Fiscal Responsibility
Over the years, Democrats have shown our commitment to restoring fiscal responsibility by taking actions that have reduced our national deficit while investing in the American people’s priorities. During the 117th Congress, House Democrats delivered the landmark Inflation Reduction Act, which will reduce the deficit by over $300 billion while lowering health care and energy costs and taking action on climate change. In sharp contrast, Republicans jammed their 2017 Trump Tax Scam through Congress without a single hearing, gifting trillions of dollars in unpaid-for tax handouts to the wealthiest Americans and large corporations while leaving our nation with ballooning deficits. They have repeatedly held our economy hostage to benefit their irresponsible ideological agenda, whether creating artificial “fiscal cliffs,” shutting down the government, or bringing our nation to the brink of defaulting on its obligations. With other landmark legislation delivered during the 117th Congress, including the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the CHIPS and Science Act, Democrats have worked to invest in economic recovery, job creation, all while cutting the deficit in half last year. Democrats are committed to continuing our work to restore sound, long-term fiscal management so future generations can afford to invest in opportunities, secure the American Dream, and ensure workers have the tools to Make It In America.
House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today in response to the discussion draft of legislation released by Natural Resource Committee Republicans to address the debt crisis in Puerto Rico.
Wanted to be sure you saw today's column for the Center for American Progress’s “Talk Poverty” blog by House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) and Congresswoman Barbara Lee, chair of the Democratic Whip Task Force on Poverty, Income Inequality, and Opportunity.
House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) attended a press conference today with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Democratic Members of Congress, Grammy award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Puerto Rican advocates to discuss the need to take immediate action to address Puerto Rico’s debt crisis.
Since Speaker Paul Ryan took the gavel in October, he has repeatedly expressed how important it is for Congress to pass a budget and return to “regular order” through the appropriations process. Yet his conference continues to be deeply divided over whether to adhere to the spending levels that both parties agreed to in the bipartisan budget agreement that was enacted last year.
Today, President Obama unveiled his budget for Fiscal Year 2017, which reduces the deficit and puts debt on a sustainable path while laying out a vision for how we can give every American a fair shot at economic security; accelerate American innovation; and keep Americans safe.
House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today on President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2017 Budget.
Yesterday’s joint announcement by the Republican Chairmen on the House and Senate Budget Committees that the Director of the Office of Management and Budget would not be invited to present the President’s FY2017 Budget is both outrageous and unprecedented.
House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today in response to a hearing held by the House Financial Services Committee accusing the Obama Administration of manufacturing the debt limit crisis.
Today’s Budget and Economic Outlook summary from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) ought to be a reminder that there are real fiscal consequences to Congress not paying for what it buys. Today’s new baseline shows a deficit that is going back up, a fact that CBO specifically notes was exacerbated by the unpaid-for tax cuts that Congress passed last month. I voted against that bill precisely because it predicated today’s worsening deficit outlook.
President Obama addressed the nation this week in his last State of the Union address and shared his vision for the future of America.