from the desk of the chrisattack

Dear Friend:

Thank you for contacting me regarding job creation efforts. I welcome your thoughts and comments.

I believe that the best way to jumpstart our economy is through targeted tax cuts that quickly put money back in the hands of America’s small businesses and families. These tax cuts should work in concert with a limited spending program that emphasizes necessary projects, military construction, infrastructure and transportation improvements to spur job growth.

Instead, the Democrat-controlled Congress has spent without reservation, pushing through massive spending programs. Over my strong opposition, Congress passed a $787 billion Stimulus bill that has done nothing to actually stimulate our economy. Overall, in 2009, government spending grew $705 billion, or 24 percent, in just one year, contributing to the federal government’s record $1.4 trillion budget deficit.

These massive spending measures were put in place to fix our economy and spur job growth. However, the results have been anything but a fix. Our national unemployment rate climbed above 10% and remains extraordinarily high despite the Stimulus package and other massive spending measures that were supposed to create jobs.

Unfortunately, there is no end in sight. As a result of the $3.5 trillion fiscal year (FY) 2010 budget resolution that was passed on April 30, 2009 over my opposition, the federal government’s budget deficit is on track to rise to $1.6 trillion in 2010. President Obama’s $3.8 trillion FY 2011 budget proposal does little to help, adding a $1.3 trillion deficit in 2011 and $8.5 trillion in deficits for the next 10 years combined.

President Obama recently said that he believed we should “spend our way out of this recession.” Nothing can be further from the truth. I am deeply concerned about the consequences that this massive deficit spending and these substantial tax increases will have on our economy. More debt, more spending, and more taxes are a true jobs killer, making it even more difficult for businesses, large and small, to create the jobs that will fuel our economic recovery.

With unemployment in the United States hovering near double digits, job creation must be a priority. However, we need to have fiscal sustainability going forward. A tax, borrow, and spend approach will not meet this need. The deficits that our nation has incurred over the past two years have placed an immense burden on our children and grandchildren, and have sent our nation’s debt on an unsustainable trajectory.

To spur job growth, I am convinced that the most effective way to stimulate the economy is to leave more money in taxpayers’ pockets. You may be certain that I will continue to work hard for smaller government, a balanced federal budget, and lower taxes on families and small businesses.

I appreciate hearing from you, and I hope that you will not hesitate to contact me on any issue that is important to you.

Sincerely,
Kay Bailey Hutchison
United States Senator

284 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5922 (tel)
202-224-0776 (fax)
http://hutchison.senate.gov