WASHINGTON, DC - House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) issued the following statement today in response to President Obama’s FY 2012 budget request:
“Our fiscal situation is dire, and our need for policies that promote job creation is urgent. In the last two years we have seen stunning growth in the size and scope of the federal government, and with it, a similarly dramatic increase in government spending and red ink. Job creators have been pushed to the economic sidelines because of the long-term threat of debts, deficits, and government expansion. To maintain the status quo with a “˜spending freeze’ would simply lock in a government spending explosion we cannot afford.
“I am particularly disappointed to see the White House continuing its efforts to manipulate free enterprise - whether on energy or health care or technology, this budget continues to advance policies in which the federal government picks winners and losers, rather than letting the American people and the power of competition identify the most efficient, effective investment of resources.
“It is time to get our fiscal house in order. Beginning this week, the House will advance a spending plan for the rest of this fiscal year to make meaningful reductions in the spending that has grown unchecked for the past two years. We will also scrutinize the President’s budget proposal for next year, going line-by-line to better understand the specific proposals this administration is advancing and how we can go much further to create a spending plan that brings down the deficit, promotes energy security and independence, harnesses the power and promise of technology, improves our health care system by stemming the tide of a government takeover, and empowers individuals with greater freedom and less government intrusion."
