does cut $4 billion from the federal government. House Republicans also pledged to prevent a government shutdown so this measure, though inadequate, is necessary due to Democrats’ failure to pass a federal budget last year.”
Speaker, my Congressman and a Great American -- John Boehner:
“Today’s vote by the House gives Senator Reid another two weeks to consider H.R. 1, legislation passed by the House that would fund the government through September while providing billions in spending cuts needed to help create a better environment for job creation. The House approved H.R. 1 ten days ago, but the Senate, unfortunately, has taken no action on H.R. 1 or any other legislation that would keep the government operating for the remainder of the fiscal year. Stopgap measures like the one approved in the House today are only needed because the Democrats who run Washington failed to pass a budget last year and are now failing to listen to the American people who want to keep the government running while cutting spending.“The Washington spending binge that has left us with fewer jobs and more debt must come to an end, and the onus is on Leader Reid and Senate Democrats now to follow our lead and help make that happen. Noted economists from around the country, including Stanford economist John B. Taylor, agree that spending cuts like those in H.R. 1 will help boost our economy and create new jobs. And so I urge Senator Reid to use this additional time to bring H.R. 1 to a vote – or outline for the American people his plan for cutting spending and keeping the government running.”
