Thank you for contacting me concerning the Chairman Ryan's House Budget Committee's proposal for Fiscal Year 2012 (FY2012). I appreciate learning your thoughts on this issue.
As you may know, on April 11, 2012, House Budget Committee Chairman, Paul Ryan, introduced House Concurrent Resolution (HConRes) 34, a budget for FY2012 that would cut government spending by $6.2 trillion over the next decade, reducing the nation's $14 trillion debt by $4.4 trillion. This budget, which is one of the opening proposals in the FY2012 Congressional budget process, was agreed to by the House on April 15, 2011 by a vote of 235-193, and awaits future consideration by the Senate.
Given the level of our national debt, the House-proposed budget contains a number of spending reductions, namely its efforts to keep taxes low so the economy can grow. The proposal would prevent the $1.5 trillion in tax increases the President has proposed as part of his FY2012 budget, as well as acknowledge the need for comprehensive tax reform for both individual and corporate tax rates. In my view, now is not the time to raise taxes on anyone and updating our quarter-century old tax law is critical to the ability of American businesses to compete globally.
While the House-proposed budget contains commendable efforts to rein in our unsustainable debt, there are also a number of components that would require careful consideration. Given Maine has the oldest population of any state in the nation, any proposals representing profound changes to critical safety net programs, such as Medicare, would require serious and rigorous scrutiny. I am concerned that the House proposal could force seniors to bear additional risk and it is vital that we do not solve our fiscal problems by burdening our seniors who weren't responsible for creating our current fiscal morass. Also, Medicaid would shift from a state-federal partnership to strictly the state's responsibility during a time when more people are turning to Medicaid for coverage and many states are struggling with debt.
I do strongly believe that the most significant task for the 112th Congress moving forward is to rein in burgeoning deficits and return the federal budget to fiscal sanity. Families and small businesses cannot finance their expenditures by simply increasing their credit limit, and neither should the government. Thus, we must immediately reduce the size and scope of government, starting with pragmatic and meaningful cuts to annual spending, as well as instituting mechanisms such as a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution to force the government to do what its citizens already do – live within its means. As the Senate moves forward with the FY2012 budget process, you may be assured that I will keep your thoughts and concerns firmly in mind.
Again, thank you for taking the time to share your views. I value your opinion and hope that you continue to inform me of the issues that concern you.
Sincerely,
OLYMPIA J. SNOWE
United States Senator
