Kingston: ‘The fight does not stop here’

Congress on Friday averted a government shutdown, a move Georgia Republicans couched as a win, but said more needed to be done.

This deal cuts spending by $78.5 billion from the President’s requested FY 2011 Budget, according to the White House. Had the government shut down, it would have been the first closure of the federal government in 15 years.

“With this agreement we have prevented a government shutdown and ensured that our troops and their families will see no interruption in their pay,” U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., said in a statement. “In doing so, we will save $79 billion from the President’s budget and have moved the ball down the road for the battles ahead. To be clear, the fight does not stop here. We will continue to fight for fundamental reforms.”

The Senate on Friday passed a short-term measure and will return next week to pass a longer-term budget.

“I hope we will quickly resolve the short-term budget next week so we can move on to tackle the larger challenge of reducing our enormous, unsustainable $14 trillion debt during the upcoming debates over the debt ceiling and the budget for fiscal year 2012,” U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., said in a news release.

“Let’s come back next week and finish dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s and commit ourselves that the rest of the year is about America’s future,” Isakson said. “It is about our children and grandchildren. It is about reining in expenses and spending our money accountably and predictably so the American people can expect of us what they have had to do—sit around their kitchen tables to prioritize what comes in and what goes out and balance their budgets.”