McCarthy: what a difference a year makes as the House moves to cut spending and avoid tax increases

 Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) gives us his weekly update from Capitol Hill. In his words:

 "This week was a very sad week for our local community. We lost our beloved former Bakersfield Mayor Bob Price.  He was a great leader and friend, and I will miss him tremendously.  Also, I was saddened to hear that we lost long time educator Paul White who inspired countless numbers of children in our community.  These men were amazing role models and they will be sorely missed.

 "In Washington, the focus was on creating jobs by removing barriers to job growth. This was also a topic of discussion during a lunch I had with the President on Wednesday, we talked about cutting federal spending, reducing over-regulation, and fostering an environment where small business can thrive.

What a difference a year makes as the question is no longer whether we should cut spending, but how much spending can we cut. This was major point of discussion when I appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe this week and I even had to break out some charts to illustrate our current fiscal situation. So far we have cut mandatory spending by $541 billion, cut authorized spending by $115 billion, and cut taxes by $770 billion.  To date, not one bill increasing spending or taxes has passed the House.  In contrast, in the first four weeks of the 111th Congress, the Democrat-led House had already passed $682 billion of new spending.  Next week, the House will bring a Continuing Resolution (CR) to floor for a vote to obligate the necessary funds so the government can continue to operate the rest of the fiscal year.  Today, my colleagues and I took another took another step in getting our financial house in order by announcing our plan to cut at least $100 billion of government spending.  All these cuts are an important first step towards improving our economy.  Cutting spending will help create jobs and grow the economy in the short and long term.  The more the government borrows, spends and regulates the harder it is for business to access capitol, grow and create jobs.

 "Clearly, unemployment is still too high, and when talking to local small business owners, they constantly tell me burdensome regulations are preventing them from expanding. According to the Small Business Administration, total regulatory costs amount to $1.75 trillion annually, nearly twice as much as all individual income taxes collected last year, and the average small business with less than 20 employees faces a cost of $10,585 per worker in federal regulations each year. This week, the House directed committees to inventory and review government regulations that may have an onerous effect on jobs and economic growth.  Let’s have a real adult conversation on how we can improve our economy, and we must look at the barriers that are preventing our economy from growing.  

 "When we struggle with our finances in our lives, we look for savings and look for additional work to earn more money.  Now, government must do the same, we must cut spending and grow our economy.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend."