Congressman Landry’s Response To President’s Deficit Reduction Speech

“Today, the President proposed reducing our deficit by overhauling the tax system. What the President doesn’t understand is we don’t have a deficit because Americans are taxed too little; we have a deficit because Washington spends too much. The cure is simple: Washington must stop spending money it doesn’t have.

Cutting spending is about ending wasteful spending, making the government more efficient, and making the responsible choices today that save our children from even tougher choices tomorrow.

In the last two years, non-defense discretionary spending has increased by over 80%. I don’t know any American family that has increased their budgets by 80% in that same time period. It’s time for Washington to tighten its belt, just like everyone else has. For hard-working Americans, this isn’t about politics; it’s about their lives and putting our economy and our nation first.

Today, the President once again used scare tactics and fear-mongering while Republicans listened to the hard-working taxpayers, delivered common-sense, responsible solutions to addressing our debt-driven economic crisis, and fought for the American people against the President’s reckless agenda that has put our future generations further in debt.

We can all wonder why the President did not tackle the deficit in his first two years in office and we can all hope that change is coming. However, it is clear the President is following not leading; but following us is better than failing America.”