Jan. 3, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement responding to the Obama Administration’s vow that it “will not have another debate with this Congress about whether or not they should pay the bills they have already racked up,” referring to an increase of the $16.394 trillion debt ceiling:
“The arrogant argument that the White House is making, that Congress is racking up all of these unsustainable increases of the national debt, and so all debt ceiling votes ought to be rubber-stamped, is a bit disingenuous. 60 percent — some $2.2 trillion — of the $3.65 trillion budget will be spent automatically without any vote in Congress this year and every year that follows. This so-called ‘mandatory’ spending — the constitutionally questionable process of baseline budgeting — is the true driver of our debt crisis.
“Also, nearly one-fifth of the House will be new members, and with the exception of former members who have regained their seats, have never voted for any of this spending. But even the ones who have been there for years have never really voted on the Social Security budget, or the Medicare budget, and on down the line, because these are not subject to the annual appropriations process. They are determined by eligibility formulas enacted in some cases decades ago.
“The fact is, the debt ceiling is the only means Congress has to have any say on whether this automatic spending will be financed. Whereas, if the Obama Administration gets what it wants — which is to eliminate the debt ceiling all together — we may as well just abolish Congress all together. Then, it will have become little more than a useless puppet theater, a means to control the masses through the illusion of representation. Why even have elections at all if representatives are not even allowed to vote on the only budgetary matters of significance?
“No matter what Obama says, Congress has to perform its constitutional duty. The Constitution empowers it, not the President, in Article 1, Section 8 to ‘borrow money on the credit of the United States’. Article 1, Section 9 states that ‘no money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law.’ Contrary to what Obama seems to believe, it is not his choice whether this debate will take place. It is a debate Congress must have, and whether Obama chooses to participate in it or not is irrelevant.”
Attachments:
“Is ‘mandatory’ spending constitutional?” by ALG President Bill Wilson, Dec. 12, 2012 at http://netrightdaily.com/2012/12/is-mandatory-spending-constitutional/
Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.
###