Congressman Randy Neugebauer released the following statement after voting against H.R. 8, the fiscal cliff deal negotiated by the Senate.
"The last few days have been extremely disappointing. I promised my constituents to always vote for what I believe is in the best interest of West Texas and our country, and after carefully reviewing the Senate plan, I decided this legislation did not meet that standard.
"I support smaller government, lower taxes, and a balanced budget, but the Senate plan increased taxes and included no substantial spending cuts. The plan called for increasing taxes by $41 for every one dollar reduction in spending, further funding the government's spending habit.
"The American people work hard for their money and deserve to keep as much of it as possible. They already pay a substantial amount in taxes. I think it's irresponsible that our government isn't addressing its spending problem, but simply asking Americans for more money.
"What's worse, this plan increases our $16.4 trillion national debt by nearly $4 trillion. The President campaigned on the fact we need to address the nation's exploding debt. He called on Congress to increase revenues and implement spending cuts. But in the end, the President and the Senate put together a bill that will push America further down the path to bankruptcy.
"Washington continues to prove it cannot make the difficult decisions required to cut spending. This week, our country hit our statutory debt limit yet again. I don't know of a clearer signal that we need to cut spending.
"The President's policy of taxing, spending, and borrowing will severely limit the opportunities available to our children, grandchildren, and generations to come. I cannot, in good conscience, vote for legislation that kicks the can down the road yet again and does not seriously reform government spending."
"The last few days have been extremely disappointing. I promised my constituents to always vote for what I believe is in the best interest of West Texas and our country, and after carefully reviewing the Senate plan, I decided this legislation did not meet that standard.
"I support smaller government, lower taxes, and a balanced budget, but the Senate plan increased taxes and included no substantial spending cuts. The plan called for increasing taxes by $41 for every one dollar reduction in spending, further funding the government's spending habit.
"The American people work hard for their money and deserve to keep as much of it as possible. They already pay a substantial amount in taxes. I think it's irresponsible that our government isn't addressing its spending problem, but simply asking Americans for more money.
"What's worse, this plan increases our $16.4 trillion national debt by nearly $4 trillion. The President campaigned on the fact we need to address the nation's exploding debt. He called on Congress to increase revenues and implement spending cuts. But in the end, the President and the Senate put together a bill that will push America further down the path to bankruptcy.
"Washington continues to prove it cannot make the difficult decisions required to cut spending. This week, our country hit our statutory debt limit yet again. I don't know of a clearer signal that we need to cut spending.
"The President's policy of taxing, spending, and borrowing will severely limit the opportunities available to our children, grandchildren, and generations to come. I cannot, in good conscience, vote for legislation that kicks the can down the road yet again and does not seriously reform government spending."
