Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Isakson on the Debt Crisis: 'This Is The Fourth Quarter Of The Super Bowl Of The Future Of The United States of America'
Calls on The President, Congress To Get to Work on Solving Nation's Debt Crisis, Reining In Federal Spending

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today spoke on the Senate floor to reiterate the importance of getting to work immediately to solve the nation's debt crisis and rein in federal spending before the federal government hits the debt ceiling in the coming weeks.

Isakson's number one priority in the Senate this year is to reduce the nation's debt and end reckless spending. After refusing for weeks to bring the debt ceiling issue to the Senate floor for debate, Democratic Leader Harry Reid cancelled the Senate's July 4th recess this week so the Senate could continue working. But instead of bringing the debt ceiling issue to the floor, Reid has called up for debate a non-binding "sense of the Senate" resolution that says Americans who earn more than $1 million should "make a more meaningful contribution to the deficit reduction effort." The resolution would not reduce spending nor reduce the deficit by even one dollar.

"It's time that we stop calling names and instead, we start calling numbers in terms the nation's debt and federal spending. The Senate should be looking at what we can do within our control to put our spending back in line, amortize our debt over time to a reasonable amount and reduce our deficit over time," said Isakson. "This problem is not going to be fixed with one stroke of a pen or one single piece of legislation, but it is going to begin to be fixed when both sides sit down at the table and understand that this is the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl of the future of the United States of America. Continuing to throw bricks at each other, creating victims and enemies and not taking about the real problem is just making it worse for all of use. Instead, it is time we made things better for the American people."

This year, Isakson has sponsored or cosponsored several pieces of legislation aimed at reining in federal spending. In January, he introduced biennial budgeting legislation that would switch Congress from an annual spending process to a two-year cycle, with one year for appropriating federal dollars and the other year devoted to oversight of federal programs. He has also cosponsored a constitutional amendment requiring Congress to balance the federal budget.