Congressman Scott DesJarlais, M.D. (Tn.-04) testified on Wednesday before the House Budget Committee during a hearing entitled Principle Interests Regarding the Budget for Fiscal Year 2014.
The following are Congressman DesJarlais’ remarks as prepared for delivery:
Chairman Ryan, Ranking Member Van Hollen and distinguished Members of the Budget Committee:
Thank you for having me here today to discuss the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget. This is an issue of top concern to my constituents in Tennessee’s Fourth Congressional District.
While my district, like many others across this country, has certainly experienced its fair share of economic hardship, we are fortunate that some of the most innovative and talented small business owners this country has to offer, have chosen to call the Fourth District home. These individuals, and the businesses they own, employ tens of thousands of hardworking Tennesseans.
In fact, last Congress my colleagues in the House Oversight Committee and I held a hearing with some of these job creators in order to identify what they are doing right and how their successes can be replicated at a national level.
But while the businesses in my district are doing their part in growing and creating jobs, the federal government seems more interested in putting up roadblocks to achievement than acting as a partner in ensuring their success.
Business owners from across my district certainly have no shortage of frustrations regarding their government in Washington. Naturally, these complaints will vary depending on the type of business. Some are very niche issues and others are just general complaints that I am sure that each of us have heard from folks back home.
But there is one concern that I hear from nearly every single business owner in my district, regardless of their industry, size of their business or even political affiliation – that is our country’s unsustainable debt.
Business owners in my district know that today’s deficit spending will have to be paid for with tomorrow’s tax increases. They know our reckless spending growth puts America at risk of staggering tax increases, or worse, even economic collapse.
This economic uncertainty is causing business owners – both large and small – in my district to hold back on hiring and capital investment.
Think about it. Any successful business bases important decisions on long-term plans and outlooks. And while they can control the direction of their business, they can’t control the fiscal uncertainty of the federal government. This uncertainty diminishes hiring and investment, which then curtails economic expansion.
Further, governing through a seemingly endless stream of CRs only exacerbates the problem.
What businesses truly want is a long-term, comprehensive plan to control the deficit spending.
Since arriving to Congress, I have twice supported Chairman Ryan’s budgetary proposal, commonly referred to as the Path to Prosperity. I, along with the vast majority of my constituents, applaud the Chairman for his strong leadership on this issue.
Chairman Ryan put forth a common sense proposal that would put an end to the deficits so that we can start paying down our 16 trillion dollar plus debt. One of the ways that he does this is through preserving and protecting Medicare so that it remains solvent for both current seniors and future generations. Not only was this plan heralded by business owners in my district as a prudent first step, our seniors appreciated that Mr. Ryan’s plan kept the promises that were made to them.
Unfortunately, while the Path to Prosperity passed the House two times, the Senate refused to work with us. Rather, they let politics trump policy. As result, we are still without a plan to control long term spending.
Businesses in my district can’t understand why Washington continues to promise them everything but the one thing that they have asked for – certainty.
I hope the House will work its will and pass a budget that will achieve balance and provide the certainty businesses in my district need. I hope that we will find a more receptive audience in the Senate and White House during the 113th Congress than we did in the 112th.
In writing this budget, I hope that the Chairman will pursue the same approach that prioritizes our spending, protects our seniors and avoids job-crushing taxes on business owners.
I simply fail to understand why the idea of putting a budget in place is viewed by some as extreme. Rather, I would argue that it is extreme to operate without a budget. We have seen what it has gotten us – four years of trillion dollar deficits.
If we continue to ignore the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and its subsequent adaptations, we should simply repeal the act and stop pretending that this Congress has any desire to operate the way our constituents expect.
Mr. Chairman, Members of this committee, enough is enough. That is the message that the people of Tennessee’s Fourth Congressional District are asking me to transmit to this committee.