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With the support of Congressman Bill Posey (R-Rockledge), the House of Representatives this evening voted against raising the nation’s $14.2 trillion debt limit by another $2.4 trillion. Over the past 4 years, Congress has voted 6 times to raise the statutory debt ceiling resulting in an additional $5.3 trillion added to the debt. In total, Congress has raised the debt limit 76 times since 1962.

“We cannot afford to give Washington a blank check when it comes to spending hard-earned taxpayer dollars,” said Congressman Posey, a member of the Congressional Balanced Budget Caucus and cosponsor of the Balanced Budget Amendment. “In just a few short months, the nation will enter its fourth consecutive year of trillion dollar budget deficits. Washington has failed to control federal spending, cut waste and balance the budget.”

In 2010 the federal government spent $3.5 trillion, while taking in $2.2 trillion creating a deficit of $1.3 trillion. In other words one of every three dollars spent by Washington was a borrowed dollar. Since 2008, discretionary spending by government agencies has increased by an average of 17 percent, and when the stimulus spending is added in, agencies saw an average increase of 47.9 percent.

“This course is unsustainable and what’s been lacking all along is a credible plan and real leadership,” added Posey, who has posted a short budget presentation on his website to educate the public on the problem at hand.