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Congressman Bill Posey (R-FL) released the following statement regarding House passage of H.R. 2560, the Cut, Cap and Balance Act:

“In March of 2006, two years before I arrived in Washington, the Senate was debating a debt limit increase of $781 billion to bring the total national debt to $9 trillion. Then-Senator Obama took to the floor and berated ‘the fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure.’ Those words were as true then as they are today, only this time the failure is much larger as we are debating whether to raise the debt ceiling at President Obama’s request by a whopping $2.4 trillion.

“Washington is spending close to $7 million a minute and unfortunately $3 million of that is money it doesn't have. Since January 2009, Washington has spent $150 billion more each and every month than it received in revenue. Forty cents of every dollar has simply been borrowed and the debt put on the credit card of future generations. Our nation’s finances have been badly mismanaged for many years by members of both parties as Washington has continuously put the needs of the next election before the security and prosperity of the next generation.

“The nation’s credit rating agencies from Moody’s to Standard and Poor’s all warned that they will downgrade U.S. bonds unless Washington passes a credible plan to control federal spending and reduce the national debt. Such a task is very challenging and the longer Washington resists avoiding the painful decisions, the bigger the problem gets and the harder the fall will be when the bill comes due.

“I would have preferred a much smaller increase in the debt ceiling than the one that was brought before the House for consideration, but the bill before us provides that increase with real spending caps and most importantly only after passage of a Constitutional Balanced Budget Amendment. Washington has proven beyond a doubt that it is unable to control spending and thus Washington needs what most every state already has, a Balanced Budget requirement. Only this will put an end to the spending addiction that threatens the very future and security of our nation. The Balanced Budget Amendment will ensure that there will be a prosperous and free America to be enjoyed by our children and grandchildren.”