Boehner: We Will Balance the Budget Without Raising Taxes

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) issued the following statement today after the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) announced its deficit forecast for this year declined dramatically from $248 billion to $158 billion - $47 billion less than the Bush Administration’s estimate from a month ago and $90 billion lower than last year’s CBO estimate:

“Today’s announcement reaffirms what Republicans have been saying for years: we will balance the budget without raising taxes. Democrats in Congress, on the other hand, are intent on reversing course by raising taxes on working families and proposing billions upon billions of dollars in new federal spending. These misguided, failed policies not only would guarantee us deficits as far as the eye could see, but they would bring our economy to a screeching halt and leave future generations on the hook to pay for the unchecked spending spree congressional Democrats have in store.

“Earlier this year, House Republicans pledged to uphold the President’s veto of any bill that contains excessive spending, and as Congress prepares to return next month, we’ll continue to uphold that pledge. And when Democrats propose raising taxes as the solution to any and every problem facing our nation, we’ll fight them every step of the way. Republican-led pro-growth policies have strengthened our economy and placed a balanced budget within reach, and we’ll work to ensure those policies stay in place.”

NOTE: So far this year, congressional Democrats have added $6 billion in new spending to a bill that finished the 2007 appropriations process; passed a budget that exceeded the President’s budget request by some $20 billion; added about $17 billion in additional spending to a troop funding bill; and passed several annual appropriations measures that have drawn veto threats because of excessive spending. At the same time, they have proposed a laundry list of new taxes, including:

A massive $392.5 billion tax increase on middle-class families in their Fiscal Year 2008 budget.

More than $15 billion in new energy taxes that will raise gasoline prices on consumers.

A 115 percent to 2,200 percent increase in tobacco taxes and a new tax on every American who has a private health insurance plan in their SCHIP bill.

A $7.5 billion tax increase in their Farm Bill, threatening 5.1 million American jobs and greater investment in the U.S.

A 5-cent increase per gallon federal gas tax hike for infrastructure and a 50-cent increase per gallon federal gas tax hike for a global warming plan.

Raising taxes on homeowners by ending the home mortgage deduction.