Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the following statement today regarding President Barack Obama’s fiscal year 2017 budget proposal.
“It has become pretty apparent over the last several years that these budget proposals are not serious road maps toward getting our nation’s fiscal house in order. What Tennesseans and Americans across the country are tired of seeing is Washington constantly defaulting to ‘how can we spend more’; rather than asking ‘how can we be more effective with what we have’. To really get our country back on the right fiscal course and put an end to the shameful practice of generational theft, Congress must reform the budget process and offer sound solutions to address the largest drivers of our deficits.”
As a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee, Senator Corker also commented on the president’s renewed commitment to address housing finance reform, an effort Corker has led in Congress.
“While I believe this budget fails to address many of our nation’s major fiscal challenges, I am pleased the administration continues to renew its commitment to work with Congress on passing legislation to address the last major piece of unfinished business from the 2008 financial crisis. We cannot return our country to the failed model of private gains and public losses that once forced taxpayers to write a $188 billion bailout check. Protecting taxpayers and ensuring we have a dynamic housing finance system that works for Americans will remain near the top of my to-do list, and I am glad the administration supports this effort.”
Senator Lamar Alexander said, “Once again, President Obama’s proposed budget spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much, and won’t go anywhere in a Republican Congress. Instead of confronting our $19 trillion federal debt, President Obama wants to keep us on an unsustainable fiscal path that would pass along even more debt to future generations.”