Crapo: Presidentâ??s Budget Breaks Spending Caps That He Signed Into Law Just Two Months Ago

Washington, D.C. - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, a member of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, released the following statement today regarding the President's Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 budget, which was delivered to Capitol Hill this morning. 

"The proposal, submitted by the President today, once again ignores the debt crisis this country faces and encourages a path of unsustainable spending that will continue to lead the country further in the wrong direction.  Congress has made modest progress in cutting discretionary spending over the last few years, but these cuts pale in comparison to the strong fiscal reforms the country needs to responsibly address our deteriorating fiscal situation.  Unfortunately, the document submitted by the White House today does nothing to place us on a more sustainable path.

"The President's plan would add $8.3 trillion to the debt and increase total spending by 63 percent from today's levels over the next ten years.  This proposal increases spending by $791 billion over ten years and by $56 billion in 2015, breaking the spending caps of the Ryan-Murray agreement that the President signed into law just two months ago.  The President's health care law has already increased taxes on the middle class and now he wants another round of tax increases-not to pay down the debt, but to spend even more.  From the information provided in this budget, the President appears to have foregone any effort to enact reforms that strengthen entitlement programs to put them on a sustainable course.  If we are ever going to reform our entitlement programs it is going to take presidential leadership, but it is becoming increasingly clear that this Administration has no intention of pursuing this important work.

"Fortunately, the President's budget includes the wildfire funding reform that Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), Representatives Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) and Kurt Schrader (D-Oregon) and I have authored in Congress.  The bill is also supported by Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Representative Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho).  This legislation does not authorize new spending, but would change national wildfire fighting policy by shifting existing money to disaster accounts.  I am committed to working with the President to change wildfire policy and offer greater protections to rural communities while reducing the impact of these massive blazes.

"Sadly, this budget proposal is another missed opportunity.  It quadruples interest costs, breaks the budget caps by $56 billion in 2015 and never balances.  This proposal ignores the debt challenges that lay ahead and is not a serious proposal that will spur economic growth and reduce the footprint of government," Crapo concluded.