The Daily Hatch

Washington, Aug 1 -Congressman Geoff Davis made the following statement after voting against S. 365, the Budget Control Act of 2011.  The bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 269 to 161.

“I commend our Leadership for their tireless efforts throughout this process.  This bill makes a number of positive steps toward beginning to address our fiscal problems and also averts default, but I chose to vote against it for two main reasons.  

“First, unlike the original House version of the Budget Control Act, this bill decouples the passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment with the second portion of the debt limit increase.  This was an important component of the original bill and making the second debt limit increase contingent on its passage would have a lasting impact on getting spending in check.

“Second, while there is certainly room for cuts and efficiency improvements in every federal agency and program, I have concerns about the method by which cuts would take place if the Joint Select Committee did not work as intended.  For the sake of our country, I hope the Committee is successful and reports to Congress a deficit reduction package that addresses the true cost drivers.  However, in the event that does not happen, the sequester mechanism could be devastating to defense during a time of war and to Medicare when health care providers are already facing cuts thanks to President Obama’s health care law.

“The fight to ensure our country is on sound fiscal footing in the future for our children and grandchildren does not end with this vote.  Over the course of the past year, House Republicans have been successful in changing the debate in Washington from whether to cut spending to how much to cut.  The magnitude of our fiscal woes cannot be resolved overnight and I look forward to continuing to work for a better and more sustainable path forward.”