It Starts With A Budget-Senator Dan Coats

This is another Email I got from one my senators.

It Starts with a Budget

When I visit with Hoosiers from across Indiana, I am often asked, “Why is the federal government continuing to spend more money than it takes in?”

Unlike Washington, Hoosiers understand the importance of a budget. In Indiana, we understand that you can’t spend more than you have. In Indiana, we understand the importance of saving or reexamining our spending priorities to make ends meet. From the family home to the mom-and-pop shop to the statehouse, Hoosiers understand that you can’t be successful without creating a budget. It’s the Hoosier way. That is why despite this sluggish national economy we are better positioned in Indiana than our neighboring states.

We need more of that Hoosier common sense in Washington.

This week marked three and half years since the Democrat-led Senate passed a budget. For 42 months the Senate has ignored the law and refused to pass a budget. For more than 1,270 days our federal government has operated without a budget as a guide.

The President did offer his own budget blueprint, but it was so unserious that it failed to earn even a single vote from his own party. The House of Representatives passed a budget to try to put our country in the right direction, but the Senate Budget Committee refused even to consider it. One would only assume that if the leaders of the Senate didn’t like the alternative plans, they would come up with their own proposal. But logic doesn’t seem to reign in Washington these days. Instead, the Democrat Senate leadership said no to its basic obligation to create, debate and pass a budget.

We need a change in course. The policies and lack of leadership over these past three and a half years has failed our country. We need a president and Congress that will fight to reduce our $16 trillion of national debt, not one that ignores it. When it comes to fixing our serious fiscal crisis, we need leadership from both the White House and Congress.

Restoring America and getting hardworking Americans back to work starts by getting our fiscal books in order. It starts with a budget. Just like every Hoosier family and business, our federal government needs to review its spending, make some hard decisions and sacrifices, and create a budget plan.

In our great country, the American people have the power to demand more from their leaders. I urge all Hoosiers to let their voices be heard. Only then can we begin to bring some more Hoosier common sense to Washington.