Giffords Condemns Congress for Raising Debt Ceiling to Nine Trillion Dollars
Congressional Hopeful Cites Crushing ‘Birth Tax’ on Every U.S. Child
TUCSON €“ Former State Sen. Gabrielle Giffords today condemned the vote by the U.S. Senate on Thursday to raise the federal debt to nearly $9 trillion, an amount that defies comprehension but amounts to a debt of nearly $30,000 for every man, woman and child in the country.
“If I had run my family’s small business the way the federal government is being run, I’d have been out of business,” said Sen. Giffords. “For years, Republicans in Congress have masqueraded as the party of fiscal responsibility. In reality they have created a massive ‘birth tax’ that puts every child in debt the day that they’re born.”
The higher debt ceiling passed the Senate on a 52-48 vote, with all Democrats voting in opposition.
While the majority of Senators said the vote was necessary to meet federal obligations, Sen. Giffords said it was another sign of the incompetent financial stewardship of the federal government.
“They promised us that they would make government live within its means. Instead of keeping that commitment, Congress has wasted billions of dollars on bridges to nowhere, sweetheart tax breaks for their contributors, and inept spending that fattens corporate profits. Meanwhile some of our troops in Iraq are serving without functional armor plating for their vehicles.”
Sen. Giffords promised to fight for new priorities if she is elected to the House from Arizona’s 8th Congressional District.
“I won’t vote to create new corporate tax breaks while cutting funding for Medicare,” she said. “I won’t support budgets that funnel billions of dollars into special-interest projects while the security of our borders is ignored. And I will not give new tax discounts to the wealthy while telling working families that they can’t afford to send their kids to college. We will make the tough decisions necessary to put our fiscal house back in order.
“In the Arizona legislature, we balance our budget. Every year. I don’t always agree with the choices made, but I agree with the fiscal discipline. We should not add layer upon layer of debt on our children and our children’s children.”
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