House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence wrote an op/ed today for The Hill. As the nation prepares for President Obama's first State of the Union address tonight, Republicans continue to amp up their own message of fiscal responsibility and freedom. Please read the following excerpt:
The strength of our nation is not found in the halls of Congress or in the offices of government bureaucrats. The enduring strength of the United States of America lies in the good will and common sense of the American people. It is discovered at dinner tables, churches, coffee shops and assembly halls across this great land.
This year began much like last year. Our nation continues to struggle through a difficult recession. Small businesses are trying desperately to keep their doors open. Workers worry that their job will be the latest casualty of this tough economy. And the American people still expect the federal government to get spending under control and to take decisive action to get our country moving again.
We need leadership that will lift the burden on struggling families and that respects our cherished national values. Washington should not enact bad public policy that will lead to more job losses and further economic decline.
Sadly, what we have seen instead are more of the same policies that got us into this mess. Voters rejected runaway federal spending under Republican control and they listened to Democrats who promised a new direction.
But this past year, Democrat leaders have unveiled one proposal after another that grows government and leaves a mountain of debt on the backs of our children. Last year was a record year for federal spending ($3.52 trillion) and deficits ($1.4 trillion). Today, every man, woman and child bears the burden of more than $39,000 in federal debt.
Our fiscal future is in crisis and there is not a lot of comfort to be found in recent headlines. It is reported that Democrat leaders will soon bring before Congress a bill to increase the debt limit by an historic $1.9 trillion, a tacit admission that they have abandoned any effort to restore sanity to the federal budget.Likewise, the president is expected to announce that his administration is getting serious about deficit spending. Yet the president continues to advocate for a government takeover of healthcare that will cost taxpayers more than $1 trillion and his 10-year budget plan will raise our debt by $14.6 trillion! We are witnessing an absence of leadership and our children will pay the price.