Price: CBO report a ‘stern warning’ on spending

ATLANTA — News that the nation's deficit will hit nearly $1.3 trillion “is the latest in a series of stern warnings that Washington must get its fiscal house in order,” on Georgia Congressman said Wednesday.
 
A new report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found that the “$1.3 trillion budget deficit … for 2011 will be the third-largest shortfall in the past 65 years (exceeded only by the deficits of the preceding two years).
 
“This year's deficit stems in part from the long shadow cast on the U.S. economy by the financial crisis and the recent recession,” the CBO wrote. “Although economic output began to expand again two years ago, the pace of the recovery has been slow, and the economy remains in a severe slump. Recent turmoil in financial markets in the United States and overseas threatens to prolong the slump.”
 
For U.S. Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., the report is yet another wake-up call on government spending, one that his colleagues across the aisle should heed.
 
“House Republicans developed, debated, and passed a detailed plan to do just that: cutting spending, balancing the budget, and reforming unsustainable government policies and programs,” Price said. “Unfortunately, the Democrats who run Washington have yet to show the same level of concern for the nation's looming debt crisis.
 
“In order to get the kind of economic growth that we so desperately need, we cannot continue to drive up deficits in excess of $1 trillion. House Republicans remain focused on promoting a stronger, more prosperous economic future by putting in place pro-growth policies that will begin to free our nation from the crushing burden of debt.”
 
 
Read the full report here: http://cbo.gov/ftpdocs/123xx/doc12316/08-24-BudgetEconUpdate.pdf