Congressman Mo Brooks
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Friday, September 8 Congressman Mo Brooks (AL-05) joined with the chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, and a majority of the Alabama House delegation, in voting against the Pelosi-Schumer-Trump debt ceiling deal that undermines national security while increasing America’s debt by roughly $600 billion and doing nothing to solve the deficits that cause the debt ceiling problem in the first place.
Congressman Brooks stated, “Today, I voted against increasing America’s debt by an estimated $600 billion. Many factors combined to cause me to vote no. In no particular order: First, I join the chairmen of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees in voting against the Pelosi-Schumer-Trump debt ceiling deal because of the dual damage it does to national defense. This deal subjects national defense spending to a continuing resolution, a funding mechanism that has a significant and notorious adverse effect on national defense generally and the Tennessee Valley’s national defense economy in particular. Further, the Pelosi-Schumer-Trump debt ceiling deal blocks efforts to offset the damage sequestration has done to national defense.
“Second, it is wrong to exploit the good will of the American people by using hurricane relief as a hammer to risk America’s financial solvency. The Pelosi-Schumer-Trump debt ceiling deal appropriates $7.4 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and hurricane relief. $7.4 billion in hurricane relief does not justify a roughly $600 billion increase in America’s official debt. A much better approach would have been to limit a debt ceiling increase to FEMA and hurricane relief costs but that approach was rejected in an effort to exploit hurricane suffering as a means to deceive and mask an unsustainable debt ceiling hike.
“Finally, and most importantly, the Pelosi-Schumer-Trump debt ceiling deal is wholly and completely financially irresponsible. It hastens America’s day of reckoning: a debilitating insolvency and bankruptcy.
“America’s debt is $19.8 trillion. [1] The Pelosi-Schumer-Trump debt ceiling deal increases America’s debt by roughly $600 billion2 (as of December 8, 20173 ), to $20.4 trillion. The Congressional Budget Office, America’s Comptroller General, and the Government Accountability Office have all warned Congress and the White House in writing that America’s debt path is ‘unsustainable,’ accounting language that says an insolvency and bankruptcy will result if corrective measures are not taken.
“In FY2015, America’s deficit was $439 billion. In FY2016, America’s deficit worsened by $148 billion to $587 billion. Before hurricane relief costs are added, the CBO’s projected FY2017 deficit worsened yet another $106 billion to $693 billion. The CBO projects that America will embark on an unending and increasingly worse trillion dollar a year deficit streak beginning in 2022, just five years away.
“Congress and the White House must conform spending to revenue before it is too late. Time to prevent a national insolvency and bankruptcy is running short. The nation’s debt ceiling is an opportune time to force spending constraints that reduce America’s risk of a debilitating insolvency and bankruptcy. Unfortunately, the Pelosi-Schumer-Trump debt ceiling deal not only failed to constrain spending, it increased spending and dramatically increases America’s debt burden.
“In sum, a vote for the Pelosi-Schumer-Trump debt ceiling deal is a vote against America’s future, America’s children, and America’s grandchildren, all of whom will be forced by today’s action to struggle under the burden of impossible-to-pay debt.
“I urge American voters to examine the struggles of Puerto Rico, Greece and Venezuela to better understand how today’s vote is a vote for economic destruction, an emasculated national defense, and the kind of hardship Venezuelans are now forced to endure (by way of but one example, the economic havoc caused by a central government insolvency has been so bad that 75% of the Venezuelan population suffered an average weight loss of 19 pounds over a twelve month period because Venezuelans cannot get the calories, the food, needed to sustain their body weight and survive4 ).”
[1] America’s debt has been frozen at $19.8 trillion since March 15, 2017, the date of the last debt ceiling limit.
2 $350 billion (the Congressional Budget Office FY 2017 estimated deficit is $700 billion, $350 billion is one-half, or six months’ worth, of $700 billion) +$175 billion (one-fourth, or three months’ worth, of a $700 billion deficit) +$75 billion for FEMA & hurricane relief (Hurricane Harvey damages are estimated to be as high as $175 billion; Hurricane Sandy cost $50+ billion; Hurricane Irma damages have yet to be determined) = $600 billion total estimated official debt increase from the Pelosi-Schumer-Trump debt ceiling deal.
3 The Pelosi-Schumer-Trump debt ceiling deal allows the federal government to borrow unlimited amounts of money until December 8, 2017, at which point the debt ceiling is again frozen.
4 https://www.upi.com/Venezuela-75-of-population-lost-19-pounds-amid-crisis/2441487523377/
Media Release/Office of Cn’ogressman Mo Brooks/Annalyse Beaver
1 comment
This is just too rich. How long has it been since Mo and “Strange” were clawing all over each other in advertisements for the primary trying to convince the gullible republican voters that they each one supported Trump “best”? NOW that a bipartisan deal is struck, although a win for the democrats (the “art of the deal” was the way Trump was played) NOW it is old Mo who wants nothing to do with it or Trump. WOW, talk about obvious!