Grassley Response to the Remarks by the President On Economic Growth and Deficit Reduction

Grassley Response to the Remarks by the President On Economic Growth and Deficit Reduction

M E M O R A N D U M


TO:    Reporters and Editors

RE:    Remarks by the President On Economic Growth and Deficit Reduction

DA:    Monday, September 19, 2011


Senator Chuck Grassley made this comment about the President’s Rose Garden remarks this morning.


“The President’s proposal is full of gimmicks, including the fact that no one expects the current level of war spending to continue, but the President claims $1.1 trillion in savings from the drawdown of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.  How can you claim savings when the money’s not in the budget, and was never expected to be spent?  Overall, the problem with the President’s proposal is that if figures we have a taxing problem rather than a spending problem and, remarkably, it doesn’t really tackle spending at all.  Government spending is ramping up to 25 percent of the total economy, an all-time high.  Instead of growing government, we need to be growing the private sector, where jobs and wealth are created.  We don’t need higher taxes; we need more taxpayers through economic growth.  And if you raise taxes, you’re not going to get more workers because taxes are a damper on economic activity and growth.  I hope that Congress continues listening to the grass roots and keeps the focus on a new approach in Washington for economic recovery and, in turn, deficit reduction.”