03.20.13

Senate Approves Continuing Resolution to Fund Government for 2013, Makes Necessary Spending Reductions

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven issued the following statement today upon passage of a continuing resolution to fund the federal government for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2013, which runs through September 30:

“The continuing resolution we passed today on a bipartisan basis funds government for 2013 and cuts spending to help address our deficit and debt. Although it does not provide as much flexibility as other measures I pushed to include in the bill, it is an improvement on the across-the-board cuts in the original sequester.

“As we approach the pending debate on the 2014 budget, however, we need to recognize that more needs to be done to get our fiscal house in order. To effectively address our deficit and debt will require three key elements: taking a pro-growth approach to our economy, reducing our spending in a thoughtful way, and reforming, preserving and protecting entitlement programs for the current and future generations of Americans.

“When our economy grows and more people are working, we broaden our tax base and our revenues increase, without raising taxes. To grow the economy the right way, we need to take a pro-growth approach, which means reducing bureaucracy and regulatory obstacles to business activity, and reforming our tax code to create jobs and make America the best place in the world to invest and do business.

“In addition to growing our economy, we must continue to find savings to put our nation on a healthy financial footing again. As the governor of North Dakota for ten years, that is what we did when we were on track to spend more than we had. Every governor in the nation has to make those difficult decisions, and so should the president and Congress.

“Finally, we need a thoughtful plan to preserve and protect Medicare and Social Security so that these safety-net programs are there when our children and grandchildren need them.”