Release:
WASHINGTON- Ohio Republican Party Chairman Kevin DeWine released the following statement in anticipation of this evening's vote in the U.S. House of Representatives, which calls for increasing the nation's debt limit approximately $2.4 trillion without spending cuts. Marcy Kaptur (9th District), Dennis Kucinich (10th District), Marcia Fudge (11th District), Betty Sutton (13th District), and Tim Ryan (17th District) are Democratic members of Ohio's delegation.
"Ohio Democrats blindly supported Obama's reckless spending addiction and now our nation's credit card is maxed out," said Ohio Republican Party Chairman Kevin DeWine.
"Recent surveys show that any debt limit increase unaccompanied by spending restraint is a nonstarter with the American public. Congressional Democrats should use this evening's vote to show Ohio taxpayers that it is a decrease in deficit spending, and not tax increases, which will help get our economy back on the right track."
Background Information:
The Democrats have maxed out their government spending credit card after years of reckless spending: "The United States government hit its $14 trillion borrowing limit Monday, forcing the Treasury Department to begin taking a series of extreme steps to stave off default, including suspending payments into public employee pension plans." (Meredith Shiner, "U.S. hits debt ceiling," Politico, 5/16/11)
Survey shows Democrats' ideas are a non-starter among voters: "Presented with a menu of choices to help curb the national debt and federal deficit, almost half of voters - 45 percent - support spending cuts alone, the poll indicates. By contrast, only 13 percent favor an even split between cutting spending and raising revenue through tax increases." (Niall Stanage, "The Hill Poll: Voters find recession blues difficult to shake," The Hill's Ballot Box Blog, 5/16/11)
Americans are concerned that a debt limit increase could hurt the economy more than an actual default: "A recent poll by the Pew Research Center found that more Americans are concerned that raising the debt limit would lead to new spending and debt than are concerned that not raising the limit would spur a government default and hurt the economy, 48 percent compared with 35 percent." (Jackie Calmes, "In Showdown over Debt Ceiling Neither Party is Blinking," New York Times The Caucus Blog, 5/31/2011)
House Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi weighed in with additional unpopular ideas, saying cuts to Medicare and Social Security were also options: "House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Monday agreed that everything should be put on the table in an effort to reduce the deficit, including entitlements like Medicare and Social Security. 'Yes,' she said in a CNBC interview in New York, when asked whether entitlements should be a part of the deficit solution." (Pete Kasperowicz and Daniel Strauss, "Pelosi: Everything should be on the table to reduce federal deficit," The Hill's Floor Action Blog, 5/16/11)
