WASHINGTON – House Republican Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) today issued the following statement regarding the Office of Management and Budget’s Mid-Session Review, which estimates that the federal budget will exceed $1.3 trillion this year.  

“It’s disappointing, but not shocking, that for the third year in a row the federal government’s annual budget deficit will exceed $1 trillion.  The president has been in office for nearly three years, and three trillion dollar deficits later, it’s clear that we can’t borrow, tax, spend, and bail out our way to economic growth and job creation. 

“Another trillion dollar deficit makes the work of the Joint Select Committee all the more important.  As we look forward to the president’s comments next week, it’s my hope that he embraces our mission to control job-crushing spending and refrains from proposing more short-term stimulus measures.   Enacting policies to support long term economic growth will help us meet our top priority of getting Americans get back to work.  It’s now up to the president and the Democrat-controlled Senate to recognize the urgency and immediately take up the House-passed jobs bills. 

“There is a clear solution to this spending problem – Washington must stop spending money we don’t have.  The balanced budget amendment is the ultimate solution to our nation’s fiscal crisis and for the first time in 15 years, we have a real chance to pass the BBA and send it to the states for ratification.  House Republicans return next week committed to our legislative agenda of passing our Plan for America’s Job Creators and taking up a balanced budget amendment to get this spending-driven debt crisis under control.”

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