Isakson Votes Against Debt Limit Increase of $1.9 Trillion
Isakson Votes Against Debt Limit Increase of $1.9 Trillion
Jan 28, 2010
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator and Senate candidate Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today voted against legislation that would increase the debt ceiling by $1.9 trillion, to $14.3 trillion.
The legislation passed the Senate by a vote of 60-39.
“This is the largest increase of the deficit in our nation’s history, and this bill was passed without a mechanism to force Congress to rein in spending,” Isakson said. “I find it inconsistent for the administration to call for a freeze on domestic spending at the same time it is asking us to increase the deficit by nearly $2 trillion in order to finance the government’s borrowing binge long enough to get past the November 2010 elections.”
On Jan. 26, Isakson voted in favor of a bipartisan amendment that would have established an 18-member task force charged with making recommendations on how to improve the government’s long-term fiscal imbalances. Under the amendment, the task force would have reviewed projected federal revenues and expenditures as well as the long-term actuarial financial condition of the federal government. It would have identified factors that affect the long-term fiscal imbalance and analyze potential courses of action. The amendment, which required 60 votes to pass, failed by a vote of 53-46.
Isakson is committed to trying to pass legislation to curb federal spending and to demand more accountability from programs that receive federal dollars. Isakson is a co-sponsor of a constitutional amendment that would allow the President to use the line-item veto to either eliminate or reduce appropriations in any bill passed by the Congress. The amendment would also require Congress to balance the federal budget.
Isakson also has introduced legislation to reform the federal budget process by converting it 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.
