On the House Floor
This week, the House passed a resolution, which I opposed, to direct the Secretary of Defense to begin withdrawing troops in Iraq not more than 120 days after the legislation is enacted, and to complete the reduction by not later than April 1, 2008. Also this week, the House passed the College Cost Reduction Act, H.R. 2669, which authorizes $17.1 billion in new spending and creates nine new entitlement programs to assist private organizations and universities.
Iraq: In My Own Words
Last week, at a town hall meeting in Rocklin, I was asked my position on the war in Iraq. As is so often the case, the response I gave and the way it was reported in the media were not one in the same. I have been a strong supporter of the War on Terror, and have not changed my position on the need for U.S. military action in Afghanistan or Iraq. I fully support the mission of our troops, yet I want to see the Iraqi government become responsible for its own country more quickly, which does not put me at odds with the President. This week, I once again voted against setting a mandatory date for troop withdrawal. I have always been opposed to such action, which would only undermine the President’s role as Commander-in-Chief and give terrorists a target date to plan future attacks.
I will refrain from making a firm decision on the future of U.S. forces in Iraq until after General David H. Petraeus' report in September. I have publicly supported the troop build-up, and believe it is working. In Rocklin, I expressed some concern that the report might indicate the need for a long-term (five years or more) presence of our troops on the front lines in Iraq. I believe that such a commitment is unacceptable. I believe in our mission in Iraq, which will require U.S. troops to remain as teachers and trainers, but they should not remain on the front lines.
Let’s Hope the Democrats Notice
This week, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released its mid-session budget estimates, decreasing the projected deficit for the current fiscal year by $39 billion. Faster-than-expected revenue growth continues to drive the dramatic reduction in the deficit, which is a product of the solid economic growth and job creation spurred by Republican pro-growth tax policies. Since August 2003, these policies have created more than 8.2 million jobs, with more than 2 million jobs created over the last 12 months alone. As a share of GDP, revenue is expected to rise from 18.4% in 2006 to 18.8% this year – higher than the average of the past four decades.
We remain on target to balance the budget by 2012 without raising taxes, despite the Democrats’ excessive spending since they took control of Congress. However, this outlook is threatened if the Democrats continue their spending spree and are able to enact the historic tax increases they have proposed. The Democrats’ budget calls for adding $21 billion to the President’s spending levels for Fiscal Year 2008, and promises another $190 billion in new entitlement spending – with no means to pay for it. This ever-higher spending plan clearly threatens the prospects for balancing the budget unless taxes are raised sharply. As the appropriations process continues, I will maintain my support for the President’s commitment to veto spending bills which exceed responsible levels, and I will oppose any tax increase to threaten the economic growth of the last four years, which continues to produce encouraging results such as OMB’s most recent report.
Quote of the Week
Asked about his contention that US is "winning in Iraq," Sen. Joseph Lieberman said on CNN's Situation Room, "What I mean is that we've got the enemy, Al Qaeda, on the run. We've chased them out of Anbar province, where they were going to create the capital for the Islamist Republic of Iraq. We've chased them now to Diyala. All of this is possible because of the surge.”
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