Crapo: Enough is Enough--It is Past Time to Get Our Fiscal House in Order

Washington, D.C.--U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and senior member of the Senate Budget Committee, voted to advance the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Resolution out of the Senate Budget Committee for full Senate consideration.  The Resolution passed 11-10.

“By committing to paying for this ambitious agenda, Senate Republicans have said enough is enough with reckless fiscal policy.  It is past time to get our fiscal house in order,” said Crapo.  “It is time to stop the politics of fear, admit that we have got to control our spending and let us get on with trying to do the critical work of restoring our border security, restoring our national security and unleashing the energy potential of this country so we can again regain our preeminent posture as the strongest economy and strongest nation in this world.”

Click HERE or the image above to view Senator Crapo’s remarks.

Text of Crapo’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, is below:

“As part of its regular duties and to execute the mandate given to Republicans by the American voter, the Senate Budget Committee will mark up a budget resolution for Fiscal Year 2025.  This is not the end; it is the beginning. 

“On his first day in office in January 2021, President Joe Biden blew open the southern border by using executive authority to rescind a number of successful Trump Administration policies.  His open border policies brought more than 10 million illegal immigrants into our country.  President Biden failed to uphold the law with regard to border security.  While President Trump has reinstated many of these important policies through executive order, the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Resolution implements lasting security for American citizens.

“Additionally, this resolution restores America’s military power to counteract Russia, China and other adversaries around the world.  This work, combined with President Trump’s ‘America First’ foreign policy, will keep America the preeminent global power and shore up our national defense.

“To begin the process of returning to fiscal sensibility, the Finance Committee’s instruction in this budget unlocks our ability to reverse a specific costly rule from the prior Administration that threatens patients’ access to long-term care in rural communities.  Not only will this effort provide savings for our shared priorities in this legislation, but it will also serve as a commitment to reform our broken health care system, which too often relies on ineffective structures that fail patients, providers and taxpayers.

“I want to make it clear that if we receive this instruction, the Finance Committee’s focus will be on this single provision, not on opening up the tax bill or other issues or other efforts to try to reform other parts of our health care system.  I will do my best to keep us focused on this provision with this instruction.

“Finally, by committing to paying for this ambitious agenda, Senate Republicans have said enough is enough with reckless fiscal policy.  It is past time to get our fiscal house in order.  While more will be necessary to bring America back to living within its means, this resolution is a superb first step.

“It is very obvious the criticisms of what we are trying to do, once again, rely on the politics of fear.  Saying that we are going to hurt every single person in America except ‘those rich people’ and claiming that we want to give tax cuts to the wealthy.

“The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that was referenced already has a $2.6 trillion impact on people making less than $400,000 per year.  The vast majority we are talking about are not the wealthy, but those in our middle- and lower-income brackets, and our pass-through entities, or small businesses, across this country.

“It is time to stop the politics of fear, admit that we have got to control our spending and let us get on with trying to do the critical work of restoring our border security, restoring our national security and unleashing the energy potential of this country so we can again regain our preeminent posture as the strongest economy and strongest nation in this world.”

###